ITV

Tag: Multi-System Operators

  • Home Ministry to examine applications of MSOs for security clearance

    Home Ministry to examine applications of MSOs for security clearance

    NEW DELHI: Even as several multi-system operators (MSOs) have been waiting endlessly for security clearances to ensure they get licences for digital addressable system from the Government, the Home Ministry has now indicated requirement of fresh security clearance before renewal of permission can be considered.

     

    According to the Information and Broadcasting Ministry, which has been pursuing the matter with the Home Ministry, the latter has finally decided to examine the application of which the details sent by the MSOs have been forwarded to it. 

     

    If found suitable, permission will be granted for renewal for an interim period up to 31 December, 2015 or till the final decision on your application for renewal of permission is taken, whichever is earlier.

     

    However, MSOs have been asked to furnish an affidavit to the effect that the company will abide by all the provisions of the latest Uplinking/ Downlinking Guidelines and other relevant instructions and modifications issued from time to time. 

     

    All applicant MSOs have been asked to send the information to the I&B Ministry along with supporting documents at the earliest within 15 days to enable us to proceed further in the matter.

     

    They may also enclose the details of Board of Directors (BOD) and latest Share Holding Pattern (SHP) including FDI component, if any, duly accompanied by requisite approval of the Foreign Investments Promotion Board (FIPB). 

     

    The companies may also ensure submission of the annual renewal fee for both Uplinking and Downlinking at rates as applicable as per Guidelines and for the period that may be due.

     

    I&B Secretary Bimal Julka had earlier told Indiantelevision.com that he had sent a fresh reminder to the Home Ministry and also sought a meeting with concerned officials in this regard in view of the large number of applications pending. 

     

    Major players whose applications are pending for lack of Home Ministry Security clearance include Reliance Jio Media Pvt  Ltd, CAT Vision Pvt Ltd, Signum Digital Network Pvt Ltd, Digirevo Networks, Goldy Dishnet Pvt. Ltd., Citv Television Network, Sri Udav Satvision and General Entertainment Pvt Ltd.

     

  • 150 MSOs get 10 year licence under DAS; 27 denied permission

    150 MSOs get 10 year licence under DAS; 27 denied permission

    NEW DELHI: Another 11 multi-system operators (MSOs) all over the country have been granted permanent registration for 10 years to operate the digital addressable system (DAS) during the last two months, thus bringing the total to 153 as compared to 142 by December-end.

     

    Most of these MSOs had been given provisional permission earlier.    

       

    The MSOs who have received permission as on 5 March after the last list released of 7 January are:

     

    – Cossco Communications Limited of Shyamnagar for West Bengal, Bihar, Jharkhand, Orissa, Sikkim, Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram and Tripura under Phase – I, II, III & IV;

     

    – Netset Media Services of Jamnagar for the state of Gujarat; Satlinks of Pallakad for the state of Kerala; 

     

    – Vishwam Cable Network of Porbandar and Suraj Cable Network of Rajkot for Phase II, III and IV in Gujarat; 

     

    – Kaizen Digital Services for Karnataka in Phase – II, III and IV except Mysore city; 

     

    – Utkal Cable Vision of Orissa for the third and fourth phases pan India; 

     

    – SS Cable Network of Balaghat for Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra,Odhisha & Jharkhand under Phase – I,II,III & IV; 

     

    – Chelikam Networks of Tirupati for Phase III & Phase IV of Chittur, Kadapa, Ananthpur and Nellore Districts of Andhra Pradesh; 

     

    – DDC CATV Network of Delhi for pan India in all phases; and

     

    – Mohit Sai Cable Network of Vizayanagram for Vishakapatanam, Vizayanagaram and Srikakulam District in III and IV phase in the state of Andhra Pradesh.  

     

    The list of MSOs, who have been refused permission as on 28 February, has gone up to 27 from 26 with one more MSO being denied permission. Some of those in the cancelled list applied as early as March 2013.

