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Tag: NXT Digital

  • DTH sector lost 0.37 mn subs in the quarter ended 31 Dec’21: Trai

    DTH sector lost 0.37 mn subs in the quarter ended 31 Dec’21: Trai

    Mumbai: The total active subscriber base of the pay direct-to-home (DTH) sector declined from 68.89 million at the end of September 2021 to 68.52 million at the end of December 2021, as per data provided by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai). This is in addition to the subscribers of DD Free Dish, the free DTH service offered by Doordarshan.

    Tata Play maintained its position as the leading DTH player increasing its market share from 33.34 per cent to 33.48 per cent. It was followed by Bharti Telemedia that also increased its market share from 26.11 per cent to 26.37 per cent. Dish TV India ceded market share from 22.65 per cent to 22.04 per cent. Sun TV Direct gained market share from 17.91 per cent to 18.11 per cent.

    Trai reported the subscriber base of 12 major multi-system operators (MSO) and one headend-in-the-sky (HITS) operator who have a subscriber base of more than one million. GTPL Hathway continued to be the leading MSO followed by Siti Networks, Hathway Digital, Den Networks and Thamizhaga Cable TV Communication. While most MSOs lost subscribers during the quarter, Thamizhaga, Kerala Communicators Cable, Nxt Digital (HITS), V K Digital Network and Nxt Digital (Cable TV) gained subscribers. Notably, Nxt Digital (HITS and Cable TV) gained the highest number of subscribers at 436,990.

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    There were 909 private satellite TV channels at the end of December 2021 compared to 906 channels at the end of September 2021. Additionally, there were 350 pay channels out of which 253 were SD channels and 97 were HD channels.

    The number of internet subscribers decreased from 834.29 million to 829.30 million during the quarter. There were 792.08 million broadband subscribers and 37.21 million narrowband subscribers. The number of wired internet subscribers increased from 24.47 million to 26.58 million with a quarterly growth rate of 8.62 per cent. The number of wireless internet subscribers decreased from 809.82 million to 802.72 million.

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    In the wired internet segment, Reliance Jio Infocomm held 17.18 per cent market share with 4.57 million subscribers, followed by Bharti Airtel at 4.20 million subscribers. In the wireless internet segment, Reliance Jio held 51.79 per cent market share with 415.72 million subscribers followed by Bharti Airtel with 28.21 per cent with 226.45 million subscribers at the end of the quarter.

    The total number of VSAT subscribers decreased from 289,557 to 288,848 during the quarter. Hughes Communications is the market leader with 135,374 subscribers and market share of 46.87 per cent, followed by Nelco at 76,166 subscribers and market share of 26.37 per cent at the end of the quarter.

    The average revenue per user (ARPU) per month of wireless services customers increased from Rs 108.16 to Rs 114.16 over the quarter. The average data usage per month for a wireless subscriber was 14.97 Gb.

  • NXT Digital does a financial turnaround in FY 2020

    NXT Digital does a financial turnaround in FY 2020

    MUMBAI: Among the early movers in the cable TV industry, the Hinduja group run – NXT Digital has turned out impressive financials for the financial year 2020. The topline has shown significant growth, it has turned EBIDTA positive and how; the red ink on its bottomline has been replaced by fat profits and to top it all it has even declared a dividend of 50 per cent. And it's all thanks to its subsidiary IMCL, which has declared a robust performance over the past four quarters. 

    On a consolidated basis, revenues grew by 65 per cent over FY19, from Rs 704.62crore to Rs 1,162.10crore; operating EBIDTA rose significantly to Rs 218.01crore against a loss of Rs 72.61crore; its PAT is a healthy Rs 110.05 crore as against a loss of Rs 303.43 crore in FY19. Buoyed by the great showing, a dividend of 50 per cent has been declared to the joys of many a shareholder. 

    NXT Digital announced that its HITS platform today has five million subscribers through local cable operators (LCOs) and smaller multisystem operators (MSOs) in 1500 towns all over India, and even in remote places such as Ladkah, Kargul, the far north east and the Andaman, Nicobar and Lakshwadeep islands. The technology, using C-band is not affected by rain or adverse weather and customers in these areas continue to enjoy digital services, uninterrupted. 

