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Tag: Simon Twiston Davies

  • Multichannel TV beneficial to advertisers : Casbaa

    Multichannel TV beneficial to advertisers : Casbaa

    MUMBAI: A 100 per cent allocation of a $1.75 million budget to free-to-air (FTA) results in a campaign viewed by just 33 per cent of the TV population. The campaign reach increases from 33 per cent to 56 per cent when half of the TV budget is redistributed to multichannel TV from only FTA TV allocation.

    Casbaa has released a powerful first-of-its-kind reach and frequency analysis of the definable returns on media investment in multichannel TV advertising.

    Commissioned by Casbaa and executed by global media agency Universal McCann, the study measures the benefits of allocating variable percentages of a $1.75 million TV budget on multichannel TV and FTA in seven key Asia-Pacific markets: India, Australia, Hong Kong, the Philippines, Malaysia, Singapore and Taiwan.

    Casbaa CEO Simon Twiston Davies said, “The clear advantage of advertising on multichannel TV becomes self evident when simulating real-life budgeting scenarios via robust Peoplemeter data. The numbers demonstrate that multichannel TV makes undeniable fiscal sense when reach and return on investment are optimized.”

    Added Universal McCann Hong Kong managing director Chris Skinner,”This powerful new look at TV data allows to us to better understand that for a regional campaign, switching a portion of the budget onto regional multichannel TV channels means we can deliver higher reach at a lower cost-per-thousand for our clients.”

    An equal combination of FTA and multichannel TV sees total impressions (gross number of times a commercial is viewed) multiplied by 2.5 times from an FTA only schedule: increasing from 537 million to 1.4 billion. Using multichannel TV lowers cost per thousand (CPT) by up to 60 per cent in a 50/50 multichannel TV/FTA combination versus an FTA only schedule.

    “Campaigns that allocate part of their terrestrial TV budget to multichannel TV reap the rewards. The research tells us that you can effectively double your reach, increase the viewing frequency of ads, and lower your CPT – all with no extra investment” added Twiston Davies.

    A similar trend was also monitored when the demographics data was analysed to reflect key age, gender and socio-economic groups.

    In the coming months, Casbaa will release yet more data from two other global media agencies supporting the case for multichannel TV advertising.

  • CASBAA inducts new members

    CASBAA inducts new members

    MUMBAI: The Cable & Satellite Broadcasting Association of Asia (CASBAA) announced a new patron member and four new corporate members of the association.

    The CASBAA patron member is a newly-launched pay-TV network Asia Broadcast Networks while the corporate members include children’s content specialist HiT Entertainment, Singapore-based satellite services provider Globecast, conditional access supplier Viaccess and New Zealand-based broadcaster Television New Zealand. Meanwhile, global satellite capacity supplier Intelsat has upgraded its CASBAA membership to Patron status.

    “The breadth of the new memberships highlights the dynamic environment for Asia’s pay-TV market,” said CASBAA CEO Simon Twiston Davies

    “The response to CASBAA’s year-end 2006 activities, including the CASBAA Convention in Hong Kong and the release of our year-end industry data clearly illustrates the value of the Association.”

    The CASBAA members program for 2007 — which includes training schemes (the CASBAA Media College), CASBAA Market Reports (Indonesia and Taiwan, among others), IPR seminars and networking events, as well as the CASBAA Satellite Industry Forum (June 18th), the CASBAA China Forum (late August) and the CASBAA Convention 2007 (Oct 30th – Nov 2nd) – will provide new value to CASBAA members and the industry at large, said Mr Twiston Davies.

    “CASBAA looks forward to working with our new members in particular throughout 2007,” said CASBAA chairman Marcel Fenez. “With this type of sectoral and geographic support our effectiveness as a voice for the industry and as a networking organisation continues to grow.”

  • Casbaa lauds Philippines in piracy case

    Casbaa lauds Philippines in piracy case

     MUMBAI: Casbaa lauded the Philippines Department of Justice (DoJ) for its recommendation in filing of 12 criminal cases under the “information for copyright infringement” law against cable operator Maguindanao Skycable CATV and its directors and officers.

