ITV

Tag: Multi-System Operators

  • After Manthan, SitiCable tries to poach DTH customers

    After Manthan, SitiCable tries to poach DTH customers

    KOLKATA: Sometime back, city-headquartered Manthan Broadband Services announced a scheme to poach Dish TV customers after the DTH provider created sub-brand ‘Zing’ to offer STBs free of cost and target regional markets.

     

    Now, SitiCable Network is all set to follow in Manthan’s footsteps with an exchange scheme for DTH customers so they can opt for SitiCable services without having to pay anything for STBs as well as their installation in DAS I and II areas.

     

    According to Kolkata director Suresh Sethiya, the scheme called ‘Value for Money’ will be launched next month. Sethiya further informed that SitiCable is aiming to install another 3 lakh STBs in West Bengal by the end of April. “Customers choosing SitiCable services instead of their DTH service providers will also have the option of going for channel packages that regular customers get and this is a value for money proposition for them,” he added.

     

    How will SitiCable gain through the scheme? “Well, the scheme is to increase our market presence and not to increase our topline or bottomline. We want to be market leaders. And once we are able to convert DTH customers to our customers, we will think of monetizing it,” answered Sethiya.

     

    On the installation of an additional 3 lakh STBs, he said that the company was eager to increase its penetration in the state as cable TV digitisation was in full swing across the eastern region. “We would always try to retain its number one position here,” he said. “We are upbeat about our penetration and growth in West Bengal. In North Bengal too, we are looking at some acquisition and forming a joint venture with local partners.”

     

    While West Bengal is one of the most important markets for SitiCable in the eastern region, the company also has a good presence in Patna, Odisha and Jharkhand. A cable analyst said on the condition of anonymity, “The eastern region accounts for around 40 per cent of the revenue to SitiCable and is one of the most important markets for the company.”

     

    The company is also present in six out of the seven north-eastern states. Commenting on Manthan’s scheme and now SitiCable, the cable analyst said, “In the coming months, we expect more such announcements by players of different categories to poach each others’ business and clients.”

  • Jaipur LCOs to form cooperative, set up own headend

    Jaipur LCOs to form cooperative, set up own headend

    MUMBAI: Local cable operators (LCOs) feel threatened with compulsory digitisation of cable TV services. LCOs own the end subscribers, but do not have the bargaining power with broadcasters and also access to funding.

     

    This has led to an increasing trend towards LCO consolidation, if not through the mergers and acquisitions route then through formation of associations and unions, especially in Gujarat, Maharashtra, Kerala and Karnataka, states the FICCI-KPMG media and entertainment industry report 2014.

     

    Now, nearly 220 of the about 250 LCOs in Jaipur, Rajasthan have decided to come together to protect their business. The LCOs are looking at forming a cooperative and setting up their own headend.

     

    The move comes as many LCOs are unhappy with the monopoly of the multi-system operators with the progressing digitisation.

     

    “It is at a nascent stage, but we are tired of the MSO monopoly here in Jaipur and hence looking at setting up a cooperative and converting into an independent MSO,” says a cable operator from Jaipur who is currently taking feeds from Hathway Cable & Datacom.

     

    The cooperative has been set up under the banner Jaipur Cable Operators Welfare Society. The LCOs are meeting regularly to finalise details.

     

    While the initial investments will be made by the LCOs, they will also approach banks for loans to meet the investment demands. “We are unhappy with the way things are moving in the state. Neither the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India nor the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting is ready to listen to us. And so we have decided to take this move,” says the LCO.

     

    As of now, four lakh set top boxes have been seeded in the state. “The Jaipur cable operators are in talks with us as they are looking at setting up a cooperative. We will be meeting in April in Mumbai to discuss further,” informs Maharashtra Cable Operators Federation (MCOF) president Arvind Prabhoo.

     

    It is not only in Jaipur that the LCOs are coming together to form cooperatives. While earlier such cooperatives were set up in Chennai, Delhi, Bengaluru and Kolkata, now LCOs are coming together in Mumbai, Jaipur, Jodhpur and parts of Madhya Pradesh to set up their own headends.

  • Kolkata MSOs anticipate cooperation from LCOs in two months

    Kolkata MSOs anticipate cooperation from LCOs in two months

    KOLKATA: The multi-system operators (MSOs) have started gross billing for the month of December from 7 January in Kolkata and are hopeful that the local cable operators (LCOs) who at present are showing some resistance will eventually fall in line in the next two months.

     

    The MSOs in the meanwhile are educating consumers about gross billing by publishing advertisements in newspapers. The ads request consumers to make the payment against a bill only.

     

    “We have started the billing process. Customers are happy, but the operators do not want the billing to be in place. There might be some resistance but eventually things will fall in line,” said Siticable Kolkata director Suresh Sethia.

     

    While another MSO said that the company is having meetings with operators and trying to convince them of the benefits of digitisation.

     

    “We are talking to the LCOs and asking them to hike the bill which will include amusement tax and service tax. Even consumers have to understand that they have to pay taxes now,” said the MSO.

     

    When the MSOs were asked about the disbursement of the bills, some said they have given the bills to LCOs in compact disk (CD), while others like SitiCable said that they have uploaded the bills on their system and the LCOs can easily take the printouts.

