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Tag: Peeush Mahajan

  • SN Sharma gets AIDCF responsibilities once again

    SN Sharma gets AIDCF responsibilities once again

    MUMBAI: It’s back to being president of the All India Digital Cable Federation (AIDCF). DEN Networks CEO S.N. Sharma who led the AIDCF from April 2019 to March 2021 as its president has once again been appointed to that post. His term will continue till March 2025 when a new head will hopefully be selected. 

    The AIDCF was set up in 2014 with VD Wadhwa, the then CEO of Siti Networks as its head.

    Sharma, a veteran and popular figure in the cable TV industry, succeeds Fastway CEO Peeush Mahajan, who stepped down from the position in May 2024 due to personal reasons (apparently, he’s migrated to Canada and won’t be coming back). Peeush took over as president in April 2023 and his term was supposed to end in March 2025.

    Sharma had been acting president of the association since then. 

  • VBS 2019 to focus on post NTO environment, relevance of cable and rise of internet

    VBS 2019 to focus on post NTO environment, relevance of cable and rise of internet

    MUMBAI: The year 2019 has fundamentally changed Indian TV broadcast industry. The long-awaited New Tariff Order (NTO) was finally greenlit in February, forcing broadcast networks, DTH players and cable operators to move to a new tariff regime. However, even as TV broadcasters and distribution platforms were adjusting to the NTO, TRAI floated a new consultation paper on tariffs in August, causing further uncertainty and disruption in the already volatile market.

    Amidst this flux and all-around uncertainty, Indiantelevision.com is bringing together stalwarts from the industry on a platform that dissects the various issues at the heart of the NTO, how it’s impacting broadcasters and distributors, changes proposed to it and why broadcasters are unhappy with TRAI for floating a new consultation paper within six months of NTO.

    The initiative is called Video and Broadband Summit (IDOS in its earlier avatar) to be held at Mumbai on 11 December. Leaders from DTH, cable and broadband, broadcast, regulatory bodies, and technology segments will discuss the state of the industry, address issues and find solutions.

    After a keynote address by Anil Wanvari, founder Indiantelevision.com, doyens of broadcast industry and distribution platforms like IndiaCast Media Distribution President Amit Arora, Star India Distribution President Gurjeev Singh Kapoor, IndusInd Media and Communications CEO Vynsley Fernandes, GTPL Hathway VP Yatin Gupta, The Remediation Company founder Shyamala Venkatachalam and Bhima Riddhi Digital Services promoter Nagesh Narayandas Chhabria will discuss the TRAI consultation paper on tariffs in a panel discussion to be moderated by Elara Capital VP Karan Taurani.

    While TRAI has faced a barrage of criticism from industry players for the new consultation paper, it’s important to note that distributors (DTH, LCOs and MSOs) and broadcasters, both have very different grievances from TRAI. While broadcasters are nearly unanimous that TRAI should not disallow them from creating bouquets, nor impose a discount cap on these bouquets – two of the key issues discussed in the TRAI consultation paper – among the cable distributors there is a general consensus that broadcast networks have indeed misused their freedom to create bouquets by offering unlimited discounts on these packs. Distributors are also unhappy with the discounting cap imposed for them but not for the broadcasters.

    Even the recent Open House Discussion, organised by TRAI at Delhi in October, failed to resolve the issue or bring together broadcast networks and distributors on the same page. VBS 2019 provides yet another opportunity for broadcasters and distributors, two of the key constituents of the media and entertainment industry, to deliberate on these issues in a rapidly changing regulatory framework.

    To oversee and participate in these deliberations, there will be TRAI Advisor Arvind Kumar, who will also address the gathering and will bring some much-needed clarity on TRAI future course of action on the consultation paper for which it received nearly 300 comments from broadcast networks, DTH, LCOs and MSOs, as well as from ordinary consumers.

    To give the perspective of distributors on how the NTO, and the expected amendments to it, affected their businesses, there will be a panel discussion in which SITI Networks CEO Anil Malhotra, GC member of SCTE India Shaji Mathews, Fastway Transmissions Consultant Peeush Mahajan and Bhima Riddhi Digital Services Promoter Nagesh Narayandas Chhabria will participate.

    Advertising industry is at the other end of the spectrum, the other big sector that had to adjust to post NTO environment. To discuss the advertisers' view and their take on the dynamic pay-TV landscape, there will be Godrej head media services Subha Sreenivasan Iyer, ITC PR and media head Jaikishin Chhaproo and Havas Media Group managing partner West & South Kunal Jamaur. They will participate in a panel discussion to be moderated by Castle Media CEO Ru Ediriwira.

