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Tag: Star India

  • Pro Kabaddi League season 2 pushed to July

    Pro Kabaddi League season 2 pushed to July

    MUMBAI: The Pro Kabaddi League was a surprise package last year wherein the sport managed to grab eyeballs on television and heavy presence of audience at the stadiums too.

     

    While the first edition of the league was held from 26 July to 31 August 2014, League promoter Anand Mahindra had said on the day of the finale, “We are very happy with the response for the League and Kabaddi and so will be back as early as March 2015.”

     

    However, now official sources have confirmed to Indiantelevision.com that the second edition of the League will not be kicked off in March but during the same window period as last year, i.e July to August 2015.

     

    The reason for the shift in schedule is being attributed to the evident clash with this year’s biggest sporting spectacle, the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015.

     

    Official broadcaster of the World Cup, Star Sports is also the broadcast partner for the Pro Kabaddi League. With Star Sports having its hands completely tied up with the Cricket World Cup, the League’s second season will now only kick off in the July to August 2015 period.

     

    Pro Kabaddi League was conceptualised by Mahindra and commentator Charu Sharma through their venture Mashal Sports. Sharma, known for his knowledge of the game, will also be seen playing the role of a cricket commentator during this edition of the World Cup.

     

    The last maiden season of the league was won by Abhishek Bachchan owned Jaipur Pink Panthers, which defeated Ronnie Screwvala owned U Mumba. Sources also confirmed that the second edition will not see any additional franchises taking part.

  • “Working with channel partners globally to make this a widely covered WC”: Uday Shankar

    “Working with channel partners globally to make this a widely covered WC”: Uday Shankar

    MUMBAI: This year’s mammoth ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 will soon begin and host broadcaster Star Sports is gearing up its production to make sure that people who have access to the live pictures from more than 200 territories around the world, enjoy a spectacular experience on their viewing platforms.

     

    Star India CEO Uday Shankar speaking on the networks broadcast plan said, “Star won’t rest on its laurels and would ensure that fans feel closer to the game and their heroes, like never before. We will be working closely with 45 of our channel partners across the globe, making this one of the most widely covered ICC Cricket World Cup.”

     

    Shankar further commented that four production teams with seven state-of-the-art technology kits will cover the action from each of the 49 games across the 14 stadia in Australia and New Zealand in 44 days, to create an exciting visual spectacle for fans all around the world.

    “Whatever the outcome in cricket’s greatest face-off in Australia and New Zealand, this edition of the Cup promises to be bigger and better,” he added.

     

    Star India will broadcast the World Cup in seven languages, brought together by Star’s expansive world feed, Hindi and regional commentary panel consisting of 13 former skippers, 20 World Cup winners and 26 World Cup semi-finalists. The production of the World Cup will be in the high definition (HD) format and audiences will enjoy the riveting experience as each and every match will be covered by at least 29 cameras, including Ultramotion cameras, Spidercam at 13 matches and the drone camera at all the knock out matches. Technology in use includes Real Time Snicko and LED stumps. Other innovative features will be introduced for the latter stages of the event.

     

    For the first time ever cricket will be covered using 4K technology. To bring its viewers closer to the game, Star Sports will produce live coverage of seven matches in 4K, including the semi-finals and the final.

     

    Meanwhile ICC chief executive David Richardson said: “We expect the World Cup to be the most viewed cricket event in the history of the game. With a great line up of commentators and innovative features, it promises to be an event to remember and the biggest and greatest sporting event anywhere in the world this year.”

     

    Richardson also said that for those who can’t be there in person, Star Sports and its broadcast licensees’ coverage will ensure that 2.5 billion people can view every single game from across all 14 venues in Australia and New Zealand.

     

    In addition to the live coverage of the 49 tournament matches, Star Sports will also produce live broadcast coverage for the warm-up matches from Adelaide and Sydney.

