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Tag: MSO

  • IBF joins MSOs to oppose DAS extension in Bengaluru and Mysore

    IBF joins MSOs to oppose DAS extension in Bengaluru and Mysore

    NEW DELHI: The   Foundation (IBF) has got itself involved in the on-going legal battle between MSOs and LCOs over extension of digitisation deadline in Bengaluru and Mysore.

    The apex body of television broadcasters has impleaded itself in the case contending that there are no grounds for extending the government mandated cable TV digitisation in these two cities.

    IBF president Man Jit Singh confirmed that the IBF has impleaded itself in the case without getting into the specifics of the case.

    MSOs including Hathway Cable & Datacom, InCable, Den Networks, Siti Cable and Atria Convergence Technologies, who have been made party to the case, are opposed to extension of deadline in both the cities.

    The Karnataka High Court (HC) has posted the matter again for hearing on Tuesday which means that the interim order granted earlier restraining MSOs from disconnecting analog signals continues for another day in both the cities.

    The Karnataka Cable TV Operators Association (KCTVOA) and Mysore Cable TV Operators Association (MCTVOA) had filed separate petitions seeking extension of digitisation in Bengaluru and Mysore respectively due to unavailability of set-top boxes (STBs).

    However, the Karnataka HC is hearing both the petitions together.

    The sunset date for phase II of digitisation covering 38 cities including Bengaluru and Mysore was 31 March However the Information & Broadcasting ministry on 2 April allowed a 15 day grace period to the industry to allow smooth transition from analogue to digital cable.

  • Tata Elxsi introduces consulting services for M&E industry

    Tata Elxsi introduces consulting services for M&E industry

    MUMBAI: Global technology and engineering services provider Tata Elxsi has announced the launch of Strategy & Technology Consulting services (S&TC) for the Media & Entertainment industry.

    The bouquet of consulting services is directed towards Multi System Operators (MSOs), Broadcasters and Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) facing challenges related to growth, expansion and technology in both mature and emerging markets, including US, Europe, Latin America and India.

    Tata Elxsi offers its experience in devising and improving customer-centric strategies to increase reach, engagement and monetisation, technology-led strategies to help clients identify, evaluate and deploy cutting-edge B2C technologies and operational aspects to help improve service delivery and quality.

    Tata Elxsi‘s VP and Head-Broadcast Business Unit M Thangarajan said, “Our customers face different and constantly evolving priorities and challenges across geographies. For example, government driven digital switchover policies in countries such as Brazil, India and Mexico present great opportunities as well as challenges for operators, including the choice of adopting technology in a phased manner versus leapfrogging, and related aspects of deployment and operations. The expertise and insight we have developed in mature markets will help us provide the right solutions and strategies for such customers.”

    Tata Elxsi has over 15 years of specialised and global experience in working with leading MSOs, Broadcasters, OEMs, platform and software vendors, supporting their technology, product and services roadmaps.

  • MIB wants MSOs-b’casters to sign DAS agreements within 15 days

    MIB wants MSOs-b’casters to sign DAS agreements within 15 days

    NEW DELHI: A meeting of Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) officials with aggregators including multi system operators has been convened in the coming week to sort out problems being faced by MSOs and local cable operators relating to agreements and billing of digital access system (DAS) .

    This decision was taken in a meeting of the Task Force of Phase II of DAS.convened by the information & broadcasting ministry, which said that the agreements must be signed within the next 15 days.

    Failure to sign agreements by broadcasters and MSOs has in turn led to problems of LCOs billing consumers.

    Several channel aggregators who are not licensed are also said to be creating problems with regard to signing agreements. On the other hand aggregators have complained to the Trai that MSOs are using strong arm tactics. (DAS Phase II: Indiacast-Hathway- GTPL slugfest on DAS deals)

    Signing of agreements between the broadcasters and MSOs is a pre-requisite under the TRAI’s achieving various benchmarks for a smooth switch over to DAS under the Interconnection (Digital Addressable Cable TV Systems) Regulations 2012.

    Some nodal officers also allege that there is no uniformity in the installation charges levied by MSOs or LCOs. However, ministry officials said this problem had to be addressed at the state government level.

  • DAS Phase II: Indiacast-Hathway- GTPL slugfest on DAS deals

    DAS Phase II: Indiacast-Hathway- GTPL slugfest on DAS deals

    MUMBAI: A war of sorts has broken out between India‘s second largest content aggregator IndiaCast Media Distribution and Hathway Cable and Datacom, the country‘s biggest Multi System Operator (MSO) and its affiliate GTPL, Gujarat‘s largest MSO with footprints in other states too.