     

    MSO sources, however, said that the approved list was in addition to the 140 whose names had been approved earlier in March last year.

     

    The Ministry website mib.nic.in has listed the areas and the date from which the MSOs have been given permission.

     

  • Delhi based cable operators form new body to represent case of smaller LCOs

    Delhi based cable operators form new body to represent case of smaller LCOs

    NEW DELHI: Soon after the south based independent multi system operators (MSOs) decided to come together as one to ensure that they were well represented and could reap the benefits of digitisation, the Delhi based cable operators have decided to follow their path.

    A total of 16 registered associations of Delhi cable operators have jointly formed the Cable Operators Welfare Federation. While A S Kohli from west Delhi has been elected chairman, Bhai Surjeet Singh will be the president of the newly formed association.

     

    Singh told indiantelevision.com that the body had been formed to give a better representation to smaller LCOs so that the government does not ignore their pleas for justice while implementation of digital addressable system.

     

    It is also learnt that a memorandum will be sent shortly to Information and Broadcasting Minister Arun Jaitley seeking a common tariff for the rates charged by the multi-system operators in Delhi. Furthermore, the memorandum is expected to point out that while the MSOs receive carriage fee, the LCOs should get a share of this, and the LCOs should also be paid a share by broadcasters of pay channels who are earning huge revenue through advertisements.

     

    The vice-presidents of the association are Raj Kumar Thappa, Dharmesh, Ashok Pandit, Kuldeep Rawal and Satish Bhatia. Vineet Kumar is the general secretary while the joint secretaries are Sudhir Kumar, Narinder Bhagdi, Prem, and Rajesh Pandit. Ramesh Duggal has been appointed as the treasurer.

     

     The legal advisors are A K Uppadhay, Romesh Zadoo and Jayant Chadda and the media advisors are Parveen Arora, Ram Kishen Tomar and Sanjeev Bhatti.

     

  • 131 MSOs get ten year licences under DAS for specified areas

    131 MSOs get ten year licences under DAS for specified areas

    NEW DELHI: A total of 131 multi-system operators (MSO) all over the country have been granted permanent registration for ten years to operate the digital addressable system (DAS).

     

    The MSOs had been given provisional permission earlier. The latest list is as on 7 November.

     

    The MSOs who have received permission after the last list released as on 21 August include Skynet Digital Services for the state of Uttar Pradesh except the cities of Agra, Ghaziabad, Kanpur, Lucknow, Meerut and Varanasi; Crystal Transmission for Chennai Metropolitan area, Sanghvi Digital Network for Bokaro district in Jharkhand; Vortex Digital Network for Delhi; Yerraguntla Cable Network for Kadapa District Andhra Pradesh under Phase III and IV; and Royal Services Diginet Vision for Hamirpur District, Mandi District and Kangra District of Himachal Pradesh.

     

    Others include Silverline Entertainment the state of Uttar Pradesh except Agra, Ghaziabad, Kanpur, Lucknow, Meerut and Varanasi; Hathway New Concept Cable and Datacom for Delhi; ACN Digital for the state of Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Maharashtra under under Phase III and IV; Koduri Satyanarayana, Sri Sai Star for Khammam District of Telengana; Abhilash Communications for  Notified Areas of Phase  II and Phase  III cities pan India; JPR Channel Mumbai (Phase I) and Phase II areas in Maharashtra and Gujarat; Operator Digital Tamil Nadu for all the cities, towns and villages of Phase II,III and  IV in Tamil Nadu; V K Digital Network for Cities/Towns/Areas occurring against Phase I, Phase II, Phase III, Phase IV; Saga Entertainment Network In Tamil Nadu; Talacher TV Home Cable Network for  Angul District and Dhenkanal District, Odissa; Voice and Vision Club for Phase III and  IV of Madhya Pradesh and Sonebhadra Districts of Uttar Pradesh; Den Satellite Network in Maharashtra; and Venkata Sai Media for district of Srikakulam, Vijayanagaram, Visakhapatanam, East Godavari, West Godavari, Krishna, Guntur, Prakasam and Nellore in the state of Andhra Pradesh and in the district of Greater Hyderabad, Rangareddy, Medak, Nizamabad, Mehaboob Nagar, Warangal, Sangareddy and Khammam in the state of Telangana.