     

    The live broadcast will feature more than 30 commentators. These include Wasim Akram, Russell Arnold, Michael Atherton, Ian Bishop, Allan Border, Ian Botham, Simon Doull, Rahul Dravid, Damien Fleming, Sourav Ganguly, Sunil Gavaskar, Matthew Hayden, Michael Hussey, Dean Jones, Nasser Hussain, Brendon Julian, Nick Knight, Brett Lee, David Lloyd, Sanjay Manjrekar, Damien Martyn, Mpumelelo Mbangwa, Tom Moody, Shaun Pollock, Rameez Raja, Mark Richardson, Michael Slater, Ian Smith, Scott Styris, Mark Taylor, Shane Warne, Mark Waugh alongside Harsha Bhogle, Mark Nicholas and Alan Wilkins.

     

    To complement the television coverage, live online and mobile streaming will be visible on digital channels of most official broadcasters, while starsports.com will also stream the matches live in territories where television broadcast is unavailable.

     

    In Australia, national broadcaster Australian Broadcasting Corporation will be broadcasting all matches live while CrocMedia will provide live coverage of all Australia matches, the semifinals and the final. In the other host country New Zealand, Sport Radio will provide radio coverage. Outside of the host countries, the event will have ball by ball commentary from the BBC (UK), All India Radio (India), SLCB (Sri Lanka), SABC (South Africa), 107 FM (Pakistan) and Channel 2 (Middle East and the USA).

     

    ICC has also tied up with news access agencies SNTV, Perform and Thomson Reuters to provide news broadcasters around the world with 90-second match highlights, subject to these highlights being used in bonafide news programmes within 24 hours of end of the relevant match, for editorial purposes only.

  • Life OK gets a new marketing head

    Life OK gets a new marketing head

    MUMBAI: Off late, Life OK, the second rung Hindi general entertainment channel (GEC) from the Star India stable witnessed many exits, including that of the channel’s general manager Ajit Thakur.

     

    If industry sources are to be believed, the channel will further witness a change at the managerial level.

     

    According to a source from the channel, VP marketing head Sushma Rajesh has put down her papers and the channel has elevated Star India VP business strategy and consumer insights Rakesh Chakraborty to head the same.

     

    Her last day at the organisation is 13 February, 2015.

     

    Another source from the channel informs that Rajesh is going on a sabbatical leave. “Though her come back in currently not known, she may plan to join after six months or a year. Until she is back, we have got Rakesh to head the operations,” the source adds.

     

    It was in July 2014 when Thakur had proudly announced changes in the management team. The channel had rejigged its leadership internally when it designated the former programming head Rajesh as the marketing head. She has been with the channel since its inception in 2011.

  • DD to appeal against Delhi HC’s order barring sharing of 2015 WC feed with cable ops

    DD to appeal against Delhi HC’s order barring sharing of 2015 WC feed with cable ops

    NEW DELHI: The countdown to the 2015 Cricket World Cup has begun, and even as teams gear to battle it out on ground, back home, public broadcaster Doordarshan is up for another challenge. This, after the Delhi High Court on 4 February came out with its order which barred Doordarshan from sharing the live feed of the 2015 Cricket World Cup, of which ESPN and Star have the exclusive broadcasting rights, with cable operators.

     

    While this seems like a good news for broadcaster Star India, which could now be hoping for renewing all its distribution deals with multi system operators (MSOs) for its sports channels after its decision of moving to Reference Interconnect Offer (RIO) deals; the pubcaster is all set to appeal against this order in the Supreme Court.

     

    As per DD legal experts, an appeal will be filed in the Supreme Court since the directive of the High Court militates against the must-carry clause and the Sports Broadcasting Signals (Mandatory Sharing with Prasar Bharati) Act 2007.

     

    A Prasar Bharati official confirmed that the matter had been discussed with the legal consultant Rajeev Sharma this morning and the appeal would be filed shortly.  

     

    Several MSOs in the capital also confirmed to indiantelevision.com that they were planning to either file an independent appeal or intervene in the appeal to be filed by Doordarshan or Prasar Bharati.    

