ITV

Tag: NGC

  • English movies and news genres most benefitted: Chrome DM wk 38

    English movies and news genres most benefitted: Chrome DM wk 38

    MUMBAI: With a growth of 1.67 per cent, the English movies genre marked the highest opportunity to see (OTS) among all categories in week 38 of Chrome Data Analytics & Media. In this category, Movies Now gained the highest OTS in six metros with 54.0 per cent, and Star Movies was the second most benefitted in terms of OTS with 48.3 per cent.

    The English news genre ranked second in the gainers’ category with a growth of 0.62 per cent opportunity to see (OTS) as compared to last week (37) of Chrome Data. Loksabha TV gained the highest OTS in six metros with 94.3 per cent whereas Rajyasabha TV gained the second slot on the list with 90.5 per cent OTS.

    The third position in the gainers’ list of OTS was grabbed by the ‘religious’ genre with the growth of 0.61 per cent on an HSM (Hindi-speaking market) excluding 1L market basis. In this category, OTS of Sanskar was leading the genre with 98.9 per cent, whereas Aastha pocketed the second position with 97.9 per cent OTS.

    The music genre pocketed the fourth position in the list with 0.56 per cent growth and Sony Mix with 91.5 per cent whereas 9XM grabbed the number two position with 88.5 per cent OTS on an HSM (Hindi-speaking market) excluding 1L market basis.

    The fifth position in the gainers’ list was taken by the sports genre with a growth of 0.36 per cent. In this category, DD Sports is topping the OTS chart with 95.0 per cent whereas Star Sports 2 was the second topper with 87.6 per cent on an all-India basis in Chrome DM’s week 38.

    Among the losers, kids was the most affected genre with a drop of 0.86 per cent OTS on an all-India basis with Nickelodeon topping the chart with 88.5 followed by Cartoon Network with 84.2 per cent OTS.

    Hindi movies category recorded a fall of 0.49 per cent OTS on an HSM (Hindi-speaking market) excluding 1L market basis. In this category, Star Gold grabbed the highest OTS with 94.0 per cent followed by Max 93.9 per cent.

    Business news in six metros reserved the third position in the losers’ list with a drop of 0.39 per cent. Zee Business and CNBC Awaaz gained top two positions with 85.2 per cent and 83.4 per cent, respectively.

    Infotainment all-India bagged the fourth position in the losers’ list with a drop of 0.36 per cent. In this category, NGC and History TV 18 reserved the top two positions with 92.1 per cent and 90.3 per cent, respectively.

    The Hindi news genre stood at the fifth position with a fall of 0.16 per cent OTS with India TV leading the chart with 99.6 per cent, followed by DD News with 98.7 per cent OTS on an HSM (Hindi-speaking market) excluding 1L market basis.

  • NGC’s Swati Mohan says local production rises to 15%

    NEW DELHI: The real-life documentary channel National Geographic has claimed a 400 per cent growth in its engagement with Indian viewers over the past few years, even as its local productions have risen from 10 to 15 per cent of its total programming.

    National Geographic and Fox Networks Group, India business head Swati Mohan told indiantelevision.com that the marketing budget of the channel in India had doubled, though she did not give any figures.

    To a question, she claimed that the viewership of the core Nat Geo channel had grown to 140 million television viewers per month and had the largest digital footprint.

    However, a report of the Broadcast Audience Research Council shows that Nat Geographic channel was third among infotainment channels in week 31 with 2,662,000 with History TV and Discovery in the top two places.

    Speaking to the website on the sidelines of its meet to announce the telecast of ‘Inside INA’, a one-hour long documentary on the Indian Naval Academy in Kerala, Mohan said that the local connect was through the respect that the channel enjoys.The documentary will be telecast at 9.00 pm on Independence Day.

    It was a matter of pride for India that many of Nat Geo’s foreign productions were made by Indians.The channel’s brand ambassador is Farhan Akhtar.