    Speaking on behalf of the Casbaa members who filed complaints with the DoJ against Maguindanao Skycable, Casbaa said the DoJ had strengthened the industry’s faith in a government commitment to protect intellectual property rights.

    “With this decision, the DoJ strongly demonstrates the Philippine government’s strong political will to address the worsening pay-TV piracy situation. We are pleased with this development and eager to see the prosecution of the complaints,” said Casbaa CEO Simon Twiston Davies.

    Casbaa and its members filed the complaints against Maguindanao Skycable for illegally acquiring and transmitting copyrighted programming from channels-AXN, CNN International, Cartoon Network, Discovery Channel, the Disney Channel, ESPN Star Sports, HBO Asia, MTV Asia, National Geographic, Star Movies, Star World, and Star Sports.

    The complaints were filed based on evidence gathered by the National Bureau of Investigation – Intellectual Property Rights Division (NBI-IPRD) following a period of intensive surveillance and a raid on Maguindanao Skycable’s offices and head-end in Cotabato City in southern Philippines.

    Under the Phillipines Republic Act the accused persons who have illegally transmitted copyrighted programs face a jail term of up to three years and fines amounting to Php 150,000 for the first offense.

    The courts may also order a convicted operator to pay damages for economic losses resulting from the unauthorized broadcasting of copyrighted programs.

    The Philippine Cable Television Association (PCTA) also welcomed the DoJ resolution, saying it is a “positive step towards creating a competitive Philippine pay-TV market that provides a level playing field for cable operators”.
     

  • Casbaa Convention 2007: It’s all about content

    Casbaa Convention 2007: It’s all about content

    MUMBAI: The Casbaa Convention 2007 will be staged from 30 October to 2 November at Hong Kong’s Academy for Performing Arts. The theme this year has been set to ‘It’s all about content’.

    Casbaa chairman Marcel Fenez said, “Focusing on the most vital market driver for pay-TV services, video content, the Convention 2007 will highlight how the relationship between content, carriage, customers and revenue is indivisible.”

    “There is now a deeper industry-wide recognition that whether the platform is cable, satellite, broadband, mobile or any other delivery mode consumers ultimately pay for the images on screen,” he added.

    According to Casbaa, with the need to maximise viewership and revenues in a world of proliferating channels, the delineation of quality niche products is gaining ever greater relevance. Meanwhile, a more sophisticated understanding of consumer behaviour and the development of related marketing campaigns all flow back to the core product: compelling content.

    The ever-changing technology landscape will also feature strongly during the Casbaa Convention 2007, as will the mega-markets of China and India and the still green-field markets of Indonesia and Vietnam, asserts an official release.

    The annual Casbaa Convention brings together broadcast executives and technology specialists from Asia and around the world to exchange views and information during high-powered interactive debates.

    Casbaa CEO Simon Twiston Davies said, “This is where Asia’s pay-TV decision-makers meet market dynamics head on. First comes carriage, but then you need content.”

  • Casbaa launches mobile TV group

    Casbaa launches mobile TV group

    Hong Kong: The Cable & Satellite Broadcasting Association of Asia (Casbaa) has announced the formal launch of the Casbaa Mobile Group, a team of organisation members dedicated to the effective, business-model focused deployment of mobile TV services across the Asia Pacific.

    The announcement was made during the first plenary day of the Casbaa Convention 2006 in Hong Kong.

    Among the Casbaa members participating in this Casbaa Group are mobile content providers such as Turner Broadcasting, ESPN Star Sports, CNBC Asia, BBC World, Star Group, Walt Disney Television International and Sony Pictures TV International, as well as platform operator PCCW, handset manufacturer Nokia and chipset supplier Sun Microsystems.

    The Casbaa Mobile Group met with the DVB-H Asia Pacific Alliance (Dapa), which comprises DVB-H dedicated broadcast platform operators such as Bridge Networks of Australia, MiTV of Malaysia and MECA from Indonesia, as well as Nokia, an official statement from Casbaa said.