     

    A MSO on condition of anonymity said, “The order has come out only yesterday, we are yet to get a copy of the order. Once that happens, we will read it thoroughly and decide on our next move.”

     

    He further added, “As per the law, we have to carry 24 Doordarshan channels, but we do not control the content that is being aired on its channels. We will meet the Ministry to get a clear understanding of what the next move should be.”

     

    A bench of Justices Badar Durrez Ahmed and Sanjeev Sachdeva passed the order on the plea of Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), ESPN and Star who had contended that cable TV operators were getting live feeds through DD channels free of cost, resulting in loss of revenue for them.

     

    Another MSO said, “Since we are under a mandatory obligation of must- carry of DD channels, it is surprising that the Information and Broadcasting Ministry did not intervene in the matter in the Delhi High Court.”

     

    MSOs and LCOs said that this also violated their fundamental right to do business. MSO and LCO representatives told indiantelevision.com that they feared that they may be forced to shut DD channels at the time of the matches on the ground of technical fault as had often been done previously.

     

    In its order, the Court refused to strike down a 2000 notification issued by Prasar Bharati which made it mandatory for cable operators to carry DD National and DD News channels. Simultaneously, the court also rejected the additional prayers by ESPN Star to strike down section 3 of the Sports Act, which makes it mandatory for them to share with Prasar Bharati the live feed of sporting events of national importance.

     

    DD officials said the Mandatory Sharing Act was clear that matches would have to be shared with DD on its terrestrial network and via its direct-to-home Freedish. An official said the directive by the Court appeared to be a precautionary measure aimed at warning cable operators who pirate the signals and not Doordarshan.

     

    In the order, the Court had said, “The appeal as well as writ petition (civil) 8458/2007 are allowed to the extent that the live broadcasting signal shared by ESPN/STAR by virtue of the Sports Act with Prasar Bharati, shall not be carried in the designated Doordarshan channels under the must carry obligation cast by the Cable TV Network Act on cable operators. This shall operate prospectively.”

     

    In its directive, the Court had observed that while the advertisement revenue received by DD in respect of the shared content of the sports channels was to be shared in the ratio of not less than 75:25, “it still does not cater to the loss of subscription revenue” by ESPN and Star.

     

    BCCI, Nimbus Communications and the two sports channels (ESPN and Star) had challenged the High Court’s single judge November 2007 order rejecting their pleas that no cable television network, Direct-to-Home (DTH) Network, multi-system network or local cable operator could broadcast such sports events without a licence from the content owners.

     

    Broadcaster Star on its part is currently reading the judgment in detail and internal discussions are on. “We need to understand the nuances of the High Court order and then come up with a strategy which is both under law and our business practices,” said a source from Star.

  • Delhi HC bars DD from sharing 2015 World Cup feed with cable ops

    Delhi HC bars DD from sharing 2015 World Cup feed with cable ops

    NEW DELHI: Delhi High Court has barred public broadcaster Doordarshan from sharing the live feed of the 2015 Cricket World Cup, of which ESPN and Star have the exclusive broadcasting rights, with cable operators.

     

    A bench of Justice Badar Durrez Ahmed and Sanjeev Sachdeva passed the order on the plea of Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), ESPN and Star who had contended that cable TV operators were getting live feeds through DD channels free of cost, resulting in loss of revenue for them.

     

    The Court however refused to grant relief of striking down a 2000 notification issued by Prasar Bharati which made it mandatory for cable operators to carry DD National and DD News channels. Simultaneously, the Court also rejected the additional prayers by ESPN Star to strike down section 3 of the Sports Act, which makes it mandatory for them to share with Prasar Bharati the live feed of sporting events of national importance.

     

    A DD official who did not want to be named told indiantelevision.com that under the Sports Broadcasting Signals (Mandatory Sharing with Prasar Bharati) Act 2007, DD could show the matches only on its terrestrial network and via its direct-to-home platform, Freedish. “The directive by the Court appeared to be a precautionary measure aimed at warning cable operators who pirate the signals and not Doordarshan,” the official said.

