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Tag: Star India

  • TDSAT directs Star India to reconnect signals to Ortel on receipt of half of due amount

    TDSAT directs Star India to reconnect signals to Ortel on receipt of half of due amount

    NEW DELHI: Star India was directed by the Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal to reconnect the signals to Ortel Communications within 24 hours as Ortel counsel gave cheques for Rs 3,34,93,967 to Star India counsel Rajsekhar Rao.

    The petition had been filed against disconnection of signals by Star with effect from 2 July 2016 in view of various notices issued under relevant regulations for both DAS and non-DAS areas.

    In his order, member B B Srivastava on 11 July 2016 said Ortel was desirous to have the interconnect agreement renewed but on RIO terms of Star.

    The cheques submitted were for 50% of the outstanding amount till June 2016 (Rs 6,77,71,172). The balance amount of Rs.342,77,205 as well as the installment agreed to be paid by 31 July 2016, will be paid by 25 July 2016 and 31 July 2016 respectively. The petitioner would a lso adhere to the payment schedule as agreed to earlier.

    The petitioner’s desire to have a fresh agreement on RIO basis for DAS areas would be on the basis of RIO and for non-DAS areas, the two sides will negotiate and sign an appropriate interconnect agreement as per TRAI Regulations within two weeks.

    In the meanwhile, the terms and conditions of the old agreement would continue to govern the relationship between the petitioner and the respondent and the petitioner will abide by the payment schedule and other terms of the previous agreement.

    Ortel meanwhile denied any charges of piracy for which FIRs had been lodged.

    Earlier, the petitioner had come before the Tribunal against these notices and when the matter was taken up on 27 May 2016, the petitioner submitted that the parties had arrived at an agreement and therefore, it withdrew the petition.

    The mutual agreement arrived at between the parties had been documented in the form of emails dated 26 May 2016 and a communication to the petitioner on 17 June 2016.

    However, the matter came up again in view of the amount of Rs 6,77,71,172 of which half was paid by chequest which the Bank refused to accept as there was “stop payment” instructions by the petitioner to the bank in view of the disconnection.

    (Updated on 20 July 2016 6:25 pm)

  • TRAI open house on DAS interconnect opens up differences amongst stakeholders

    TRAI open house on DAS interconnect opens up differences amongst stakeholders

    NEW DELHI: An Open House Discussion (OHD), organised by regulator TRAI on inter-connection framework for broadcasting TV services distributed through addressable systems (DAS), brought out the fact that yawning gaps still exist between broadcasters and distribution platforms.

    The OHD, organised on Wednesday to garner final viewpoints of stakeholders after they have already submitted their stand on the issue, highlighted that the industry is still fighting for short to medium term gains instead of seeing the big picture.

    While the broadcasting fraternity stood its ground saying, by and large, that interconnect agreements are private matters between two parties after mutually agreeing on certain terms, distribution platforms maintained that “more transparency is needed.”

    “How can it be that a matter related to a broadcaster is private and nobody can ask about them, while those relating to us (distribution platforms) are supposed to be made public?” Jawahar Goel, managing director, Dish TV asked.

    Goel’s probing query came after Star India, quoting various laws and regulations, said that the regulator should not encroach upon or erode broadcasters’ “right to freedom of contract in negotiating with distribution platform operators (DPOs).”

    In its submission Star India had said, “The proposed regulations must allow freedom to negotiate to broadcasters so as to meet the peculiar demands of the market. Universal treatment to all seekers of signals— despite intelligible differences — is not an obligation imposed by law nor is it desirable.”

    Issue like discounts offered by broadcasters, pay channels turning FTA, cloning of existing content to start another TV channel, regulation of OTT platforms managed and owned by broadcasters, cost of spectrum charges paid by consumers for accessing OTT services, the vagueness of interconnect agreements without geographical locations mentioned and the pitfalls of a proposed Interconnect Management System (IMS) whereby commercial data and information could be put in an encrypted form in limited public domain were amongst many issues brought up by stakeholders.

    Pointing out broadcasters “impose stringent packaging restrictions” on DPOs, Videocon d2h, expressed its concerns on HD channels and their pricing, highlighting the fact that the difference in cost of the same content in standard definition and high-definition is hard to explain to price-sensitive consumers.

