ITV

Tag: OTT

  • How 4K video bearer networks will pan out: Huawei’s view

    How 4K video bearer networks will pan out: Huawei’s view

    NEW DELHI: Video services will account for as much as 80 per cent of network traffic in the future, and 4K video, as a leading factor in the development of video services, has already become the strategic high ground on which telecom operators and online OTT video content platforms are striving to attract customers and obtain competitive advantage.

    In a white paper called The Experience-driven 4K Bearer Network released at its 2016 Global Analysts Summit in Shenzhen, Huawei said many mainstream telecom operations and OTT content providers around the world have already released 4K service strategic plans.

    Compared with traditional video services, 4K video services require higher bandwidth, lower latency, and reduced packet loss rates. With the rapid growth of 4K video traffic, however, the expansion of telecom operators’ networks is unable to meet fast growing bandwidth requirements, and the dilemma between providing a good video experience and ensuring return on network investment is becoming more distinct. The question of how to build a video service bearer network that can monitor user experience, allow service fault identification and demarcation, guarantee service quality, and benefit all parties is now of critical importance for the development of 4K services.

    The white paper focuses on two issues that have drawn considerable attention from telecommunications operators: how to ensure a good user experience for 4K video and how to bear the service. The paper presents an end-to-end target network architecture and evolution solutions for various deployment scenarios. As the industry’s first technical document to systematically set forth 4K bearer network solutions, the white paper should be of interest to telecom operators considering deployment of online 4K services  as well as establishment of  a positive business cycle in the 4K industry.

    The White Paper is claimed to be the first to systematically introduce the User, Unified, Ubiquitous-Mean Opinion Score for Video (U-vMOS) benchmark, which objectively quantifies end-user experience. It offers a guide to build an end-to-end best-experience 4K bearer networks architecture helping operators to simplify network layers, deploy gigabit access efficiently, and improve capabilities in intelligent acceleration, network perception, as well as big data analytics. Based on this proposal, operators can effectively solve problems in commercial applications of 4K videos, such as long loading time, pixelation, stalling, and even difficulties in locating reported faults.

    Creating a best-experience 4K bearer network can alleviate user experience degradation, as well as difficulties in service fault identification and demarcation. Telecom operators can provide 4K video themselves, gaining a competitive edge by their ability to offer differentiated services, or they can work together with OTT video content providers, providing them with a video distribution network that features BoD, quantifiable user experience, and manageable quality. End-users will enjoy not only top-quality 4K video, but also smooth online playback and carrier-class troubleshooting service.

    As an advocate for experience-centric network construction, Huawei says that it has actively invested in 4K UHD video bearer networks and carried out joint innovation with industry-leading operators to create 4K bearer network solutions that provide the best user experience. Huawei has also supported operators in successfully providing 4K video services and increasing the value of their fixed broadband networks. At present, Huawei’s best-experience 4K bearer network is already widely used at China Telecom, China Mobile, China Unicom and British Telecom.

     

  • How 4K video bearer networks will pan out: Huawei’s view

    How 4K video bearer networks will pan out: Huawei’s view

    NEW DELHI: Video services will account for as much as 80 per cent of network traffic in the future, and 4K video, as a leading factor in the development of video services, has already become the strategic high ground on which telecom operators and online OTT video content platforms are striving to attract customers and obtain competitive advantage.

    In a white paper called The Experience-driven 4K Bearer Network released at its 2016 Global Analysts Summit in Shenzhen, Huawei said many mainstream telecom operations and OTT content providers around the world have already released 4K service strategic plans.

    Compared with traditional video services, 4K video services require higher bandwidth, lower latency, and reduced packet loss rates. With the rapid growth of 4K video traffic, however, the expansion of telecom operators’ networks is unable to meet fast growing bandwidth requirements, and the dilemma between providing a good video experience and ensuring return on network investment is becoming more distinct. The question of how to build a video service bearer network that can monitor user experience, allow service fault identification and demarcation, guarantee service quality, and benefit all parties is now of critical importance for the development of 4K services.

