ITV

Tag: Taj Television

  • “Our niche properties might very soon see a hike in the ad rates”: Rajesh Sethi

    “Our niche properties might very soon see a hike in the ad rates”: Rajesh Sethi

    Ten Sports, one of the few sports broadcasters in South Asia recently extended the broadcast rights for the premium football competitions: UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League for the next cycle of three seasons starting 2015-16.  

    The network also bagged the rights for the 2018 Gold Coast Common Wealth Games. Overall, it will be seeing a major revamp in early 2015 which could see new channels either being added or existing ones being removed.

    Heading these path breaking changes is the network’s CEO Rajesh Sethi.

    Indiantelevision.com’s Herman Gomes talks to the enterprising man who took over his new job in July last year and finds out  not just about  the acquisitions but also about India’s new found sport-Kabaddi.

    How has Ten Sports progressed in the past 12 years since its launch in April 2002?

    Ten Sports was launched in April 2002 and our offering mainly revolved around India-Pakistan series. In this, we had the opportunity to host some of the best matches in the history of India and Pakistan cricket (including the legendary Sharjah series). We have grown from one channel to eight channels and a dominant sports broadcaster in the sub continent.  We have a significant presence in international markets like the middle east/far east and the Caribbeans.

    But sports industry witnessed a gradual shift in terms of audience preference and tastes since early 2010. Generation Y started picking up interest in other sports like soccer, tennis, hockey and badminton. Also this era saw an emergence of a niche audience which focused on sport like Golf. In this context, it was imperative for us to break out of the clutter and honour our viewer’s preference. 2010 marked the launch of Ten Cricket and Ten Action which were dedicated cricket and football channel respectively. Next in line was a dedicated golf channel – Ten Golf – which was launched in the year 2012.

    Also sports as a genre saw a rapid increase in its aspirational quotient. Individual sports also started flaunting its plush green outfields (as is witnessed in football, golf and LFL) and picturesque landscapes (as is visible in Tour-de-France). Sports’ viewing was no more watched just for its adrenaline quotient but also for its ‘awww’ moments. Hence in the year 2011, Ten HD was launched to enhance the overall experience of the sports audience by broadcasting the content in the HD format.

    In your previous interview you said that as a strategy you have never completely rested your fortunes on only India cricket. Is there any change in your strategy now? How are you approaching football?

    Taking cue from the previous statement, it is true that we completely do not rest only on India cricket, we believe in bringing content across genres in terms of football, cricket, tennis, golf, multi sports events, wrestling etc from across the world to our viewers to enrich their viewing experience.

    Football is world’s most followed sport, while India is considered as the sleeping giant of the game. We have always been the propagator of this beautiful game since inception as we bring across best of football content and experience to our viewers which include UEFA Champions League, UEFA Europa League, Super Cup, Copa Del Rey, Capital One, Skybet Championship, French Ligue, A-League and I League.

    Do you see the HD feed as a value proposition for your channel Ten HD? And what has been the audience response for your Ten Golf channel?

    With growing HD TV penetration every year, it is imperative for us to bring value proposition before the market gears up.

    HD households in India is approximately 10 per cent, while, Sports HD viewing share in the overall pie is close to 8 per cent.

    Unlike GEC, sports broadcasting is all about being able to replicate the real ground experience. In this context, HD (with its power packed Dolby Sound offering) channel plays a critical role in ensuring the quality of the content is top notch and brings home the real ground experience. Our HD offering in the form of Ten HD is rapidly gaining traction and we are extremely happy with the uptake of the same by our distributors.

    With increasing HD demand even MSOs are gearing up with a stock of HD boxes for installations at customer end.

    Ten Golf responses have been very encouraging as we offer almost 80 per cent of exclusive and premium content. Ten Golf is niche offering in our product portfolio and it is still in the nascent stage of its life cycle. We view it as a long term investment in our portfolio. In the context of 400 million sports viewing TV audience, the current golf viewing audience of more than half a million in India, is touching only the tip of the iceberg. In such a scenario, channel distribution plays a pivotal role in providing the channel to as many MSO and DTH platforms. Clearly, change will not happen overnight. It will require a lot of effort to break the status quo. We believe that electronic medium can shape this change, provided all the cable and satellite operators make it available for their subscribers to discover and develop a habit of consuming golf. Our intent is to get more amateur golfers involved with the game which in turn leads to greater viewership when golf is reintroduced as an Olympic sport in 2016.