    While TRAI chairman RS Sharma in the beginning observed that transparency, non-discrimination and consumer interests were paramount, amongst other things, when the regulator proposes a regulation, some MSOs and LCOs (led by a vocal Roop Sharma of Cable Operators’ Federation of India) vociferously said it’s transparency that’s lacking.

    Dish TV also highlighted the discrimination between the licensing regime of DTH operators and cable ops — DTH licensee pays an annual fee, while a cable op doesn’t pay any licence fee on registration .

    Bharti Telemedia, part of the telecoms-to-media giant Bharti group, reiterated Dish TV’s point on DTH ops being treated differently saying a “non-level playing field amongst the various types of service providers” exists.

    In its submission to the TRAI earlier, Bharti had stated that DTH operators pay a higher tax of 34.5% and have a transparent business operation, while “digital cable operators, who have a similar nature of business, are not transparent and are also not liable to pay any licence fee.”

    Though global trends indicate there’s convergence of services and service providers, in India there seems to be hardly any convergence of ideas or consensus amongst the various stakeholders and this would make any regulator’s job that much tougher. Unless one leaves market dynamics to take care of many issues that were raised at the OHD.

  • TRAI open house on DAS interconnect opens up differences amongst stakeholders

    TRAI open house on DAS interconnect opens up differences amongst stakeholders

    NEW DELHI: An Open House Discussion (OHD), organised by regulator TRAI on inter-connection framework for broadcasting TV services distributed through addressable systems (DAS), brought out the fact that yawning gaps still exist between broadcasters and distribution platforms.

    The OHD, organised on Wednesday to garner final viewpoints of stakeholders after they have already submitted their stand on the issue, highlighted that the industry is still fighting for short to medium term gains instead of seeing the big picture.

    While the broadcasting fraternity stood its ground saying, by and large, that interconnect agreements are private matters between two parties after mutually agreeing on certain terms, distribution platforms maintained that “more transparency is needed.”

    “How can it be that a matter related to a broadcaster is private and nobody can ask about them, while those relating to us (distribution platforms) are supposed to be made public?” Jawahar Goel, managing director, Dish TV asked.

    Goel’s probing query came after Star India, quoting various laws and regulations, said that the regulator should not encroach upon or erode broadcasters’ “right to freedom of contract in negotiating with distribution platform operators (DPOs).”

    In its submission Star India had said, “The proposed regulations must allow freedom to negotiate to broadcasters so as to meet the peculiar demands of the market. Universal treatment to all seekers of signals— despite intelligible differences — is not an obligation imposed by law nor is it desirable.”

    Issue like discounts offered by broadcasters, pay channels turning FTA, cloning of existing content to start another TV channel, regulation of OTT platforms managed and owned by broadcasters, cost of spectrum charges paid by consumers for accessing OTT services, the vagueness of interconnect agreements without geographical locations mentioned and the pitfalls of a proposed Interconnect Management System (IMS) whereby commercial data and information could be put in an encrypted form in limited public domain were amongst many issues brought up by stakeholders.

    Pointing out broadcasters “impose stringent packaging restrictions” on DPOs, Videocon d2h, expressed its concerns on HD channels and their pricing, highlighting the fact that the difference in cost of the same content in standard definition and high-definition is hard to explain to price-sensitive consumers.

    While TRAI chairman RS Sharma in the beginning observed that transparency, non-discrimination and consumer interests were paramount, amongst other things, when the regulator proposes a regulation, some MSOs and LCOs (led by a vocal Roop Sharma of Cable Operators’ Federation of India) vociferously said it’s transparency that’s lacking.

    Dish TV also highlighted the discrimination between the licensing regime of DTH operators and cable ops — DTH licensee pays an annual fee, while a cable op doesn’t pay any licence fee on registration .

    Bharti Telemedia, part of the telecoms-to-media giant Bharti group, reiterated Dish TV’s point on DTH ops being treated differently saying a “non-level playing field amongst the various types of service providers” exists.

    In its submission to the TRAI earlier, Bharti had stated that DTH operators pay a higher tax of 34.5% and have a transparent business operation, while “digital cable operators, who have a similar nature of business, are not transparent and are also not liable to pay any licence fee.”

    Though global trends indicate there’s convergence of services and service providers, in India there seems to be hardly any convergence of ideas or consensus amongst the various stakeholders and this would make any regulator’s job that much tougher. Unless one leaves market dynamics to take care of many issues that were raised at the OHD.

