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Tag: MIB

  • 17.8 million STBs deployed in Phase IV areas: MIB

    17.8 million STBs deployed in Phase IV areas: MIB

    MUMBAI: The ministry of information and broadcasting says that close to 17.8 million set top boxes have been seeded in Phase IV areas. The figure was 138 million set top boxes during the fifteenth task force meeting held in end May this year.

    Speaking at the sixteenth task force meeting which was held on 26 July, the joint secretary R. Jaya stated that most of this is coming courtesy voluntarily digitization.

    She also urged representatives of the MSOs to finalise their procurement plans of STBs, and cautioned that “they should not let some disinterested players in phase IV areas delay digitization in phase IV areas on the grounds of non-availability of STB as it was done in phase III.”

    She added that except for some DTH operators the public awareness campaign for DAS Phase IV digitization has not come up to scratch. She urged the industry to develop its own creative and its own spots to spread the message of cable TV digitization in the phase IV regions.

    This is of course apart from the spots that have been developed by the ministry and which were playing out on the public broadcaster Doordarshan’s channels.

  • Ad cap & linked case put off to Sept; court to hear plea against stay order

    Ad cap & linked case put off to Sept; court to hear plea against stay order

    NEW DELHI: With no resolution in sight to the imbroglio relating to adcaps on television channels, the Delhi High Court has adjourned the hearing one more time, this time to September 29, 2016.

    The matter had earlier been put off on May 13, 2016 to today by chief justice G Rohini and Justice Jayant Nath as they did not have time to hear the matter in view of part-heard cases.

    When the case comes up next, court is also expected to take up an application by intervenor Home Cable Network Pvt Ltd seeking vacation of the order staying action against violating television channels.

    In the hearing on March 29, 2016, a plea was made on behalf of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB) that a proposal was being contemplated to amend the relevant provision relating to limiting ads to 12 minutes an hour.

    On May 13, 2016, the court had agreed to take up at the next hearing for vacation of stay. The court had on February 11, 2016 had also agreed to take up the application by Discovery Communications to intervene on the matter.

    Earlier on November 27, 2105, the court chaired by the chief justice, had said the matter had been pending for some time and, therefore, it would hear and conclude the case in the next hearing. On that day, MIB had informed the court that it was in talks with the News Broadcasters Association (NBA) and other stakeholders on the issue of the advertising cap of 12 minutes per hour. This was the first time that the ministry had put in an appearance in the petition filed by the NBA against the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) and others.

    The case, filed by NBA and others against TRAI and the Union Government, has so far been adjourned from time to time on the plea that the government and the broadcasters are in talks on this issue.

    The court has already directed that the order that TRAI would not take any action against any channel pending the petition would continue. In an earlier hearing, the court had, at the regulator’s instance, directed that all channels keep a record of the advertisements run by them.

    The NBA had challenged the ad cap rule, contending that TRAI does not have jurisdiction to regulate commercial airtime on television channels. Apart from the NBA, the petitions have been filed by Sarthak Entertainment, Pioneer Channel Factory, E24 Glamorus, Sun TV Network, TV Vision, B4U Broadband, 9X Media, Kalaignar, Celebrities Management, Eanadu Television and Raj Television.

    Meanwhile, the separate petition filed in the High Court by Vikki Choudhry and Home Cable Network Pvt Ltd., which too will be heard on the next date in September, seeks to charge MIB with dereliction of its duties to take action against offending pay TV broadcasters for violating the terms and conditions of the licenses/permission for Uplinking and Downlinking.

    The Court had in June asked the Ministry to file its reply in four weeks. Notice was issued only to the Ministry, although the petition also listed several other broadcasting companies as respondents.

    ALSO READ

    Ad cap case put off to 1 August, court to hear plea challenging stay order

    Ad cap case adjourned till 15 July

  • Ad cap & linked case put off to Sept; court to hear plea against stay order

    Ad cap & linked case put off to Sept; court to hear plea against stay order

    NEW DELHI: With no resolution in sight to the imbroglio relating to adcaps on television channels, the Delhi High Court has adjourned the hearing one more time, this time to September 29, 2016.