    To another question, she said 27 per cent of what the channel earned went to the National Geographic Society.

    Vice-Admiral A K Chawla who is the head of personnel told indiantelevision.com that around Rs 25 million were invested every year on promotion and marketing to motivate young persons to join the Indian Navy.

    Earlier, at the event, Mohan said: “’Inside INA’ underlines our core proposition of showcasing stories, ideas and people that take us Further – through a quest or mission. It has been heartening to be able to showcase the story of these cadets and the next generation of Naval Officers who whole-heartedly embrace this very attribute. Combine that with the National Geographic gold standard of story telling and you get a compelling one hour that will take you through an extraordinary journey.”

    This is National Geographic’s fifth series celebrating the spirit and courage of the Indian armed forces. The network has earlier produced and broadcast Mission Army (with the Indian Army in 2011), Mission Navy (with the Indian Navy in 2009), Mission Udaan (with the Indian Air Force in 2005) and BSF: India’s First Line of Defence (With BSF in 2016).

    At the press meet, Mohan and other NatGeo team members said the film shot over two years was done in such a way as to not disturb the training of those at the INA,

    Promo video-

    Chawla said the film will attract a global audience. Answering a question, he said that the INA had a capacity to train 1200 persons but would soon increase that to 1700. He added that the Navy had no shortage among its personnel, and there was only a shortage of officers that would be filled soon.

    ‘Inside INA’captures how the men and women of Indian Navy are trained and moulded into future Naval heroes who serve the nation. A riveting view into the meticulous mental and physical training that each candidate undergoes, to rise to the challenges at sea, inspires valour and patriotism. ‘A great mix of action, emotions, and sacrifices make this a perfect way to celebrate Independence Day and salute the heroes of the Nation’ Mohan said.

    ALSO READ :

    Nat Geo and Farhan team up, inspire ‘water footprint’ reduction

    “Our metric for National Geographic is different (from BARC)” :  Swati Mohan

    Age-appropriate ‘safe’ content is taken from Nat Geo Kids, Sony & Amar Chitra: Shirsa

     

  • NGC’s ‘Mars’ showcasing space revolution in Nov

    NGC’s ‘Mars’ showcasing space revolution in Nov

    MUMBAI: National Geographic is all set to initiate an unprecedented global event series called Mars. The show is produced by Imagine Entertainment and RadicalMedia for the channel. For Imagine Entertainment, Brian Grazer, Ron Howard and Michael Rosenberg are executive producers. For RadicalMedia, Justin Wilkes, Jon Kamen, Dave O’Connor, Jonathan Silberberg are executive producers. For NGC, Robert Palumbo is executive producer; Matt Renner is vice president, production; and Tim Pastore is president, original programming and production.

    Premiering this November, the series is set both in the future and in the present day. The show intends to redefine television storytelling by combining feature film-quality scripted drama and visual effects with best-in-class documentary sequences to drive forward a cohesive, edge-of-your-seat story of mankind’s thrilling quest to colonize Mars.

    This six-part global event series tells the inspiring story from the vantage point of a fictitious crewed mission to Mars in 2033. The scripted portion focuses on Earth’s first crewed mission to Mars aboard the spacecraft Daedalus. Its maiden voyage in 2033 is crewed by a carefully selected international team of six uniquely qualified astronauts, including:

    Once Daedalus successfully lands on Mars and sets up a preliminary base of operations, British nuclear physicist Leslie Richardson (Cosima Shaw) will lead a Phase 2 settlement team along with her husband, world-renowned experimental botanist Dr. Paul Richardson (John Light). Those interviewed on camera for the series include the following:

    • Charles Bolden, Administrator, Former Astronaut, NASA

    • Neil deGrasse Tyson, Director, Hayden Planetarium

    • Peter Diamandis, Chairman and CEO, XPRIZE Foundation

    • David Dinges, Director, Unit for Experimental Psychiatry, University of Pennsylvania

    • Casey Dreier, Director of Space Policy, The Planetary Society

    • Ann Druyan, Creative Director, Voyager Interstellar Mission, NASA

    • Charles Elachi, Director, LPL (Ret.)