    There will also be a presentation from Broadpeak business development manager Hervé Creff, on "Keeping control of HDMI1 with Android TV Operator Tier – the "super-aggregator" approach."

    This will be followed by a panel discussion on how to transform the TV broadcast sector to fuel growth – what are the key issues facing the industry and how can more transparency and discipline be injected into it? PwC partner and leader Raman Kalra, Elara Capital VP – research analyst (media) Karan Taurani, KPMG India partner, head-media and entertainment Girish Menon and BBC News head of distribution – South Asia Sunil Joshi will participate in a panel discussion to be moderated by SBICAP Securities head of equity research Rajiv Sharma.

    Local cable operators also constitute an important link in the TV broadcast value chain in India. Despite the presence of strong DTH players like Tata and Bharti Airtel and the rise of OTT, as much as 65 per cent of TV homes in India are still connected through these local cable operators, as per TRAI estimates. Maharashtra Cable Operators Federation (MCOF) president Arvind Ramesh Prabhoo and IndusInd Media and Communication COO Rouse Koshy will participate in a panel discussion on how has the role of the LCO changed under the new regulatory framework and its significance going forward.

    The rise of some of the Free to Air (FTA) channels in the post NTO environment has been another prominent feature of 2019. To discuss the roadmap ahead for FTA channels, there will be a panel discussion in which SAB Group CEO Manav Dhanda, Enterr10 TV MD – Fakt Marathi Shirish Pattanshetty, Republic Media Group CEO Vikas Khanchandani, 9X Media chief revenue officer Pawan Jailkhani and Shemaroo Entertainment COO Kranti Gada will participate.

    There will also be a presentation by Romil Ramgarhia, COO, BARC India will also do a presentation on ‘TV viewership trends in post NTO era,’ and will share with the audience the changing dynamics of TV industry since the NTO. Has TV viewership declined post NTO, are people subscribing to more or less channels post NTO, has the NTO benefitted FTA channels will be some of the themes Romil will take in his presentation.

    Internet has emerged as another prominent distributor in the broadcast industry. Not only have OTT players emerged as challengers to broadcast networks, but also Reliance Jio Fiber is partnering with LCOs and MSOs to deliver video broadcast services. A string of channels are now also available on OTT platforms.

    To discuss the role of the internet in the broadcast industry, there will be a fireside chat between Anil Wanvari and Jio Fiber president Anuj Jain. The summit will end with a panel discussion on the role of the internet in video distribution in which Google Industry head media and entertainment Sandeep Ramesh, Jio VP – advertising and strategy Mohit Kapoor, COAI director General Rajan S Mathews, ZEE5 chief revenue officer and business head Taranjeet Singh and MediaKind head of marketing – APAC Chiranjeev Singh will participate. 

  • Probe Punjab ‘cable mafia,’ demands minister, Fastway refutes charges

    MUMBAI: Punjab minister Navjot Singh Sidhu has alleged that the private TV cable company Fastway Transmission Private Limited, under the “patronage” of the previous Akali government, had caused a loss of around Rs 6840 million to the state exchequer. Because of the political patronage, only Fastway monopolised the cable TV business in Punjab, he said, PTI reported.

    The state government last Friday ordered a tax evasion notice to be slapped on the Fastway Cable which is said to be Punjab’s biggest TV transmission multi-system operator (MSO). FastWay, however, rejecting the charges, said that the company had permissions from all the departments concerned such as PWD, forest department, canal department, and railways etc. :The company is regular in payment of entertainment tax and there are no outstanding taxes due to tax theft by the company, Fastway CEO Peeush Mahajan said in a statement.

    Sidhu meanwhile demanded a separate investigation into the alleged under-reporting of TV connections and cable operators engaged by Fastway. Of over 8,000 cable operators in the state, 6,500 were working for Fastway, he alleged. He demanded vigilance inquiry from the chief minister Amarinder Singh against what he called the “cable mafia”.

    The local bodies minister said Fastway started with a paid-up capital of Rs 25 lakh, but earned a whopping Rs 30 crore profit in the first year itself. He alleged that only 1.25 lakh cable connections were shown in Punjab state as against the actual figure of 80 lakh — this was done to evade taxes, PTI added.