    The matter had earlier been put off on May 13, 2016 to today by chief justice G Rohini and Justice Jayant Nath as they did not have time to hear the matter in view of part-heard cases.

    When the case comes up next, court is also expected to take up an application by intervenor Home Cable Network Pvt Ltd seeking vacation of the order staying action against violating television channels.

    In the hearing on March 29, 2016, a plea was made on behalf of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB) that a proposal was being contemplated to amend the relevant provision relating to limiting ads to 12 minutes an hour.

    On May 13, 2016, the court had agreed to take up at the next hearing for vacation of stay. The court had on February 11, 2016 had also agreed to take up the application by Discovery Communications to intervene on the matter.

    Earlier on November 27, 2105, the court chaired by the chief justice, had said the matter had been pending for some time and, therefore, it would hear and conclude the case in the next hearing. On that day, MIB had informed the court that it was in talks with the News Broadcasters Association (NBA) and other stakeholders on the issue of the advertising cap of 12 minutes per hour. This was the first time that the ministry had put in an appearance in the petition filed by the NBA against the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) and others.

    The case, filed by NBA and others against TRAI and the Union Government, has so far been adjourned from time to time on the plea that the government and the broadcasters are in talks on this issue.

    The court has already directed that the order that TRAI would not take any action against any channel pending the petition would continue. In an earlier hearing, the court had, at the regulator’s instance, directed that all channels keep a record of the advertisements run by them.

    The NBA had challenged the ad cap rule, contending that TRAI does not have jurisdiction to regulate commercial airtime on television channels. Apart from the NBA, the petitions have been filed by Sarthak Entertainment, Pioneer Channel Factory, E24 Glamorus, Sun TV Network, TV Vision, B4U Broadband, 9X Media, Kalaignar, Celebrities Management, Eanadu Television and Raj Television.

    Meanwhile, the separate petition filed in the High Court by Vikki Choudhry and Home Cable Network Pvt Ltd., which too will be heard on the next date in September, seeks to charge MIB with dereliction of its duties to take action against offending pay TV broadcasters for violating the terms and conditions of the licenses/permission for Uplinking and Downlinking.

    The Court had in June asked the Ministry to file its reply in four weeks. Notice was issued only to the Ministry, although the petition also listed several other broadcasting companies as respondents.

    ALSO READ

    Ad cap case put off to 1 August, court to hear plea challenging stay order

    Ad cap case adjourned till 15 July

  • Kurnool LCO’s office sealed, 3 others’ being investigated: MIB on Peace TV

    Kurnool LCO’s office sealed, 3 others’ being investigated: MIB on Peace TV

    NEW DELHI: While denying that the Information and Broadcasting Ministry had asked the Home Ministry to help in keeping a check on illegal channels, the government today said that five complaints had been received in July on the carriage of un-permitted satellite TV channels:

    Yesterday, Information and Broadcasting Minister M Venkaiaih Naidu had told the Rajya Sabha that action had ‘reportedly’ been taken in Kurnool and Aurangabad for carriage of illegal channels.

    However, the Lok Sabha was told today by Minister of State Rajyavardhan Rathore that the office of Seema Communication Pvt. Ltd. in Kurnool had been sealed and equipment seized This was on a complaint on 9 July 2016 by Rajya Sabha member T G Venkatesh against the LCO for telecasting the non-permitted ‘Peace TV’ in Kurnool District. The complaint was sent to the District Collector, Kurnool on 10 July 2016. The DC carried out the instructions and found that the operator was actually carrying the non-permitted channel and an FIR was lodged by the authorized officer.

    However, another complaint on 12 July from Vinay Patil against Yashodeep Cable Network for transmission of the same channel in Aurangabad District was found to be incorrect as the Deputy Commissioner found that this channel was not being carried by the LCO.

    Another complaint of 7 July 2016 from Kuldeep Kumar Sahani against Venkata Sai Entertainment Pvt. Ltd. for illegal transmission of Peace TV in Nizamabad District was sent to District Collector, Nizamabad, on 22 July 2016 for further necessary action by the authorized Officer.