     

    A legal expert dealing with broadcasting laws told indiantelevision.com that since the ‘must-carry clause’ had not been struck down, it would be very difficult to prevent the local cable operators from showing the matches. The expert indicated that DD may need to approach the Court to seek clarity on the order.

     

    In the order, the Court said: “The appeal as well as writ petition (civil) 8458/2007 are allowed to the extent that the live broadcasting signal shared by ESPN/STAR by virtue of the Sports Act with Prasar Bharati, shall not be carried in the designated Doordarshan channels under the must carry obligation cast by the Cable TV Network Act on cable operators. This shall operate prospectively.”

     

    In its directive, the Court observed that while the advertisement revenue received by DD in respect of the shared content of the sports channels was to be shared in the ratio of not less than 75:25, “it still does not cater to the loss of subscription revenue” by ESPN and Star.

    BCCI, Nimbus Communications and the two sports channels (ESPN and Star) had challenged the High Court’s single judge November 2007 order rejecting their pleas that no cable television network, Direct-to-Home (DTH) Network, multi-system network or local cable operator could broadcast such sports events without a licence from the content owners.

  • Hathway launches campaign for new channel packages

    Hathway launches campaign for new channel packages

    MUMBAI: Multi system operator (MSO) Hathway Cable & Datacom is out on a mission: to educate cable TV subscribers about their new power – ‘The power to choose.’ And to spread this message the MSO has come out with three TVCs, print ads and radio jingles. 

     

    The campaign will use multiple media to inform and educate consumers about the different packages that the MSO has created. The move comes in the wake of broadcaster Star India’s decision to enter into only Reference Interconnect Offer (RIO) deals with MSOs. 

     

    The five packages for Maharashtra that have been rolled out by Hathway include: 

     

    · Basic Pack priced at Rs 158: This will have the best of all the free to air channels.

     

    · Starter priced at Rs 230: This will have best of Hindi entertainment and a variety of kids, music, infotainment, lifestyle, spiritual, regional, radio and games. 

     

    · Popular priced at Rs 289: This will have channels from Starter pack + sports (all cricket, best of English news and a variety of other genres).

     

    · Premium priced at Rs 349: This will have channels from Popular pack + bets of English entertainment and a variety of other genres + free top up of any one Sun language package.

     

    · Premium Plus priced at Rs 419: This will have channels from Premium pack + sports (football, all English Entertainment, news, best of all genres + free top up of any two Sun language package. 

     

    Conceptualised and created by Gasoline, while one of the TVCs has life reference, the other two are animated. Speaking to Indiantelevision.com, Gasoline founder and chief creative officer Anil Kakar says, “The brief given to us was that the MSO wanted the power of choice to be in the hands of consumers.” 

     

    The campaign highlights the five different packages as well as the a la carte prices being offered by Hathway. 

     

    Incidentally, the work on the campaign started in October, which is the same time when Star announced its plan to enter into RIO deals. “While the client wanted life reference, we wanted to bring in animated characters. The reason being that while the message is hard selling, animation makes it light,” informs Kakar. 

     

    The ad film draws an analogy from contexts wherein a consumer makes a choice. For instance, the first film opens on a lady buying a soap in a soap store. The salesman is seen pushing various soap brands on offer. The lady quips, ‘You aren’t trying to sell the whole store, are you?’ and smiles. Cut to a CG section wherein we see a host of channel logos and a voiceover, which says, ‘We choose everything in life, why not television channels?’  

     

    The strategy is to communicate the cost-effectiveness of a Hathway package subscription. The campaign extends with a couple of animation films, which demonstrate how a subscription is reasonably priced vis-a-vis other things in life. In the first film, we see a young character in a cafe going through his mobile bills, only to find his café bill more expensive, thus communicating the fact that a monthly subscription to a Hathway channel package is still cheaper than two cups of coffee and a sandwich.