    Ten Sports went big with its efforts to promote the 2014 Commonwealth Games. How did the property fare for your channel? Why did you decide on extending your rights for the 2018 Commonwealth Games as well?

    As a sport network, we truly believe that it is our duty to bring best of sports in the market. Carrying our faith forward, we decided to be the broadcast partner for CWG in the Indian subcontinent.

    As a measure to promote CWG and to support the Indian contingent, we brought in the proposition of “Saare Jahan Se Aacha, Hindustan Hamara” via a 360 degree marketing approach which united the sports fans in the country and helped in the uplift of multi sporting events and sports persons from various parts of the country.

    As a result of our initiatives and the good performance of Indian athletes, the sporting event was highly accepted and engaged by the fans, sporting personalities, journalists, media houses, corporate and other non sporting fans.

    The Asian Games are scheduled to begin on 19 September 2014. How are you planning to telecast the sport in India? Will there be language commentary? Any special marketing initiatives?

    Asian Games is one of the most popular multi sporting event in Asia. We intend to enhance the experience of viewers via broadcasting on dedicated channels in our network in tandem with live streaming of the event on our digital platform “www.tensports.com”

    We developed our marketing campaign drawing insights from Indian athlete’s performance in the just concluded Commonwealth Games, to carry forward the quest for the medal hunt, where we intend to motivate them via our communication theme “Go for Glory”. To amplify the theme we have done tie ups with Mary Com – the movie starring Priyanka Chopra. And dedicated Asian Games promos featuring Priyanka Chopra.

    We have exploited all the marketing collaterals like billboards, dedicated e-mailers, digital media activations, with our centralised theme.

    Ten Sports has extended the broadcast rights for the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League for the next cycle of three seasons starting 2015-16. How have these two properties performed for your network?

    UEFA champions’ league is the biggest and most prestigious football club competition on the planet. Top teams and best players compete in this tournament.

    Both UCL and UEL are popular in our country and have been very well received by the Indian audience.

    Also, with increased football fan following, we intend to bring best of football action for our viewers. The popularity of the league is also reflected on the TAM numbers where in UEFA is head of all other competitive country leagues.

    MSOs and DTH operators are creating separate sports packs for their subscribers. How do you view this trend and how does it affect you?

    MSO, currently do not have fixed packages in place. They are still in the process of freezing their packages, while, DTH players are bringing different packages for retaining their existing customer base and to attract new potential customers.

    We see creating sports packages as an opportunity, positive move to bring in sports enthusiast. It will help in bringing quality viewers (the core audience of sports), loyal and passionate follower of sports.

    What is the growth in subscription that you foresee with the completion of digitisation in phase I and II?

     

    Digitisation offers great benefits for viewers by giving them a choice of what they want to view and also gives a choice to broadcasters to provide them with a wide range of content by giving them multiple ways and means by which he can consume the content. With our differentiated sports offering (in terms of dedicated channels for each of the major sport) we have ensured that each group of individual can avail the sport of his/her choice. This is in-line with how TV viewership has shifted in the developed markets. Globally, sport broadcasting is gradually shifting from B2B to B2C. B2C helps you connect with your audience in a much more refined manner and increase the overall quality of your content.

     

    Beyond enhancing the content quality, digitisation also helps in bringing transparency to the overall subscription business enabling better clarity on the number of subs. This enhances better revenue realisation with minimal revenue leakages. 

    All in all we feel digitisation will have a definite positive impact in the growth of the subscription revenues and we are very hopeful of a healthy double digit growth in our year on year subscription revenue.

    Your new website was re-launched on 27 March this year. What is the amount of traction you have been able to receive since it was launched? Is your content sourced from bloggers or created in house? 

    Our approach for the development of the new website was to focus more on sporting events. The whole architecture of the website was redesigned to enable users to easily access the information to their desired sports or event. This approach has proved highly successful; our dedicated pages for sporting events are attracting good traffic and are engaging the users. We have seen more than 40 per cent increase in the “time spent on site” since the re-launch.

    We also observed that traffic on site was diversifying with various devices contributing with mobile devices rapidly increasing the share. The site was made responsive across all platforms, to give users an enriched experience. This resulted in increased consumption of content from site, highlighted by 40 per cent increase in page views / session and a staggering 70 per cent increase in stay time on site from mobile devices.