     

    The list of MSOs who have been refused permission has gone up from 16 to 22.

     

    MSO sources, however, said that the approved list was in addition to the 140 whose names had been approved earlier in March last year.

     

    The Ministry website mib.nic.in has listed the areas and the date from which the MSOs have been given permission.

  • FY-2014: Sea TV reports loss of Rs 6.82 crore

    FY-2014: Sea TV reports loss of Rs 6.82 crore

    BENGALURU: Sea TV Network Ltd, (Sea TV) an MSO and a media and entertainment house of Uttar Pradesh & Uttrakhand reported loss of Rs 6.82 crore in FY-2014 as compared to a profit of Rs 1.29 crore in FY-2013. Though the company incurred a 35.3 per cent drop in EBIDTA as compared to last year, it was still EBIDTA positive at Rs 2.79 (14.3 per cent of Total Income or Tot Inc) crore in FY-2014 as compared to the Rs 4.32 crore (20.3 per cent of Tot Inc) in FY-2013

     

    Note:  (1)100,00,000=100 lakh = 1 crore = 10 million. 

     

    (2) Annual figures are on a consolidated basis, quarterly figures are standalone.

     

    The company reported 11.4 per cent lower Tot Inc in FY-2014 at Rs 18.82 crore as compared to the Rs 21.24 crore in FY-2013. Tot Inc in Q4-2014 at Rs 4.71 crore was 12.8 per cent more than the Rs 4.17 crore in the immediate trailing quarter and 15.5 per cent more than the Rs 4.05 crore in the year ago quarter Q4-2013.

     

    Sea TV incurred Total Expense (Tot Exp) of Rs 20.73 crore (110.2 per cent of Tot Inc) in FY-2014 which was 11.8 per cent more than the Rs 18.55 crore (87.3 per cent of Tot Inc) in FY-2013. During Q4-2014, the company’s Tot Exp at Rs 4.7 crore (99.8 per cent of Tot Inc) was 3.9 per cent more than the Rs 4.52 crore (108.3 per cent of Tot Inc) of Q3-2014 and 38.3 per cent more than the Rs 3.40 crore (83.4 per cent of Tot Inc) in Q4-2013.

     

    A major portion of Sea TV’s expenditure is Pay Channel Charges (PCC). In FY-2014, PCC at Rs 5.56 crore (29.6 per cent of Tot Inc) was 28.6 per cent more than the Rs 43.3 crore (20.4 per cent of Tot Inc) in FY-2013. PCC in Q4-2014 at Rs 1.41 crore (30 per cent of Tot Inc) was 14.6 per cent lower than the Rs 1.65 crore (39.6 per cent of Tot Inc) in Q3-2014 and 1.5 per cent higher than the Rs 1.39 crore (34.1 per cent of Tot Inc) in Q4-2013.

     

    EBIDTA for Q4-2014 at Rs 1.2 crore (25.5 per cent of Tot Inc) was 40.5 per cent more than the Rs 0.86 crore (20.5 per cent of Tot Inc) in Q3-2014 and 7.4 per cent more than the Rs 1.12 crore (27.5 per cent of Tot inc) in Q4-2013.

     

    The company’s interest cost increased by more than fivefold (5.78 times) to Rs 3.98 crore (21.1 per cent of Tot Inc) in FY-2014 from Rs 0.89 crore (3.2 per cent of Tot Inc) in FY-2013. Interest cost in Q4-2014 at Rs 1.44 crore (30.5 per cent of Tot Inc) was 13 per cent more than the Rs1.27  crore (30.4 per cent of Tot Inc) in Q3-2014 and almost seven times (6.8 times) the Rs 0.21 crore (5.2 per cent of Tot Inc) in Q4-2013.