    "This kind of outstanding performance consistently over the last four quarters speaks volumes on our commitment towards our subscribers through strong value creation," says IMCL CEO Vynsley Fernandes."We firmly stand committed to further our endeavor of creating an integrated platform for digital services, offering cable TV, satellite, broadband and other digital media, all under one roof. Building an effective framework along with our product bundling strategy has been crucial for our business turnaround in FY20. With close to a 100 per cent prepaid base and a substantial presence in phase 3 and 4 markets, IMCL expects to continue on its digital growth path."

     The company says it has continued to focus on key drivers through FY' 20. Some of these include: 

    * Targeting the the fastest growing segments of semi-urban and rural India. Over 60 per cent of its subscriber base is in these markets which continue to see increasing pay TV penetration as well as growing average revenue per user (ARPU).

     *Growing ARPU through value added services and differentiated products in the cities. Launching innovative products like layering cable TV with broadband and value-added services, coupled with 24X7 services on ground.

     * Successfully implementing the new regulatory framework, set out by the TRAI (Telecom Regulatory Authority of India) in early 2019. The visionary framework which brought in much needed transparency to the pay TV ecosystem and enhanced subscriber choice has buoyed the business model and set out a clearly defined level playing field for the industry. 

    * Maintaining pre-paid collections at nearly 100 per cent, whilst ensuring low churn through a focused E&R (engagement &retention) model for subscribers and franchisees. 

    * Leveraging its leadership position in technology, whilst improving cost efficiencies. Recently moved to 32APSK technology, that improves satellite throughput by over 30 per cent. 

    * Working closely with its 9,000 plus franchisees to remain focused on the subscriber through continuous enhancement of the quality of service and viewership experience. 

     This apart, the company is working on developing an indigenous set top box keeping in mind the government's Make in India mandate; it has been conducting digital online training for its LCOs; it has built a robust digital payment collection platform, and even rolled out a proactive business continuity plan to ensure that its subscribers get top class service even during cyclone and the ongoing Covid2019 pandemic that has rocked India and the world. 

    Going forward, it plans to expand on its managed services model and has signed on additional MSOs; that should double its subscriber base to 10 million. The company says the model effectively supports these smaller MSOs and LCOs several of whom are unable to sustain their businesses due to increasing costs of connectivity and technology obsolescence. 

    Fernandes adds that the idea is to expand the services its franchisees can offer, making them multi-product and multi- service providers; offering customers a whole range of services from FMCG products to digital and financial solutions. 

    "This will help our franchisees not only sustain their businesses, but diversify and grow their earnings portfolio, across the country," he says. "We remain focused on delivering integrated services to customers, bundling television with broadband services from our ISP subsidiary OneOTT iNTERTAINMENT, which has a presence in over 40 cities."

  • InDigital announces ESOPs for local cable operators

    InDigital announces ESOPs for local cable operators

    MUMBAI: Diwali is a time for celebration and in keeping with the spirit, business partners and local cable operators (LCOs) of InDigital, the digital cable network and NXT Digital, the HITS or Headend-In-The-Sky network of the Hinduja Group’s media vertical were in for a pleasant surprise.

    In a Diwali message via video to distributors and LCOs across the country, Hinduja Group of Companies chairman Ashok P Hinduja announced, “With the smart turnaround of the media business, the time has come for distributing the shareholding in the form of designing equity based plans to LCOs; as LCOs are the foundation on which the business has been built and every LCO must consider the company as his own. The scheme is currently under development.” He further expressed his immense satisfaction in seeing so many LCOs transform into business-persons of stature and success.

    This move is expected to help transform the cable landscape in the country and give a fillip to the LCOs who have been associated with the digital platforms of the Hinduja Group – some for nearly 24 years, the time the cable TV business was instituted.

    Reacting to the announcement, Ashok Singh, a long-time business partner and distributor in Mumbai said, “This announcement continues to reflect the culture and the long-standing commitment of the Hinduja Group to the thousands of LCOs who are part of the cable distribution business, across the country.” Akram Khan, an LCO, who has also been associated with the Group for over two decades reiterated, “We have always known the Hinduja Group to stand by us, especially when we faced challenges; and this announcement shows that the Hinduja Group continues to put its pariwar of LCOs always first. We are delighted to hear this!”

