ITV

Tag: MediaPro

  • Taj Television to distribute Zee and Ten Sports channels; agent for Turner

    Taj Television to distribute Zee and Ten Sports channels; agent for Turner

    MUMBAI: Two months after the distribution joint venture (JV) between Star India and Zee Turner called MediaPro dissolved; Zee has decided to hand over its distribution to Taj Television India, a wholly owned subsidiary of Zee Entertainment.

     

    While initially Taj Television was the sole distributor of Ten Sports channels, it will now act as agent for Zee Entertainment, Zee Media and Turner along with Ten Sports. Zee’s sports broadcasting business will continue to be headed by Rajesh Sethi.

    According to sources the move is to integrate all the Zee channels in one bouquet and give an additional push to the whole network.

     

    After the news of MediaPro split broke, Zee Turner had announced that it will set up its independent distribution arm. In the latest, the Network has announced that the new distribution agreements with the various operators will be done under the name of Taj Television. Arun K Kapoor will be the CEO of Taj Television, who was the CEO at MediaPro, earlier.

     

    Taj Television has a suite of 47 television channels. This includes: Zee TV, Zee Cinema, &pictures, Ten Sports, Zee Cafe, Zee Studio, Zing, Zee Marathi, Zee Bangla, Zee Telugu, Zee Kannada, Zee Tamizh, Zee TV HD, Zee Cinema HD, Zee Studio HD, Ten HD, Zee News, Zee Business, HBO, Cartoon Network, Pogo, CNN, Warner Brothers and Zeel’s new channel Zindagi.

  • Times Television Network, TheOneAlliance terminate distribution alliance

    Times Television Network, TheOneAlliance terminate distribution alliance

    MUMBAI: When the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) came out with its regulation on the fate of the content aggregators, the industry did predict that many networks could now move out of the current distribution ventures. And clearly they weren’t wrong.

     

    The first to move out of the joint venture was Star India and Zee TV as they announced the disbanding of MediaPro and setting up of their independent cable TV affiliate distribution teams. If this wasn’t enough, MediaPro also decided to not renew its distribution deal with New Delhi Television (NDTV) with effect from 1 April and Media Content & Communications Services (MCCS) and MGM programming Service India (MGM) with effect from 16 April. As a result of this, NDTV (NDTV India, NDTV 24×7, NDTV Good Times and NDTV Profit), MGM (MGM) and MCCS (ABP News, ABP Majha and ABP Ananda) decided to distribute their respective channels through their own independent affiliate teams.

     

    While this was just the beginning, now through a public notice published in the leading newspapers, Times Television Network has informed the stakeholders, that starting 1 April, the network will no longer be distributed by the content aggregator TheOneAlliance. “MSM Discovery has ceased to distribute the Times channels effective 1 April,” reads the public notice.

     

    “This is to inform all concerned that with effect from 1 April 2014, Times Global Broadcasting Company Limited (TGBCL) is the sole and exclusive distributor for the television channels namely, Romedy Now, Romedy Now+, Zeem, ET Now (of Bennett, Coleman & Co.), Movies Now (of Zoom Entertainment Network) and Times Now (of Times Global Broadcasting Co.) all forming part of the Times Television Network,” adds the notice.

     

    With this, the channels will now be distributed solely and exclusively by TGBCL that will undertake all activities that are necessary, ancillary and incidental for effectively distributing the channels throughout the country.

     

    TGBCL will also be responsible for collection of subscription revenue for the channels, through the distribution platforms comprising analogue cable, digital cable, DTH, IPTV, HITS, OTT, 4G and new emerging digital technology platforms, hotels and commercial establishments and marketing and channel penetration activities.

  • MediaPro terminates distribution alliance with NDTV, MCCS, MGM

    MediaPro terminates distribution alliance with NDTV, MCCS, MGM

    MUMBAI: The MediaPro split is known to all. With Star and Zee setting up their affiliate sales teams for their respective channels, a few networks that formed a part of the content aggregator have now been left with no choice but to distribute the channel on its own.

     

    The three year distribution venture split after the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) came out with its regulation on the role of content aggregators. News now is that MediaPro has decided to not renew its distribution deal with New Delhi Television (NDTV) with effect from 1 April 2014.