    This is happening at a time when the entire broadcast and cable TV industry and government have been grappling with how to deal with the Phase II digitisation (DAS) of India‘s cable TV. And it clearly reveals how much more needs to be done to make the government‘s agenda to professionalise and spruce up India‘s cable TV sector a reality. (MIB wants MSOs-b‘casters to sign DAS agreements within 15 days )

    Now on to the problem between IndiaCasat and GTPL and Hathway. Both Hathway and GTPL have switched off IndiaCast channels in multiple markets across India including Gujarat, Maharashtra, West Bengal, and Madhya Pradesh as the latter is demanding a reduction in carriage fee and growth in subscription fee.

    IndiaCast distributes 35 channels from the TV18, Viacom18, Disney UTV and A+E Networks spanning across Hindi general entertainment, news, kids, youth and regional genre.

    Hathway, on the other hand, has cable operations that straddle across key Indian geographies and offers cable television services across 140 cities and towns.

    However, Hathway and GTPL feel IndiaCast‘s demand is unjustified. Their contention is that the time is not ripe for a carriage fee reduction or an increase in subscription fee payouts as they have hardly started collecting money from the ground.

    IndiaCast though feels that its demand is justified as the analog cable TV networks around the country are being digitised in a phased manner which will lead to broadcasters getting their fair share of subscription revenue due to transparency in subscriber base of LCOs.

    The content aggregator alleges that both Hathway and GTPL want to maintain status quo by doing deals similar to that in the analogue era. According to IndiaCast, the two MSOs also want to revisit phase I deals which were done on cost-per-subscriber basis.

    Hathway Cable and Datacom MD and CEO Jagdish Kumar feels the broadcasters‘s maw is increasing and they are unwilling to support the MSOs in this transition phase.

    “Broadcasters have become too greedy. They are behaving like ostriches. They want a reduction in carriage fee and a growth in subscription revenue. Reduction of carriage fee is not going to happen overnight. As far as growth in subscription revenue goes, the MSOs themselves have not started collecting money from the ground,” thunders Kumar.

    Kumar‘s suggestion to broadcasters is to do “equitable” deals till the situation on the ground stabilises particularly since the MSOs have made large investments in making digitisation a reality.

    “We also have to look at returns on the investments that we have made so far,” adds Kumar.

    The dispute that began end of December has reached the sector regulator‘s door. The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) has asked GTPL to respond by 10 April to a complaint filed by IndiaCast alleging abuse of its dominant position in Gujarat.

    Says IndiaCast COO Gaurav Gandhi, “GTPL‘s intention is to use these coercive methods on broadcasters and aggregators to pressurise them to keep DAS deals in line with what was there in the analogue regime – at any cost they don‘t want a reduction in their carriage income. Almost all our deals in DAS Phase I were done on a cost-per-subscriber model. We have written to Trai on the violations done by GTPL & Hathway and the regulator has now asked GTPL to respond by 10 April.”

    In its complaint, IndiaCast has alleged that Hathway and its affiliate GTPL illegally collided to coerce IndiaCast into acceding to their demands including increasing the placement fees, reducing subscription fees and also to re-open DAS Phase I deals already executed.

    Giving his perspective on the dispute, GTPL president Sumit Bose says that the MSO has followed Trai regulations in letter and spirit while dealing with IndiaCast. GTPL, he says, had an agreement with IndiaCast till 31 March 2013.

    He claims that IndiaCast itself did not respond to GTPL‘s offer of working on a new deal for phase II for almost two and a half months. IndiaCast officials did get in touch with GTPL by that time the company‘s management had decided against entering into a new deal with IndiaCast.

    “IndiaCast was never inclined to sit across the table to discuss the deal with us despite our keenness. We waited for more than two and a half months but there was no response from them (IndiaCast). Since we did not get any response, the GTPL management decided to switch off the channels as we had to look at our own business objectives as well,” affirms Bose.

    The MSO then switched off IndiaCast channels in Gujarat citing financial unviability.

    However, IndiaCast‘s Gaurav Gandhi is amused with the idea. On the contrary, he feels that the deal is unviable for IndiaCast as its analogue deal had it paying out more in carriage fees than the subscription fees that accrued to it courtesy GTPL.

    “Both GTPL and Hathway have cited financial unviability and financial constraints as reasons for discontinuation of deals for IndiaCast channels. This is the basis of the notice they sent for their existing deals – and these existing deals are where we were paying them more carriage, then they are paying us for subscription. So how can a deal be financially unviable for the MSO if they are receiving more than they are paying? This clearly demonstrates the strong-arm tactics and the intentions of GTPL and Hathway,” avers Gandhi.