    Hinduja also went on to allay LCO fears that LCOs should not fear competition. Instead, they should feel proud that they are a part of a unique, boutique company delivering quality and differentiated services to customers and should focus on ensuring that they provide the highest levels of customer service.

    He also went on to announce a special scheme for LCOs to expand their business and become direct selling agents of various products and services of the group on a fee-based model; with full training and other support from the group to be launched soon. This initiative of the group is expected to help especially smaller LCOs in semi-urban and rural markets, diversify their revenue streams and help them leverage and monetise their relationships with their customer, even more effectively.

  • NDMC is first civic body to provide HD cable TV service

    NDMC is first civic body to provide HD cable TV service

    MUMBAI: New Delhi Municipal Corporation (NDMC) has become the first civic body to provide high-definition cable television services to residents of Lutyens' Delhi from mid-February. The municipal body has entered into a partnership with Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd and telecom company Oneott Intertainment to provide the service.

    According to media reports, NDMC will provide HD satellite TV service through the underground optic fibre network. In select NDMC areas, MTNL is providing high-speed internet and voice facility through the FTTH technology. Apart from over-the-top services like Netflix, YouTube, television channels can now be accessed also. However, users have to take the MTNL-NDMC internet connection to enjoy all the services together on any screen.

    "We can't offer rates below those decided by the Telecom Authority of India (TRAI) for implementation from 1 February, but we assure users they will be marginally over that," MTNL CMD Pravin Kumar Purwar said but he assured the cost would be "reasonable”.

    The headend-in-the-sky (HITS) technology is also being employed along with FTTH to enable a smooth service which would not be hampered by sun or rain outage. Along with signing a MoU with MTNL, the civic body signed an agreement with leading HITS service provider Nxt Digital too.

    Earlier in 2017, NDMC entered into a partnership with MTNL to offer internet connectivity through Wi-Fi service in public places and FTTH services. NDMC chairman Naresh Kumar said that success of the earlier project encouraged them to utilise the same facility for providing cable TV services.

    “By 15 February, we will start publicising the service and holding camps to invite applications from subscribers for commercial connections,” he added. The services will be initially offered in Connaught Place and its neighbourhood on a pilot basis.

  • Shemaroo Entertainment Limited LaunchesSix New Services onInDigital& NXTDigital

    Shemaroo Entertainment Limited LaunchesSix New Services onInDigital& NXTDigital

    MUMBAI: Shemaroo Entertainment Limited, one of India’s leading content power house,has successfully launched six new servicesonthe digital television distribution platforms of IndusInd Media & Communications Ltd. (“IMCL”), a premier multi-platform company in India. The platforms include InDigital, the digital cable platform and NXTDigital, the premier Headend-In-The-Sky or HITS platform, covering India.Presenting entertainment to all age groups, the servicesrange from Kids to Devotional to Bollywood Entertainment. 

    The launch of six new serviceson InDigital and NXTDigitalhave content powered by Shemaroo Entertainment. Consumers can enjoy the best of Bollywood on Bollywood TV channel, chartbuster songs from superhit Bollywood movies on Filmi Gaane channel, Bollywood comedy on Comedy 24×7 channel, soulful bhajans, live darshan, Kathas on Hari Om TV, nursery rhymes, children’s films on Sunflower Kids channel and followers of Islam can tune into Ibaadat TV to get an unprecedented divine and sacred experience. 

    Commenting on the launch, Mr. Hiren Gada, CEO, Shemaroo Entertainment Limited, said,“Our team at Shemaroo has always made us proud and they have taken the bar higher bylaunching six new services on InDigital and NXTDigital at the same time. We hope to keep on entertaining our consumers by giving them diverse content to watch from the comfort of their homes”

    NK Rouse,COO,IndusInd Media & Communications Ltd. added “IMCLis the only integrated multi-platform company in India and our digital brands InDigital& NXTDigital gives the consumer a seamless viewing experience. Having a reach of well over 5 million addressable digital subscribers, we are sure that our consumers will enjoy the different types of content provided by Shemaroo Entertainment.” 