     

    The content aggregator has also terminated its distribution alliance with   Media Content & Communication Services (MCCS) and MGM programming Service India (MGM) with effect from 16 April 2014.

     

    As a result of this, NDTV (NDTV India, NDTV 24×7, NDTV Good Times and NDTV Profit), MGM (MGM) and MCCS (ABP News, ABP Majha and ABP Ananda) will now distribute their respective channels through their own independent affiliate teams.

  • Gurjeev Singh to head Star India international business

    Gurjeev Singh to head Star India international business

    MUMBAI: After the big split last month of Star and Zee’s distribution JV MediaPro, Star India has announced that MediaPro former COO Gurjeev Singh Kapoor will head the company’s international business initiatives.

     

    Once the MediaPro transition is complete, Singh will shift to his new base in London and report to Star India COO Sanjay Gupta. In his new role, Singh will handle distribution, syndication, ad sales and new content development in the US, South Afriaca, West Asia, the UK, Europe, south Asia and Southeast Asia.

     

    “The international business has huge growth potential which has not yet been fully tapped and we believe Gurjeev will add tremendous value to the organization and will build on the foundations that have been put in place and take the International business to new heights,” said Gupta.

     

    “Gurjeev shares our values and our focus on the business and he has proved to be an extraordinary leader throughout his stint with Star and its ventures,” he added.

     

    Singh will take up his new posting only after a few months. Speaking on his new role Singh said, “I am looking forward to be back into Star’s fold and delighted with the opportunity to expand our global footprint. Star is uniquely placed to drive aggressive growth in the international markets based on its great content advantage.”

     

    Star India’s channels are available in more than 120 countries globally. And Singh has his task cut out for him: Zee Entertainment Enterprises channels are available in more than 160 countries globally and a very aggressive IndiaCast has been working aggressively to further the distribution of the Viacom18, Network18 channels worldwide.

     

    Concurrent with Singh’s new responsibility, Star India’s national distribution has been split into two: TS Panesar has been given the task of handling national distribution on DTH and in the digitised markets, while Summit Grover has been brought in to look after  distribution in the emerging markets of DAS phase III and IV. Both are expected to report into Singh.

     

     

  • Six broadcasters, content aggregators directed to provide signals to AP MSO

    Six broadcasters, content aggregators directed to provide signals to AP MSO

    NEW DELHI: The Telecom Disputes Settlement and Arbitration Tribunal (TDSAT), on 22 April, directed six broadcasters and content aggregators to enter into agreements with the Andhra Pradesh based multi-system operator Wiretel Digital Networks.

     

    In the judgement pronounced on Tuesday, the TDSAT bench comprising chairman Aftab Alam and member Kuldeep Singh said the agreements will be based on reference interconnect offer.

     

     The broadcasters/aggregators are ESPN, MediaPro, MSM Discovery, Sun, Ma TV and ETV.

     

     The petitioner, who holds a digital addressable system licence, had approached TDSAT in February 2013 after the respondents delayed/refused to provide signals to it on DAS mode.

     

     The bench for the first time also interpreted the DAS Regulations with regard to mandatory provisioning of signals on DAS mode – ‘the must provide’ obligation.

  • MediaPro breaks up

    MediaPro breaks up

    MUMBAI: In one of the biggest announcements after the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) came out with its regulation, two months ago, that prevented aggregators from bundling channels of different broadcasters, Star Den Media services and Zee Turner have decided to part ways with distribution JV MediaPro coming to an end.

     

    The networks will be setting up their independent affiliate sales team for their respective channels. The networks are also banking on the recent tariff hike given by TRAI as a positive boost to subscription revenues.

     

    Zee Entertainment MD Punit Goenka said,  “We  had  created  this  Joint  Venture  to  address  various  anomalies  in  the  analog market, curb  piracy  and introduce  transparency for the benefit  of all stakeholders.  I must say that we have been very satisfied with the outcome  of the partnership.  In the last three years, with  DAS getting  implemented, India  is truly on  the path  to digitization. First  two phases of DAS have already been implemented. Given the new regulation, Uday and I have taken a call to continue the business at an independent  level. I wish our JV partners all the very best in their future endeavors.”