    • Jim Green, Division Director, Planetary Science, NASA

    • John Grunsfeld, Associate Administrator, Former Astronaut, NASA

    • Jennifer Heldmann, Planetary Scientist, NASA

    • Jedidah Isler, award-winning astrophysicist; emerging Explorer, National Geographic

    • Thomas Kalil, Deputy Director, White House Office of Science and Technology

    • Roger Launius, Smithsonian Institution

    • John Logsdon, Founder, Space Policy Institute, George Washington University

    • James Lovell, Former NASA Astronaut, Apollo 13 Commander

    • Elon Musk, CEO SpaceX

    • Stephen Petranek, author, How We’ll Live on Mars

    • Mary Roach, author, Packing for Mars

    • Jennifer Trosper, Mars 2020 Mission Manager, JPL

    • Andy Weir, author, The Martian

    • Robert Zubrin, President, The Mars Society

    National Geographic will extend the show’s storytelling in an unprecedented cross-platform effort, including a six-part digital companion prequel series.

    Further, Mars will be the November cover story of National Geographic magazine and will be featured in a stand-alone National Geographic book, Mars: Our Future on the Red Planet. It will also be featured in the NG Kids book, Mars: The Red Planet.

  • NGC’s ‘Mars’ showcasing space revolution in Nov

    NGC’s ‘Mars’ showcasing space revolution in Nov

    MUMBAI: National Geographic is all set to initiate an unprecedented global event series called Mars. The show is produced by Imagine Entertainment and RadicalMedia for the channel. For Imagine Entertainment, Brian Grazer, Ron Howard and Michael Rosenberg are executive producers. For RadicalMedia, Justin Wilkes, Jon Kamen, Dave O’Connor, Jonathan Silberberg are executive producers. For NGC, Robert Palumbo is executive producer; Matt Renner is vice president, production; and Tim Pastore is president, original programming and production.

    Premiering this November, the series is set both in the future and in the present day. The show intends to redefine television storytelling by combining feature film-quality scripted drama and visual effects with best-in-class documentary sequences to drive forward a cohesive, edge-of-your-seat story of mankind’s thrilling quest to colonize Mars.

    This six-part global event series tells the inspiring story from the vantage point of a fictitious crewed mission to Mars in 2033. The scripted portion focuses on Earth’s first crewed mission to Mars aboard the spacecraft Daedalus. Its maiden voyage in 2033 is crewed by a carefully selected international team of six uniquely qualified astronauts, including:

    Once Daedalus successfully lands on Mars and sets up a preliminary base of operations, British nuclear physicist Leslie Richardson (Cosima Shaw) will lead a Phase 2 settlement team along with her husband, world-renowned experimental botanist Dr. Paul Richardson (John Light). Those interviewed on camera for the series include the following:

    • Charles Bolden, Administrator, Former Astronaut, NASA

    • Neil deGrasse Tyson, Director, Hayden Planetarium

    • Peter Diamandis, Chairman and CEO, XPRIZE Foundation

    • David Dinges, Director, Unit for Experimental Psychiatry, University of Pennsylvania

    • Casey Dreier, Director of Space Policy, The Planetary Society

    • Ann Druyan, Creative Director, Voyager Interstellar Mission, NASA

    • Charles Elachi, Director, LPL (Ret.)