    The blogs and content is created by our brilliant team of in-house sports writers, who churn out insightful articles. We plan to reach out to sports bloggers and enrich tensports.com with more user generated content.

    Are you seeing an increase in your ad revenue?  In terms of your competitors what is the position of Ten Sports currently?

    We are witnessing incremental growth in revenues from niche sports (like Golf) and other non-cricket sports.  This is a positive trend change for us, where as in cricket we still witness a steady growth in revenue with respect to non-India cricket.

    Ten is number one in non cricket properties and also have leading properties in Wrestling (WWE), Football (UEFA), Athletics (CWG, Asian Games). There are several other non-cricket properties which we have closed recently and are awaiting final completion of paperwork.

    We witnessed record ad sale rates in our recently concluded Commonwealth Games. We were able to charge ad rates which were good 20-30 per cent higher than our previously concluded athletics events. We are seeing similar level of built-up for the upcoming Asian Games. We are currently in the process of analysing each of our properties and some of our ad slots for few of our niche properties might very soon see a hike in the ad rates.

    Unlike GEC business, sport broadcasting is an event based business and purely dependent on what event we have in a particular year. So competitive benchmarking would not be the right thing to do.

    Sports analysts feel that India may soon have a second sport which is Kabaddi due to the fact that two Kabaddi Leagues came up this year and one of them did well in terms of response and production values. What are your thoughts? Do you see other Indian sports having a similar future?

    India, being a growing market for sports, has a very bright future with Indianised sports content. With increasing opportunity in different genre of sports like Football, Hockey, Badminton, the participation and performance of Indian players have grown tremendously.

    Hockey India League which was introduced was considered successful in its first year of inception, but it didn’t grow as expected in its second year. We still have to conclude – is hockey a dawn for Indian sport.

    Kabaddi, which is very popular in rural and tier III urban cities of our country, Indian audience has been very receptive for Kabaddi league. We wish the sport to grow with the Indian audience, though it’s at a very early stage.

    Now, Ten Sports is being marketed along with Taj Television. How do you view this business move helping Ten Sports channels?

    It definitely helps our business to grow. With a bouquet of 47 channels of Zee, it becomes much easier for us to reach to the audience in lesser developed parts of the country. This move has given us an opportunity to reach sports followers.

    It has helped us to explore and identify certain lesser known or rather unknown spots.

    Is Ten Sports looking at acquiring any new properties in the future and which are these? Are you also looking at a revamp?

    Acquisition is an ongoing process. We intend to acquire best of sporting properties on continuous basis.

  • RIO is a non-discriminatory agreement between parties under DAS: Taj

    RIO is a non-discriminatory agreement between parties under DAS: Taj

    NEW DELHI: On the third day of the Hathway Cable & Datacom and Taj Television hearing in the Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal (TDSAT), Taj Television described agreements under the Reference Interconnect Offer (RIO) as ‘a uniform, non-discriminatory mechanism which ensures an agreement between parties.’

     

    Taj Counsel Pratibha Singh also told the TDSAT that RIO was a kind of wholesale rate in the scheme of digital addressable system (DAS). According to her, if no agreement was reached during negotiations, then the payment for TV channels in DAS areas would be fixed as specified in the RIO.

     

    “It is a default programme on a computer – if there is nothing by way of agreement, then there is RIO,” she said.

     

    In the ongoing hearing before the Tribunal in the cases linked to Taj TV, she said that it was also clear that the rates under DAS were 35 per cent of those under analogue, which was later raised to 42 per cent.

     

    Referring to an earlier case in TDSAT, Singh said that though the Quality of Service regulations under DAS tended to curtail freedom, they had protected the consumer until there was adequate competition.

     

    The Telecom (Broadcasting and cable Services) Interconnect (Digital Addressable Systems) Regulations 2012 was clear in section 5(16) that negotiations have to be held.

     

    She reiterated that Hathway had been told on 26 June through a letter that since the negotiations had failed, Taj TV was forwarding a signed RIO. Hathway had also been told that they would be according to RIO if they sent a subscriber report.

     

    She alleged that the multi system operator (MSO) had not reduced the prices of the packages even after receiving the RIO.