    The white paper focuses on two issues that have drawn considerable attention from telecommunications operators: how to ensure a good user experience for 4K video and how to bear the service. The paper presents an end-to-end target network architecture and evolution solutions for various deployment scenarios. As the industry’s first technical document to systematically set forth 4K bearer network solutions, the white paper should be of interest to telecom operators considering deployment of online 4K services  as well as establishment of  a positive business cycle in the 4K industry.

    The White Paper is claimed to be the first to systematically introduce the User, Unified, Ubiquitous-Mean Opinion Score for Video (U-vMOS) benchmark, which objectively quantifies end-user experience. It offers a guide to build an end-to-end best-experience 4K bearer networks architecture helping operators to simplify network layers, deploy gigabit access efficiently, and improve capabilities in intelligent acceleration, network perception, as well as big data analytics. Based on this proposal, operators can effectively solve problems in commercial applications of 4K videos, such as long loading time, pixelation, stalling, and even difficulties in locating reported faults.

    Creating a best-experience 4K bearer network can alleviate user experience degradation, as well as difficulties in service fault identification and demarcation. Telecom operators can provide 4K video themselves, gaining a competitive edge by their ability to offer differentiated services, or they can work together with OTT video content providers, providing them with a video distribution network that features BoD, quantifiable user experience, and manageable quality. End-users will enjoy not only top-quality 4K video, but also smooth online playback and carrier-class troubleshooting service.

    As an advocate for experience-centric network construction, Huawei says that it has actively invested in 4K UHD video bearer networks and carried out joint innovation with industry-leading operators to create 4K bearer network solutions that provide the best user experience. Huawei has also supported operators in successfully providing 4K video services and increasing the value of their fixed broadband networks. At present, Huawei’s best-experience 4K bearer network is already widely used at China Telecom, China Mobile, China Unicom and British Telecom.

     

  • Indian OTT content has a huge potential to make money in overseas markets

    Indian OTT content has a huge potential to make money in overseas markets

    MUMBAI:  With every big and small player wanting a bite out of the OTT pie, it is critical to stop and think about the ground realities involved with this paradigm shift to prevent overzealousness getting the better of rationality. That is precisely why the thought leaders and stakeholders in the emerging space got together to discuss at length the OTT Opportunities and Strategies in India  at the second edition of NexTv Series India 2016 conference organised by Dataxis

    The organisers approached the topic in a more targeted way by splitting the panel into two parts – short form and long form content. The first panel comprising of Red Chillies VFX lead digital strategist Sidharth Iyer, Eros Now business head Zulfiqar Khan, CA Media Digital CEO Vivek Jain, and Vuclip global content and acquisition director Nikhil Naik discussing long form content on OTT platforms.

    The panel started with each player laying down their perspective on what made the OTT sphere such a game changing one, and then went on to categorise the genres of long format content on OTT platforms that they thought would work.

    After segregating the type of content that Bollywood is currently churning out, Iyer was quick to point out the potential for the booming kids’ content in India, especially in the digital space. Citing the example of Viacom18’s recently launched OTT arm VOOT and its separate kids’ library, Iyer emphasised that the kids’ genre was the next big thing in the content space, not just for its reach but because of its prolonged shelf life as well.

    Seconding Iyer, Khan further reiterated the OTT mantra, “What works on TV doesn’t work on digital.”
    The panellists also warned against stereotyping of content by constantly asking “what genre works on OTT”, as it could restrict creators from thinking out of the box and creating beneficial disruptions.

    The overseas market for the emerging OTT platforms in India was the next big turning point in the discussion. Naik, backed by experience of operating in several south Asian markets, bet high on the revenue generation potential of Indian content in overseas markets. “Solving user problems is the right way to approach a new market, and this will show revenue growth for the players,” Naik suggested. Citing his own company’s experience from operating in the Asian market, Naik narrated how providing quick and quality subtitles along with simulcast options of popular Korean dramas won subscribers in its Malaysian operations.

