ITV

Tag: Sameer Manchanda

  • NBA elections conclude; K V L Narayan Rao continues as president

    NBA elections conclude; K V L Narayan Rao continues as president

    MUMBAI: Results of the just concluded elections to News Broadcasters Association (NBA) are out. NDTV executive vice chairperson K V L Narayan Rao retains his post as president for the year 2013-14, making it his fourth term in office after succeeding DEN Founder Sameer Manchanda in 2010.

    Similarly, MCCS CEO Ashok Venkataramani, who heads the channels ABP News, ABP Majha and ABP Ananda, continues to be Vice President of the association.

    However, Network 18 Group CEO B Saikumar, touted as India’s youngest entrepreneur, has taken over from his predecessor – TV Today’s Anil Mehra – as treasurer.

    However, it isn’t going to be a smooth ride for Rao. “It is not just an appointment. It is responsibility as well. I hope that I will be able to deliver what the industry wants,” says Rao.

    Efforts are on to convince the TRAI and the government to understand their dilemma with respect to the ad cap that has been stayed by a TDSAT order till 11 November. Other problems news channels are grappling with include carriage fees, DAVP rates, and self regulation of content.

    Meanwhile, TV Today’s new representative is Ashish Bagga as Mehra has decided to step down from the NBA. Other members include Independent News Services chairman Rajat Sharma, Times TV Network CEO Sunil Lulla, Zee News CEO Alok Agrawal, TV Today Network director Ashish Bagga, News 24 Chairperson Anurradha Prasad.

  • Den Networks offloads 24 per cent equity; raises $160 million

    Den Networks offloads 24 per cent equity; raises $160 million

    MUMBAI: India‘s John Malone is on a roll. Earlier this week, the Sameer Manchanda headed cable TV MSO Den Networks announced that it was going for a preferential allotment to Goldman Sachs affiliates ($110 million) and a qualified institutional placement (QIP of $50 million) which would allow it to raise a total $160 million (Rs 865 odd crore). This is the largest transaction in the Indian cable TV sector.

    It informed the BSE today that the deals had gone through – the preferential allotment went through the day before and the QIP yesterday – and that the divestment amounts to 24 per cent of Den Network‘s equity. Goldman Sachs had J. Sagar Associates as an advisor while the Hong Kong office of Herbert Smith Freehills acted as the international legal counsel. Den Networks had Amarchand Mangaldas as its advisor.

    Indiantelevision.com caught up with a very cheerful and confident Den Networks COO M.G. Azhar late this evening. This is what he had to say: “We are delighted to have Goldman Sachs as our partner. It has a long history of constructively driving consolidation, digitisation in various markets across the world. Their association will help us in transitioning through various cycles as business transforms.”

    Azhar adds that the deal should encourage other private equity firms and investors to invest in Indian cable TV. “It needs lots of investment. Millions of homes have to be digitised over the next year or so. The investment in Den clearly reflects that the progress of digitisation has helped regain investors‘ confidence in cable TV,” he says. “Other Indian cable TV firms should also benefit.”

    Azhar points out that Den Networks will not be looking for any more funds as the current cash stash should meet its needs for at least two years. He says that the money will be used to “drive digitisation, further consolidation and expansion, broadband and also make investments in scaling up Den Networks to handle the changing business environment.”

    The company says it is going to start its broadband services in the not-too-distant future in one metro and one tier II city and take it up from there.

    He explains: “Digitisation has progressed well in phase I and phase II. Now we have to segment the market. Digitisation has freed us to offer PVR services, HD feeds, PPV, and other value added services. The average revenue per user undoubtedly will go up. There is a lot of potential; there is a lot of value that has to be unlocked.”

  • DEN Networks to raise $160 million through share sale

    DEN Networks to raise $160 million through share sale

    Mumbai: That India’s cable TV digitization drive in phases is going to soak up a lot of investment – running into a few billion dollars – is well known. Some of the MSOs have been working to stay ahead of their capital requirement curve. Take national MSO DEN Networks founded and led by former TV executive Sameer Manchanda.

    It has a presence in roughly 11 million households in over 150 cities across 13 key states in Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Haryana, Kerala, West Bengal, Jharkhand, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh and Uttarakhand. The MSO has been at the forefront of digitising cable TV nationally since mid-last year and with the next phase of digitization into smaller towns going on and expected to intensify in the next year, it desperately requires cash.