     

    She also said that Hathway had failed to respond to the letter sent on 26 June until Taj TV stopped the signals from 1 August. “After failed negotiations, Hathway as late as 18 August claimed that Taj TV was not negotiating despite having admitted earlier that negotiations had been held,” she clarified.

       

    She said it was unfortunate that MSOs and local cable operators felt that they did most of the work and their share should be larger. “They overlook the fact that the broadcaster pays for content, spectrum, government taxes, journalists and producers and so on,” she concluded.

  • Hathway delayed agreement on signals of Zee and Turner: Taj Television

    Hathway delayed agreement on signals of Zee and Turner: Taj Television

    NEW DELHI: In today’s hearing in the Telecom Disputes Settlement Appellate Tribunal (TDSAT), Taj Television counsel contended today and blamed Hathway Cable & Datacom for the delay in an agreement to Zee and Turner channels. She also claimed that Hathway had falsely written in its letter to Taj TV on 23 July that no negotiations were held and presented to TDSAT the dates on which meetings were held between the parties with regard to Zee TV signals.

     

    Counsel Pratibha Singh told the TDSAT today that Hathway had admitted that it had not paid for the Zee TV channels distributed between 1 April and 23 July.

     

    In the ongoing hearing before the Tribunal in the cases linked to Taj TV signals for Turner and Zee, Singh said three meetings had been held to sort out the issue, the last being on 16 June after which Taj TV had sent a copy of the agreement under the reference interconnection offer (RIO) to Hathway. A letter was also sent to Hathway in this connection on 26 June.

     

    Earlier, the Tribunal had fixed for final disposal from 25 August the ‘deep-rooted’ dispute between Hathway and Taj TV, noting that this would require interpretation of certain clauses of some of the statutory regulations.

     

    TDSAT chairman Aftab Alam and member Kuldip Singh had said: ‘unfortunately, the dispute between the two sides is playing out in highly aggressive way and one may add in a rather unpleasant manner. It seems to be affecting a large number of people in viewing their favourite TV channels. The disputants themselves are approaching the Tribunal on a weekly basis complaining against the actions of each other and seeking some interim directions of the Tribunal consuming a lot of time on arguments on miscellaneous applications.  It is, therefore, in the larger interest to finally dispose of these cases after hearing all sides at an early date.’

     

    The Tribunal noted that the dispute had arisen at a stage when the earlier fixed fee agreement between the parties has come to end and they are unable to come to agreed terms for a fresh agreement and under the circumstances the MSO has no option but to take the broadcasters’ channels on their RIO terms.

     

    When talks between the two parties failed, he said the RIO was forwarded on 25 January and was to be effective from February.

     

    Further arguments will continue tomorrow with counsel for Zee expected to conclude her arguments and Hathway responding to them.

  • RIO forms basis for final deal, agree Taj and Hathway

    RIO forms basis for final deal, agree Taj and Hathway

    NEW DELHI: Taj Television contended before the Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal today that though initial signals can be given by the broadcaster or distributor to the multi system operator initially on the basis of mutual negotiation, but this ultimately has to translate into an agreement under the Reference Interconnection Offer (RIO).

     

    Responding to an argument by Taj Television that the RIO had to be signed within 30 days, counsel for Hathway said that the date limit applies to modifications in existing RIO agreements, but the deal between Taj and Hathway had to be a new one since MediaPro had stopped distribution of Zee TV and Turner channels.

     

    Earlier, the Tribunal had fixed for final disposal from 25 August the ‘deep-rooted’ dispute between Hathway and Taj, noting that this would require interpretation of certain clauses of some of the statutory regulations.

     

    TDSAT chairman Aftab Alam and member Kuldip Singh had said: ‘Unfortunately, the dispute between the two sides is playing out in highly aggressive way and one may add in a rather unpleasant manner. It seems to be affecting a large number of people in viewing their favourite TV channels. The disputants themselves are approaching the Tribunal on a weekly basis complaining against the actions of each other and seeking some interim directions of the Tribunal consuming a lot of time on arguments on miscellaneous applications.  It is, therefore, in the larger interest to finally dispose of these cases after hearing all sides at an early date.”

     

    The Tribunal noted that the dispute has arisen at a stage when the earlier fixed fee agreement between the parties has come to end and they are unable to come to agreed terms for a fresh agreement and under the circumstances the MSO has no option but to take the broadcasters’ channels on their RIO terms.