    Censorship was a mammoth issue that the panel addressed. Speaking from a digital content creator perspective, Iyer vouched for the creative liberty of creators, while Jain suggested targeted showcasing or distribution of content to deal with the censorship issue. Khan brought in a fresh perspective by calling censorship a ‘cultural issue rather than a policy one’. “We can’t judge how the entire nation thinks based on a few people here in a five star  hotel in Mumbai say. Solving the censorship issue lies in understanding the value system of the country rather than ignoring it or forcing it to change. There is a huge gap in tier II and tier III cities between access rates and sensibility development. I suggest we take the example from the TV model and form an industry body and practice self-regulation. It’s high time we start talking about it.”

    The second panel comprising of Alt Digital Media Entertainment CSO Eklavya Bhattacharya, Ditto TV business head Archana Anand, Zenga group MD Shabir Momin and  Fame Digital SVP Shreyas Rao  opened the floor with discussions about the challenges in creating short form content for the digital platform.

    “Everyone diving into the OTT space is hedging their bets on the media given its nascent nature. It is leading to content creators becoming more and more possessive of their content, and pushing the prices upward,” Anand made a powerful point.

    Steering away from the predictable ‘pricing’ issue for OTT platforms and digital content creators, Bhattacharya shared his thoughts on ‘convenience.’  “Video consumption is currently driven by convenience, and not taste and preference. Music saw a similar paradigm shift when cassettes disappeared and people asked where the artists and labels were going to make money from. And now T-Series on digital is one of the biggest revenue generators. This doesn’t mean that people didn’t chose the easy way out by downloading songs from sites like Songs.pk, but that it became easier to buy and listen to songs online. So whether people will pay or not ultimately boils down to convenience even for the OTT players.”

    The panel also gave an interesting point of view on the David vs Goliath scenario that currently exists between the big label OTT players like VOOT, Hotstar and Sony Live; and the emerging content start-ups. “The larger players can play on their experience of content creation and their ready bank, but the newer players have the advantage of being agile and flexible. They will be the innovation drivers in content on OTT platforms and evangelise new genres playing on their social media and topicalty strengths.”

    Anand however placed her bets on the OTT platforms operating under a larger broadcast umbrella like SPN, Viacon 18 or Star, as ultimately success in this emerging sphere would be a waiting game. “Those going for the AVOD model will have to build a critical viewership before they can rake in the revenues, and those who are opting for the subscription revenue model, will have to wait till the bandwidth issue gets resolved and Indians adopt to paying for their content, both needing a good two to three years. Thus to sustain these two to five years, the big players will have the funding advantage.”

    The panellists further highlighted the potential for Indian content to travel overseas and make a market for itself. “Geo agnostic content is the future of OTT. No one really cares that a Swedish production house is making GOT. If the content is good, people are willing to pay for it. Between Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, that is, the Indian subcontinent, Indian content has a huge potential,” Bhattacharya shared. “There is a huge market out there amongst the large population of the Indian diaspora sitting outside the country who are also in a situation to pay for the content.”

    Bhattacharya further added that there was a scope to create content that would appeal to the regional markets, and the diaspora that related to that content outside the country. “For years content creators were creating content so that broadcasters could monetise it for advertisers so a lot of the content was very specific. Who is creating content for that Tamil guy sitting in Singapore? Give them good content they will pay for it for certain.”

    The panel concluded with discussions on a need for a new type advertisement creative that wasn’t intrusive and moved away from the traditional way of slapping advertisements on audiences. Cleverly and creatively done branded content was an alternative offered by the panel.

