ITV

Tag: STB

  • Hathway launches digital cable in Hyderabad

    Hathway launches digital cable in Hyderabad

    MUMBAI: Even as the government is assimilating views of the various industry stakeholders on how to roll out conditional access system (CAS) smoothly, multi-system operators (MSOs) are busy plotting expansion of their digital cable TV service.

    Hathway Cable & Datacom today announced the launch of its digital cable in Hyderabad. The MSO has already rolled out its digital services in Chennai, Mumbai, New Delhi, Pune and Bangalore.

    Digital cable TV services are offered to the customer through a remote controlled digital device, which will be accompanied by a fully functional sleek smart card.

    “The advantages of the digital set-top boxes (s) is that the consumer does not have to pay extra money in their monthly cable TV bill but in turn can enjoy over 150 digital channels. The device costs over Rs. 2500,” Hathway said in a release.

  • Decision on CAS appeal after stakeholders meeting 27 March: Arora

    Decision on CAS appeal after stakeholders meeting 27 March: Arora

    MUMBAI: The uncertainty over the implementation of conditional access system (CAS) is not over yet. The government will take a call on whether it should move the Supreme Court only after a meeting with the broadcasters, multi system operators (MSOs), cable TV operators and consumers on 27 March.

    “We have invited all the stakeholders for a meeting on 27 March. We will take into consideration their views before deciding whether we should approach the court,” I&B secretary S K Arora told Indiantelevision.com.

    Early this month, the Delhi High Court had ordered the government to enforce the rollout of addressability in cable pay television (conditional access system or CAS) in India within four weeks. After reserving the judgement for several months, the court had delivered the verdict on a writ petition filed by a bunch of MSOs.

    On being queried whether one month was too short a time to implement CAS, Arora said the government’s argument in the court was that three months would be needed.

    Was the old notification on CAS good enough? “We will discuss all this in the meeting. Only then can we take a stance on whether modifications are necessary,” Arora said.

    The scheme as it was structured in 2003 ran into rough weather with some of the stakeholders opposing it, Arora added. “We need to resolve these issues. Consumers were opposing it because they felt they were forced to buy the set-top box (STB). Broadcasters came out with a pricing that wasn’t serious in intent.”

    Arora also pointed out that the government was yet to receive the Delhi High court judgment. “We believe the implementation of CAS would come into effect one month from the date of receiving the certified judgment,” he said.

  • CAS Rollout: Three Months a More Comfortable Time Frame

    CAS Rollout: Three Months a More Comfortable Time Frame

    One after another, the complaints are gathering. Not enough set-top boxes (STBs); insufficient time to effectively and smoothly roll out conditional access system (CAS); and no marketing at all to generate a consumer pull.

    The pay TV broadcasters are at it again. Back in 2004, the government decided to withdraw CAS based on the backlash faced from broadcasters and consumers. Will history get repeated this time around?

    Looks unlikely. If the government decides to move the Supreme Court, it can at best get the implementation of CAS delayed by a few months. But the industry today is more or less settled to the fact that CAS is here to stay, sooner than later.

    A stockpile of STBs, imported in 2003 during the time government had mandated CAS, is waiting to enter into consumer homes. Unlike in the past, MSOs also have the support of their franchisee operators to push digital boxes
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    Valid, though, is the question thrown at the multi-system operators (MSOs): Can they implement CAS in the next four weeks?

    The MSOs say they can. There are several factors working for them this time. They have already deployed digital cable TV in small patches. A stockpile of STBs, imported in 2003 during the time government had mandated CAS, is waiting to enter into consumer homes and can by and large take care of at least the first phase of implementation (zone one) in the three metros.

    The MSOs also have the support of their franchisee operators to push forward the digital boxes. Unlike in the past, last mile operators have swung in favour of CAS for fear of losing subscribers to the direct-to-home (DTH) service providers. Concern over thrust of second and third bouquets by broadcasters has also brought them into the side of the MSOs in pushing for CAS.