     

    The radio spot extends the idea further with a groom who is choosing a bride and in another, a waiter rattling off the menu in a rapid-fire sequence. The radio jingles have been co-produced by 94.3 Radio One. 

     

    The print ad is topical and captivating. It reads: ‘You have chosen your Prime Minister. You have chosen your Chief Minister. Now choose your Hathway channel package.’

     

    While the TVC will be aired on the Hathway channels, radio ads will be played in Kolkata, South Indian states (except Chennai), Mumbai and Delhi and the print ad will also be published all over India in the mainline newspapers. 

     

    “The campaign has been designed to ease the life of cable operators, who are facing issues in informing consumers about the packages and its pricing,” concludes Kakar.

  • Videocon d2h rolls out India’s first 4K Ultra HD channel

    Videocon d2h rolls out India’s first 4K Ultra HD channel

    MUMBAI: Direct to home (DTH) platform Videocon d2h, the first in India to have had a preview of 4K Ultra HD DTH service in July last year, has taken a step further as it launched a 24 hour 4K Ultra HD multi genre channel on 26 January, 2015.

     

    Videocon Group director Saurabh Dhoot said that the company is bringing the path breaking technology into Indian homes using its 4K Ultra HD set top box and the channel. “We are the first in the country to provide this experience,” he said.

     

    When queried by Indiantelevision.com as to what the channel feed will contain, Videocon d2h chief executive officer Anil Khera said, “We are planning to showcase Video on Demand (VOD), lifestyle and travel content, sports, infotainment, concerts and Hollywood movies.”

     

    Khera preferred calling the channel as a 4K content pipe wherein 4K content available from international broadcasters will be telecast. “The pipe is not dedicated to any one channel. It is a pipe that also consumes a lot of bandwidth,” he added.

     

    To begin with, as part of its contract with Star India, the DTH platform will broadcast the upcoming ICC Cricket World Cup matches, which will be produced with the new technology. “We are in talks with producers who are the content providers from India and abroad,” informed Khera. The channel will be uplinked from the company’s Greater Noida facility.

     

    The 4K ultra HD set top box redefines TV viewing experience delivering four times the picture resolution of Full HD. It has 27 times the normal Standard Definition (SD) picture quality. It provides a resolution of more than eight million pixels, resulting in better sharpness and clarity.

     

    The package also includes a next generation User Interface (UI) powered by technology company CISCO to easily access content. A ‘super speed’ USB allows subscribers to be future ready to play pause and rewind the live stream of 4K content.

     

    In lay man’s terms, a 4K channel is equivalent to four HD channels put side by side and two HD on top of the four, which basically makes it an image with four times the resolution of HD.

     

    When asked whether the new edge technology will be promoted through live events during the Cricket World Cup, Khera said, “We are in talks with the broadcaster, but no final decision has been taken on that as yet.”

  • ICC Cricket World Cup: Experts give thumbs up to Star’s geo targeting strategy

    ICC Cricket World Cup: Experts give thumbs up to Star’s geo targeting strategy

    MUMBAI: Beginning 14 February, the ICC Cricket World Cup is going to be this year’s biggest sporting spectacle to be jointly held in Australia and New Zealand. As national brands scurry to invest and make their presence felt, official broadcast network Star India has extended the opportunity for brands with a regional presence too. Star has created multiple sponsorship and spot buying options tailor-made for different feeds allowing advertisers for the first time ever to buy different cuts and air creatives in different languages to target their audiences sharply. The network is evidently looking at geo targeting.

     

    The World Cup this year will be telecast on 12 channels and in six different languages. While eight sports channels from the network’s stable will broadcast the event, the others are Star Vijay (Tamil), Jalsha Movies (Bengali), Asianet Movies (Malayalam) and Suvarna Plus. 

     

    A Star official said that the network is looking at exploring two options. Firstly, brands with higher budgets can pick for national advertising, which will have different ad spot rates. Secondly, if a brand wants to communicate to only a select audience in markets like Chennai, West Bengal or Tamil Nadu, it can advertise on these regional channels of the network. The network is currently in talks with more than 100 brands especially those from the e-commerce segments, in different markets including tier II and tier III markets.