    “The Casbaa objective is to create an environment where the regulatory and business issues surrounding Mobile TV can be debated with hard information exchanged to encourage the distribution of paid video content to as many Mobile TV subscribers as possible,” said Casbaa CEO Simon Twiston Davies.

    The Casbaa engagement with Dapa followed a meeting earlier in the year with the Asia Mobile Initiative (AMI), where video-to-mobile streaming information was exchanged with roaming platforms M1-Vodafone (Singapore), Celcom (Malaysia), DTAC (Thailand) and SMART (Philippines).

    “As is demonstrated by the heavy emphasis on mobile issues in our the Casbaa Convention programme this year, the pay-TV industry places the development of a robust business model for Mobile TV as one of its highest priorities for our digital future,” said Twiston Davies.

    There is a long-term commitment by the content industry to work more closely with mobile platforms and manufacturers to create an economically viable business for everyone. This is just the beginning of the development of new and substantive revenue stream for our industry, he added.

  • Casbaa urges pay TV regulation rethink for India

    Casbaa urges pay TV regulation rethink for India

    MUMBAI: The Cable and Satellite Broadcasting Association of Asia (Casbaa) has called on the Government of India to make a shift in its regulatory approach to the pay-TV industry.
    Casbaa CEO Simon Twiston Davies says, “The Indian authorities’ current positioning is holding back the industry and introducing significant new constraints of the kind that slowed India’s economic development for decades”.

    According to Casbaa, recent initiatives by the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting (MIB) and the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) will severely limit development, not just of pay-TV, but of the entire Indian communications industry.

    Speaking at a conference in Delhi organised by the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (Assocham), Casbaa said it would like to see more emphasis on promoting growth, rather than on restricting market flexibility, adding that international and domestic examples of thriving, lightly regulated markets are plentiful.

    A Casbaa study last year Regulating for Growth clearly demonstrated this linkage, under-scoring the success of markets such as Singapore, Japan, Malaysia and Hong Kong.

    Davies adds, “India can make immediate and enormous strides towards becoming a digital leader – if it takes fundamental steps to loosen restraints on industry growth. The size of Malaysia’s pay-TV market, for instance, has doubled in the last three years.”

    In other Asian markets bidding for cable systems is generating offers of more than $1.5 billion each, yet there is little encouragement of fresh domestic or foreign investment into the India market.

    Meanwhile, Casbaa believes that the proposed Broadcast Services Bill would create a new pay-TV industry regulator potentially subject to political interference.

    Favies says, “India needs to install a truly independent communications industry regulator. Regulatory decisions should be technical and quasi-judicial, responding to the demands of the fast-changing media environment, and not subject to transient political pressures.”

    Casbaa also highlighted items such as the recent Trai decision to set maximum retail prices for all pay-TV channels at Rs5 ($ 0.11) each and the draft Broadcasting Services Regulation Bill (2006) – which mandates local content requirements for every pay-TV channel.

    “Does the Government of India really believe that all TV channels have the same value; that a high cost movie channel should be priced in the same way as a channel dedicated to low cost chat shows? This makes no sense,” argues Davies.

    According to Casbaa investment in high-quality content could quickly dry up as channel providers find they cannot make a return on their investment. The rate cap decision could quickly produce a race to the bottom in terms of content, to the detriment of viewers.

    The maximum retail price directive ignores market realities states Casbaa. “It is now over two years since TRAI first instituted a cable price freeze which it said would be temporary until the launch of DTH satellite services. Unfortunately, that understanding seems to have evaporated, even though we have two DTH platforms that are now competing ferociously – with each other and with cable providers,” said Davies.

    Casbaa also has serious concerns over a proposed 15 per cent ‘local content’ requirement for all channels aired in India, another example of regulation that will restrict the access of Indian viewers to premium content, especially international news, documentaries, sports and entertainment.