    In a bid to reach out to maximum consumers, Shemaroo Entertainment has placed its content on various DTH platforms. Tying up with IMCL’s digital brands,InDigital and NXTDigital, which have a pan India presence, will only take the services a notch higher. IMCL has a reach of well over 5 million digital subscribers and covers all the Indian states and Union territories. The services of Shemarooare available to customers of both the platforms.
     

  • IMCL aspires to hit 7 mn subscribers in a year

    IMCL aspires to hit 7 mn subscribers in a year

    MUMBAI: At a time when the face of India’s multi-billion dollar cable industry is changing rapidly with the emergence of new players, IndusInd Media & Communication Ltd (IMCL), one of the oldest players in the industry, has announced a new offering ‘I Am Mumbai, I Am InDigital’. Consisting of premium 22-channel bouquet of ad-free content, the initiative is aimed at providing viewers with a 360-degree experience. The digital distribution platform standing with almost 5 million subscriber base predicts to reach 7 million subscribers over next four quarters.

    The newly announced expansive range of content under the “NXT Services” brand is available to InDigital customers as well as NXT Digital customers across India. From rhymes, cartoons and movies for kids to dubbed movies in regional languages, cooking, music, the bouquet has content from various genres. However, pricing for the ad-free premium channels has not been decided yet.

    “While we have technology pushing our bouquet and opening our channels, we have realised that we have to give people what they want, not what we want them to have. So we cater to each and every age group. Overall this has been our endeavour to upgrade our approach for our city of Mumbai,” IMCL CEO Vynsley Fernandes said.

    To cater to every customer based on their different requirement and affordability, InDigital has also presented a range of next-generation set-top boxes (STBs). The new products include Standard Definition (SD) Zapper, High Definition (HD) Zapper, HD basic hybrid, HD Dual Tuner, HD Advanced Hybrid, 4K Android Hybrid and along with OTT device from group company ONE Fiber with prices ranging from Rs 1000 to Rs 5000.

    For the OTT box, it has partnered with streaming platform Viu. Speaking about more tie-ups, ONEOTT iNTERTAINMENT LTD(OIL) CEO Yugal K Sharma said that more partnerships are in the pipeline. “As far as I can see today, there will be 10 more strategic alliances I have to do. We are not into the internet business anymore; it is called CDCA (Connectivity, Devices ecosystem, Content and Applications),” Sharma said.

    “The whole industry is now shaping up and moving towards intertainment (entertainment moving on to the internet). I firmly believe that all the Ps are given – product, pricing, placement, promotion, packaging and people strategy which is 97 per cent the same for everyone. We already had our underground fibre systems in Mumbai and all the major metros, which was built for cable TV. Now, we are leveraging that for broadband as well. We have fibre system ready in 32 cities. We have a slight edge over Reliance Jio because we started rolling out our 1 GB plans about two months back,” Sharma commented while asked about competition with Reliance Jio.

    While in broadband segment Jio FTTH is a prime competitor, DTH players pose a challenge to traditional cable players. However, IMCL is not losing confidence owing to its Headend-in-the-Sky(HITS) technology. The HITS platform is on C-band keeping it unaffected from any weather change. But DTH platforms being on the KU band are susceptible to any change in weather. Moreover, the channels provided under HITS technology are priced at low cost. Hence, the company claims HITS as the direct competitor of DTH services.

    Through the HITS services, the company also wants to grow a subscriber base in rural areas. However, other than pure penetration, the company is focusing on managed service business. The smaller MSOs, last mile owners who are keen to embrace digital distribution can migrate by using the technology, rather than making own investment. Even IMCL can take the existing technology and repurpose it.

    Other than technological changes, the new TRAI tariff order is going to disrupt the broadcast and cable industry. Though the matter is still sub judice in the apex court, Fernandes thinks technology readiness to provide so many packages is going to be a challenge for distributors. Moreover, as content preference varies from region to region, smart packaging and segmentation are going to be driving factors.

    Though IMCL is putting high focus on new technologies, the in-house engineering team has come up with innovative designs using minimal capex, even less than 100k. In the next one year, it will definitely like to target the sale of over 2 million STBs.

  • Hinduja Ventures appoints Ashok Mansukhani as MD; net profit remains flat

    Hinduja Ventures appoints Ashok Mansukhani as MD; net profit remains flat

    MUMBAI: Hinduja Ventures Ltd (HVL) whole-time director Ashok Mansukhani has been elevated as the managing director of the company for two years from 30 April 2018 to 29 April 2020. Mansukhani completes his existing term as whole-time director on 29 April.

