ITV

Tag: Shashi Arora

  • Airtel Digital TV launches ‘Made in India’ set-top-boxes

    Airtel Digital TV launches ‘Made in India’ set-top-boxes

    MUMBAI: Airtel Digital TV, the DTH arm of Bharti Airtel, has launched its first indigenously manufactured set-top-boxes (STBs), which are aptly called ‘Made in India’ STBs.

     

    Conceptualised and designed in India, the HD STBs will be manufactured at a facility in Pune (Ranjangaon) with an aim to match global technology standards to provide the best of experience to customers.

     

    The boxes will serve HD users to begin with and soon all Airtel Digital TV’s set-top-boxes will be manufactured in India. This move makes Airtel Digital TV the latest corporate to join the Narendra Modi government’s Make in India initiative. The launch promotes an ecosystem that will drive indigenous manufacturing of DTH STBs empowered with production capabilities as well as technical expertise within India.

     

    When asked about the initiative, Bharti Airtel DTH and media CEO Shashi Arora said, “With this we aim to reduce our imports and thus help drive employment and growth within the country. In the long run, cost synergies will further help us extend more benefits to our customers.”

     

    Based on an in-house design by MyBox Tech, which is a subsidiary of Hero Electronix, and ST Microelectronics, a multinational manufacturer of Integrated Devices and semiconductors, the STBs will offer features including Full HD 1080p support, MPEG-4 video with Dolby Digital Plus Surround Sound, 5X picture clarity, unlimited recording (via USB-drive), and USB-based Wi-Fi connectivity for On-demand, Anytime TV and Interactive Gaming.

     

    Welcoming this move by Airtel Digital TV, minister of state for Information and Broadcasting Rajyavardhan Rathore said, “It is great that Airtel Digital TV is aligning itself with our Make in India vision as this will certainly pedal the fast gaining momentum of the initiative further.”

     

    Airtel Digital TV connection on these HD boxes will be available under various packages.

     

  • Airtel Digital TV unveils three-pronged strategy for growth

    Airtel Digital TV unveils three-pronged strategy for growth

    MUMBAI: The Direct To Home (DTH) arm of Bharti Airtel – Airtel Digital TV has reached the 10 million customer mark. The company has achieved the feat within a period of six years. As part of its growth plans ahead, the operator has decided to chalk out three key strategies.

     

    Firstly, the company is all set to add 12 new channels to its bouquet taking its portfolio up to 500 channels and services. In addition, it will also expand the High Definition (HD) portfolio to over 50 HD channels making it one of the largest HD bouquets in the industry. Last but not the least, the operator has also decided to expand the regional portfolio soon to offer the highest number of channels in Assamese, Gujarati, Kannada and Tamil languages.

     

    Airtel Digital TV CEO Shashi Arora said, “Innovation and customer satisfaction is the core of our DNA. As we look back, we take pride in the product and service innovations that we have brought to the industry. These offerings have not only helped increase customer stickiness but have also made us one of the fastest growing DTH companies today. We will continue to go this path and offer customers world class content and television viewing.”

     

     

    The operator also claims that it was the first to introduce the Universal Remote to the market along with value added services like Multi-lingual EPG, World’s first USSD-based self-care facility on mobile among others. The recently launched Integrated Digital TV (iDTV) was pioneered in partnership with TV manufacturer, the iDTV technology miniaturized set-top-box into a small yet efficient smart card that fit directly at the back panel of television sets with minimal wiring and a single remote thereby offering customers a superior and world class experience adds the operator.

  • Samsung launches TVs with inbuilt Airtel Digital TV smart card

    Samsung launches TVs with inbuilt Airtel Digital TV smart card

    MUMBAI: In a tie up with leading electronics giant Samsung, the direct to home (DTH) service from Bharti Airtel: Airtel Digital TV, has launched Integrated Digital TV (iDTV). Through this agreement, Samsung’s range of SmartDirect TVs will come designed with an in-built Airtel Digital TV smart card.