     

    The company’s result for the three quarters: Q4-2014 – loss of Rs 1.7 crore: Q3-2014 – loss of Rs 1.78 crore: Q4-2014 – Profit of Rs 0.32 crore.

     

    Sea TV claims to own a number of media establishments. Through its subsidiary Sea News Network, it runs a 24×7 news satellite channel SEA NEWS UP/UK, primarily having an eye over the happenings of Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand. Through its another subsidiary Sea Print Media & Publications, it operates its first venture in print media, Hindi Daily ‘The Sea Express’. In addition to it, through its third subsidiary Jain Telemedia Services, the company operates another satellite channel focusing on Jainism – ‘Jinvani’. Besides, it says that it has been serving news and entertainment content to as many as 3.75 lakh households of Agra for past nine years through its MSO (Multi-System Operators) service.

     

    Click here for the full report

  • Jainhits strengthens its presence in Andhra Pradesh

    Jainhits strengthens its presence in Andhra Pradesh

    MUMBAI: The Headend In The Sky (HITS) platform Jainhits has announced the company’s strategy to spruce up its presence in Andhra Pradesh. The HITS operator has signed up with four big distribution partners in the state. The announcement was made on the sidelines of the three day industry event – Third Cable Net Expo Vision 2014.

     

    Jainhits national sales head Jeet Narayan Singh said, “Andhra Pradesh is a big market, with a presence of 12000 big and small cable operators. Our proposition of converting even the smallest LCO into an independent MSO is not only unique but virtually the only tangible solution which can fulfill the pan India digitisation goal of December 2014 set by government of India. In a short span of time, Jainhits has signed partnerships with over 200 cable operators spread across the country.”

     

    Further talking about the company’s profitable proposition, Jainhits head Rakesh Gupta added, “In our endeavor to enable 60,000 small and medium cable operators to become MSOs and go digital independently, we are offering an integrated end- to- end single window plug & play solution. Jainhits offerings are fully regulated and DAS compliant with a wider choice of channels that is cost effective and is the fastest way to offer digital cable services in any part of India. In addition, our broadband offering gives additional edge to Jainhits partners and helps them increase revenues by increasing ARPUs.”

     

    Currently, the HITS platform offers 250 plus channels including all major pay TV channels and will soon provide full HD and multi-screen offerings to consumers. Jainhits is all set to install over 2000 Mini Downlink Headends across 672 districts in India by end of 2014.

  • MCOF sets up CVNO SCOPE with signal from BR Cable

    MCOF sets up CVNO SCOPE with signal from BR Cable

    MUMBAI: Multisystem operators (MSOs) are in for some serious competition. This time from a MSO cooperative formed by the Maharashtra Cable Operators Federation (MCOF) along with BR Cable Network, christened SCOPE (Synergy Cable Operators Private Limited).  

     
    The first-of-its-kind cable virtual network operator (CVNO) will be formally inaugurated on 2 May, which coincides with the opening day of MCOF’s conference for LMOs called the National Conclave on Broadband and Cable (NCBC-2014).

     
    Already, SCOPE has starting seeding boxes in Mumbai. “While we have seeded boxes in Vile Parle and Thane, in the next 10 days, we will be seeding boxes in 50 other locations in Mumbai and Thane,” MCOF president Arvind Prabhoo tells indiantelevision.com.
     

    The newly-minted set-up will borrow its infrastructure from BR Cable Network while operations will be handled by MCOF. “This is a way to re-empower the last mile owners.  It is they who will manage the subscribers. They will have full ownership of the customers, unlike what is happening in the current scenario, where the MSO claims ownership of the customers.  Also, the LMOs will have limited access to the SMS, where they can feed all details about the customer and bill the subscriber,” explains Prabhoo.
     