     

    Hathway counsel Arun Kathpalia who concluded his initial arguments today said Hathway has only 10 per cent of the total collections that Taj Television makes from different MSOs. Hathway was paying Rs 85 crore for all channels including Turner (while the figure excluding Turner was Rs 62 crore).

     

    He also said that Hathway had been wrongly accused of making changes in the composition of the packages. In any case, the MSO was not offering the channels on a standalone basis and so the provision under the Quality of Services regulations did not apply to them.

     

    When talks between the two parties failed, he said the RIO was forwarded on 25 January and was to be effective from February.

     

    However,Star Sports Counsel Rakesh Dwivedi said the RIO had been accepted by Hathway in November last year which was revised by Hathway in January this year. Dwivedi wanted to know why the RIO should be made effective from February 2014 when the Subscriber Register had been supplied by Hathway in December last year.  Furthermore, no facts had been shown by Hathway to show the end of pleadings.

    Further arguments will continue tomorrow with counsel for Star expected to conclude his arguments and Hathway responding to them.

  • TDSAT expresses displeasure over Hathway-Taj TV squabble, agrees to hear matter next week

    TDSAT expresses displeasure over Hathway-Taj TV squabble, agrees to hear matter next week

    NEW DELHI: The Telecom Disputes Settlement and Arbitration Tribunal (TDSAT), which earlier this month gave a lengthy order settling a dispute between Hathway Cable & Datacom and Taj Television, has expressed its ‘deep displeasure over the manner in which both sides are sniping and chipping at each other giving rise to completely futile litigations.’

     

    The comment by TDSAT chairman Aftab Alam and member Kuldip Singh came following a new miscellaneous application on the issue by Hathway on 8 August and the announcement by Taj Television that it was also filing a miscellaneous application. The Tribunal listed the matter for further hearing on 13 August.

     

    Earlier this month, TDSAT had directed Taj Television to restore with immediate effect the signals of Zee TV channels to Hathway pending the final hearing of the petition by the latter.

     

    It had also directed Hathway as an interim measure to make payment of the monthly subscription fees from 1 April 2014 (in case of Kolkata and Digital Addressable System – II areas) and from 1 May 2014 (in case of Delhi and Mumbai) up to 31 July at the rate of Rs 21.60 cost per subscriber basis.

     

    The Tribunal asked Taj to reply to the petition filed by Hathway in three weeks and asked the MSO to file a rejoinder if any two weeks thereafter.

     

    However, following a new miscellaneous application by Hathway objecting to certain advertisements and scrolls being carried on Zee channels, TDSAT said, “Having regard to the amounts of revenue that is generated by the broadcasting industry, the vast social space occupied by it and the social role it claims to play, one should have expected the two sides, each of them major players in the industry, to act responsibly and show a modicum of restraint in their dealings with each other but they seem to be freely indulging in unseemly squabbles. What is more, they seem to show no regard much less any respect for the proprieties of judicial proceedings.”

     

    While TDSAT noted that Taj Television counsel Pratibha Singh was prepared to withdraw the advertisements and even invited Hathway counsel Arun Kathpalia to have a discussion with her on the issue, she said that distribution arm for Zee was preparing a miscellaneous application for recall or modification of the Tribunal’s order of 1 August.

     

    The Tribunal said: “It is surprising that an application is proposed to be filed for recall/modification of the order even before our signatures on the order are yet not fully dried. The reason stated for filing the application is even more surprising; it is stated that on that date, the local people at Taj Television and the counsel representing it were not fully posted with the facts, especially in regard to the placement agreements between the two sides.”

     

    Noting that “no party can be stopped from filing an application,” the Tribunal insisted that both parties must be present at the next hearing in person. 

     

    Zee Channels were earlier being distributed to Hathway by Media Pro but the latter was not in a position to renew the agreements in view of the regulations issued by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India around the same time the earlier agreements came to end.

     

    Thus, the Zee group of channels came to be handled by Taj Television. But when discussions between Hathway and Taj Television for Zee TV channels failed to yield any results, Taj Television on 26 June sent the RIO based agreement executed from its side. There was delay on the part of Hathway in executing the RIO based agreement and in the meanwhile Taj Television issued the disconnection notice under regulation 6.1 on 8 July 2014 and the public notice under regulation 6.5 on 11 July 2014. However, Hathway later counter-signed the RIO based agreement and sent it back to Taj Television which refused to accept a cheque sent by Hathway. This led to the petition by the MSO. 