     

  • Indian OTT content has a huge potential to make money in overseas markets

    Indian OTT content has a huge potential to make money in overseas markets

    MUMBAI:  With every big and small player wanting a bite out of the OTT pie, it is critical to stop and think about the ground realities involved with this paradigm shift to prevent overzealousness getting the better of rationality. That is precisely why the thought leaders and stakeholders in the emerging space got together to discuss at length the OTT Opportunities and Strategies in India  at the second edition of NexTv Series India 2016 conference organised by Dataxis

    The organisers approached the topic in a more targeted way by splitting the panel into two parts – short form and long form content. The first panel comprising of Red Chillies VFX lead digital strategist Sidharth Iyer, Eros Now business head Zulfiqar Khan, CA Media Digital CEO Vivek Jain, and Vuclip global content and acquisition director Nikhil Naik discussing long form content on OTT platforms.

    The panel started with each player laying down their perspective on what made the OTT sphere such a game changing one, and then went on to categorise the genres of long format content on OTT platforms that they thought would work.

    After segregating the type of content that Bollywood is currently churning out, Iyer was quick to point out the potential for the booming kids’ content in India, especially in the digital space. Citing the example of Viacom18’s recently launched OTT arm VOOT and its separate kids’ library, Iyer emphasised that the kids’ genre was the next big thing in the content space, not just for its reach but because of its prolonged shelf life as well.

    Seconding Iyer, Khan further reiterated the OTT mantra, “What works on TV doesn’t work on digital.”
    The panellists also warned against stereotyping of content by constantly asking “what genre works on OTT”, as it could restrict creators from thinking out of the box and creating beneficial disruptions.

    The overseas market for the emerging OTT platforms in India was the next big turning point in the discussion. Naik, backed by experience of operating in several south Asian markets, bet high on the revenue generation potential of Indian content in overseas markets. “Solving user problems is the right way to approach a new market, and this will show revenue growth for the players,” Naik suggested. Citing his own company’s experience from operating in the Asian market, Naik narrated how providing quick and quality subtitles along with simulcast options of popular Korean dramas won subscribers in its Malaysian operations.

    Censorship was a mammoth issue that the panel addressed. Speaking from a digital content creator perspective, Iyer vouched for the creative liberty of creators, while Jain suggested targeted showcasing or distribution of content to deal with the censorship issue. Khan brought in a fresh perspective by calling censorship a ‘cultural issue rather than a policy one’. “We can’t judge how the entire nation thinks based on a few people here in a five star  hotel in Mumbai say. Solving the censorship issue lies in understanding the value system of the country rather than ignoring it or forcing it to change. There is a huge gap in tier II and tier III cities between access rates and sensibility development. I suggest we take the example from the TV model and form an industry body and practice self-regulation. It’s high time we start talking about it.”

    The second panel comprising of Alt Digital Media Entertainment CSO Eklavya Bhattacharya, Ditto TV business head Archana Anand, Zenga group MD Shabir Momin and  Fame Digital SVP Shreyas Rao  opened the floor with discussions about the challenges in creating short form content for the digital platform.

    “Everyone diving into the OTT space is hedging their bets on the media given its nascent nature. It is leading to content creators becoming more and more possessive of their content, and pushing the prices upward,” Anand made a powerful point.

    Steering away from the predictable ‘pricing’ issue for OTT platforms and digital content creators, Bhattacharya shared his thoughts on ‘convenience.’  “Video consumption is currently driven by convenience, and not taste and preference. Music saw a similar paradigm shift when cassettes disappeared and people asked where the artists and labels were going to make money from. And now T-Series on digital is one of the biggest revenue generators. This doesn’t mean that people didn’t chose the easy way out by downloading songs from sites like Songs.pk, but that it became easier to buy and listen to songs online. So whether people will pay or not ultimately boils down to convenience even for the OTT players.”

    The panel also gave an interesting point of view on the David vs Goliath scenario that currently exists between the big label OTT players like VOOT, Hotstar and Sony Live; and the emerging content start-ups. “The larger players can play on their experience of content creation and their ready bank, but the newer players have the advantage of being agile and flexible. They will be the innovation drivers in content on OTT platforms and evangelise new genres playing on their social media and topicalty strengths.”