    Many internationally focussed channels do not have India-specific feeds. “How can a global news channel meet a 15 per cent local content requirement? News happens where it happens. The same applies to international sports. And how reasonable is it to expect niche channels from Italy, or Australia, or Germany, or China to carry Indian programming?” ask Davies.

    According to Casbaa, India’s content industries are already strong and don’t need artificial life-support. “India’s film and television industry is now an export market and part of the global industry. Indeed, it benefits from the airing of Indian-generated TV programming in jurisdictions that don’t impose content quotas. The domestic market should operate in sync with the rest of the world and gain the full benefit of a global marketplace.

    “Without taking account of the new digital world, India’s pay-TV regulators will fall further and further behind global trends,” Davies warned.

  • Casbaa & Fifa take legal action against unlicensed airing of World Cup ’06

    Casbaa & Fifa take legal action against unlicensed airing of World Cup ’06

    MUMBAI: The Cable and Satellite Broadcasting Association of Asia (Casbaa) has announced that the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (Fifa) and Hong Kong Cable Television Limited have instituted legal proceedings against a number of public venues for allegedly airing unlicensed pay-TV broadcasts of the World Cup 2006 matches.

    Speaking on behalf of the plaintiffs and 110 companies engaged in the regional pay-TV industry, Casbaa confirmed that writs had been served on five high-profile bars along with cease and desist letters served on an unspecified number of public venues across Hong Kong, informs an official release.

    Thus, Fifa, Hong Kong Cable along with Casbaa are seeking monetary damages for the copyright infringements.

    Casbaa CEO Simon Twiston Davies said, “Although the industry reached out to the Hong Kong food and beverage industry in the run up to the World Cup, stating that pay-TV signal theft is not to be tolerated by government or industry, many bars blatantly screened unlicensed pay-TV broadcasts. We have had no choice but to take the matter to the courts.”

    As an indication of the pay-TV industry’s commitment to the Hong Kong sporting community, Davies noted that the plaintiffs and Casbaa would donate any proceeds received from the defendants after costs to local sports charities. Casbaa believes it is important to return the funds to where they belong – the support of sports development.

    “The issue of intellectual property rights protection requires concerted efforts on all fronts between the government, industry, bar and club owners and the general public, especially as we run up to other global events such as the Beijing Olympics in 2008 and recurring high value events such as the English Premier League. The sports leagues who stage major events need a fair return on their investment,” adds Davies.

    The release also states that under Hong Kong law, bars and clubs may only display pay-TV channels under an appropriate subscription from Hong Kong licensed pay-TV operators such as Hong Kong Cable, now Television and TVB Pay Vision. For several years Casbaa has urged that the distribution of satellite-based pay-TV services from overseas should be given the same criminal protection as signals illegally tapped from local pay-TV operators.

    Overseas pay-TV operators such as Dream of the Philippines, MultiChoice of South Africa and UBC True of Thailand are authorised to offer pay-TV subscriptions in their respective jurisdictions but they cannot, and indeed do not, offer subscriptions in Hong Kong. The display of overseas pay-TV channels in Hong Kong by bars and club owners, using special decoders is illegal, adds the release..

  • Casbaa supports converged regulatory environment in Hong Kong

    Casbaa supports converged regulatory environment in Hong Kong

    MUMBAI: The Cable & Satellite Broadcasting Association of Asia (Casbaa) has welcomed an announcement by the Hong Kong Government that it will begin a three-month consultation process on the establishment of a unified regulator for the electronic communications sector in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR).

    “It is encouraging to see Hong Kong rationalising its approach to regulation, taking into account the digital revolution. We certainly support the concept of a converged regulatory environment in Asia Pacific markets and see models such as Ofcom in the United Kingdom addressing many of the complex issues arising from converged distribution. However, we also reinforce our position that a non-intrusive stance is the best for industry and the community at large,” said Casbaa CEO Simon Twiston Davies.

    In a recent report Casbaa assessed the regulatory environment for the pay-TV industry across Asia and found that Hong Kong had one of the most effective regulatory environments in the region. “We give full credit to Hong Kong for working to retain its position as a regional leader,” added Twiston Davies.