    For 10 years, the state exchequer did not get even a penny in taxes, he said. No fee or tax was paid to the civic authorities, no entertainment tax was paid to the state or the Central government, he alleged. It is a unique case where the ruling family violated all government rules, he said in the state assembly.

    Fastway MD Gurdeep Singh Kohli said the allegations of tax dues or under-reporting subscriber base were false. Most of the cable operators fall in the income bracket of less than Rs one million, and so were are exempt from paying service tax, he added. “The entertainment tax at the rate of Rs 15,000 that the government alleged we did not pay, is payable by cable operators, and not by MSOs like us,” Kohli said.

  • Hathway’s Panesar succeeds Wadhwa as AIDCF head

    Hathway’s Panesar succeeds Wadhwa as AIDCF head

    MUMBAI/NEW DELHI: Hathway Cable & Datacom’s Video Business CEO T S Panesar has taken over as the new president of the All-India Digital Cable Federation (AIDCF), the apex body of digital cable television players.

    Panesar was unanimously elected at AIDCF’s 11th governing council meeting held in New Delhi. He succeeds SITI Networks ED and CEO V D Wadhwa who completed his two-year term as the founder-president of the Federation.

    Panesar has over 20 years of experience in media and entertainment industry, both on the broadcasting and distribution side.
    The governing council also appointed SITI Networks COO Anil Malhotra as he vice-president and Fastway Transmissions Private Ltd CEO Peeush Mahajan as the treasurer of the Federation.

    AIDCF placed on record its appreciation for the immense contribution made by Wadhwa as the founder and first president of the Federation over two years ago. Under his aegis, the federation earned its stripes with MIB, TRAI, DoT, Ministry of Finance and all the other industry bodies i.e. IBF, DTH Federation, CII, FICCI, ASSOCHAM etc in the media & entertainment Sector.

    The Federation has played key role in bringing all the major players of the industry controlling over 70 per cent of the business under one umbrella and have taken up the issues concerning the cable industry by liaising with the concerned government department/ministry as well as with the other industry bodies of the broadcasters and DTH operators besides playing key role in resolving the deadlock in implementation of phase III of digitization.

    On giving over the baton to Panesar, Wadhwa said, “A solid foundation has been laid for addressing all the concerns of the industry and I am confident that under the leadership of Panesar and active participation by all the members, the federation would further gain strength and shall be able to create an environment for the profitable growth of the cable industry.”

    Commenting on his appointment as the AIDCF president, Panesar said, “I am deeply honored and privileged to be appointed to lead the federation. It’s a big challenge and responsibility entrusted upon me and I look forward to working closely with all members to bring further changes in the environment. Having seen the evolution of the cable & broadcasting industry from the analogue to the digital regime, we are now at the cusp of a another major shift in light of the new regulation which is aimed at improving transparency, empowering customers to exercise choice and ensuring orderly growth of all stakeholders in the eco-system. We strongly believe that technology should be leveraged to address the changing needs of the industry. Together, we will strive towards strengthening our bond with all stakeholders to deliver a world class service to the consumers and improve customer satisfaction levels.”

    AIDCF secretary -general Saharsh Damani said, “With digitisation entering into last phase and focus on wired broadband gaining traction for all the members, I am sure that, under Panesar’s leadership, the digital cable industry will enter into the next orbit of momentum and growth.”

  • Hathway’s Panesar succeeds Wadhwa as AIDCF head

    Hathway’s Panesar succeeds Wadhwa as AIDCF head

    MUMBAI/NEW DELHI: Hathway Cable & Datacom’s Video Business CEO T S Panesar has taken over as the new president of the All-India Digital Cable Federation (AIDCF), the apex body of digital cable television players.

    Panesar was unanimously elected at AIDCF’s 11th governing council meeting held in New Delhi. He succeeds SITI Networks ED and CEO V D Wadhwa who completed his two-year term as the founder-president of the Federation.

    Panesar has over 20 years of experience in media and entertainment industry, both on the broadcasting and distribution side.
    The governing council also appointed SITI Networks COO Anil Malhotra as he vice-president and Fastway Transmissions Private Ltd CEO Peeush Mahajan as the treasurer of the Federation.

    AIDCF placed on record its appreciation for the immense contribution made by Wadhwa as the founder and first president of the Federation over two years ago. Under his aegis, the federation earned its stripes with MIB, TRAI, DoT, Ministry of Finance and all the other industry bodies i.e. IBF, DTH Federation, CII, FICCI, ASSOCHAM etc in the media & entertainment Sector.