    Anand however placed her bets on the OTT platforms operating under a larger broadcast umbrella like SPN, Viacon 18 or Star, as ultimately success in this emerging sphere would be a waiting game. “Those going for the AVOD model will have to build a critical viewership before they can rake in the revenues, and those who are opting for the subscription revenue model, will have to wait till the bandwidth issue gets resolved and Indians adopt to paying for their content, both needing a good two to three years. Thus to sustain these two to five years, the big players will have the funding advantage.”

    The panellists further highlighted the potential for Indian content to travel overseas and make a market for itself. “Geo agnostic content is the future of OTT. No one really cares that a Swedish production house is making GOT. If the content is good, people are willing to pay for it. Between Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, that is, the Indian subcontinent, Indian content has a huge potential,” Bhattacharya shared. “There is a huge market out there amongst the large population of the Indian diaspora sitting outside the country who are also in a situation to pay for the content.”

    Bhattacharya further added that there was a scope to create content that would appeal to the regional markets, and the diaspora that related to that content outside the country. “For years content creators were creating content so that broadcasters could monetise it for advertisers so a lot of the content was very specific. Who is creating content for that Tamil guy sitting in Singapore? Give them good content they will pay for it for certain.”

    The panel concluded with discussions on a need for a new type advertisement creative that wasn’t intrusive and moved away from the traditional way of slapping advertisements on audiences. Cleverly and creatively done branded content was an alternative offered by the panel.

     

  • BBC Worldwide secures new digital deals in India with Hungama and Vuclip

    BBC Worldwide secures new digital deals in India with Hungama and Vuclip

    MUMBAI: BBC Worldwide announced on the second day of MipTV, two new licensing deals with India’s digital services providers, Hungama, and Vuclip. With these SVOD deals, India viewers will have access to award-winning and popular BBC drama series never before seen in India.

    From end April 2016, viewers of Hungama will be able to watch BBC programmes premiering in India for the first time including crime drama Prey (Series 1) – in which John Simm (Life on Mars, State of Play) stars as a man on the run, desperate to clear his name for the sake of his family; Not Safe For Work– a comedy drama which follows Katherine (played by Zawe Ashton) who is reluctantly relocated from London to Northampton as part of public spending cuts and she meets a disparate yet similarly disillusioned group of workmates; and sci-fi, comedy and horror drama Save Our Skins –  in which protagonists  Ben and Stephen wake up one morning to realise the human race has disappeared and they are the only two humans left on Earth. These programmes, and more will be available on demand for viewers to watch at their own convenience.

    Subscribers of Vuclip’s OTT service, Viu can now catch blockbusting BBC dramas including the modern reworking of Tolstoy’s epic masterpiece, War and Peace, starring Paul Dano, Lily James and James Norton; and BAFTA-nominated Doctor Foster in which Doctor Gemma Foster, a loving wife and trusted doctor’s seemingly perfect world is shattered when she suspects her husband of having an affair.

    “Over the last few months, we have seen an upward trend where BBC’s dramas are being increasingly snapped up by Indian clients for their linear TV and digital TV platforms. A study commissioned by BBC Worldwide last year showed that international audiences, including India, love original British drama,” said BBC Worldwide (India) SVP & GM Myleeta Aga.  “With more and more Indians going online to watch their favourite dramas, we are excited to work with Hungama and Viu to satisfy viewers’ demands by bring critically acclaimed and highly rated BBC programmes to their subscribers.”

  • BBC Worldwide secures new digital deals in India with Hungama and Vuclip

    BBC Worldwide secures new digital deals in India with Hungama and Vuclip

    MUMBAI: BBC Worldwide announced on the second day of MipTV, two new licensing deals with India’s digital services providers, Hungama, and Vuclip. With these SVOD deals, India viewers will have access to award-winning and popular BBC drama series never before seen in India.