    Unlike the rest of the cable TV industry, SCOPE will enter the market, with packages in place. “We will create packages according to the needs of subscribers. While other players have still not got packaging in place, we will give consumers the choice to watch what they want to,” informs Prabhoo. “We will not deal with broadcasters on our own. We will take the channels from BR Cable and then package them to give them to our subscribers.”

     
    SCOPE will pay BR Cable 15 paise per channel, per set top box, per month as signal processing charges. SCOPE will pay a minimum of Rs 15 per STB per month and a maximum of Rs 25 per STB per month for any number of channels it takes from BR Cable. Over and above this, SCOPE will pay the operator content cost charges as per the package. For subscribers, minimum package cost will be Rs 125 and this will include all the Marathi channels and have a top-up channel facility. The LMO will get 60 per cent of the package fee, the subscriber opts for. SCOPE has already bought 50,000 STBs and placed an order for an additional 2 lakh boxes. Currently, all members of MCOF are part of SCOPE. Ask Prabhoo how big is SCOPE and he laughs, “The number of LMOs who have come together is staggering, beyond someone’s belief.”

     
    Each LMO has made an initial investment of Rs 1 lakh in return for 100 STBs. “The best part of the cooperative is that irrespective of the number of subscribers one owns, every LMO has five shares in the company,” informs Prabhoo

     
    MCOF hopes that SCOPE will serve as a role model for DAS phase III and phase IV. MCOF also hopes that in the beginning, SCOPE customers will achieve savings of 25 per cent over the prevailing MSO packages and at least 15 per cent over comparable DTH offerings.

     
    About adding customers, Prabhoo says, “Well initially, we will convert 25 per cent of our existing customer base to SCOPE customers, replacing their existing boxes with the SCOPE box, at no additional cost. If any customer wants to upgrade, we will give them the SCOPE HD STB.” The SCOPE SD box will cost Rs 1,100 and the HD box Rs 1,500. 

     
    The new entrant will also provide high speed internet service to its customers.  “The service will be provided by Bolt. Subscribers can opt for any kind of speed they want and at 30 per cent less than what is provided by others,” says Prabhoo. Plans are afoot for bundling services like a cable and internet combo pack. The MSO will also launch an Android box. 

     
    SCOPE is eyeing not only Maharashtra, but the whole country. Even as its collaboration with BR Cable Network takes off, it has also got into an arrangement with CCN from Siliguri. “This model can be applied throughout the country.  People will realise this is the way forward,” says Prabhoo, who is hopeful that more MSOs will want to get associated with SCOPE once they understand the model.

     
    “We don’t want LMOs from phase III and IV, to suffer the way we did. And so this set up,” he signs off.

  • I&B proposes weekly MSO meetings to sort out problems of registration

    I&B proposes weekly MSO meetings to sort out problems of registration

    NEW DELHI: A meeting of representatives of all multi-system operators (MSOs) with senior officials of the Information and Broadcasting Ministry (I&B) will be held every Tuesday commencing 6 May.

     

    The Ministry has said these Open House Meetings (OHM) with Director (BP&L) in Room No.662 in the Ministry’s office will be conducted between 11 am and noon.

     

    The main objective of these meetings will be to bring transparency and accountability in the MSO registration process; provide a forum for applicant MSOs to track status of their applications in the Ministry; and clarify MSO application process to prospective applicants.

     

    The meetings are open to those applicants/MSOs who have already applied for MSO registration with the Ministry and those applicants/MSOs who wish to apply for MSO.

     

    Only authorized representative of the MSOs will be allowed to participate in the OHM

     

    Those wishing to participate should call or send an email on Mondays between 10.00 am to 3.00 pm to Under Secretary (DAS) Sonika Khattar at 011-23387774 or s.khattar@nic.in.

  • Home Ministry seeks details of MSOs for security clearance

    Home Ministry seeks details of MSOs for security clearance

    NEW DELHI: The Home Ministry has issued an additional format to be filled by the multi-system operators (MSOs) for grant of security clearance.

