ITV

Tag: Ravi Mansukhani

  • HTMT to prefer strategic investor in demerged media firm

    HTMT to prefer strategic investor in demerged media firm

    MUMBAI: Hinduja TMT has initiated talks and would prefer inducting a strategic rather than a private equity investor into its demerged media company.

    The possibility of roping in an investor would be only after the listing of the two entities. The demerger process is underway and a listing is expected by February-end after the restructuring process gets the necessary regulatory approvals.

    “We would prefer to go with a strategic rather than a private equity investor. We feel inputs from a strategic partner would give us a competitive edge,” said IndusInd Media and Communications Ltd (IMCL) director-in-charge Ravi Mansukhani.

    On being queried as to whether global major Liberty was in talks, Mansukhani said “there were a bunch of them” who were interested in India’s cable story. “All investors are waiting for conditional access system (Cas) to roll out before they come with definite valuations,” he added.

    Unlike Zee’s Wire & Wireless Ltd (WWIL) which is keen to acquire 51 per cent in cable networks, IndusInd Media and Communications Ltd (IMCL) is adopting a different business plan where it wants to partner rather than buy out operators.

    The Hinduja Group, which operates its cable TV business under Incablenet brand, is planning to offer cable TV operators a share in the demerged media company based on the subscribers they declare. No decision has been taken as to the exact ratio that would be on offer.

    “Our expansion plan includes offering shares in HTMT (after demerger) to operators as they form an integral part of our distribution chain. Our idea is to partner with the local cable operators rather than buy them out,” said Mansukhani.

    HTMT is unifying its media subsidiaries under one umbrella while spinning off its IT/ITES business into a separate entity. As part of the restructuring, In2Cable (subsidiary which is into broadband business) and InNetwork Entertainment (content) are being merged into IMCL (cable TV distribution under Incablenet brand). The parent company for the consolidated media business will be HTMT (an existing listed entity). The demerged IT/ITES entity will be listed under HTMT Technologies.

  • CAS rollout: MSOs look to channel package tiers

    CAS rollout: MSOs look to channel package tiers

    MUMBAI: Multi-system operators (MSOs) have initiated talks with some broadcasters for providing their bouquet of pay channels at special rates in the conditional access system (CAS) regime. This would enable cable networks to tier various channel packages for consumers.

    The Telecom regulatory Authority of India (Trai) has fixed the a la carte pricing of pay chanels at a maximum of Rs 5 under CAS. The MSOs want broadcasters to price their bouquets below the average of Rs 5 per channel.

    “We are in a very nascent stage of discussions. Some of the broadcasters have moved the courts and are, in fact, waiting for the verdict. We expect to have more definite proposals within a fortnight,” says Hathway Cable & Datacom managing director and CEO K Jayaraman.

    The MSOs will tier different packages to make it price friendly for consumers. “We will be working out packages based on a combination of genres. This will be in addition to the a la carte pricing which, with a cap at Rs 5, is expected to be quite popular,” says Jayaraman.

    Adds IndusInd Media and Communications Ltd (IMCL) director-in charge Ravi Mansukhani: “Once the broadcasters give us their bouquet pricing, we can work out our own bundling which will offer choice to consumers and make it more attractive than the a la carte pricing.”

    The stumbling block to such negotiations at this stage, however, is a number of court cases filed by broadcasters questioning the Rs 5 cap fixed by the sector regulator. Broadcasters feel the regulated pricing is unfair and will hurt their subscription incomes.

    Hathway and IMCL, meanwhile, will soon kick-off CAS awareness campaigns jointly. The estimated spend: Rs 10 million. Hathway plans to spend an additional Rs 5 million in the first phase, says Jayaraman. Hathway has already started marketing its digital drive in bus shelters, radio and other mass media platforms.

    “We are also planning to invest independently through various marketing initiatives. This will be in addition to the joint campaigns where the spend could be Rs 10 million,” says Mansukhani.

    The MSOs have started offering digital set-top boxes (STBs) and cable at an advance deposit of Rs 250 in the CAS notified regions of south Mumbai, Delhi and Kolkata. Consumers will have to pay a rent of Rs 45 per month only after 1 January, the scheduled date for implementation of CAS. If they are not happy, they can discontinue the service.

    “We have started seeding 1,000 STBs a day since 1 November. We expect this to further pick up,” says Jayaraman. Hathway is aggressively pushing for digital cable in both Mumbai and Delhi.

    IMCL has been slow to push the STBs to its consumers. “Once the marketing campaign gathers momentum next week, we hope to seed 1,000 STBs a day. The offtake should further speed up as we go forward,” says Mansukhani.