    • Jim Green, Division Director, Planetary Science, NASA

    • John Grunsfeld, Associate Administrator, Former Astronaut, NASA

    • Jennifer Heldmann, Planetary Scientist, NASA

    • Jedidah Isler, award-winning astrophysicist; emerging Explorer, National Geographic

    • Thomas Kalil, Deputy Director, White House Office of Science and Technology

    • Roger Launius, Smithsonian Institution

    • John Logsdon, Founder, Space Policy Institute, George Washington University

    • James Lovell, Former NASA Astronaut, Apollo 13 Commander

    • Elon Musk, CEO SpaceX

    • Stephen Petranek, author, How We’ll Live on Mars

    • Mary Roach, author, Packing for Mars

    • Jennifer Trosper, Mars 2020 Mission Manager, JPL

    • Andy Weir, author, The Martian

    • Robert Zubrin, President, The Mars Society

    National Geographic will extend the show’s storytelling in an unprecedented cross-platform effort, including a six-part digital companion prequel series.

    Further, Mars will be the November cover story of National Geographic magazine and will be featured in a stand-alone National Geographic book, Mars: Our Future on the Red Planet. It will also be featured in the NG Kids book, Mars: The Red Planet.

  • NGC to launch ‘The Story of God with Morgan Freeman’

    NGC to launch ‘The Story of God with Morgan Freeman’

    MUMBAI: Who is God? Where did we come from? Why does evil happen? What happens when we die?

     

    Most of us have asked these questions at some point, and most likely each person has found a different answer. This spring, National Geographic Channel and Revelation Entertainment’s epic series The Story of God with Morgan Freeman, produced by Freeman, Lori McCreary and James Younger, will take viewers on a trip around the world to explore different cultures and religions on the ultimate quest to uncover the meaning of life, God and all these big questions in between.

     

    The Story of God with Morgan Freeman seeks to understand how religion has evolved throughout the course of civilisation, and in turn how religion has shaped the evolution of society. Although in our current geopolitical landscape, religion is often seen as something that divides, the series illuminates the remarkable similarities among different faiths, even those that seem to be in staunch contrast. This is a quest for God: to shed light on the questions that have puzzled, terrified and inspired mankind, not to mention Freeman himself.

     

    “Over the past few months, I’ve travelled to nearly 20 cities in seven different countries on a personal journey to find answers to the big mysteries of faith. I’ve sung the call to prayer at a mosque in Cairo, taken meditation lessons from the Buddhist leader of the oldest line of reincarnating Lamas, discussed Galileo with the head of the Papal Academy of Sciences and explored the first instructions for the afterlife rendered in hieroglyphs inside the pyramids. In some places I found answers, and others led to more questions. The constant through it all is that we’re all looking to be part of something bigger than us. If there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s that we certainly are,” said Freeman.

     

    Each episode of The Story of God with Morgan Freeman is centred on a different big question about the divine including Creation, Who Is God?, Evil, Miracles, End of Days, and Resurrection.

     

    To explore each of these topics, host and narrator Freeman went on the ground to some of humanity’s greatest religious sites, including Jerusalem’s Wailing Wall, India’s Bodhi Tree, Mayan temples in Guatemala and the pyramids of Egypt. He travelled with archaeologists to uncover the long-lost religions of our ancestors, such as those at the 7500 B.C. Neolithic settlement Çatalhöyük in Turkey. He immersed himself in religious experiences and rituals all around the world, and became a test subject in scientific labs to examine how the frontiers of neuroscience are intersecting the traditional domain of religion.

     

    “As we put this series together, we sought answers to some of mankind’s biggest questions, but in the end what surprised us most was to find how personal those answers were for each of us,” said executive producers Lori McCreary and James Younger. “There is no wrong answer when it comes to God or what you believe, and we hope The Story of God will help open an interfaith dialogue about ideas and values that we all share, not that we disagree on.”

     

    The Story of God with Morgan Freeman is produced by Revelations Entertainment for National Geographic Channel. For Revelations Entertainment, Freeman, McCreary and Younger are executive producers. For National Geographic Channel, Michael J. Miller is executive producer; Kevin Mohs is vice president, production and development; Alan Eyres is senior vice president, programming and development; and Tim Pastore is president, original programming and production.