    The Federation has played key role in bringing all the major players of the industry controlling over 70 per cent of the business under one umbrella and have taken up the issues concerning the cable industry by liaising with the concerned government department/ministry as well as with the other industry bodies of the broadcasters and DTH operators besides playing key role in resolving the deadlock in implementation of phase III of digitization.

    On giving over the baton to Panesar, Wadhwa said, “A solid foundation has been laid for addressing all the concerns of the industry and I am confident that under the leadership of Panesar and active participation by all the members, the federation would further gain strength and shall be able to create an environment for the profitable growth of the cable industry.”

    Commenting on his appointment as the AIDCF president, Panesar said, “I am deeply honored and privileged to be appointed to lead the federation. It’s a big challenge and responsibility entrusted upon me and I look forward to working closely with all members to bring further changes in the environment. Having seen the evolution of the cable & broadcasting industry from the analogue to the digital regime, we are now at the cusp of a another major shift in light of the new regulation which is aimed at improving transparency, empowering customers to exercise choice and ensuring orderly growth of all stakeholders in the eco-system. We strongly believe that technology should be leveraged to address the changing needs of the industry. Together, we will strive towards strengthening our bond with all stakeholders to deliver a world class service to the consumers and improve customer satisfaction levels.”

    AIDCF secretary -general Saharsh Damani said, “With digitisation entering into last phase and focus on wired broadband gaining traction for all the members, I am sure that, under Panesar’s leadership, the digital cable industry will enter into the next orbit of momentum and growth.”

  • Fastway to deploy HD STBs with STMicroelectronics’ cable chipsets

    Fastway to deploy HD STBs with STMicroelectronics’ cable chipsets

    MUMBAI: Fastway Digital TV Services, the multi system operator (MSO) operating mostly in Punjab has teamed up with STMicroelectronics for its HD interactive USB DVR set top boxes. They will have STiH273 HD cable chipsets.

     

    This will enable Fastway deliver high quality HD content and access to several value added services including banner advertisements, interactive TV shopping and education services. It will also provide customers a better viewing experience with HD video and interactivity with advantages such as high integration, low power consumption and unmatched coordinated performance of CPU, video decoder and image quality processor.

     

    Key features of the STiH273 chipsets include 1300DMIPs application CPU; integrated 256kB L2 cache increasing CPU performance for rich applications such as HTML5 browser, user interfaces, HD picture-in-picture and PVR; integrated digital video broadcast (DVB-C) demodulator, optimised to work with high-performance external tuners to meet stringent RF performance requirements of Indian cable networks; 16-bit DDR3 SDRAM support, integrated ePhy, no heat-sink for significant bill-of-material saving; Faroudja image quality processing; high quality and robust 1080p AVC (advanced video coding) video decoder with advanced error correction and concealment capabilities; integrated standby controller offering 0.5W standby power consumption with super-fast resume time; and best-in-class advanced security for all major conditional access systems (CAS).

     

    Fastway Digital TV Services managing director Gurdeep Singh said, “Our new HD digital set top boxes benefit from STMicroelectronics’ feature-packed and flexible system-on-chip ICs, enabling an ideal platform to deliver innovative value-added services such as interactive education services, multi-genre digital music service, restaurants and events search guide and games to customers. With strong local support and cooperation from ST, we are well placed to drive digital migration and bring high quality TV solutions to our customers.”

     

    Fastway Digital TV Services CEO Peeush Mahajan added, “STiH273 is clearly the right choice for our latest generation of STBs. ST has helped us create a customised solution optimised for India that helps us enhance customer satisfaction and sustain our leadership edge in our areas of operation.”

     

    STMicroelectronics vice president Greater China and South Asia region and India Design Center director Vivek Sharma said, “We are proud to be part of Fastway’s digital set-top box roll-out that aims to deliver an enhanced viewing experience to millions of homes around India. Fastway’s selection of ST’s set-top box technology underlines our strengths and commitment to supporting the growth of the Indian digital TV market through cooperation with local key players.”

     

    The chipsets are manufactured using 40nm process technology and support an enhanced processing engine with integrated on-chip features that simplify STB design, along with the possibility of a two layer PC board design. It also allows STB manufacturers to use lower-cost memory and minimise system power consumption, optimising total cost of ownership.