    From end April 2016, viewers of Hungama will be able to watch BBC programmes premiering in India for the first time including crime drama Prey (Series 1) – in which John Simm (Life on Mars, State of Play) stars as a man on the run, desperate to clear his name for the sake of his family; Not Safe For Work– a comedy drama which follows Katherine (played by Zawe Ashton) who is reluctantly relocated from London to Northampton as part of public spending cuts and she meets a disparate yet similarly disillusioned group of workmates; and sci-fi, comedy and horror drama Save Our Skins –  in which protagonists  Ben and Stephen wake up one morning to realise the human race has disappeared and they are the only two humans left on Earth. These programmes, and more will be available on demand for viewers to watch at their own convenience.

    Subscribers of Vuclip’s OTT service, Viu can now catch blockbusting BBC dramas including the modern reworking of Tolstoy’s epic masterpiece, War and Peace, starring Paul Dano, Lily James and James Norton; and BAFTA-nominated Doctor Foster in which Doctor Gemma Foster, a loving wife and trusted doctor’s seemingly perfect world is shattered when she suspects her husband of having an affair.

    “Over the last few months, we have seen an upward trend where BBC’s dramas are being increasingly snapped up by Indian clients for their linear TV and digital TV platforms. A study commissioned by BBC Worldwide last year showed that international audiences, including India, love original British drama,” said BBC Worldwide (India) SVP & GM Myleeta Aga.  “With more and more Indians going online to watch their favourite dramas, we are excited to work with Hungama and Viu to satisfy viewers’ demands by bring critically acclaimed and highly rated BBC programmes to their subscribers.”

  • Hathway expands role of Shirish Ruparel; Star India’s NM Rao joins as head content & carriage

    Hathway expands role of Shirish Ruparel; Star India’s NM Rao joins as head content & carriage

    MUMBAI: Hathway is restructuring its content vertical by expanding the role of executive vice president- content & VAS Shirish Ruparel, with the growing demands of the business in a move to strengthen its content team and to diversify its revenue streams.

    While expanding Ruparel’s role, Hathway has also taken on-board N.M. Rao as head-content & carriage to handle all-India content and carriage with effect from 4 April, based at their corporate office in Mumbai, and he will report to Shirish Ruparel.

    Ruparel’s portfolio will now include content and carriage, ad sales, OTT service offerings and value added services as Hathway looks to create new revenue streams in the new digitization era. As part of his expanded role, Ruparel would now oversee content and carriage and Ad sales monetization while also develop Hathways’ in-house channel bouquet into a series of strong pan-India and regional channels and improve the content portfolio for in-house and regional channel base by working with leading production and content providers.

    Additionally, he will also be responsible for increasing the value pie of Hathway across new streams such as OTT (Over-the-top TV) services and offers and diversify the business into segments such as VAS (value-added services) including VOD (video-on demand), mobile streaming, EPG amongst other key monetization initiatives.

    In his expanded role, Ruparel will continue to report to president-video business T S Panesar.

    Rao joins Hathway from Star India where he was working as assistant vice president-affiliate sales looking after carriage and content for key MSO accounts as part of the broadcasters’ distribution set-up.

    Having experience of over 15 years, Rao has been a part of the media and broadcast industry for more than a decade having worked across both print and electronic media in the areas of affiliate sales with Star TV (content, carriage, trade marketing) and advertising sales with The Times of India (print & special projects). As part of his new role, Rao will be responsible for negotiation and management of all content deals with broadcasters, both for content and carriage.

    Commenting on this restructuring, Hathway Cable & Datacom CEO & MD Jagdish Kumar said, “In the digitization era, content will play an integral role for Hathway in defining and transforming customer experience and with this aim, we are bringing in a change in our content vertical composition. Shirish Ruparel has been one of the key members of the senior management and contributed immensely towards the building of our content team. We are expanding his role to utilize his vast experience and expertise in building wider content revenue streams in segments like OTT and VAS. We are also pleased to have N.M Rao on-board with us to look after content and carriage as we aim to create a strong vertical with multiple revenue streams that will set the business in the new fiscal. With his vast experience in distribution, content and carriage with Star, we are extremely confident that Rao will provide the right boost to our overall objectives and set new benchmarks.”