     

    However, the LCOs in Kolkata have made it clear that they will not distribute the bills unless the revenue sharing model and other details are discussed.

     

    Cable Operators Digitalisation Committee of the Association of Cable Operators convener Swapan Chowdhury said, “The MSOs who are giving the bills on CDs to LCOs need to give a hard copy of the bills as printing will also involve cost.”

    It seems the LCOs are serious about every single penny and are not in a mood to give up easily!

  • Municipal Corp seeks to tax Bengaluru’s MSOs, ISPs

    Municipal Corp seeks to tax Bengaluru’s MSOs, ISPs

    MUMBAI: The multi-system operators (MSOs) and internet service providers (ISPs) in Bengaluru will soon have to loosen their pockets and pay tax to the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) for cabling on main roads and the arterial roads of the garden city. While initially, even the local cable operators (LCOs) were in the BBMP hit list, the body, in its meeting last week has released the LCOs from paying the taxes for using its services.

    BBMP has formed a committee to decide on the tax that both MSOs and ISPs will need to pay. The meeting was presided by the BBMP mayor B S Sathyanarayana and was attended by the BBMP chairman, MSOs and ISPs last week.

    In the meeting held last week, the players have been asked to file the details immediately, says Sudhish Kumar

    “The current discussion is that the MSOs and ISPs, who use the trunk on the main road and arterial roads of Bengaluru need to make a one-time payment for using the BBMP infrastructure, which will be applicable for next 15 years,” informs Sagar E Technologies’ executive director Sudhish Kumar, who was also present during the meeting.

    Almost all the national MSOs like Hathway Cable and Datacom, DEN Networks, InCable and SitiCable along with the other MSOs operating in Bengaluru will be affected by this. “Currently, there are 11 MSOs operating in the city,” informs Kumar.

    Confirming the reports is Hathway Cable & Datacom MD and CEO Jagdish Kumar G. Pillai, “Yes, the BBMP is looking at imposing a fee for using its service. We have to submit a report, and I am discussing it with my team in Bengaluru.”

    So far, none of the players have coughed up anything to  BBMP. However, the municipal corporation is looking at generating revenue through this levy and also wants to ensure that the city is clean. “It has now asked the MSOs and ISPs to inform them of the exact number of kilometers that they are using to provide their services. This, to ensure that they can fix a price which will be paid by the MSOs and ISPs,” says he.

    Earlier, the deadline for submitting the information was 28 November; but none of the players had reported to the BBMP. “In the meeting held last week, the players have been asked to file the details immediately,” informs Kumar. Those failing to comply may find their cable wires removed.

    The BBMP has also suggested that several MSOs and ISPs can form their own consortium and apply for their own trunk. The body has claimed that at least 15,000 km of cabling has been done within the city.

    It’s good news for the LCOs who have been exempted from paying up.  “If the LCOs had to pay for using the BBMP services, the cost would increase and that would have been passed on to the subscribers. And so the mayor in the meeting clearly pointed out that the LCOs were to be kept out of this tax.”

    The municipal corporation feels that since all the MSOs also provide internet services which gives them huge revenues, it should also be shared with them. In the meeting, the mayor remarked, “If it was only cable TV service, the pricing for using the trunk could still be considered. But because they are carrying internet service business through the same trunk, they should share the revenue with the municipal corporation, which gives them the infrastructure.”

  • Cable operators demand a 10 year licence for better operations

    Cable operators demand a 10 year licence for better operations

    MUMBAI: If the entire digitisation process has affected any of the related bodies the most, it is the local cable operators (LCOs), who are unsure about their future completely. Keeping this in mind, the Cable Operators Federation of India (COFI) has written to the Information and Broadcasting (I&B) Minster Manish Tewari requesting him to give the LCOs a 10 year licence so that they can work on various expansion plans.

     

    The letter was sent to the minister on 18 December. However, the association still awaits a response.

     

    What is notable is that when COFI earlier met the minister on 29 October along with the Cable Operator Association of Gujarat and Rajkot, member of parliament, Mohan Bavaliya requesting for a 10 year licence for the LCOs, Tewari had accepted the proposal, but there was no development on the issue thereafter.

     

    In the absence of a response, the association has resorted to sending a reminder letter to Tewari.  

     

    “You had assured us that the licensing for registered cable operators will be for 10 years at par with the multi-system operators (MSOs) and direct-to-home (DTH) operators and that ‘registration’ for LCOs in post offices will cease,” writes COFI in the letter.

     

    The move, according to the association president Roop Sharma, will help cable operators show more interest in upgradation of technology and expanding business. “When the MSOs and DTH players have been given 10 year licence citing security of business as a reason, why should the LCOs not be given such a security,” she says.

     

    While the MSOs and DTH operators are given the licence by the I&B Ministry, “the LCOs are the only distributers of content without a licence and have registration in post offices for more than 20 years”, states the letter.

     

    MSOs currently have to pay Rs one lakh for a 10 year licence. “The LCOs are anyway paying Rs 1000 to the post office for one year registration. So why not charge them for a 10 year licence? At least this will guarantee them security,” informs Sharma.

     

    In fact, the LCOs have become more certain about attaining a 10-year license because as per the new DAS rules, the LCO has to seek permission from the MSO for renewal of the yearly post office registration. Though the association hasn’t received any response to the letter, Sharma says, “We will soon meet the minister again.”