  • Private broadcasters, DD, telcos and the terrestrial TV dilemma

    Private broadcasters, DD, telcos and the terrestrial TV dilemma

    MUMBAI: There was once a treasured medium. Everyone – 300 million when it started and -800-odd million two decades ago – flocked to it everyday. Every evening and more so on Sunday mornings they gathered around the one eyed God in their homes. They switched it on manually – and later with a remote device – waited for the picture to appear on the glass screen to be transported to another universe. Where they could laugh, learn, cry, enjoy unencumbered. In the comfort of the home.

    For years, terrestrial television run by the state owned broadcaster Doordarshan – and later by its parent Prasar Bharati – was our main source of information, entertainment, and education. We Indians used to carp and crib that it gave us one sided information, did not entertain us enough, delivered low quality images, was too rigidly controlled. But the reality is it did engage the nation – at least three generations – during different periods since 1960 when TV was flagged off in India – in internet-before times, in prior-to- liberalisation times.

    And yes it did present a platform to a preferred few, to churn out content, which would become the opium for many. Allegations of nepotism, favouritism, corruption were hurled at the powers that be in the portals of Doordarshan and in the ministry of information and broadcasting as a few producers became rich. As did the paanwala below Mandi House who directed and passed on the scripts and proposals of producers to the higher ups or so it was rumoured

    Doordarshan was a God supreme. Impenetrable. Ubiquitous. And all pervasive. It reached out to every nook and cranny of this nation of ours thanks to the lavish spread of transmitters. In TV set and electricity poor regions of heart land India, its magnetic appeal was so great, that villagers would bring out a generator, which would crank out power, and supply it to a single TV as an entire community sat enthralled before it. In urban India, streets used to be deserted as cities’ denizens huddled around it in worship like awe.

    The Doordarshan of today has the same reach. But not the appeal. The terrestrial network has over the years become a very poor shadow of its earlier muscular self. Indians have fled to cable TV, DTH TV, online and OTT linear services on their mobile phones. A new crop of Gods has emerged – Star India, Zee TV, Sun TV, Sony Pictures, Viacom18, Youtube, Facebook, Hotstar, Voot, dittoTV, Netflix – and they are obsessing a nation wanting to be entertained.

    An archaic government diktaat – passed under the Cable TV Regulations Act- forces both cable TV and DTH networks to carry DD channels at no cost to government, even as other services struggle to pay top dollar to get carriage.

    The spectrum that Doordarshan occupies for its terrestrial transmissions nationally is extremely valuable. And the Modi-led government probably realizes this. Hence, the recent release of the consultation paper by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India that seeks to understand how private players could be allowed in the terrestrial broadcasting space. Auctioning it or allowing public private sector participation could provide tens of thousands of crore to the exchequer. And possibly to the ailing Doordarshan, which depends on government dole and tax payer money for its continued existence. Prasar Bharati CEO Jawahar Sircar has been tearing his hair out but has admitted that he has found it very difficult to bring a sense of discipline to its vast employee force nationally. He has said that he is sitting on a gold mine with Prasar Bharati but he has confessed the culture in the organization has made it very difficult to mine and yield profits.

    Globally, broadcasters in most markets have migrated to digital using one of the four technical standards: DVB-T (European), ATSC (American), ISDBT (Japanese), and Chinese (DTMB). DD has been tentative about the migration; it has stayed put in standard analog mode with its 1,400 transmitters standing tall. It has installed only some 20-odd DVB-T transmitters; another 40-odd are planned; altogether 600 odd digital transmitters are to replace the current analog ones.

    The cost of this migration is going to run into tens of thousands of crore as old archaic transmitters and analog work flows are converted to digital. It’s something which Prime Minister Narendra Modi would definitely like to be done. But the question is: does it make economic sense under Doordarshan and Prasar Bharati?

    DD is taking the slot sale route once again and inviting private producers to create content, sell the advertising air time, and pay it a flat fee. Sounds interesting, but it’s not something that’s attracting successful private sector producers by the truck load. Most of them are tied up with productions on private channels like ZeeTV, Sony, Star and Colors. The risk factor of producing something on DD is proving daunting for them. So only time will tell whether DD’s private slot sale scheme will work or not. The previous attempt was a sheer disaster as at that time DD dished out oodles of cash to producers who did not really care about what they put out on air. They only pocketed their high margins, which they made, according to DD sources.