    A complaint about Peace TV on 9 July 2016 from A Thirupathi Reddy against Sri Sai Communications in Karimnagar District was sent to District Collector, Karimnagar on 22 July 2016 for further necessary action by the authorized Officer.

    A fifth complaint of 8 July 2016 from Nandyal Digital TV Communications against Siti Vision Digital Media Pvt. Ltd. for illegal transmission of Peace TV in Kurnool District was sent to District Collector, Kurnool, on 22 July 2016 for further necessary action by the authorized Officer.

    Apart from advisories sent to the authorized officers, MSOs, and LCOs, the minister said an appeal was issued on social media platform to the general public to report cases of transmission of un-permitted satellite TV channels by cable operators.

    Meanwhile, the minister said that in addition to satellite channels, the ministry has received recommendations from the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India on its query that the procedure for cable operators to transmit local (ground based) channels had not defined in the Act.

    Peace TV from Dubai and as many as fourteen television channels from Pakistan figured in a list of 24 channels which the Home Ministry identified as ‘not conducive to the security environment in the country’ in December 2015.

    The Pakistani channels are PTV, PTV Home, PTV World, Geo TV, Dawn, Express, Waqat, Q TV, Madni TV, Noor TV, Hadi TV, Aaj, Filmax and STV.

    Out of the other ten, there are two from Nepal (one identified as Nepal, and the other as Kantipur), and one channel each from Bangladesh (NTV Bangladesh), Maldives (TV Maldives), Bhutan (Bhutan Broadcasting Service), and there was a United Kingdom-based channel, Ahmedia Channel.

    The other channel from Arab countries was Saudi TV while the nationality of two channels was not disclosed: ARY TV and XYZ TV.

  • Kurnool LCO’s office sealed, 3 others’ being investigated: MIB on Peace TV

    Kurnool LCO’s office sealed, 3 others’ being investigated: MIB on Peace TV

    NEW DELHI: While denying that the Information and Broadcasting Ministry had asked the Home Ministry to help in keeping a check on illegal channels, the government today said that five complaints had been received in July on the carriage of un-permitted satellite TV channels:

    Yesterday, Information and Broadcasting Minister M Venkaiaih Naidu had told the Rajya Sabha that action had ‘reportedly’ been taken in Kurnool and Aurangabad for carriage of illegal channels.

    However, the Lok Sabha was told today by Minister of State Rajyavardhan Rathore that the office of Seema Communication Pvt. Ltd. in Kurnool had been sealed and equipment seized This was on a complaint on 9 July 2016 by Rajya Sabha member T G Venkatesh against the LCO for telecasting the non-permitted ‘Peace TV’ in Kurnool District. The complaint was sent to the District Collector, Kurnool on 10 July 2016. The DC carried out the instructions and found that the operator was actually carrying the non-permitted channel and an FIR was lodged by the authorized officer.

    However, another complaint on 12 July from Vinay Patil against Yashodeep Cable Network for transmission of the same channel in Aurangabad District was found to be incorrect as the Deputy Commissioner found that this channel was not being carried by the LCO.

    Another complaint of 7 July 2016 from Kuldeep Kumar Sahani against Venkata Sai Entertainment Pvt. Ltd. for illegal transmission of Peace TV in Nizamabad District was sent to District Collector, Nizamabad, on 22 July 2016 for further necessary action by the authorized Officer.

    A complaint about Peace TV on 9 July 2016 from A Thirupathi Reddy against Sri Sai Communications in Karimnagar District was sent to District Collector, Karimnagar on 22 July 2016 for further necessary action by the authorized Officer.

    A fifth complaint of 8 July 2016 from Nandyal Digital TV Communications against Siti Vision Digital Media Pvt. Ltd. for illegal transmission of Peace TV in Kurnool District was sent to District Collector, Kurnool, on 22 July 2016 for further necessary action by the authorized Officer.