  • NGC commissions Pope Francis biopic & Space Shuttle Challenger disaster special

    NGC commissions Pope Francis biopic & Space Shuttle Challenger disaster special

    MUMBAI: National Geographic Channel is planning two specials focused on people and events that have had a profound impact on modern history. Jorge Mario Bergoglio – otherwise known as Pope Francis – will be the subject of the powerful and moving biopic, Rebel Pope. While Space Shuttle Challenger’s ill-fated 1986 flight will be revisited on its 30th anniversary via rare footage from the time in Challenger Disaster: Lost Tapes.

     

    Both one hour films are set to air globally on National Geographic Channel in 171 countries and 45 languages in early 2016.

     

    Rebel Pope interweaves dramatic, scripted accounts of episodes from Bergoglio’s pre-Vatican life and career with documentary interviews from those close to him during this time. From Bergoglio’s childhood to his entry into the Jesuit order, the film tracks his rise through the Church hierarchy, and eventual emergence as the popular “Bishop of the Slums.” His radical views would stir controversy in some circles, but also put him in line to lead one of the world’s oldest and largest religious institutions. Filming on the biopic will take place in Argentina and Colombia.

     

    NGCI executive vice president and head of international content Hamish Mykura said, “Pope Francis is a fascinating figure with an incredible backstory that hasn’t been told in full until now. Rebel Pope is the definitive story of his rise to power. Between the scripted elements and the interviews, we really get under the skin of this man of the people to find out how his inspiring beliefs evolved and what the influences were that shaped him on his path to the papacy.”

     

    On 28 January, 1986, the eyes of the world were turned toward Cape Canaveral as NASA prepared to send the first civilian into the stratosphere. Challenger Disaster: Lost Tapes follows the story of the Space Shuttle Challenger and its crew, including school teacher Christa McAuliffe. Chosen from thousands of applicants, the 36 year old’s objective was to expand the understanding of the nation’s school children about space and the next generation of interplanetary travel. But her dreams – and those of NASA – were tragically cut short when the Challenger exploded just after lift-off in front of a live television audience.

     

    The events of the days leading up to the disaster are detailed in this unique film, told solely via rarely seen national and local news reports, and little-known internal NASA archival footage featuring Christa McAuliffe rehearsing the lessons she planned to give from space as well as from cameras inside Mission Control in the hours after the tragedy occurred.

     

    Mykura added, “As we approach the 30th anniversary of the Challenger disaster, the opportunity to go behind the scenes in a way never seen before and put the event into the context of its time, is a rare privilege. With leaps and bounds being made in space exploration, it is vital that we fully understand the trajectory that led us to this point and acknowledge those who sacrificed their lives in our quest to better understand the solar system.”

     

    Rebel Pope is produced by Fox Telecolombia, a production company part owned by Fox International Channels. It is written and directed by Patrick Reams. 

     

    Challenger Disaster: Lost Tapes is produced by 1895 Films. For 1895 Films, the executive producer is Tom Jennings, whereas for NGC Mykura is overseeing both productions.

  • Dubbing company Business of Language eyes digital expansion

    Dubbing company Business of Language eyes digital expansion

    MUMBAI: Indians love to consume content, be it in the language they understand or otherwise. Understanding this need to reach to greater viewers, Discovery Channel, which started operations in the country 20 years back introduced dubbed content to Indian viewers. Viewers since then have been exposed to content dubbed not just from English to Hindi, but other regional languages like Tamil, Telugu and Bengali among others.

     

    Bridging the language gap is also Business of Languages (BOL), which was launched by former Disney UTV national business head – dubbing Rahul Bhatia in September 2013. Bhatia, who has been in media for the past two decades, decided to set up his own venture to expand his expertise. 

     

    BOL’s journey started with Fisthronaut on ZeeQ, which later expanded to NGC, Fox Traveller and NDTV Good Times. Bhatia is also working with Google for metadata service, wherein BOL has done a pilot project to translate English content into Hindi. “Google is a big client for us and we plan to work more closely with them in the future,” says Bhatia.