     

    By doing so, the TV will be enabled with DTH signal reception without the need for setting up an external set top box (STB). According to a statement by the company, this iDTV will deliver viewing experience with minimal signal loss and maximum audio and video clarity.

     

    “We at Airtel Digital TV are always looking for new ways to deliver an experience for our customers that is truly innovative and world class. In line with this commitment, we are today excited to announce our collaboration with Samsung to launch the Integrated Digital TV and introduce the Indian market to its next phase of TV viewing experience,” said Bharti Airtel CEO-DTH and media Shashi Arora.

     

    Samsung Electronics chief marketing officer Ranjivjit Singh said, “We are thrilled to partner with Airtel to launch India’s first smart direct TV with an in-built iDTV technology in India. The clutter free, convenient and ultimate viewing experience offered by iDTV showcases Samsung’s commitment to provide consumer-centric products.”

     

    The TV will be powered by a single remote and supports HD. The iDTV set includes the Samsung SmartDirect TV and Airtel Digital TV’s smart card and is available starting at Rs 44,900.

     

    It also has a four month introductory offer of free subscription of Airtel DTH services. Airtel will give two extra months of HD subscription, over and above the one month HD subscription on regular DTH. Samsung will give one month free subscription to all SmartDirect TVs purchased during the launch period (20 August to 31 October) and activated before 15 November as a Diwali promo. Airtel customers can save 10 per cent each month by using Airtel broadband on buying this TV and will get a WiFi router too. The TV however does not restrict users to Airtel DTH. Customers can opt for other services as well.

    The TV can also support ultra HD content, if available. The launch comes just in time with Diwali sale, wherein Samsung is doing the distribution from its end for the TV.

  • Airtel DTH to premiere Kamal Haasan’s Vishwaroopam

    Airtel DTH to premiere Kamal Haasan’s Vishwaroopam

    MUMBAI: DTH service provider Airtel digital TV has announced the premier of Kamal Haasan‘s forthcoming thriller titled ‘Vishwaroopam‘ in Tamil and Telugu and ‘Vishwaroop‘ in Hindi on its Pay Per View (PPV) platform.

    The initiative, the "first of its kind" in India, will enable customers of Airtel DTH to view the movie 12 hours before its theatrical release.
    While the movie will release in theatres on 11 January, it will be premiered on Airtel DTH‘s Pay Per View (PPV) at 9:30pm on 10 January in Tamil, Telugu and Hindi.

    The Tamil movie can be booked for a charge of Rs 1,200 per view and the Telugu & Hindi versions for Rs 500 per view. Pre-bookings of the Tamil version will be available until January 8, 2013 for a charge of Rs 1,000 per view
    Bharti Airtel CEO – DTH/Media Shashi Arora said "We are proud to launch yet another industry first on Airtel DTH providing customers in the country an innovative opportunity to enjoy the movie before its theatrical release. I am certain that Kamal Haasan fans will make the maximum out of this initiative and enjoy the movie in the convenience of their homes along with family and friends. With our 7.5 million customers, I am absolutely certain that this will create an all new avenue for movie releases in India."

  • Airtel digital TV to drop ESPN and Star Cricket HD from 23 Dec

    Airtel digital TV to drop ESPN and Star Cricket HD from 23 Dec

    MUMBAI: Airtel digital TV has said that it will stop carrying ESPN HD and Star Cricket HD just ahead of the India-Pakistan series.

    The DTH operator cited high subscription fee as the reason for the removal of these two channels. It will stop carrying both the channels from 23 December.

    ESPN HD is priced at Rs 141.8 while Star Cricket HD is priced at Rs 119.9. The two channels are available at Rs 183.2 in a bouquet.
    "We will stop carrying ESPN HD and Star Cricket HD because the price is very high from a consumer point of view," Airtel digital TV CEO Shashi Arora said.

    Airtel will replace the two channels with Sony Six HD and Zee Studio HD.

    Other DTH operators like Dish TV and Sun Direct have not been carrying the two channels for quite some time. However, Tata Sky, Reliance Big TV and Videocon d2h are carrying them.