    Apart from advisories sent to the authorized officers, MSOs, and LCOs, the minister said an appeal was issued on social media platform to the general public to report cases of transmission of un-permitted satellite TV channels by cable operators.

    Meanwhile, the minister said that in addition to satellite channels, the ministry has received recommendations from the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India on its query that the procedure for cable operators to transmit local (ground based) channels had not defined in the Act.

    Peace TV from Dubai and as many as fourteen television channels from Pakistan figured in a list of 24 channels which the Home Ministry identified as ‘not conducive to the security environment in the country’ in December 2015.

    The Pakistani channels are PTV, PTV Home, PTV World, Geo TV, Dawn, Express, Waqat, Q TV, Madni TV, Noor TV, Hadi TV, Aaj, Filmax and STV.

    Out of the other ten, there are two from Nepal (one identified as Nepal, and the other as Kantipur), and one channel each from Bangladesh (NTV Bangladesh), Maldives (TV Maldives), Bhutan (Bhutan Broadcasting Service), and there was a United Kingdom-based channel, Ahmedia Channel.

    The other channel from Arab countries was Saudi TV while the nationality of two channels was not disclosed: ARY TV and XYZ TV.

  • No plans to regulate TV content through CBFC: MIB

    No plans to regulate TV content through CBFC: MIB

    NEW DELHI: Even as debates rage on regarding film and television content with the government admitting complaints regarding vulgar advertisements on TV are received regularly and addressed, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB) has said there’s no move yet to regulate TV content via an existing body.

    Dwelling on the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC), its recent run-ins with films producers on alleged censorships and a proposed restructuring of the certification body, Minister of State for MIB Rajyavardhan Rathore has said government doesn’t propose to regulate TV content via CBFC.

    Rathore made these observations regarding CBFC and TV content regulation in Parliament last week

    Holding forth on CBFC, the minister admitted that a restructuring report by the Shyam Benegal Committee was “under examination”,  but added the government had not received any formal complaint/representation from the Indian film industry regarding the functioning of CBFC.

    Rathore told Lok Sabha (Lower House of Parliament) late last week that differences in opinion relating to certification of individual films do exist between the producers and the Board. Such cases are dealt with in accordance with the provisions of the Cinematograph Act 1952, he added.

    The existing system under the Cinematograph Act, 1952 provides the requisite checks and balances as far as certification of films is concerned. Periodical reviews by expert committees are undertaken. Sufficient provisions for addressing grievances of film producers with regard to film certification exist in present regulations, the junior MIB minister informed fellow parliamentarians.

    A review committee under noted film-maker Shyam Benegal was constituted by MIB some time back. The committee has given its report suggesting some radical changes in the CBFC’s functioning and role.

    Complaints regarding vulgarity in TV ads

    A total of 49 complaints – four in 2016 – for vulgarity in advertisements on television channels were reported to MIB since 2013.

    In most cases, advisories were issued to TV channels concerned, but there were a few cases where the channels had to run apology scrolls or were forced to shut down for a fixed period.

    There were also two instances of advisories to all channels in these years.

    According to figures available with MIB, there were 26 complaints in 2013, nine in 2014, eleven in 2015 and four so far this year.

    Only Manoranjan TV, FTV, and NTV have figured thrice in these years for broadcast of vulgarity in advertisements.

    Under existing regulatory framework, all programmes and advertisements telecast on TV channels and transmitted/retransmitted through cable TV networks and DTH platforms are required to adhere to the Programme and Advertising Codes prescribed under the Cable TV Networks (Regulation) Act, 1995.

    Action is taken suo-motu as well as when violations are brought to the notice of the ministry.

    These codes contain a whole range of parameters to regulate programmes and advertisements, including provisions to address content of obscenity, vulgarity and violence in TV programmes and advertisements.

    Information from the Electronic Media Monitoring Centre (EMMC) and other sources like an Inter-Ministerial Committee (IMC) are collated on prima facie violation of the Programme and Advertising Codes for the MIB to pursue the matter.

    Government said directions to the States have been issued to set up district-level and State-level monitoring committees to monitor content telecast on cable TV channels. These are recommendatory bodies, which function to aid and assist MIB.