    And it is reaching out to foreign institutional investment to meet that need. It announced on 6 May that it had got board approval to sell equity to raise about $160 million. This was communicated to the stock exchanges on 6 May.

    Part of that will be raised through a preferential equity allotment to Goldman Sachs’ Singapore registered affiliates Broad Street Investments and MBD Bridge Street 2013 Investments for a total amount of $110 million at a issue price of 217.50 per share (face value: Rs 10).

    The allotment is of course subject to shareholder and other regulatory approvals.

    In addition to this, it got the board’s go-ahead for a qualified institutional placement plan to qualified institutional buyers for raising another $50 million at a price of Rs 217.23 per share.

    DEN had got board approval in end March to divest 26 per cent of its paid up share capital.

    An April end extra ordinary general meeting saw it getting shareholder approval for increasing its FII limit. Earlier this year, it had doubled its borrowing powers from Rs 1000 crore.

    The company’s share rose 2.14 per cent at its closing price of Rs 226.75 on the BSE on 6 May.

  • Industry needs to come together to put all systems in place for Phase 2: Parameswaran

    Industry needs to come together to put all systems in place for Phase 2: Parameswaran

    MUMBAI: The multi system operators (MSOs) might have successfully installed set top boxes (STBs) in majority of homes in phase 1 of digitisation but the government feels that is just one aspect of the drive and other aspects like subscriber management system (SMS) and billing system need to be put in place if the real benefits of digitisation have to be realised.

    The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) wants the industry to set things right for Phase 2 of cable TV digitisation. Trai consultant N Parameswaran said Tuesday that the stakeholders need to work towards having all the systems in place in order to implement digitisation in letter and spirit.

    “Digitisation has not happened in a manner that we wanted to. It’s not a regulatory issue. The industry has to come together and ensure that that all the systems are in place from day one for phase 2,” he said.

    According to Parameswaran, the real benefits of digitisation have not reached people. "The subscriber management system is not in place. What has happened is only set top boxes have been installed,” Parameswaran said, while taking part in a panel discussion on digitisation at Ficci Frames 2013.

    Parameswaran said that the Trai had recently issued notices to MSOs and LCOs (Local Cable Operators) to make their SMS operational in DAS areas to ensure things fall in place.

    While commending the industry for achieving digitisation in a short span of time, Den Networks CMD Sameer Manchanda assured that the SMS and billing system will fall in place in 60 days.

    “We should have all things in place in 60 days. Putting eight million STBs was a herculean task. Digitisation has taken years in other countries,” Manchanda said.

    IndiaCast Group CEO Anuj Gandhi said the ARPUs (Average Revenue Per User) will increase gradually. The key is to segment existing channels and create packages accordingly. A case in point, Gandhi said, was having a South Indian channel package for Mumbai.

    Gandhi urged the industry to take one step at a time. The immediate priority, he said, was to get back-end systems in place. “For broadcasters, it’s a scary thought that the customers are getting more channels for the same price,” averred Gandhi.

    According to Multi Screen Media (MSM) CEO Man Jit Singh, government should continue to play the facilitators role like it did in the first phase. He also said that STBs have installed, subscribers are getting digital signals but little has changed apart from that.

    “What we have shown in first phase is that we came together as an industry to implement digitisation. The government also has a critical role to play. It should continue to play the facilitators role to bring together different stakeholders in the industry,” Singh said.

    He added, “Tiering and ARPU is incremental to drive the market together by understanding the consumer needs and expectations. The burden of expansion has to be shared by the Local Cable Operator (LCO), Multi System Operator (MSO), broadcaster and the consumer.”

    IBM Global Business Services India/SA Director & Partner, Industry Leader – Media & Entertainment Raman Kalra said that it is important for the industry to keep parallel strategy in place as the business model is evolving continuously.

    “Consumer is willing to pay but the industry should know how to extract it. The key is to know your customers to facilitate micro-segmentation and then work on the content strategy accordingly,” Kalra said.

    Reliance Broadcast Network Limited (RBNL) CEO Tarun Katial said the advent of digitisation has made things easier for new channels as the carriage and placement is not a big problem anymore.

    He also said that the availability of more channels has meant that consumers are sampling more channels which is good for niche channels. He also felt that dynamics will change as advertisers will now have to shell out more for advertising on television as subscription revenues go up and advertising duration is cut down.