    Does DD have a future on its own? Yes, its FreeDish DTH service has caught on like wildfire because of its low cost. But research has shown that some viewers are not staying loyal to it; they are rotating the small dish around to catch signals from other private providers. Also, overall, churn in the DTH space is pretty high as consumers have been service-hopping to avoid paying the high tab each of the operators is charging.

    An issue that the government could think about is: why not privatise the analogue DD as well instead of just selling out slots? The reasons governments at the Centre in the past have held on to the public caster is because they wanted to have a media outlet through which their viewpoint could be heard, and also provide public service programmes to help those in the rural heartlands. But of what use is a network that fewer and fewer viewers are opting for is something those in power need to think about. Private newspapers and TV news channels are anyway behaving like handmaidens of the Narendra Modi-led government. And it could easily sell most of the DD network to private players while retaining some time slots for itself to propagate its views. Additionally, it could mandate leading Indian broadcasters to do really good public service TV programmes on their more popular channels even while paying them to do so. That could prove a cheaper proposition, than running a unwieldy behemoth.

    So does it make sense to privatize the digital terrestrial television space? And who else apart from Doordarshan could venture into it? Prima facie it does: the world over DTT is holding its own against cable and satellite television. Of course, in India’s case, the impact of mobile has been humungous with nearly a billion subscribers, and around 250 million mobile internet users.

    The 4G LTE revolution has yet to hit India. The era of fast cheaper data and internet access is knocking on its doors. Things will change drastically when it does arrive. Among the major players in this segment everyone has been watching to turn on the data juice are: Reliance, Airtel, Idea, Vodafone. 4G LTE and DTT can easily be married to each other thus allowing users to watch terrestrial television on their tablets and phones while on the move. All it requires is a dongle or a chip to be inserted into the smart HD-ready handsets. And viola, you could get a clutch of digital channels.

    And that brings us to the answer of who could get into DTT – obviously the telcos, and primarily Reliance Industries, which is bidding to revolutionise India’s mobile habits.Yes, its Jio venture is heavily laden with debt, but even that is a drop in the ocean, compare to what the megacorp makes from its oil and gas businesses. Then possibly Airtel; the company is already in the DTH platform space. The Tata group: it operates a platform along with Rupert Murdoch’s Sky. The ZeeTV-Essel group which has a strong presence in cable TV, DTH, OTT, and broadcasting. Star India, which has stuck to being a content creator, but its parent Twenty First Century Fox has deep and rich experience in DTH, and terrestrial TV.

    However, a note of caution here: they will get in only if it is economically feasible. On the face of it, the RoI will take a long time – a very long time. Unless innovative models are resorted to. One of these could be to have the private sector bid for either cities, states or regions. This will help distribute the capital risk among several players, each of who could take up a city or a region for their individual DTT service.

    The DTT solution could take some time finding. And it may well be buried because of the rapid strides that online content consumption is making. But at least a start has been made.

  • Private broadcasters, DD, telcos and the terrestrial TV dilemma

    Private broadcasters, DD, telcos and the terrestrial TV dilemma

    MUMBAI: There was once a treasured medium. Everyone – 300 million when it started and -800-odd million two decades ago – flocked to it everyday. Every evening and more so on Sunday mornings they gathered around the one eyed God in their homes. They switched it on manually – and later with a remote device – waited for the picture to appear on the glass screen to be transported to another universe. Where they could laugh, learn, cry, enjoy unencumbered. In the comfort of the home.

    For years, terrestrial television run by the state owned broadcaster Doordarshan – and later by its parent Prasar Bharati – was our main source of information, entertainment, and education. We Indians used to carp and crib that it gave us one sided information, did not entertain us enough, delivered low quality images, was too rigidly controlled. But the reality is it did engage the nation – at least three generations – during different periods since 1960 when TV was flagged off in India – in internet-before times, in prior-to- liberalisation times.

    And yes it did present a platform to a preferred few, to churn out content, which would become the opium for many. Allegations of nepotism, favouritism, corruption were hurled at the powers that be in the portals of Doordarshan and in the ministry of information and broadcasting as a few producers became rich. As did the paanwala below Mandi House who directed and passed on the scripts and proposals of producers to the higher ups or so it was rumoured

    Doordarshan was a God supreme. Impenetrable. Ubiquitous. And all pervasive. It reached out to every nook and cranny of this nation of ours thanks to the lavish spread of transmitters. In TV set and electricity poor regions of heart land India, its magnetic appeal was so great, that villagers would bring out a generator, which would crank out power, and supply it to a single TV as an entire community sat enthralled before it. In urban India, streets used to be deserted as cities’ denizens huddled around it in worship like awe.