     

  • No plans to regulate TV content through CBFC: MIB

    No plans to regulate TV content through CBFC: MIB

    NEW DELHI: Even as debates rage on regarding film and television content with the government admitting complaints regarding vulgar advertisements on TV are received regularly and addressed, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB) has said there’s no move yet to regulate TV content via an existing body.

    Dwelling on the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC), its recent run-ins with films producers on alleged censorships and a proposed restructuring of the certification body, Minister of State for MIB Rajyavardhan Rathore has said government doesn’t propose to regulate TV content via CBFC.

    Rathore made these observations regarding CBFC and TV content regulation in Parliament last week

    Holding forth on CBFC, the minister admitted that a restructuring report by the Shyam Benegal Committee was “under examination”,  but added the government had not received any formal complaint/representation from the Indian film industry regarding the functioning of CBFC.

    Rathore told Lok Sabha (Lower House of Parliament) late last week that differences in opinion relating to certification of individual films do exist between the producers and the Board. Such cases are dealt with in accordance with the provisions of the Cinematograph Act 1952, he added.

    The existing system under the Cinematograph Act, 1952 provides the requisite checks and balances as far as certification of films is concerned. Periodical reviews by expert committees are undertaken. Sufficient provisions for addressing grievances of film producers with regard to film certification exist in present regulations, the junior MIB minister informed fellow parliamentarians.

    A review committee under noted film-maker Shyam Benegal was constituted by MIB some time back. The committee has given its report suggesting some radical changes in the CBFC’s functioning and role.

    Complaints regarding vulgarity in TV ads

    A total of 49 complaints – four in 2016 – for vulgarity in advertisements on television channels were reported to MIB since 2013.

    In most cases, advisories were issued to TV channels concerned, but there were a few cases where the channels had to run apology scrolls or were forced to shut down for a fixed period.

    There were also two instances of advisories to all channels in these years.

    According to figures available with MIB, there were 26 complaints in 2013, nine in 2014, eleven in 2015 and four so far this year.

    Only Manoranjan TV, FTV, and NTV have figured thrice in these years for broadcast of vulgarity in advertisements.

    Under existing regulatory framework, all programmes and advertisements telecast on TV channels and transmitted/retransmitted through cable TV networks and DTH platforms are required to adhere to the Programme and Advertising Codes prescribed under the Cable TV Networks (Regulation) Act, 1995.

    Action is taken suo-motu as well as when violations are brought to the notice of the ministry.

    These codes contain a whole range of parameters to regulate programmes and advertisements, including provisions to address content of obscenity, vulgarity and violence in TV programmes and advertisements.

    Information from the Electronic Media Monitoring Centre (EMMC) and other sources like an Inter-Ministerial Committee (IMC) are collated on prima facie violation of the Programme and Advertising Codes for the MIB to pursue the matter.

    Government said directions to the States have been issued to set up district-level and State-level monitoring committees to monitor content telecast on cable TV channels. These are recommendatory bodies, which function to aid and assist MIB.

     

  • Q1-17: HVL revenue up 129%; to invest Rs 271 crore for carriage subsidiary stake

    Q1-17: HVL revenue up 129%; to invest Rs 271 crore for carriage subsidiary stake

    BENGALURU/MUMBAI: Hinduja Ventures Limited (HVL) reported more than doubling (up 129 percent) of its revenue for the quarter ended June 30, 2016 (Q1-17, current quarter) vis-à-vis revenue for the corresponding year ago quarter.

    HVL revenue for Q1-17 was Rs 60.95 crore, while it was Rs 26.63 crore for the corresponding period previous year.
    However, quarter-over-quarter (q-o-q), revenue for the current quarter declined 35 percent from Rs 93.75 crore in Q4-16. The company attributes the increase in revenue to sale of setup boxes/ broking income/ income from trading of securities.

    The company reported a year-over-year (y-o-y) growth in profit of 1.3 percent for the current quarter at Rs 24.21 crore as compared to Rs 23.90 crore and a 70.8 percent q-o-q growth as compared to Rs 14.18 crore.

