ITV

Tag: OTA

  • Musafir.com appoints Vijay Kesavan as CEO India Operations

    Musafir.com appoints Vijay Kesavan as CEO India Operations

    MUMBAI: Last year, the Indian hospitality industry welcomed one more entrant – Musafir.com – and it is all ready to face the fast–growing Indian online travel agency (OTA) market by strengthening its team.

     

    The online portal has appointed Vijay Kesavan as the new CEO for its Indian operations. In this new role, Kesavan will be responsible for driving Musafir.com’s business strategy which is aimed at capturing the brand’s position among the top five OTAs in India.

     

    Oh his new role, Kesavan said, “With the ever increasing demand in Travel and Tourism Industry, India offers tremendous business opportunities for a new brand like Musafir.com. Having proved its credibility in the UAE, Musafir has already made an impact in the Indian segment. I look forward to the new challenges and great experiences that the brand has to offer.”

     

    Prior to this, Kesavan ran operations for Thomas Cook as the senior vice-president and head of online sales and distribution. He comes with extensive experience in the travel industry having worked across the sector with akbartravelsonline.com and Indigo Airlines. He has in-depth knowledge of the e-commerce industry having started his career with the Interglobe Technology Quotient.

     

    Commenting on the announcement, Musafir.com MD Sachin Gadoya said, “We are delighted to welcome Vijay to Musafir.com, he has a wealth of experience in the travel and tourism sector, which will greatly benefit the organisation.  Being a young and innovative brand, we aspire to be among the top 5 OTAs in India by 2018. To achieve this ambitious goal, we continue to add talent and expertise to the organisation. Vijay’s appointment is an example of the high calibre team we continue to build. We are positive that his rich pool of knowledge would contribute towards strengthening our base and accelerating growth in India.”

  • A research by GfK reveals a rise in cord cutting in the US

    A research by GfK reveals a rise in cord cutting in the US

    MUMBAI: A research conducted by GfK Media & Entertainment shows that the estimated number of Americans relying exclusively on over-the-air (OTA) television broadcasting increased to 59.7 million, up from 54 million just a year ago. The percentage of TV households currently OTA reliant has grown from 14 per cent in 2010 to 19.3 per cent in the current survey, a 38 per cent increase in just four years. The survey also found that the demographics of broadcast-only households continue to skew toward younger adults, minorities and lower-income families.

    The 2013 Ownership Survey and Trend Report, part of The Home Technology Monitor research series, found that 19.3 per cent of all US households with TVs rely solely on OTA signals to watch TV programming; this compares with 17.8 per cent of homes reported as broadcast-only last year. Overall, GfK estimates that 22.4 million households representing 59.7 million consumers receive television exclusively through broadcast signals and are not subscribing to a pay-TV service (i.e. a traditional pay-TV service such as cable, satellite, Verizon FIOS or AT&T U-Verse).

    “Over-the-air households continue to grow, making up an increasingly sizeable portion of television viewers,” says GfK Media & Entertainment senior VP David Tice. And, the proportion of households that have never paid for cable or satellite service also continues to grow. “Our research reveals that over-the-air broadcasting remains an important distribution platform of TV programming; this year‘s results confirm the statistically significant growth in the number of broadcast-only TV households in the US, which we identified in 2012.”

    According to the 2013 study, 5.9 per cent of TV households “cut the cord” in their current home at some point in the past. Among households that eliminated pay-TV service responding to the 2013 survey, most report overall cost-cutting or not enough value for cost as the reason for doing so (respondents could give more than one reason). These were also the top reasons given in the 2012 survey for eliminating pay-TV service.

    Homes headed by younger adults are also more likely to access TV programming exclusively through broadcast signals. Twenty-eight percent of homes with a head of household age 18-34 (up from 18 per cent in 2010) are broadcast only, compared with 19 per cent of homes in which the head of household is 35-49, or 17 per cent of homes in which the head of household is 50 years of age or older. Two out of ten (21 per cent) younger over-the-air households have never purchased a pay TV service according to the current survey.