    The Doordarshan of today has the same reach. But not the appeal. The terrestrial network has over the years become a very poor shadow of its earlier muscular self. Indians have fled to cable TV, DTH TV, online and OTT linear services on their mobile phones. A new crop of Gods has emerged – Star India, Zee TV, Sun TV, Sony Pictures, Viacom18, Youtube, Facebook, Hotstar, Voot, dittoTV, Netflix – and they are obsessing a nation wanting to be entertained.

    An archaic government diktaat – passed under the Cable TV Regulations Act- forces both cable TV and DTH networks to carry DD channels at no cost to government, even as other services struggle to pay top dollar to get carriage.

    The spectrum that Doordarshan occupies for its terrestrial transmissions nationally is extremely valuable. And the Modi-led government probably realizes this. Hence, the recent release of the consultation paper by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India that seeks to understand how private players could be allowed in the terrestrial broadcasting space. Auctioning it or allowing public private sector participation could provide tens of thousands of crore to the exchequer. And possibly to the ailing Doordarshan, which depends on government dole and tax payer money for its continued existence. Prasar Bharati CEO Jawahar Sircar has been tearing his hair out but has admitted that he has found it very difficult to bring a sense of discipline to its vast employee force nationally. He has said that he is sitting on a gold mine with Prasar Bharati but he has confessed the culture in the organization has made it very difficult to mine and yield profits.

    Globally, broadcasters in most markets have migrated to digital using one of the four technical standards: DVB-T (European), ATSC (American), ISDBT (Japanese), and Chinese (DTMB). DD has been tentative about the migration; it has stayed put in standard analog mode with its 1,400 transmitters standing tall. It has installed only some 20-odd DVB-T transmitters; another 40-odd are planned; altogether 600 odd digital transmitters are to replace the current analog ones.

    The cost of this migration is going to run into tens of thousands of crore as old archaic transmitters and analog work flows are converted to digital. It’s something which Prime Minister Narendra Modi would definitely like to be done. But the question is: does it make economic sense under Doordarshan and Prasar Bharati?

    DD is taking the slot sale route once again and inviting private producers to create content, sell the advertising air time, and pay it a flat fee. Sounds interesting, but it’s not something that’s attracting successful private sector producers by the truck load. Most of them are tied up with productions on private channels like ZeeTV, Sony, Star and Colors. The risk factor of producing something on DD is proving daunting for them. So only time will tell whether DD’s private slot sale scheme will work or not. The previous attempt was a sheer disaster as at that time DD dished out oodles of cash to producers who did not really care about what they put out on air. They only pocketed their high margins, which they made, according to DD sources.

    Does DD have a future on its own? Yes, its FreeDish DTH service has caught on like wildfire because of its low cost. But research has shown that some viewers are not staying loyal to it; they are rotating the small dish around to catch signals from other private providers. Also, overall, churn in the DTH space is pretty high as consumers have been service-hopping to avoid paying the high tab each of the operators is charging.

    An issue that the government could think about is: why not privatise the analogue DD as well instead of just selling out slots? The reasons governments at the Centre in the past have held on to the public caster is because they wanted to have a media outlet through which their viewpoint could be heard, and also provide public service programmes to help those in the rural heartlands. But of what use is a network that fewer and fewer viewers are opting for is something those in power need to think about. Private newspapers and TV news channels are anyway behaving like handmaidens of the Narendra Modi-led government. And it could easily sell most of the DD network to private players while retaining some time slots for itself to propagate its views. Additionally, it could mandate leading Indian broadcasters to do really good public service TV programmes on their more popular channels even while paying them to do so. That could prove a cheaper proposition, than running a unwieldy behemoth.

    So does it make sense to privatize the digital terrestrial television space? And who else apart from Doordarshan could venture into it? Prima facie it does: the world over DTT is holding its own against cable and satellite television. Of course, in India’s case, the impact of mobile has been humungous with nearly a billion subscribers, and around 250 million mobile internet users.

    The 4G LTE revolution has yet to hit India. The era of fast cheaper data and internet access is knocking on its doors. Things will change drastically when it does arrive. Among the major players in this segment everyone has been watching to turn on the data juice are: Reliance, Airtel, Idea, Vodafone. 4G LTE and DTT can easily be married to each other thus allowing users to watch terrestrial television on their tablets and phones while on the move. All it requires is a dongle or a chip to be inserted into the smart HD-ready handsets. And viola, you could get a clutch of digital channels.