     

    Geo targeting advertising firm Amagi co-founder Srinivasan K.A says that sports feed in limited languages was one of the biggest problems for brands who were keen on investing in cricket. “They were unable to invest due to lack of structure in geo targeting and languages. If a particular brand had to run a Hindi ad campaign, most of South India would not comprehend it completely,” he says.

     

    While ad rates on the national channels are being sold for close to Rs 4.5 – 5 lakh for a 10 second slot, the regional channels will command a price tag close to Rs 1 lakh or less for a 10 second spot. Brands like Nestle, Marico, Yepme.com, Paytm, Raymonds, Pidilite and Lloyd have already come on board.

     

    Srinivasan finds the strategy as a wonderful opportunity for local brands. “This allows specific brands with limited budgets to come up with specific campaigns in particular markets and advertise for this massive property. At the same time they can seek to tap the audience that they want,” he adds.

     

    How well could this strategy work? “This was previously tried and tested by Sony Six during last year’s FIFA World Cup and was a massive success on Sony Aath, which provided Bengali feed for the matches. Viewership too shot up,” he informs.

     

    Celebrity and sports management firm, CAA KWAN COO, Indranil Das Blah finds the move welcoming too for brands that do not have a huge pocket and want to look at advertising in specific markets. “While the price of advertising on Star Sports Tamil feed for example could probably be one tenth of what the national feed would be, the strategy makes sense for both Star and the local brands because it gives you less spill over,” he says. 

     

    But will brands look at team India’s current performance in the tri series before investing? “Yes there is a bit of a worry about India’s performance. However with the format of the World Cup, unless there is a huge unmitigated disaster, the top eight nations will make it to the next phase. Besides, the World Cup gives you highs that no other cricket tournament does. So that gives some surety to advertisers to go ahead and invest in the World Cup,” concludes Blah.

  • DTH players gear up ahead of the World Cup

    DTH players gear up ahead of the World Cup

    MUMBAI: The upcoming ICC Cricket World Cup is this year’s biggest sporting event that promises to not just entertain fans of the sport but also provide windfall gain to advertisers and sponsors. Not be left out are direct to home (DTH) players, who are planning to rake in some moolah through various initiatives. 

     

    DTH operator Tata Sky recently launched India’s first 4K set top box (STB) for its existing customers as well as to entice a new bunch of subscribers.

     

    When asked if the move will help increase its subscriber base, Tata Sky CEO Harit Nagpal says, “Those who have invested in 4K television will need a 4K set top box to watch the matches. So it will help the customers who already have 4K TV, to watch the 4K transmission with the help of the STB.”

     

    For Rs 6,400 subscribers can purchase the Tata Sky 4K STB while existing subscribers can buy it for Rs 5,900. Apart from relaying 4K content, the box can also showcase Standard Definition (SD) and High Definition (HD) channels. The STB has the capability of delivering Ultra High Definition picture quality and Dolby Digital Plus 7.1 surround sound. 4K at 8.3 megapixels (3840×2160) has approximately four times the pixels as that of 2K (1920×1080) – the current HD standard.

     

    Sun Direct managing director Mahesh Kumar too agrees that the World Cup will help increase its existing subscriber base. He reasons, “One, cricket is a religion in India and given that the first few days of the tournament starts off with an India Pakistan match – the fervour is going to be high from the start of the tournament. Two, even though the months of February and March are traditionally dull for DTH due to exam fever, we expect the cricket fever to take prominence and more new connections to come in during this period.  Post IPL the love of cricket has transcended countries with the foreign player participation in local leagues, hence viewer interest will be high not only in India playing matches but also in matches with other countries.”

     

    The DTH operator is offering the Star Sports bouquet on its bestselling Cinema + Sports packs. “This is indeed a big plus for our subscribers who can watch the world cup and best of sports during the World Cup and beyond with Sun Direct,” added Kumar.