    Bose strongly denies charges of strong arm tactics by IndiaCast. To buttress his point, he says that Gujarat is as competitive a market as any other market in India is, with the presence of several leading MSOs and DTH operators.

    According to Bose, it is quite optimistic on the part of anyone to think that carriage fees will come down so soon despite digitisation. He also asserts that GTPL has managed to retain its carriage fee level in the deals they have done so far to what they were earlier.

    “I don‘t see the carriage fee coming down in the near term. Particularly the market that we are operating in, we expect to cross our own expectations on the carriage front. The deals we have done so far are in line with our expectations,” declares Bose.

    The last word on the dispute has not yet been said.

  • Stay continues in Bengaluru and Mysore as HC pushes hearing to 8 April

    Stay continues in Bengaluru and Mysore as HC pushes hearing to 8 April

    NEW DELHI/BENGALURU: Status quo remains in Bengaluru and Mysore as the hearing on extension of government mandated Digital Addressable System (DAS) has been pushed to 8 April by the Karnataka High Court.

    The HC was expected to hear petitions filed by Karnataka Cable TV Operators Association (KCTVOA) and Mysore Cable TV Operators Association (MCTVOA) seeking extension of digitisation in Bengaluru and Mysore respectively.

    However, the HC could not take up the case for hearing as an election related petition came up for hearing.
     
    KCTVOA counsel S Subramanya confirmed that both the cases will come up for hearing on 8 April.

    Both KCTVOA and MCTVOA had filed a petition in the HC for extending digitisation due to non-availibility of set-top boxes (STBs). One newly licensed MSO had stated in the last hearing on 1 April that he did not have enough time to acquire STBs and install them in subscriber homes.

    However, the MSOs who have been made party to the case are opposed to any extension of deadline. The MSOs comprising Hathway Cable & Datacom, InCable, Den Networks, Siti Cable and Atria Convergence Technologies will request the HC to dismiss the writ petition filed by KCTVOA when the case comes up for hearing.

    The sunset date for phase II of digitisation covering 38 cities including Bengaluru and Mysore was 31 March however the Information & Broadcasting ministry on 2 April allowed a 15 day grace period to the industry to allow smooth transition from analogue to digital cable.

  • Govt gives 15 days grace for phase II cable TV digitisation

    Govt gives 15 days grace for phase II cable TV digitisation

    NEW DELHI: Ever since the ministry of information and broadcasting ministry announced that it was enforcing 31 March 2013 for Phase II cable TV digitization and switch-ff of analogue signals in 38 cities in 14 states, there have been yelps from state government chief ministers and cable TV operators, and MSOs all over.

    Media reports were that a large number of viewers in these cities are grappling with blank TV screens as cable TV operators have not been able to speedily provide the set top boxes (STBs) needed to digitize. Some state governments went so far as to ask for a six-month extension to the digitization deadline. A couple of high courts – in Karnataka and Gujarat – had already agreed to a week long postponement in late March and on 1 April

    Late last night, according to a PTI report, the government heard the protesters’ pleas and said it would go slow on enforcing the black out of analogue signals. While categorically stating that the deadline was not being extended, information & broadcasting secretary Uday Kumar Varma, said that the industry was being given “a transition time of 10 to 15 days depending on the ground level situation so that there is no inconvenience to the people.”

    Reports are that almost 25 per cent of the 16 million households in these cities missed the deadline to switchover to digitized cable TV. The ministry has hence told MSOs and cable TV operators “to switch off the signals in a phased manner and depending on the situation in various cities.”

    Says the head of a leading MSO: “It’s good to hear that the government has given us this grace period. During the day there were ghastly reports that nodal officers and SDMs in various cities were threatening cable TV operators and MSOs with arrests if they did not switch off analogue TV signals. This should come as a relief to all of them. As it is we have not been able to sign digital agreements with a majority of broadcasters for these cities. Hopefully we will be able to do something soon.”

    Sources indicate that the ground situation in various cities is varied and that the I&B ministry officials would coordinate with the local nodal officers in order to decide the timing and extent of analogue TV switch offs in order to avoid blank TV screens.

    Data available with the I&B ministry has revealed that towns which are facing a problem include: Vishakapatnam with 12.8 per cent digitization (out of 500,000 TV homes); Srinagar with 20 per cent, Coimbatore with 28.89 per cent, Jababalpur with 34.87 per cent and Kalyan Dombivili (38.59 per cent). Seven of the 38 cities had achieved 100 per cent plus digitization: Ludhiana, Hyderabad, Faridabad, Allahabad, Amritsar, Chandigarh and Jodhpur — reported 100 per cent digitisation while three others — Thane, Meerut and Jaipur — had 90 per cent plus.