    The appointment was effected at the meeting of the board of directors today. Mansukhani was appointed as the MD and CEO of Hinduja Media Group in February 2017 following Tony D’Silva’s exit.

    Mansukhani is a postgraduate from Delhi University and completed his masters in English literature from Kirori Mal College, Delhi University, and his LLB from K C Law College, Bombay University.

    After a distinguished career in Central Government as an Indian Revenue Service Officer for 22 years, he joined the Hinduja Group in 1996 and has handled various senior responsibilities in the Group, in media and Corporate sphere. Mansukhani has been past president of the Multi System Operator Alliance (MSO Alliance) representing all leading MSOs in the country.

    The Board of HVL at its meeting held today approved un-audited standalone financial results for the quarter and nine months ended 31 December 2017.

    HVL, on a standalone basis, reported total income of Rs 169.12 crore for the nine months ended 31 December 2017 as against Rs 173.91 crore for the nine months ended 31 December 2016.

    Net profit for the nine-month period in 2017 stood at Rs 88.80 crore as against Rs 88.39 crore during the corresponding period in 2016, an increase of 0.47 per cent.

    For the quarter ended 31 December 2017, total income of the company stood at Rs 64.88 crore compared with Rs 53.58 crore for the quarter ended 30 September 2017 and Rs 52.79 crore for the quarter ended 31 December 2016.

    Net profit for the quarter ended 31 December 2017 stood at Rs 33.76 crore as against Rs 29.55 crore for the quarter ended 30 September 2017 and Rs 35.99 crore for the quarter ended 31 December 2016.

    IndusInd Media & Communication Ltd (IMCL), a Hinduja Group subsidiary, continues to make inroads into India’s rural areas through its head-end-in-the-sky (HITS) platform. IMCL is the only digital platform operator (DPO) to cover all 29 states and 4 union territories. This is due to major penetration in the past 12 months utilising NXT Digital’s HITS platform.

    The company feels that there is scope for deployment for DPO to an additional 30 million homes in the rural universe of 99 million homes. Another 20 million homes await power to households and will begin to watch television in the next three years.

    Also Read :

    Hinduja Ventures board okays amalgamation with Grant Investrade

    Hinduja Ventures PAT rises marginally Q1FY18, Nxt Digital HITS 640 districts

     

  • Hinduja Ventures PAT rises marginally Q1FY18, Nxt Digital HITS 640 districts

    NEW DELHI: Hinduja Ventures Ltd (HVL)  on Thursday announced  standalone net profit after tax of Rs. 255 million for three months ended 30 June 2017 as against Rs. 242.1 million during the same period a period ago.. The net PAT for the period ended grew by 5.33 per cent.

    The total income for the period under review stood at Rs. 506.6 million as against Rs. 619.1 million for the same period a year ago.

    The board of HVL at its meeting held on 10 August 2017 approved un-audited standalone financial results for the quarter ended 30 June 2017.

    HVL is the holding company of big Indian integrated media entities comprising MSO IndusInd Media & Communications Limited (IMCL) and Grant Investrade Limited (GIL) that has launched the HITS digital platform under brand name NXT Digital.

    The company in a statement claimed the HITS platform is making good progress in its expansion plans in the rural markets. The services, being now provided in all the states of the country and 640 districts, are available in more than 1,000 locations. The company claimed that GIL has also been successful in getting more than 97 per cent of its operators/customers on a pre-paid payment mode.

    According to HVL, IMCL is continuing to consolidate its position in phase I and II markets on its own, while its joint ventures too were progressing well. As part of cost rationalisation and improvement in efficiency, IMCL has outsourced the management of its extensive fibre network so that it gets optimized in a focused way.

    ALSO READ :

    Hinduja’s NXT Digital enters Fastway-dominated Punjab

    NXT Digital-InCable merger gets shareholder nod; D’Silva bemoans lack of ecosystem support

  • Distribution vet Tony D’silva departs from IMCL

    Distribution vet Tony D’silva departs from IMCL

    MUMBAI: Tomorrow, Tony D’silva will serve his last day as the MD and CEO of IMCL, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Hinduja Ventures.