    Times Television Network (TTN) MD & CEO Sunil Lulla said, “The current economics are not adequate for the success of Phase 2 of digitisation. There is an urgent need for industry transformation and an effective change in consumer experience. We are sitting at the cusp of change where widespread and deep digitisation will happen on the back of consumers, regulators and government working together.”

  • Sameer Manchanda is NBA president

    Sameer Manchanda is NBA president

    NEW DELHI: IBN18 Broadcast Ltd joint managing director Sameer Manchanda has been elected President of the News Broadcasters Association (NBA) for the year 2009-10. He succeeds TV Today CEO G Krishnan, who has held the post since the formation of the NBA in 2007.

    NDTV Group CEO KVL Narayan Rao is the vice president while Zee News Ltd CEO Barun Das is the Treasurer.

    The Board of NBA also consists of Krishnan, Times Global Broadcasting CEO Chintamani Rao, Independent News Service chairman Rajat Sharma, and Media Content & Communications Services (India) managing editor Shazi Zaman.

  • G Krishnan to stay as NBA president

    G Krishnan to stay as NBA president

    NEW DELHI: News Broadcasters Association (NBA) has re-elected TV Today CEO G Krishnan as its president for the second term, at the first annual general meeting (AGM) held in the Capital today.

    Ibn18 Broadcast joint MD Sameer Manchanda holds the position of vice president for the second term while NDTV group CEO KVL Narayan Rao will continue as the treasurer.

    Krishnan said, “The future before us is very complex and challenging. The question we have to ask is, do we have the vision to move together to meet these challenges? The Indian broadcasting industry will change enormously and we will have to change willingly. Instead of reluctantly drifting into the future, we should drive the future using all the tools available to us, given of course that government policies adapt to new realities.”

    “The movement forward is a collective initiative supported with a sound policy environment. The industry and government must work together in a public private partnership to meet the new challenges and to strengthen the broadcasting industry rather than strangulate the industry. A meaningful dialogue is needed with the government and the various stakeholders,” he added.

    In addition NBA announced the names of office bearers and board of directors for 2008-09 which includes G Krishnan, Zee News CEO Barun Das, Times Global Broadcating CEO Chintamani Rao, KVL Narayan Rao, Independent News Services COO Rohit Bansal, Sameer Manchanda and Media Content and Communications Services (India) managing editor Shazi Zaman.

    The board of directors of NBA remains exactly the same as it was last year.

  • GBN buys out New Vernon’s stake, ups holding in Jagran TV to 55%

    MUMBAI: Global Broadcast News (GBN) is buying out the 10.01 per cent stake of Mauritius-based New Vernon Private Equity Fund in Jagran TV for Rs 200 million.

    With this, GBN will hold around 55 per cent stake in Jagran TV which owns and operates Hindi language news channel IBN 7.

    Last year GBN had picked up 49 per cent in BK Fincap, the holding company of Jagran TV.

    “We will be holding around 55 per cent in Jagran TV. We have bought out the stake of New Vernon,” GBN joint managing director Sameer Manchanda tells Indiantelevision.com.

    Even as private equity fund New Vernon has exited from Jagran TV, the Gupta family who are founder-promoters, continue to hold stake in Jagran TV.

    GBN board has approved the acquisition of 13,47,231 equity shares, or 10.01 per cent, from New Vernon in Jagran TV, the company said on Monday.

    GBN plans to launch its Marathi news channel in the first quarter of 2008, says Manchanda. GBN has a 50:50 joint venture with Lokmat group for the Marathi news channel.

    “we are looking at other regional news channels but haven’t firmed up our plans yet,” adds Manchanda.

  • GBN posts maiden net profit in Q4

    MUMBAI: : Global Broadcast News Limited (GBN) has announced a maiden net profit for the quarter ended 31 March 2007, within 15 months of launch of its channel CNN-IBN.

    The net profit stood at Rs 27.8 million while for the full fiscal net loss was at Rs 320.3 million. Says GBN joint managing director Sameer Manchanda, “The last quarter has seen GBN turn into black.”

    For the fourth quarter of 2006-07, gross revenues stood at Rs 290.7 million with income from operations accounting for Rs 279.8 million. During 2006-07, gross revenues were at Rs 799.4 million.