     

    BOL dubs content into Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Gujarati, Assamese and Bengali among others. “We specialise in dubbing. The USP of the company is that we dub the content from the region. We do not believe in dubbing Tamil content from a studio in Mumbai. We would do it from a Chennai studio. We are currently dubbing content in Gujarati for NGC Gujarati from Ahmedabad. The reason behind this is to get the perfect local dialect, which makes it easier for people to connect,” says Bhatia.

     

    After tasting success in broadcast, BOL is now spreading its wings to digital, radio and print. The company is into content translations as well and is working with public relations company MSL. “We do all the language translations for their press releases. We are also the exclusive vendors for Fortis Hospital,” he informs.

     

    BOL has also worked on the ‘Beti Bachao Beti Padhao’ campaign for Prime Minister Narendra Modi. “The campaign was done by the NGO Breakthrough in English. We translated it into Hindi and made certain creative changes as well,” informs Bhatia.

     

    Understanding that digital is the key, BOL has created food videos for a digital platform. “Anything to do with language on any platform is where we operate. We have worked with Ibibo, Micromax and e-learning content,” he says.

     

    What’s more, it was BOL that dubbed the famous animation Burka Avenger in Hindi and Telugu, which was telecast on ZeeQ.

     

    Based in New Delhi, BOL has regional operations in Mumbai, Chennai and Kolkata. The company has also tied up with studios in different states, which act as their local vendors. “I have my operations people in the region, who coordinate on a day-to-day basis,” he adds.

     

    In the wake of Netflix’s impending entry into India next year, BOL has set its sights on digital expansion. “Netflix has tied up with TV channels for content, which will also need dubbing. We are preparing ourselves for this digital boom,” says Bhatia. 

     

    BOL has, from the beginning, been a profit making venture. “While we started in September 2013, we set up our first studio in December 2013. In the first year itself, we had a turnover of Rs 30 lakh. In 2014, we had a turnover of Rs 1.9 crore and this year we are expecting a turnover of R 3 crore,” he informs.

     

    The dubbing sector has seen a major price fall. While at one stage, a set up would cost approximately Rs 40 lakh for one studio, today it has come down to as low as Rs 8-10 lakh for one studio. Not only this, the cost of dubbing has also come down substantially. “In the beginning, dubbing cost Rs 1-1.5 lakh per episode, but today it has gone to as low as Rs 15,000- 20,000 per episode,” he says.

  • Hathway’s googly; comes up with new Star packaging

    Hathway’s googly; comes up with new Star packaging

    MUMBAI: A month after Star India’s reference interconnect offer (RIO) deals came into effect in the DAS areas, multi system operator (MSO) Hathway Cable & Datacom has come out with its new pricing and packaging system.

     

    Hathway has been conducting meetings with operators in various areas, the last ones being in Aurangabad, Pune and Pimpri. As per cable operators, who were a part of the meetings, Hathway has said that it will be empowering and training the operators to run the business of collection from subscribers.

     

    Four new packs have been introduced. The first is the ‘Basic Pack’ for Rs 230 that will, along with other channels, have seven Star channels. These are: Star Plus, Life OK, Star Gold, Movies OK, Channel V, NGC and Star Pravah, for Marathi regions and Star Jalsha in Bengal. This will depend on the stronghold of Hathway in the states.

     

    The second pack is for Rs 289 and called ‘Popular Pack’. This will have, in addition to the above, a choice of one out of the two sports channels from Star Sports 1 or Star Sports 3. Both these channels show the same content in English and Hindi respectively.

     

    The third pack will be for Rs 349 and will have Star Movies, Star World, Movies Action and FX while the last ‘Premium Pack’ for Rs 419 will consist of an addition of its other niche channels such as Fox Crime, Nat Geo Music, Nat Geo Wild, Nat Geo People, Fox Life etc.

     

    Regional channels such as Asianet, Asianet Suvarna and Star Vijay have been kept out of packs and will be available on a-la-carte while all of Star’s channels will be available on a-la-carte as well.