  • Napster mobile launches ‘Over-The-Air’ music service in Japan

    Napster mobile launches ‘Over-The-Air’ music service in Japan

    MUMBAI: Napster , the digital music pioneer, has announced the launch of Napster Mobile on iMode, NTT DoCoMo’s mobile internet platform currently used by over 40 million of its over 52 million mobile subscribers across Japan.

    DoCoMo customers can use Napster Mobile to access full-length songs and ringtones that can be delivered Over-The-Air (OTA), directly to their mobile handsets including the N902iX, the SH903i, the F903i, the D903i and other soon to be released models in the 903i series for immediate listening and downloading, asserts an official release.

    Napster Mobile subscribers in Japan pay a monthly access fee of approximately $3 per month, and can acquire individual songs and ringtones for mobile delivery and download using a credit-based system. Subscribers receive 300 credits per month to procure individual songs and ringtones, and they can purchase additional credits at any time.

    Using a compatible DoCoMo handset gives Napster Japan’s Napster To Go portable subscription customers the power to transfer their favorite music from their PC directly to their mobile phone.

    Napster chairman and CEO Chris Gorog said, “With analysts projecting that mobile music will become a multi-billion dollar business in Japan over the next few years, we are very pleased and excited by Napster Japan’s deep partnership with DoCoMo, Japan’s number one wireless carrier. DoCoMo’s aggressive promotion of our offerings in Japan both the PC subscription service and the over-the-air mobile service will enable Napster to deliver on our commitment to helping music fans everywhere enjoy the best digital music experience possible.”

    iMode customers can subscribe to Napster Mobile for unlimited access to Napster Mobile’s music programming features, including personalized recommendations, featured artists and new releases, exclusive music and chart information, and to browse Napster Mobile’s vast catalog of full-length songs and ringtones, adds the release.

  • US wireless music services to gain over 50 million users by 2010: IDC study

    US wireless music services to gain over 50 million users by 2010: IDC study

    MUMBAI: With wireless over-the-air (OTA) music services offering mobile phone users a convenient way to buy music and providing an exciting new distribution channel to the music industry, an IDC survey has predicted that despite low adoption, the ‘US wireless music services will have over 50 million users and generate more than a billion dollars in revenue in 2010, just 5 years after appearing in late 2005’.

    “Wireless music services are still in their infancy in the US, but are expected to quickly gain traction during the forecast period. By the end of this year, the number of US OTA customers will be approximately half that of online music service users, but may surpass them by the end of the forecast period,” says Consumer Markets: Audio programme manager Susan Kevorkian.

    According to an IDC survey, a total of 22 per cent of respondents indicated that they would buy at least one track from their service provider within the first three months of availability, assuming they had an appropriate handset. Eight percent of respondents age 25 to 44 indicated they would buy four or more tracks. It’s this age group that IDC analysts believe could be the core base of wireless over-the-air service users, in particular those who may be new to digital music services.

    In order for wireless music services to reach critical mass, a variety of music-enabled devices need to first find their way into the hands of wireless subscribers. This has not happened so far due in part to limited offerings from the handset vendors. However, the shift towards a greater variety of music-enabled mobile phones at various price points is already in motion. IDC expects music-enabled mobile phone shipments to reach nearly 60 per cent of all handsets shipped in the US by 2010.

    “OTA mobile music storefronts are emerging as one of the most important new channels for fans to discover, purchase, and enjoy full-track music and related content. Key drivers for future growth include music-enabled handset penetration, deployment of broadband wireless networks, increased marketing efforts, bundling and cross-promotion of various music-related services, and driving flat-rate pricing schemes. IDC expects that OTA tracks at about $2.00 each will emerge as a sustainable price point as long as mobile storefronts are well-designed and offer a wide selection of music, and the music listening experience on the device is comparable to MP3 players,” says Wireless and Mobile Communications: Entertainment research manager Lewis Ward.

    IDC is a subsidiary of IDG, the world’s leading technology media, research, and events company.