    “I have decided not to renew my contract (with IMCL) as I wanted to take a break,” D’Silva told Indiantelevision.com. He denied knowledge of his replacement. “They may announce it tomorrow, or whenever,” he said.

    During his stint at IMCL, he helped roll out the Hinduja-promoted headend in the sky (HITS) project NXT Digital, a process which took the group sometime, courtesy regulatory cholestrol. He also rolled out pre-paid subscriptions for the both NXT Digital and the cable network INCable which resulted in a consistent revenue stream for the latter. However, the haphazard management of the DAS III and DAS IV process by the government resulted in idelays. This meant that NXT Digital could not get fair digital content deals with some broadcasters. And this impacted its business planning.

    Looking back at the broadcast industry in India, the cable veteran of 20 years said that he witnessed exciting times in the industry. “There were tremendous challenges as well — some were natural and others created,” he remarked.

    The cable and broadcast industry was at cusp of a paradigm change, he said. “With new regulations, changes are taking place at least in spirit — if not (practically, or) legally. I hope it changed the course of the industry’s progress,” he said.

    With the positive changes — from push to a pull economy, each constituent and stakeholder of the distribution value chain, he said, must be able to sustain on its own. He said he hoped the industry’s fortunes would turn around sooner than later. He would not hazard a guess on the possible changes the budget may bring in.

    About the recent development that one MSO licence would permit pan-India service, he said the regulation, rather amendment, had come rather late in the day. “Simply, allowing the MSOs to function across India would not help immediately. From where would they get head-ends or how soon can they lay their fibre connectivity in newer area?” he questioned with a puzzled tone in his voice.

    “Until and unless, infrastructure sharing is allowed (and practically operational), there is no point in relaxation of rules which allow a cable operator to operate pan-India with a single licence,” he quipped.

    After his break, D’Silva said that he might start a business independently. On prodding about the sector he would be haring into, he shared that he only knew the broadcast industry, with a smile. .

  • Distribution vet Tony D’silva departs from IMCL

    Distribution vet Tony D’silva departs from IMCL

    MUMBAI: Tomorrow, Tony D’silva will serve his last day as the MD and CEO of IMCL, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Hinduja Ventures.

    “I have decided not to renew my contract (with IMCL) as I wanted to take a break,” D’Silva told Indiantelevision.com. He denied knowledge of his replacement. “They may announce it tomorrow, or whenever,” he said.

    During his stint at IMCL, he helped roll out the Hinduja-promoted headend in the sky (HITS) project NXT Digital, a process which took the group sometime, courtesy regulatory cholestrol. He also rolled out pre-paid subscriptions for the both NXT Digital and the cable network INCable which resulted in a consistent revenue stream for the latter. However, the haphazard management of the DAS III and DAS IV process by the government resulted in idelays. This meant that NXT Digital could not get fair digital content deals with some broadcasters. And this impacted its business planning.

    Looking back at the broadcast industry in India, the cable veteran of 20 years said that he witnessed exciting times in the industry. “There were tremendous challenges as well — some were natural and others created,” he remarked.

    The cable and broadcast industry was at cusp of a paradigm change, he said. “With new regulations, changes are taking place at least in spirit — if not (practically, or) legally. I hope it changed the course of the industry’s progress,” he said.

    With the positive changes — from push to a pull economy, each constituent and stakeholder of the distribution value chain, he said, must be able to sustain on its own. He said he hoped the industry’s fortunes would turn around sooner than later. He would not hazard a guess on the possible changes the budget may bring in.

    About the recent development that one MSO licence would permit pan-India service, he said the regulation, rather amendment, had come rather late in the day. “Simply, allowing the MSOs to function across India would not help immediately. From where would they get head-ends or how soon can they lay their fibre connectivity in newer area?” he questioned with a puzzled tone in his voice.

    “Until and unless, infrastructure sharing is allowed (and practically operational), there is no point in relaxation of rules which allow a cable operator to operate pan-India with a single licence,” he quipped.

    After his break, D’Silva said that he might start a business independently. On prodding about the sector he would be haring into, he shared that he only knew the broadcast industry, with a smile. .