    Varma’s announcement came a little after indiantelevision.com reported that cable TV operators had got a reprieve in the Andhra Pradesh high court too. Justice M V Ramanna had directed DAS to be stayed for two weeks and the case is expected to be heard on 15 April. The order came on a petition by the Greater Hyderabad Cable TV Operators Association which took the position that there was no clarity regarding the availability of STBs.

  • DAS Phase II: Karnataka HC extends hearing to 5 April, stay to continue in Bengaluru

    DAS Phase II: Karnataka HC extends hearing to 5 April, stay to continue in Bengaluru

    BENGALURU: Bengaluru will have to wait for DAS (Digital Addressable System) for another four days in the least, with the Karnataka High Court extending the interim stay till 5 April.

    Hearing a petition by Karnataka Cable TV Operators Association President V S Patrick Raju seeking postponement of the analogue switch off date for the garden city beyond 31 March as there was no clarity about set top boxes was put off by Justice Nazeer as another petition by a multi-system operator was filed today.

    The newly licensed MSO stated that he had not been given enough time to acquire STBs and install them in subscriber homes.

    Additionally, a DTH operator representative present at the hearing also stated that his company would not be able to meet the demand for STBs.

    Meanwhile, the Court also decided to hear on 5 April a case by Mysore Cable TV Operators Association which has wanted extension on digitisation deadline due to shortage of STBs.

  • HC stays DAS rollout in Ahmedabad; other Phase II cities to follow?

    HC stays DAS rollout in Ahmedabad; other Phase II cities to follow?

    NEW DELHI: Ahmedabad can wait for DAS. That was the decision of the Gujarat High Court which stayed the switching off of analogue signals to beyond 31 March because of the non-availability of digital settop boxes.

    The High Court said Ahmedabadis will have till 9 April for the introduction of digital STBs following a petition filed by Cable Operators Association of Gujarat through its President Pramod Pandya. He said that STBs ordered from China had failed to arrive because of internal problems in that country and therefore the LCOs could not be penalised for this.

    An Information and Broadcasting ministry official confirmed the development in Ahmedabad.

    Sources, however, reveal that a stay on the rollout of DAS had also been granted by the Karnataka High Court till 1 April in Bangalore and Mysore following petitions filed by Karnataka Cable TV Operators Association President V S Patrick Raju and Mysore Cable TV Operators Association.
    However, no confirmation of this development was available to Indiantelevision.com till the time of filing this report.

    Meanwhile, Raju had earlier also raised the issue of who owns the STB that is installed at the home of a subscriber – the customer or the LCO. He had said that there was no clarity over who owns the box.

    “We have also not given any commitment to exchange the box if the customer so wants. In most cases, we are also unable to give the bill for the box as the Multi System Operators (MSOs), which are distributing them, are not giving us any bill. All that is given is the activation bill,” Raju told Indiantelevision.com over the phone from Bangalore.

    However, he said bills are being given to customers who are serviced directly by the MSOs.

  • Four cities go fully digital ahead of sunset date: MIB

    Four cities go fully digital ahead of sunset date: MIB

    MUMBAI: The Ministry of Information & Broadcasting (MIB) has said that 67 per cent digitisation target has been achieved in 38 cities with four cities – Hyderabad, Amritsar, Chandigarh and Allahabad – achieving nearly 100 per cent digitisation.

    Eight other cities – Jodhpur, Thane, Aurangabad, Jaipur, Pune, Faridabad, Nashik, and Ghaziabad – have achieved 75 per cent digitisation.

    Another 28 cities have achieved digitisation of more than 50 per cent individually, the MIB said. These cities are Ludhiana, Hyderabad, Amritsar, Chandigarh, Allahabad, Jodhpur, Thane, Aurangabad, Jaipur, Pune, Faridabad, Nashik, Ghaziabad, Meerut, Vadodara, Sholapur, Kanpur, Varanasi, Bangalore, Indore, Ranchi, Lucknow, Navi Mumbai, Nagpur, Ahmedabad, Surat, Bhopal and Howrah.

    As on 23 March, a total of 10.8 million set-top boxes (STBs) have already been installed in Phase-II cities against the target of 16 million, as per the data received from the DTH operators and the MSOs.