    Still, a month’s time seems an impossible deadline to meet. MSOs will have to work out commercial agreements with broadcasters. In all fairness, this will take time as broadcasters have to negotiate and chalk out long term deals in an addressable system. Several considerations will have to be weighed in before arriving at a retail price structure of their TV channels. In the new era, discounts on volumes will also become an important part of the matrix.

    MSOs will have to work out commercial agreements with broadcasters. In all fairness, this will take time as broadcasters have to negotiate and chalk out long term deals in an addressable system
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    Though operators are in favour of CAS, there are several issues on the ground that have to still be sorted out. Flowing down the chain margins will have to be fixed for distributors and last mile operators. Commissions on sale and rental of STBs will also have to be worked out. MSOs, however, are confident that such agreements can be done in quick time. The problem is that everything can be “set into motion” once the commercial terms are settled with the broadcasters.

    A lot of ground has to be covered including launching promotional campaigns. Just looking at the logistics, one realises how Herculean the task is. A more comfortable time zone would be three months. But the ball game can change if support is extended by everybody including the government and a tough regulator to cut the errant stakeholders into size. Support from the broadcasters will also help in making CAS possible in quick time.

  • MSOs moot Re 1 a day rent scheme on STBs

    MSOs moot Re 1 a day rent scheme on STBs

    MUMBAI: The digital set-top box (STB) that will sit in consumer homes to receive pay channels will come cheap. Facing the threat of competition from direct-to-home (DTH) service providers, cable TV operators are preparing to enter the conditional access system (CAS) regime with an aggressive price plan.

    Multi-system operator Hathway Cable & Datacom has decided to introduce a rental scheme on its STBs with a fee as low as Re 1 a day. Incablenet is likely to follow suit but will be finalising its pricing on Monday, sources say.

    “We will be charging a rent of Re 1 per day on our boxes. Consumers will have to pay upfront Rs 999 as a refundable deposit,” Hathway Cable & Datacom CEO K Jayaraman tells Indiantelevision.com. Currently, the boxes are available for purchase at Rs 3,000 with no rental schemes.

    Even in Kolkata, Manthan Cable Network is considering a rental scheme of Rs 50 per month on an initial deposit of Rs 800-1,000. Competition can further drag down prices. “We are planning to charge a rent of Rs 50 per month on our STBs,” says Manthan director Gurmeet Singh.

    Cablecomm Services Pvt Ltd, another big operator in Kolkata, is also planning to structure its tariff plans for the CAS era.

    Siticable, which is the only MSO that has operations in the three metros of Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata where CAS is going to be initially launched, could not be contacted for its comments. Chennai is the other city where CAS is already in place, but has seen slow uptake in demand.

    While broadcasters have expressed concern on the supply of boxes to seed the market at such short notice, cable networks have dismissed such fears as “being fictitious.” A phase-wise rollout of CAS in the three metros and an existing stockpile of STBs will make the transition smooth, operators say.

    “The industry has a stockpile of 800,000 boxes while estimates put the number of cable TV households in the notified areas of south Delhi and Mumbai for the first phase of rollout at over 600,000. Based on the demand, the boxes can be quickly replenished to keep the supply line flowing. It will take around one month to import the boxes,” says Jayaraman.

    Kolkata, where Hathway has no operations, has an estimated total of around 250,000 cable TV homes to be covered in the first zone CAS rollout. “We have a stock of 100,000 boxes and are offering 195 TV channels on our digital cable,” says Indian Cable Net CEO Amit Nag. Last year, Siticable acquired Indian Cable Net from the RPG Group to become the dominant MSO in Kolkata.

    Manthan, the largest operator in south Kolkata, has installed a digital headend and is in the process of putting its encryption system in place. “Kolkata Metropolitan Development Authority has around 1.8 million cable TV homes. The logistic cycles will be worked out,” says Singh.

    Mumbai and Delhi together have around seven million cable homes. “With CAS, we expect to give healthy competition to DTH. The ground will also get more organised and volumes, as they pick up, will drive down the cost of boxes,” says Atul Saraf, one of the founder-promoters of 7 Star.