    Total expenditure for the entire fiscal stood at Rs 986.7 million with staff costs amounting to Rs 321 million and marketing, distribution and promotions to Rs 249.2 million.

    Out of Rs 1.05 billion raised through an initial public offering (IPO), the company has utilised Rs 645.9 million (till 31 March 2007).

    GBN’s share of loss based upon its holding in BK Fincap (BKF) is Rs 43.9 million during the quarter ended 31 March 2007. The company holds 49 per cent in BKF. Since August 2006. BKF holds 89.99 per cent shares in Jagaran TV Pvt Ltd (JTV).

    GBN shares rose seven per cent on the BSE to close today’s trading at Rs 618.90.

  • Global Broadcast News announces Rs 1 billion IPO

    Global Broadcast News announces Rs 1 billion IPO

    MUMBAI: Global Broadcast News Ltd (GBN), which manages English news channel CNN-IBN and Hindi channel IBN7, has announced plans to raise Rs 1.05 billion through the capital market. The GBN, a TV18 Group company has filed its s draft red herring prospectus (DRHP) with the Securities & Exchange Board of India, according to an official statement.

    The company proposes to raise up to Rs 1.05 billion through the issue of equity shares of Rs 10 each for cash at a premium to be decided through the 100 per cent book-build process. The equity shares are proposed to be listed on the Bombay Stock Exchange and the National Stock Exchange.

    The net issue to public comprises the issue of equity shares aggregating up to Rs 1 billion, and the issue of equity shares aggregating up to Rs 50 million is reserved for the employees. Of the net offer to public, 60 per cent is reserved for allotment to qualified institutional buyers on a proportionate basis, 5 per cent of which will be available for allotment to mutual funds. Further, up to 10 per cent of the net offer to public is reserved for allotment to non-institutional investors and the balance of up to 30 per cent for allotment to retail investors.

    GBN joint managing director Sameer Manchanda says, “The IPO is an important milestone in realizing our larger corporate vision. It would help strengthen GBN’s position in the television news business and tap future growth opportunities”

    The book running lead managers to the issue are ICICI Securities Ltd and Kotak Mahindra Capital Company Limited. JM Morgan Stanley Limited and IL&FS Investsmart Limited are the co- book running lead managers.

  • ABC Asia Pacific to launch as Australia Network on 7 August

    ABC Asia Pacific to launch as Australia Network on 7 August

    MUMBAI: Starting 7 August, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) Asia Pacific will be called the Australia Network, offering news, documentaries, drama and lifestyle programs. In its new avatar, the network will bring some new programmes but with same spirit and zeal across Asia.

    In India, the channel will be distributed by Global Broadcast News (GBN). In a recent interview to Indiantelevision.com, GBN joint managing director Sameer Manchanda disclosed, “We have just signed up to be the Indian agent of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, an infotainment channel with large doses of news and travel shows.”

    Featuring live coverage from around the region, it will be produced exclusively for Australia Network by the ABC TV news and current affairs division.

    The channel will air a brand new current affairs programmes Focus on Tuesdays and Thursdays at 9 PM Evening bulletins will feature three times per night at 5 PM, 7 PM and 9 PM, with exclusive reports from the four new correspondents in the region reporting from Delhi, Beijing, South Pacific and Jakarta in addition to ABC correspondents from around the world.

    Adelaide based actor Margot Politis will host Study English, which has been designed specifically to help students prepare for study overseas or improve their career prospects. Politis is also the host of the ABC Education programme Like It Is.

    Business English will focus on helping people improve their career prospects by learning the worlds global language of business.

    The dramas are uniquely Australian, created, written and produced in Australia. The Australia Networks will bring in a daily soap Home & Away. It will air at 5:30 PM

    There will be a special one hour recap of all Home & Away every Sunday at 6 PM The network will showcase more Aussie drama such as hospital drama All Saints; the award winning police series Blue Heelers; Love My Way with Claudia Karvan; Travel favourite Getaway and many more.

    The Network will be carrying coverage ranging from horse racing (The Melbourne Cup), to V8 Supercars to surfing and of course rugby International Rugby Union featuring the International Test Matches between Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, England, France and Ireland as well as the Tri Nations and Bledisloe Cups, National Rugby League (NRL) and Australian Rules Football (AFL).