    The sunset date for the phase II of digitisation is 31 March after which analogue signals will be switched off in these 38 cities. During phase I, the three metro cities of Mumbai, Delhi and Kolkata have gone digital. In Chennai, digitisation could not be completed as the Madras High Court issued a stay order on a petition filed by local cable operators.

    The MIB said it has been consistently monitoring the progress made towards digitisation during Phase II of the process with I&B Minister Manish Tewari reviewing the progress on a daily basis.

    The Task Force set up by the MIB has also been meeting every week to take stock of the progress of digitisation in Phase-II. The Ministry has already conducted second round of meeting with nodal officers of 38 cities on 8 March to ascertain preparedness in these cities.

    As part of the public awareness campaign to sensitise the consumers on the benefits of digitisation, the Ministry has also stepped up the Public Awareness campaign through print and electronic media. All India Radio as well as private FM broadcasters have been broadcasting radio jingles on its National and regional networks for creating public awareness.

    The Ministry has already brought out a print advertisement in all 38 cities in the respective regional languages. SMS campaign is presently underway in these cities.

    As part of the awareness initiative, television channels have been frequently running video spots, black out advertisements, and scrolls to make the people aware regarding the benefits of the process and the deadline of the switch over from analogue to digital in the 38 cities set to be digitised under Phase II.

    The Control Room of the Ministry, which also has a toll free number, has been receiving a number of calls from consumers of Phase-II cities.

    In order to facilitate a seamless transition on the due date of 31 March 2013, the Ministry has asked major MSOs to depute their representatives in the Control Room to address and clarify various queries relating to acquisition of STBs, various schemes of purchase of STBs and package rates offered by MSOs.

  • SUS multi-channel video subscriber universe sees small growth in 2012: SNL Kagan

    SUS multi-channel video subscriber universe sees small growth in 2012: SNL Kagan

    MUMBAI: US multichannel subscribers grew slightly in both Q4 2012 and for the full year, reversing the negative quarterly trends of the earlier two quarters. The small gain that brought total multichannel subs to 100.4 million illustrates the continued popularity of multichannel video alongside evidence that alternative access is siphoning the segment‘s growth potential, according to SNL Kagan.

    Multichannel service providers in the US collectively added 51,000 new customers in fourth quarter 2012, according to company reports, private MSO surveys and SNL Kagan estimates for total subscribers served by cable, satellite and telco video packages. The gains for the full year hinged on fourth-quarter performance following declines in the seasonally weak second and third quarters that essentially erased the 2012 first-quarter bump.

    The three platforms collectively added 46,000 video customers year over year in 2012, finishing the year with more than 100.4 million. While the industry has never posted a full-year decline in video subscribers, growth has proven difficult above the 100 million-household mark. For the year, SNL Kagan estimates that U.S. cable subs declined to 56.4 million, DBS subs grew to 34.1 million and telco video subs grew to 9.9 million.

    External factors continue to hold a place in the discussion, including persistent high unemployment and other macroeconomic weights along with widespread disruption to East Coast systems from Hurricane Sandy.

    However, the modest fourth-quarter and full-year 2012 subscriber growth suggests the segment is not rebounding with the broader economy, and customer formation is lagging the rebounding housing market. According to the fourth-quarter 2012 figures from the US Census Bureau housing survey, occupied housing continued to ramp up, adding nearly half a million new units when including occupied, seasonal and occasional-use households.

    The year-over-year comparison, which benefits from a standard backward revision in the survey, offers a broader perspective that supports the same trend line. The metric points to an annual net gain of 974,000 occupied, seasonal and occasional-use households, more than 21x the increase in multichannel subscribers over the same period. The result is a persistent dip in the multichannel penetration of occupied households in the US.

    According to SNL Kagan‘s overlay, the three primary platforms accounted for 84.7 per cent of the occupied homes in the US, down both sequentially and annually and off of the high point of 87.3 per cent registered in first quarter 2010.

    The cable industry posted a net loss in fourth quarter 2012 that was a significant improvement over the previous two quarters, but outpaced the segment‘s performance in the year-ago quarter. SNL Kagan estimates the industry dropped 418,000 video subs, a 0.7 per cent sequential decline. The segment lost 1.66 million video customers in 2012, an improvement over the 1.8 million dip in 2011.

    The telcos are experiencing slowing growth as their penetrations rise. The industry was still the driving force in subscriber growth, with more than 1.4 million new video customers in 2012. However, the momentum is slowing, down from nearly 1.6 million in 2011.

    DBS providers built on their slice of the video segment, but with net adds of 288,000 in 2012 — down from the nearly half a million new subs added in 2011 — growth is becoming more difficult to come by.