     

    Star India CEO Uday Shankar  added,  “MediaPro  has been  a truly delightful and path breaking  partnership.   Punit  and I created MediaPro with the objective of accelerating  digitization, promoting transparency and introducing best practices  in distribution.  Thanks to the commitment  of both parties the JV has delivered exceptionally well on each of these.   I am proud  to say that MediaPro also led the industry consensus for the most efficient way of moving to a digital domain.  This in turn allowed  us to offer better content to our viewers.  In the light of new regulation, both partners have decided  to build independent affiliate sales. I take this opportunity to compliment the entire MediaPro team lead by Arun Kapoor for creating  a best-in-class organization  that  helped  pioneer  digital transformation of cable.”

  • MediaPro issues notice against DEN Networks

    MediaPro issues notice against DEN Networks

    MUMBAI: Public notices seem to have become a norm in the present time. Facing the ire this time is the multi system-operator – DEN Networks, which has got a public notice from the content aggregator – MediaPro. MediaPro, in its notice published in newspapers, has informed the consumers that the 74 channels in the bouquet of the aggregator will go off air in three weeks from today.

    The reasons cited for deactivation of channels is: non-payment of subscription fee and/or outstanding arrears and non-submission of subscriber reports. “All the areas serviced by the cable operator(s) and its franchisees in the DAS areas will be affected,” states the notice.

    The channels that can go off air in case the requirements are not met include: Zee 24 Gantalu, 24 Ghanta, Zee 24 Taas, Cartoon Network, CNN, ETC, Zee ETC Punjabi, HBO, Pogo, Warner Brothers, Zee Action, Zee Bangla, Zee Business, Zee Café, Zee Cinema, Zee Classic, Zee Jagran, Zee Kannada, Zee Marathi, Zing, Zee News, Zee UP UK, Zee Premier, Zee Punjabi Haryana Himachal Pradesh, Zee Salaam, Zee Smile, Zee Studio, Zee Talkies, Zee Tamil, Zee Telugu, Zee Trendz, Zee TV, Star Movies, Star Plus, Star World, Star World, Star Gold, National Geographic Channel, Fox Traveller, Life OK, Star Vijay, Channel V, MGM, ABP Ananda, Star Jalsa, FX, Fox Crime, Nat Geo Wild, Nat Geo Adventure, Nat Geo Music, Baby TV, NDTV 24X7, NDTV Profit, NDTV Good Times, NDTV India, Suvarna, Star Utsav, ABP News, Zee Khana Khazana, Movies OK, Star Pravah, ABP Majha, Asianet, Asianet Plus, Star Movies Action, Zee Bangla Cinema, ZeeQ, Star Jalsa Movies, 9X, Asianet Movies, Zee Madhya Pradesh Chhatisgarh, Suvarna Plus, Zee Marudhara, & Pictures and Zee Anmol.

    However, the two parties will be meeting for resolving the issues. “I am still to collect the details for the public notice. These things keep happening between the broadcaster and the distributor. We will resolve the issue. We have invested heavily in digitisation. Once we collect the money from the ground, we will clear the payments,” says a DEN Networks official.

    MediaPro is a joint venture between Zee Turner and Star DEN.

     

  • Arasu cable threatens Star Sports to switch off

    Arasu cable threatens Star Sports to switch off

    MUMBAI: Tamil Nadu’s giant multi system operator (MSO) Arasu cable is flexing its muscles again. Last week, it issued a public notice against aggregator MediaPro for breach of letter of acceptance and non conclusion of price negotiation. Now it has gone ahead and issued a notice against Star Sports citing the same reason.

     

    The notice dated 28 December warns subscribers that after 21 days they won’t be able to view Star Sports channels on their Arasu cable connections but instead will be shown substitute channels.

     

    Issued under section 4.2 of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India’s (TRAI) Telecommunications (Broadcasting and Cable Services) Interconnection Regulations 2004, the notice says that Star Sports 1, 2, 3 and 4 might be disconnected.

     

    A few days ago, the Madras High Court warned the TRAI not to take any coercive action against the MSO that has about six million subscribers in the state. The rumours doing the rounds are that Arasu has been arm twisting pay channels to pay high carriage fees in order to fill in the gap between revenue and payouts to pay channels of about 40 per cent.