     

    All existing MSO applicants who are applying to the Information and Broadcasting Ministry for grant of MSO registration are required to furnish the details according to a format placed on the Ministry’s website: mib.nic.in.

     

    The MIB wants details of the MSO and its directors, apart from details of when the MSO was set up. 

     

  • “Romedy Now is content agnostic!”

    “Romedy Now is content agnostic!”

    MUMBAI: With niche, infotainment channels getting more adventurous in terms of content, it may no longer surprise viewers to catch ‘The Walking Dead’ on Fox Traveller or ‘Da Vinci’s Demons’ on National Geographic Channel. Joining this group is Romedy Now, which at the time of its launch aired romantic comedies but will now be getting into all sorts of content; series, fiction or reality.

     

    “Romedy Now is content agnostic and not necessarily film-centric,” Times Television Network CEO English Entertainment Channels, Ajay Trigunayat, told indiantelevision.com during a recent interview. “Romedy Now can play series, movies; fiction, non-fiction and short-formats. We are open to anything, and we have a programming slate that will unveil itself in the next few months. It is very radical from the way TV approaches business. We aim to make the consumer a part of our scheme. If something falls under one’s wants, needs and desires, one will consume it. In our consumer segmentation, we found that the consumer is still the same consumer.”

     

    But weren’t ‘love and laughter’ the original peg of the channel? Trigunayat explained that since Romedy Now was the first of its kind, they decided to latch on to the two most basic human values to make the channel a unique destination. “The two basic values like love and laughter have become latent. They have become ignored aspects of life. When everyone is chasing a professional life, it is affecting their relationships with their friends and family and their own health. Love and laughter has a unique connection. If a girl was given a choice between a rich man and a witty man, she would probably choose the one with a great sense of humour but she will be tempted to choose wealth. It becomes endearing for a viewer to follow such chronicles and love the characters and laugh at them, and indirectly live their lives. ‘Love, Laugh, Live’ is not just the tagline of our channel, it is the basic mantra we abide by,” he said.

     

    Trigunayat went on to clarify that even when they first decided to launch Romedy Now, the plan was to start airing series followed by films. “Airing of series and many other content formats was always the blueprint of the channel. Just that series including Witches of East End slated to premiere in the fall, got delayed to January and Friends with Better Lives (FWBL) scheduled to premiere in January got pushed to late March. That’s why the channel had to start with movies and later telecast the proposed series alongside the existing programmes as they went along,” informed Trigunayat.

     

    Romedy Now plans to soon launch two new comedies – 1600 Penn, and Back in the Game – in addition to Kitchen Confidential, Ally McBeal, Witches of East End and FWBL and is in negotiations to acquire new content plus library content.

     

    On the subject of marketing and distribution, Trigunayat said, “Right now, we have two major marketing properties that we are focusing on viz., ‘Sunny Sundays’ and ‘Thank God it’s Friday’ (TGIF). We plan to launch five more similar properties in the next quarter. We are in negotiations with some major television networks, and expect to close the deal by the end of next month.”

     

    When asked about advertisers, Trigunayat said the channel had about 50 clients on board including telecom services like Airtel. “We are a highly premium channel and expect a good return. Across all five channels of the Times Group, we rely heavily on print advertising. When we first started our digital distribution, there were still a few analogues to be dealt with, but they are rapidly declining and digital is growing now. If there is no analogue, there shouldn’t be any carriage fees, ergo we are not paying a carriage fee,” he said.

     

    The total advertising revenue across English movies and English GEC’s is Rs 500 crore with an additional Rs 400 crore coming in as subscription revenue. Going by GroupM and Madison forecasts, the category is expected to garner more than Rs 1,000 crore in FY 15 in advertising, subscription and miscellaneous revenues.

     

    Romedy Now is available with multi system operators (MSOs) like Hathway, DEN, Incable, Manthan in the east and ICC in Pune. It is also available across major DTH operators except Tata Sky. Currently, Romedy Now is concentrating on eight metros and intends to expand in the next 12 to 14 months.