    And that brings us to the answer of who could get into DTT – obviously the telcos, and primarily Reliance Industries, which is bidding to revolutionise India’s mobile habits.Yes, its Jio venture is heavily laden with debt, but even that is a drop in the ocean, compare to what the megacorp makes from its oil and gas businesses. Then possibly Airtel; the company is already in the DTH platform space. The Tata group: it operates a platform along with Rupert Murdoch’s Sky. The ZeeTV-Essel group which has a strong presence in cable TV, DTH, OTT, and broadcasting. Star India, which has stuck to being a content creator, but its parent Twenty First Century Fox has deep and rich experience in DTH, and terrestrial TV.

    However, a note of caution here: they will get in only if it is economically feasible. On the face of it, the RoI will take a long time – a very long time. Unless innovative models are resorted to. One of these could be to have the private sector bid for either cities, states or regions. This will help distribute the capital risk among several players, each of who could take up a city or a region for their individual DTT service.

    The DTT solution could take some time finding. And it may well be buried because of the rapid strides that online content consumption is making. But at least a start has been made.

  • TDSAT directs Star India to restore signals to MSO on payment of first of two Installments

    TDSAT directs Star India to restore signals to MSO on payment of first of two Installments

    NEW DELHI: City Digital Network has been directed by the Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal tp pay a sum of Rs 3.5 lakh in two installments to Star India by the end of this month.

    Member B B Srivastava said the signals to the MSO will be restored on payment of the first installment of Rs one lakh by 24 June 2016.

    In his order of 22 June 2016, he said that the second instalment installment of Rs 2.5 lakh will be cleared a week thereafter.

    He also directed the parties to meet at a mutually convenient date to resolve differences and work on a new interconnect agreement.

    Listing the matter for 18 July, he said the matter of transmission of digital signals would be taken up then.

  • TDSAT directs Star India to restore signals to MSO on payment of first of two Installments

    TDSAT directs Star India to restore signals to MSO on payment of first of two Installments

    NEW DELHI: City Digital Network has been directed by the Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal tp pay a sum of Rs 3.5 lakh in two installments to Star India by the end of this month.

    Member B B Srivastava said the signals to the MSO will be restored on payment of the first installment of Rs one lakh by 24 June 2016.

    In his order of 22 June 2016, he said that the second instalment installment of Rs 2.5 lakh will be cleared a week thereafter.

    He also directed the parties to meet at a mutually convenient date to resolve differences and work on a new interconnect agreement.

    Listing the matter for 18 July, he said the matter of transmission of digital signals would be taken up then.

  • Star India appoints Sridhar Balakrishnan as its head of distribution

    Star India appoints Sridhar Balakrishnan as its head of distribution

    MUMBAI: Star India has appointed former Marico chief operating officer for rest of South Asia, Middle East & Africa Sridhar Balakrishnan as its head of distribution.

    Balakrishnan replaces Krishnan Kutty, who has been made EVP and business head of the English cluster a few months back

    “Distribution has been a key priority for the organisation, and we have leveraged the growing penetration of TV to drive reach of our channels across the width and breadth of this country. As cable in India gets fully digitalised and consumers get access to an array of differentiated channels and services, the opportunity to unlock value in the distribution business is huge,” Star India MD Sanjay Gupta shared in an internal mail to employees.

    “It gives me great pleasure to welcome Sridhar Balakrishnan, who joins us as the head of distribution business. He will spearhead this agenda for Star.”

    An alumnus of XLRI Jamshedpur and BHU, Sridhar has spent most of his 22 years of work life with Marico and has handled a variety of roles across sales, trade marketing, business finance and supply chain. In his last role as COO for rest of South Asia, Middle East & Africa, he was responsible for Marico’s multi-geography business across the business units of Bangladesh, South Asia, Middle East and Africa.

  • Star India appoints Sridhar Balakrishnan as its head of distribution

    Star India appoints Sridhar Balakrishnan as its head of distribution

    MUMBAI: Star India has appointed former Marico chief operating officer for rest of South Asia, Middle East & Africa Sridhar Balakrishnan as its head of distribution.