  • Tamil Nadu & DAS: Arasu issues notice against MediaPro

    Tamil Nadu & DAS: Arasu issues notice against MediaPro

    BENGALURU:  Even as the Madras High Court has warned the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) not to take any coercive actions against Tamil Nadu Arasu Cable TV Corporation (TACTV), the latter has taken steps to protect its interests in the state. 

    The government owned MSO issued a public notice on 25 December, cautioning subscribers that the channels under MediaPro Enterprises India (MediaPro) would be disconnected 21 days after the issue of the notice.

    Arasu has a presence in 27 districts in Tamil Nadu, having leased the headends of private MSOs there. 

    The public notice states that the MSO has decided to take this action as the aggregator is in breach of letter of acceptance and non-conclusion of price negotiation between the two.  It warns subscribers and LCOs that they may not be able to view the channels on their TV sets 21 days from the date of publication of the notice. However, the MSO informs its subscribers and LCOs that alternate channels will be available for viewing in place of these 59 channels.

    The notice has been issued under section 4.2 of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India’s (TRAI) Telecommunications (Broadcasting and Cable Services) Interconnection Regulations 2004.

    Unconfirmed reports allege that TNACTV has been arm twisting pay channel broadcasters and distributors to pay carriage fees to make up a for a mismatch of revenue and payouts to pay channels  of about 40 percent. According to TRAI, Arasu Cable, that is still delivering its services on analogue, has about 6 million subscribers under it in Tamil Nadu making up for a huge chunk of the 13 million cable TV homes in the state.

    MediaPro was unavailable for comment at the time of filing this report. There are 59 channels listed including Star Vijay, Zee Tamizh, Asianet, Asianet Plus and several other Hindi, English and regional channels from the Star and Zee stable which MediaPro distributes. 

    Whether the impact of Arasu clipping Mediapro will be heavy or not, nobody is willing to bet. However, prima facie the channels which would be impacted would be the English entertainment and movie channels, Zee Tamizh, Star Vijay, Asianet, and to a certain extent the kids, sports, news and factual entertainment channels which go to form the Mediapro  bouquet  However, the main drivers of the bouquet Zee TV and Star Plus would be impacted marginally, since Hindi is not a preferred viewing option in Tamil Nadu. 

  • TRAI Open House: Aggregators given another week to respond

    TRAI Open House: Aggregators given another week to respond

    NEW DELHI: Television aggregators were today given a period of one week to give any recommendations they may have on the regulations relating to them issued earlier by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI).

    At an Open House that was well-attended, TRAI Chairman Rahul Khullar said any stakeholder wanting to give views in writing may do so within a week.

    Around 200 persons representing all stakeholders were present at the meeting, and put forth their views. While a majority said there was need for regulations, many felt that TRAI needed to fine-tune the regulations. MediaPro CEO Arun Kapoor, Dish TV’s Jawahar Goel, legal representatives of Airtel, Reliance, IndiaCast, apart from cable operators such as Vicki Choudhary, Roop Sharma, Money Oberoi were present at the open house.

    Khullar had TRAI Advisers N Parameswaran and Wasim Ahmed and other senior officials also present in the house.

    According to TRAI spokespersons, the discussions were frank and free and a final view would be taken after written representations are received.

    An aggregator attendee at the open house said that it was apparent from Khullar’s body language that he was not too happy with the state of affairs in the aggregation business today.

    Says he: “Khullar made three or four very important observations. The first is that aggregated bouquets of channels owned by rival bouquets creates a monopoly situation which is not a healthy one and needs to be addressed. Second: he recognised that the networks like Star, Zee, Sun, Network18 own channels across several corporate entities as licence holders and this needs to be considered. Third: smaller broadcasters and networks could face problems in distribution across the vast Indian cable TV landscape and this also should be borne in mind. Finally, he acknowledged that aggregation can help keep prices in check on account of bulk discounting”

    Adds another attendee: “Change is something that Khullar wants to bring in. We expect some change; the clout that aggregators enjoy is not something that the regulator wants to see continuing. He clearly wants aggregators to be brought under control. We are reading the writing on the wall, and we are readying for the change. How we manage this change is something we have to deal with.”