    HVL operates across three segments of media and communication, real estate, and investment and treasury. HVL is the holding company of integrated media companies IndusInd Media and Communications Limited (IMCL) and Grant Investrade Limited (GIL), which has launched the headend-in-the-sky (HITS) digital platform under brand name NXT DIGITAL.

    HVL’s media and communications segment

    Revenue from its media and communications segment declined q-o-q to less than a fourth (down 76.6 percent). HVL reported revenue of Rs 14.40 crore in Q1-17 and Rs 61.69 crore in Q4-16. The segment reported an operating loss of Rs 5.61 crore in the current quarter as compared to an operating loss of Rs 0.37 crore in Q1-16 and an operating profit of Rs 2.71 crore in Q4-16. For the year ended March 31, 2016 (FY-16), the segment reported an operating profit of Rs 10.09 crore.

    HVL to invest Rs 271 crore for stake in IMCL

    HVL proposes to purchase 43,03,000 equity shares of Rs 10 each for a premium of Rs 456 per share of its subsidiary IMCL.
    This stake purchase, which constitutes 5.82 percent of IMCL’s paid up equity capital, will cost HVL Rs 200.52 crore. HVL also proposes to buy 7,03,60,0000 IMCL preference shares of Rs 10 each at par from its wholly owned subsidiary shares of GIL. The IMCL stake purchase from GIL constitutes 26.02 percent of paid up preference capital of IMCL and will cost HVL Rs 70.36 crore.

    GIL to de-merge HITS to IMCL

    GIL will de-merge its HITS business undertaking to IMCL, the HVL board has decided. The scheme is subject to consent(s), approval(s) permission(s) of statutory authorities(s) if any, including, in particular, the approval from the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB), Government of India for transfer and vesting of HITS License held by GIL in favour of IMCL.

    HVL says that India is yet to witness a genuine and significant revolution in the digital delivery in true sense, especially in tier 3 and 4 cities and rural hinterland.

    The digitalization with many upcoming value added services of over 160 million (16 crore) TV homes is still far from over. It is envisaged that the combined strength of fibre based digital cable delivery and the satellite based digital signals for cable industry will enhance and create a new paradigm in the digital content delivery platform in terms of reach, value for money, state of the art technology, quality of services and significant value added digital services.

    The company also feels that this will further enhance shareholders value by consolidating the digital media distribution businesses and will help to rationalize the group structure by optimizing the resources and integrating operational synergies both in revenue and costs.

    The combined entity will also be able to venture and grow in the newer areas and many digital technology-linked value-added services that would be relevant for this business and same set of customers.
    According to HVL, its broadband business has also been restructured for a direct focus and is planned for a manifold technology-based growth.

    The synergy will be able to consolidate HVL’s media investments and would  enhance and maximize the shareholders value, avers the company.

    GIL’s (HITS business) merger into IMCL will be a unique first in the country in digital cable and has a long term positive financial implication by increasing competitive strength, technology synergies, customer service efficiency and high productivity with a genuine all-India reach. HVL says adding that similar models in developed countries have witnessed a prime leadership position in mid to long term.

    The company states that this arrangement will also strengthen HVL’s investment in media business, which will, in turn, unlock the value of HVL’s shareholders.

    Note: (1) The unit of currency in this report is Indian rupee – Rs (also conventionally represented by INR). The Indian numbering system or the Vedic numbering system has been used to denote money values. The basic conversion to the international norm would be:

    (a) 100,00,000 = 100 lakh = 10,000,000 = 10 million = 1 crore.
    (b) 10,000 lakh = 100 crore = 1 arab = 1 billion.

    (2) The numbers in this report are standalone unless stated otherwise

    (3)  1 USD= INR 67

     

  • Q1-17: HVL revenue up 129%; to invest Rs 271 crore for carriage subsidiary stake

    Q1-17: HVL revenue up 129%; to invest Rs 271 crore for carriage subsidiary stake

    BENGALURU/MUMBAI: Hinduja Ventures Limited (HVL) reported more than doubling (up 129 percent) of its revenue for the quarter ended June 30, 2016 (Q1-17, current quarter) vis-à-vis revenue for the corresponding year ago quarter.