    Balakrishnan replaces Krishnan Kutty, who has been made EVP and business head of the English cluster a few months back

    “Distribution has been a key priority for the organisation, and we have leveraged the growing penetration of TV to drive reach of our channels across the width and breadth of this country. As cable in India gets fully digitalised and consumers get access to an array of differentiated channels and services, the opportunity to unlock value in the distribution business is huge,” Star India MD Sanjay Gupta shared in an internal mail to employees.

    “It gives me great pleasure to welcome Sridhar Balakrishnan, who joins us as the head of distribution business. He will spearhead this agenda for Star.”

    An alumnus of XLRI Jamshedpur and BHU, Sridhar has spent most of his 22 years of work life with Marico and has handled a variety of roles across sales, trade marketing, business finance and supply chain. In his last role as COO for rest of South Asia, Middle East & Africa, he was responsible for Marico’s multi-geography business across the business units of Bangladesh, South Asia, Middle East and Africa.

  • Star India dedicates 8 channels for 24×7 coverage of Rio 2016

    Star India dedicates 8 channels for 24×7 coverage of Rio 2016

    MUMBAI: Living to its campaign tag line #issebadakuchnai, Star India will be pulling out non-stop coverage of the Rio 2016 Olympics games by dedicating eight channels to the blockbuster event on a 24×7 basis. Beginning 5 August 2016, the Brazil Olympics games will be broadcast in two languages, English and Hindi.  

    Apart from the eight channels, Star India will extensively cover the global multisport event on its OTT platform Hotstar. Together Star Sports and Hotstar will broadcast 3000 plus hours of live content from the Olympics offering Indian sports fans every opportunity to catch every medal live.

    Star Sports HD channel cluster (Star Sports HD1, HD2, HD3, HD4) will mirror the SD one (Star Sports 1, 2,3, 4). Star Sports1 and 4 and its corresponding HD feed will have the English language telecast and Star Sports 2 and 3 with the corresponding HD feed will telecast the Hindi coverage. 

    Star Sports CEO Nitin Kukreja said, “Star Sports has been at the forefront of establishing a multi-sport culture in India. While cricket continues to reach new heights, Indian sports fans have already shown their love for kabaddi and football. The Olympics are the pinnacle of a multi-sports event, and as India prepares to send its largest ever contingent, Star Sports is leaving no stone unturned to provide the most comprehensive access to Indian sports fans. We will provide unprecedented coverage by dedicating eight channels on a 24×7 basis across the entire duration of the event. Also for the first time ever, the Olympics will be broadcast (24×7) in two languages, English and Hindi.”

    Talking about the numbers, Kukreja said, “Rio 2016 is something that goes beyond advertising and viewership numbers. As a brand, we truly believe in that India is getting ready to accept more and more sports. That the largest contingent going to the Olympics this year from India is remarkable in itself.”

    Apart from this, Star Sports has also exclusively empanelled an elite panel of International and Indian Olympians as well as sports experts who will share, analyse and connect with the Indian viewers as live actions unfolds at the Olympics. This select list of eminent sports personalities includes Ian Thorpe, Prakash Padukone, Anjali Bhagwat, Viren Rasquinha and Rehan Poncha. Holding them together would be the credible voice of presenter Paula Malai Ali in English, while in Hindi, Divya Jaitley, the well-known face amongst Indian sports presenters will be engaging the viewers. 

    Star’s video streaming platform Hotstar will be rolling out an unprecedented coverage of the Olympics, with 14 live feeds consistently and up to 36 concurrent seeds at peak times on the Olympics video player, available to users on demand through the event. 

    Hotstar CEO Ajit Mohan said, “While Hotstar is covering Olympics for the first time, we are excited that we are bringing an all-round coverage of the Olympics for the Indian digital user that will be the best in the world. Like in our coverage of other sporting events, our focus will be not just on making every moment of the Olympics available to the fans but also provide them the ability to create personalised, interactive experiences that allow them to follow and watch what is of unique interest to them.”

    Coverage of Olympics has created new digital benchmarks in the past in North America and Europe, and with Hotstar emerging as a primary screen in affluent metro homes in India, the platform is seeking to break new records on the breadth of coverage and viewership. Central to Hotstar’s offering to sports fans will be the rollout of an interactive, data rich Olympic player on the web where users will have the option to switch between the 14 live feeds, have access to day wise listing of events and medals tally, and the ability to personalise the experience by following specific countries and sports disciplines.