    In February, Hathway had hired Anand Kamani as vice president- advertising sales to handle its ad-sales business at an all-India level, also reporting into Shirish Ruparel. With the expansion of Ruparel’s role and Rao joining the team to focus on content and carriage, Hathway is looking at an aggressive roadmap to build its content portfolio to increase revenue generation at a time when digitization roll-out is underway in Phase- III and IV and is targeted to complete by end of this year.

    With DTH players also looking to offer additional value added services to its consumers, Hathway as one of the leading multi-system operators is also looking at the next level of customization by offering its subscribers products and solutions which will provide added entertainment and benefits to build better ARPUs.

  • Hathway expands role of Shirish Ruparel; Star India’s NM Rao joins as head content & carriage

    Hathway expands role of Shirish Ruparel; Star India’s NM Rao joins as head content & carriage

    MUMBAI: Hathway is restructuring its content vertical by expanding the role of executive vice president- content & VAS Shirish Ruparel, with the growing demands of the business in a move to strengthen its content team and to diversify its revenue streams.

    While expanding Ruparel’s role, Hathway has also taken on-board N.M. Rao as head-content & carriage to handle all-India content and carriage with effect from 4 April, based at their corporate office in Mumbai, and he will report to Shirish Ruparel.

    Ruparel’s portfolio will now include content and carriage, ad sales, OTT service offerings and value added services as Hathway looks to create new revenue streams in the new digitization era. As part of his expanded role, Ruparel would now oversee content and carriage and Ad sales monetization while also develop Hathways’ in-house channel bouquet into a series of strong pan-India and regional channels and improve the content portfolio for in-house and regional channel base by working with leading production and content providers.

    Additionally, he will also be responsible for increasing the value pie of Hathway across new streams such as OTT (Over-the-top TV) services and offers and diversify the business into segments such as VAS (value-added services) including VOD (video-on demand), mobile streaming, EPG amongst other key monetization initiatives.

    In his expanded role, Ruparel will continue to report to president-video business T S Panesar.

    Rao joins Hathway from Star India where he was working as assistant vice president-affiliate sales looking after carriage and content for key MSO accounts as part of the broadcasters’ distribution set-up.

    Having experience of over 15 years, Rao has been a part of the media and broadcast industry for more than a decade having worked across both print and electronic media in the areas of affiliate sales with Star TV (content, carriage, trade marketing) and advertising sales with The Times of India (print & special projects). As part of his new role, Rao will be responsible for negotiation and management of all content deals with broadcasters, both for content and carriage.

    Commenting on this restructuring, Hathway Cable & Datacom CEO & MD Jagdish Kumar said, “In the digitization era, content will play an integral role for Hathway in defining and transforming customer experience and with this aim, we are bringing in a change in our content vertical composition. Shirish Ruparel has been one of the key members of the senior management and contributed immensely towards the building of our content team. We are expanding his role to utilize his vast experience and expertise in building wider content revenue streams in segments like OTT and VAS. We are also pleased to have N.M Rao on-board with us to look after content and carriage as we aim to create a strong vertical with multiple revenue streams that will set the business in the new fiscal. With his vast experience in distribution, content and carriage with Star, we are extremely confident that Rao will provide the right boost to our overall objectives and set new benchmarks.”

    In February, Hathway had hired Anand Kamani as vice president- advertising sales to handle its ad-sales business at an all-India level, also reporting into Shirish Ruparel. With the expansion of Ruparel’s role and Rao joining the team to focus on content and carriage, Hathway is looking at an aggressive roadmap to build its content portfolio to increase revenue generation at a time when digitization roll-out is underway in Phase- III and IV and is targeted to complete by end of this year.

    With DTH players also looking to offer additional value added services to its consumers, Hathway as one of the leading multi-system operators is also looking at the next level of customization by offering its subscribers products and solutions which will provide added entertainment and benefits to build better ARPUs.