     

    Sun Direct is offering its Cinema + Sports package at Rs 195 per month. It will be focusing mainly on this pack for the World Cup as it feels this covers most of the requirements of its customers. It will be coming out with high decibel campaigns on TV and print supported with BTL initiatives and digital media to give a 360 degree communication ahead of the World Cup, informs Kumar.

     

    Airtel Digital TV too has jumped on the World Cup bandwagon. For all customers buying Samsung Curve and UHD TV, it will offer HD DVR connection at the same cost as that of an HD connection. Customers will receive   discount coupons worth Rs 2650. Customers can enjoy watching the matches on an HD DVR by just paying Rs 2350. This box, which has an inbuilt hard disk of 500 GB can record content up to 750 hours enabling a customer  to record and watch the world cup matches at a convenient time. Also customers will get free subscription for up to 12 months through a scratch card offer. On other Samsung models, it is offering a discount coupon of Rs 660 on its HD+ variant. This comes along with an eight GB pen drive worth Rs 399, which is offered free. Additionally customers will get free subscription for up to 12 months through a scratch card offer.

     

    This edition of the World Cup will see the first global broadcast of cricket in 4K. Official broadcaster Star will telecast select matches, including India’s opening match against arch-rivals Pakistan, in the 4K format. Online shopping websites like Snapdeal, Amazon and Flipkart have priced the 4K TV’s between the range of Rs 60,000 (lower end) while the higher end categories are priced at an upwards of Rs one lakh.

     

    Videocon d2h too has launched 4K Ultra HD services. It has priced its STB at Rs 6590 for new customers while existing customers can upgrade to 4K DTH for Rs 5990. In addition to 4K channels and content, subscribers can use the STB to view Standard Definition (SD) and High Definition (HD) channels. While the website of Videocon d2h states that delivery of the STB will be made within two weeks from the date of booking, a call made to a customer care executive revealed that it would take around 48 hours.

     

    Dish TV chief operating officer Salil Kapoor expects the cricket World Cup to help further increase its existing customer base and therefore has tweaked its packaging. “Our packaging is very sports centric. Every tier of our packaging has the maximum number of sports channels. We have also kept in mind that HD will play a big role in the World Cup and therefore have maximum number of HD sports channels,” he says.

  • TDSAT asks Star India to not disconnect signals to Siti Cable for Mumbai

    TDSAT asks Star India to not disconnect signals to Siti Cable for Mumbai

    NEW DELHI: The Telecom Disputes Settlement and Arbitration Tribunal (TDSAT) has directed broadcaster Star India to cancel its disconnection notice to Siti Cable Network after the multi-system operator (MSO) handed over a cheque of Rs 10 crore for settlement of the payment dispute pending mutual negotiations. 

     

    TDSAT chairman Aftab Alam said, “We hope and trust that the two sides will be able to resolve their disputes through negotiations; in case any issues survive, those will be adjudicated by the Tribunal.” 

     

    The matter, if not resolved, will be listed for 5 February. Star India has been given two weeks to reply to the petition. 

     

    Star India had claimed that Siti Cable was in arrears of Rs 26 crore, which was disputed by the MSO. However, the MSO did admit there were some arrears. 

     

    Counsel Meet Malhotra for Siti Cable said his client would submit within two days the information required by Star India on its indicating “on an email to the petitioner, the materials, including the SMS reports that it wishes from the petitioner.”

     

    Star India counsel Salman Khurshid had also alleged that Siti Cable was indulging in piracy in as much as it is taking its signals outside the area covered by the interconnect agreement. Malhotra did not deny the fact that his client was retransmitting the signals to certain suburbs of Mumbai, which fall outside the area of the agreement but submitted that the petitioner had duly informed the respondent on the very day it started retransmitting the signals outside Mumbai and in any event, all the subscribers viewing the respondent’s channels whether within the area of the agreement or outside the area of agreement, will be recorded in its SMS and will be duly reflected in the SMS reports.