     

    Hathway will embark on a big marketing campaign to inform viewers about this and viewers can immediately switch over to new packs. For now, the MSO is not disconnecting signals to its subscribers. 

     

  • National Geographic Channel calls out to all dog lovers

    National Geographic Channel calls out to all dog lovers

    MUMBAI: Known as a man’s best friend, dogs are always seen as lovable animals. Have you come across instances when you or someone else is simply unable to handle their pooches? National Geographic Channel presents ‘Cesar to the Rescue’ a show that will help you learn about canine behaviour and bring balance and happiness to their relationships with them. The show is set to premiere on August 30, and will be aired every Saturday and Sunday at 8:30 pm IST.

     

    This six-episode series will be hosted by Mexican-American dog trainer Cesar Millan, known for his efforts to rehabilitate aggressive dogs. As part of the show, Cesar goes on a mission to bring order back to neighborhoods that have fallen under the terrorizing power of a ferocious yappy canine. In each episode Cesar goes to different pet owners and helps them understand their dogs better by his unique ways of training.

     

    Talking about the show, Debarpita Banerjee, Vice President, Marketing and Communications, NGC Networks and FOX International Channels India said “Though being a dog lover myself, it so happens that sometimes you are unable to understand your dog’s mood and or why they start acting in a peculiar way specially towards friends, guests and neighbors. This is where an expert is needed and with this show we aim to showcase the brilliant work.”

     

    Cesar Millan says, “I have always loved all animals and I still do, but I had a special connection with dogs almost from the beginning. I was only thirteen when I decided that I wanted to be the best dog trainer in the world. ‘Cesar to the Rescue’ is all about helping entire groups of people- families, extended families, workplaces, and communities. The show has humor, drama, and suspense, as well as some very heartwarming moments of success.”

     

    Get ready to woof-up with Cesar to the Rescue!

     

    Premiering August 30th, airs every Saturday and Sunday, at 8:30 pm on National Geographic Channel.

  • Ortel Communications to launch HD services

    Ortel Communications to launch HD services

    MUMBAI: Cable TV subscribers in Odisha will soon get to watch Hindi soaps in high definition (HD) provided they have an Ortel cable connection. The last mile owner (LMO) with 520,000 subscribers, Ortel Communications, has received its first batch of HD set top boxes (STBs) that will be deployed to digital TV households soon.

     

    1000 STBs from Skyworth are currently docked out of the 25000 boxes ordered. Priced at Rs 2000 to Rs 2500 per STB, the service will be launched within one month. “We are preparing a pack of 15 HD channels comprising popular channels of all major broadcasters for launch date. This will include channels like Star Plus, Star Sports, Sony, NGC, Movies Now, Colors etc,” says Ortel Communications CEO BP Rath.

     

    The headend capacity currently only allows the LMO to have 15 HD channels; however it plans to add more channels soon. “We intend to increase our capacity to around 250 SD and 50 HD channels in the next one year or so,” informs Rath. The LMO currently offers 200 SD channels. The pricing will be competitive with the DTH platforms. Though the final pricing for the HD channel pack hasn’t been finalised as yet, it is expected to be below Rs 100 per month with an initial three month free trial period.

     

    While Rath doesn’t expect good revenues from the service this year, he is optimistic of it being considerable next year. “We expect revenues from HD to kick in from Q3 of this fiscal, though not significantly. However, we expect to do Rs 2 crore to Rs 3 crore revenue next year,” adds Rath.

     

    It is pertinent to note that Odia channels don’t have HD services but Rath is optimistic that in the future there would be Odia HD channels as well. “Viewing of English and Hindi content in our markets is very sizeable and that will drive the HD services. In any case, the channel list will be similar to DTH operators and we will not be in any disadvantageous position,” claims Rath.

     

    Ortel currently has about 75,000 digital subscribers which it is looking at increasing to about 250,000 by the year end.