  • nexGTv goes live across the world

    nexGTv goes live across the world

    MUMBAI: The flagship offering from Digivive Services, nexGTv launched the next phase of its growth by announcing its global availability from today. nexGTv – which has hitherto been India-centric in scope and business, aims to take its Live TV content offering of more than 150 channels, together with 1,000 plus movies as well as a huge inventory of VOD and television shows to attract large clusters of the global Indian diaspora onto its freemium platform.

    In the first phase, nexGTv has already secured the requisite digital rights to screen content beyond Indian borders for more than 11,500 hours of programming from close to 20,000 hours of programming it hosts on the platform. Given the large swathes of Hindi, English and Tamil-speaking communities abroad, nexGTv will focus initially to ensure that content in these three languages is made available on both its Web and App platforms.

    Aside from the aggregated content, nexGTv will also utilize this opportunity to globally showcase India’s very first mobi-series and nexGTv’s premier Original series – It’s My City.

    It’s My City is a 14-episode bi-weekly series starring Priyanka Chopra that highlights the lives and challenges of four girls in a city far from home, premiered recently on nexGTv.
    Speaking on the occasion, nexGTv COO Abhesh Verma said, “We’re delighted to go live across the world! Having earned our spurs in the Indian market over the last five years fine-tuning our product, content catalogue and consumer understanding, we’re confident that we’re ready for our global consumers. Our endeavour is to deliver the best product and streaming experience to our audiences across the globe. We’re confident that our mix of aggregated content including Live TV, VOD as well as original premium programming will resonate very well with our audiences.”

    He further added, “nexGTv will be currently targeting its expansion in more than 140 countries through the global billing on its Android app and will be looking to expand its global footprint in tandem with Google Play store. Markets with significant Indian diaspora will be our priority in order to establish a strong foothold. The vast variety and multiple genres of content on our platform comprising devotional, fitness, comedy, kids, infotainment, entertainment, news, movies and music will act as a strong magnet for our international users.”

     

  • nexGTv goes live across the world

    nexGTv goes live across the world

    MUMBAI: The flagship offering from Digivive Services, nexGTv launched the next phase of its growth by announcing its global availability from today. nexGTv – which has hitherto been India-centric in scope and business, aims to take its Live TV content offering of more than 150 channels, together with 1,000 plus movies as well as a huge inventory of VOD and television shows to attract large clusters of the global Indian diaspora onto its freemium platform.

    In the first phase, nexGTv has already secured the requisite digital rights to screen content beyond Indian borders for more than 11,500 hours of programming from close to 20,000 hours of programming it hosts on the platform. Given the large swathes of Hindi, English and Tamil-speaking communities abroad, nexGTv will focus initially to ensure that content in these three languages is made available on both its Web and App platforms.

    Aside from the aggregated content, nexGTv will also utilize this opportunity to globally showcase India’s very first mobi-series and nexGTv’s premier Original series – It’s My City.

    It’s My City is a 14-episode bi-weekly series starring Priyanka Chopra that highlights the lives and challenges of four girls in a city far from home, premiered recently on nexGTv.
    Speaking on the occasion, nexGTv COO Abhesh Verma said, “We’re delighted to go live across the world! Having earned our spurs in the Indian market over the last five years fine-tuning our product, content catalogue and consumer understanding, we’re confident that we’re ready for our global consumers. Our endeavour is to deliver the best product and streaming experience to our audiences across the globe. We’re confident that our mix of aggregated content including Live TV, VOD as well as original premium programming will resonate very well with our audiences.”

    He further added, “nexGTv will be currently targeting its expansion in more than 140 countries through the global billing on its Android app and will be looking to expand its global footprint in tandem with Google Play store. Markets with significant Indian diaspora will be our priority in order to establish a strong foothold. The vast variety and multiple genres of content on our platform comprising devotional, fitness, comedy, kids, infotainment, entertainment, news, movies and music will act as a strong magnet for our international users.”