    HVL revenue for Q1-17 was Rs 60.95 crore, while it was Rs 26.63 crore for the corresponding period previous year.
    However, quarter-over-quarter (q-o-q), revenue for the current quarter declined 35 percent from Rs 93.75 crore in Q4-16. The company attributes the increase in revenue to sale of setup boxes/ broking income/ income from trading of securities.

    The company reported a year-over-year (y-o-y) growth in profit of 1.3 percent for the current quarter at Rs 24.21 crore as compared to Rs 23.90 crore and a 70.8 percent q-o-q growth as compared to Rs 14.18 crore.

    HVL operates across three segments of media and communication, real estate, and investment and treasury. HVL is the holding company of integrated media companies IndusInd Media and Communications Limited (IMCL) and Grant Investrade Limited (GIL), which has launched the headend-in-the-sky (HITS) digital platform under brand name NXT DIGITAL.

    HVL’s media and communications segment

    Revenue from its media and communications segment declined q-o-q to less than a fourth (down 76.6 percent). HVL reported revenue of Rs 14.40 crore in Q1-17 and Rs 61.69 crore in Q4-16. The segment reported an operating loss of Rs 5.61 crore in the current quarter as compared to an operating loss of Rs 0.37 crore in Q1-16 and an operating profit of Rs 2.71 crore in Q4-16. For the year ended March 31, 2016 (FY-16), the segment reported an operating profit of Rs 10.09 crore.

    HVL to invest Rs 271 crore for stake in IMCL

    HVL proposes to purchase 43,03,000 equity shares of Rs 10 each for a premium of Rs 456 per share of its subsidiary IMCL.
    This stake purchase, which constitutes 5.82 percent of IMCL’s paid up equity capital, will cost HVL Rs 200.52 crore. HVL also proposes to buy 7,03,60,0000 IMCL preference shares of Rs 10 each at par from its wholly owned subsidiary shares of GIL. The IMCL stake purchase from GIL constitutes 26.02 percent of paid up preference capital of IMCL and will cost HVL Rs 70.36 crore.

    GIL to de-merge HITS to IMCL

    GIL will de-merge its HITS business undertaking to IMCL, the HVL board has decided. The scheme is subject to consent(s), approval(s) permission(s) of statutory authorities(s) if any, including, in particular, the approval from the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB), Government of India for transfer and vesting of HITS License held by GIL in favour of IMCL.

    HVL says that India is yet to witness a genuine and significant revolution in the digital delivery in true sense, especially in tier 3 and 4 cities and rural hinterland.

    The digitalization with many upcoming value added services of over 160 million (16 crore) TV homes is still far from over. It is envisaged that the combined strength of fibre based digital cable delivery and the satellite based digital signals for cable industry will enhance and create a new paradigm in the digital content delivery platform in terms of reach, value for money, state of the art technology, quality of services and significant value added digital services.

    The company also feels that this will further enhance shareholders value by consolidating the digital media distribution businesses and will help to rationalize the group structure by optimizing the resources and integrating operational synergies both in revenue and costs.

    The combined entity will also be able to venture and grow in the newer areas and many digital technology-linked value-added services that would be relevant for this business and same set of customers.
    According to HVL, its broadband business has also been restructured for a direct focus and is planned for a manifold technology-based growth.

    The synergy will be able to consolidate HVL’s media investments and would  enhance and maximize the shareholders value, avers the company.

    GIL’s (HITS business) merger into IMCL will be a unique first in the country in digital cable and has a long term positive financial implication by increasing competitive strength, technology synergies, customer service efficiency and high productivity with a genuine all-India reach. HVL says adding that similar models in developed countries have witnessed a prime leadership position in mid to long term.

    The company states that this arrangement will also strengthen HVL’s investment in media business, which will, in turn, unlock the value of HVL’s shareholders.

    Note: (1) The unit of currency in this report is Indian rupee – Rs (also conventionally represented by INR). The Indian numbering system or the Vedic numbering system has been used to denote money values. The basic conversion to the international norm would be:

    (a) 100,00,000 = 100 lakh = 10,000,000 = 10 million = 1 crore.
    (b) 10,000 lakh = 100 crore = 1 arab = 1 billion.

    (2) The numbers in this report are standalone unless stated otherwise

    (3)  1 USD= INR 67

     

  • AIR revenue has shown gradual growth; DD has not: Govt

    AIR revenue has shown gradual growth; DD has not: Govt

    NEW DELHI: In a digital age when most entertainment is downloadable and proliferation of television has made information easily accessible to general public, it’s heartening to note that pubcaster radio is holding its own against public-funded television.

    Minister for Information and Broadcasting (MIB) M Venkaiah Naidu informed Lok Sabha (Lower House of Parliament) that All India Radio, managed by pubcaster Prasar Bharati, has shown a gradual increase in revenues.

    The MIB minister added that on the other hand Doordarshan’s revenue generation has been below par.

    According to Naidu, operational cost of Doordarshan and All India Radio, however, is going north as a result of increased manpower hiring and resultant hike in remunerations and benefits given to government officials.

    Though Prasar Bharati is an autonomous body, the government has been providing non-plan support for meeting 100 per cent expenses towards salary and salary-related expenses and under planned expenditure for technical capital requirements.

    Prasar Bharati has received a total of Rs 9486.52 crore between 2013-2014 and June 2016 as plan or non-plan grant from MIB.

    During these years, the amount peaked in 2015-16 when the total grant was Rs 2795.89 crore.

    Year-wise Details of total expenditure and Revenue of DD and AIR during last five years are given as under:

    (Rs. in crore)

    All India Radio

    Year        Total expenditure          Revenue earned (Exclusive of Service Tax)

    2011-12   1213.58                                       325.01

    2012-13   1322.06                                     319.50

    2013-14   1460.33                                     367.50

    2014-15   1615.70                                     435.10

    2015-16   1710.08                                     447.76

    (Rs. in crore)

    Doordarshan

    Year       Total expenditure          Revenue earned (Exclusive of Service Tax)

    2011-12    1381.38                                              735.32

    2012-13    1501.64                                            1025.78

    2013-14     1602.94                                           1043.13

    2014-15     1815.22                                             911.01

    2015-16     1863.60                                            755.79

    Meanwhile, Naidu added that AIR has no mechanism to undertake audience measurement at regular intervals through field surveys.

    In the year 2014, DD National’s all-India audience ratings were 0.17%. In the year 2015, the ratings percentage dropped to 0.10% owing to the fact that the ratings agency did not cover 100 per cent of DD National on an all- India basis, MIB minister explained to Parliament.

    Government also admitted that increasing reach of other TV channels, mainly privately-owned, into rural areas has eaten into the share of DD viewership.

    In the current year, till the 27th week of 2016, ratings percentage of DD National was 0.11% as per data generated by Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC), which is an industry initiative.

    EXPENDITURE ON TRANSMITTERS: Over Rs 1,033 crore has been spent by DD on maintenance of low-power and very low powered transmitters.

    The total expenditure incurred by Doordarshan during the last three years was 2013-14 Rs. 318.16 crore; 2014-15 Rs. 349.66 crore and

    2015-16 Rs. 365.65 crore.

    Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting Rajyavardhan Rathore told the Lok Sabha that Prasar Bharati has 368 very low power TV transmitters (VLPTs) in the country.

    The junior MIB minister said that while no in-house survey has been conducted to assess LPT (low power transmitters) viewership by DD, BARC too doesn’t provide such data.

    Prasar Bharati has decided to close four LPTs as they lie in the coverage zone of nearby high power transmitters (HPTs) in Madhepura (Bihar); Simri Bakhtiarpur (Bihar); Khagaria (Bihar); and Kalna (West Bengal).

    Rathore also added that upgradation/modernization of Doordarshan Kendras is a continuous process.