  • TDSAT directs Taj TV to restore Zee signals to Hathway; to hear MSOs plea late next month

    TDSAT directs Taj TV to restore Zee signals to Hathway; to hear MSOs plea late next month

    NEW DELHI: Taj Television has been directed by the Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal (TDSAT) to restore with immediate effect the signals of Zee TV channels to Hathway Cable and Datacom, pending final hearing of the petition by the latter.

     

    TDSAT Chairman Justice Aftab Alam and member Kuldip Singh also directed Hathway as an interim measure to make payment of the monthly subscription fees from 1 April 2014 (in case of Kolkata and Digital Addressable System – II areas) and from 1 May 2014 (in case of Delhi and Mumbai) up to 31 July at the rate of Rs 21.60 cost per subscriber basis.

     

    The Tribunal has asked Taj to reply to the petition filed by Hathway in three weeks and asked Hathway to file a rejoinder if any, two weeks thereafter.

     

    Zee channels were earlier being distributed to Hathway by Media Pro but the latter was not in a position to renew the agreements in view of the regulations issued by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India around the same time the earlier agreements came to end.

     

    Thus, the Zee group of channels came to be handled by Taj Television. But when discussions between Hathway and Taj Television for Zee TV channels failed to yield any results, Taj TV on 26 June sent the RIO based agreement executed from its side. There was delay on the part of Hathway in executing the RIO based agreement and in the meanwhile, Taj Television issued the disconnection notice under regulation 6.1 on 8 July 2014 and the public notice under regulation 6.5 on 11 July 2014.

     

    On 28 July 2014, Hathway counter-signed the RIO based agreement and sent it back to Taj Television.  On the same day, Hathway also sent a cheque dated 31 July for Rs 16.8 crore.  

     

    According to it, this amount was in full payment of the arrears of the monthly subscription fees for the period 1 April to 31 July 2014, calculated at the rate specified under the fixed fee agreements with Media Pro that had expired on 30 March and 30 April.

     

    However, Taj did not accept the cheque and sent it back and deactivated the signals on 31 July.

     

    This led to the present petition by Hathway. During arguments, Hathway maintained that the RIO agreement can only come into effect prospectively and for the past period it can only be asked to make payment on the basis of the fixed fee agreement with Media Pro and at the rates as specified under the earlier agreements.

     

    The Tribunal has identified three main issues for decision:

     

    (i) Whether the RIO based agreement and the rates prescribed under the RIO would apply retrospectively from the date immediately following the expiry of the earlier agreement or prospectively from the date it was executed by both sides?

     

    (ii) Whether in the facts of this case, Hathway’s liability to make payment on RIO rates would arise from 26 June 2014 when the agreement was signed by Taj Television and it was sent to it for its counter signature?

     

    (iii) What would be Hathway’s liability towards payment of monthly subscription fee for the period immediately following the expiry of the earlier agreement and the date on which the RIO agreement between the two sides came into effect?

  • Taj Television issues switch off notice against Hathway

    Taj Television issues switch off notice against Hathway

    MUMBAI: Two days after Star India issued a notice against Hathway Cable and Datacom, it’s now the turn of the newly formed Taj Television Network to do the same. In a notice issued in the leading dailies, the distribution arm of Zee and distribution agent for Turner channels has stated that Zee and Turner channels are likely to be switched off for subscribers of Hathway Cable and Datacom and its franchisees.

    The cities where the switch off is likely to happen are the DAS areas of Greater Mumbai, Thane, Kalyan-Dombivali, Jaipur, Pune, Nashik, Delhi, Bengaluru, Aurangabad, Lucknow, Allahabad and Kolkata Metropolitan Area.

    The reason for deactivation has been stated as ‘non signing of subscription agreement/interconnection agreement’, ‘non submission of subscribers reports’ and ‘non-payment of subscription fees’.

    The channels included in the list are Zee TV, Zee Cinema, Zee Marathi, Zee News, Zee Café, Zee Studio, Zee Punjab Haryana Himachal, Zee Bangla, Zee Business, Zee Salaam, ETC, Zing, Zee Jagran, Zee Talkies, Zee 24 Taas, Zee Smile, Zee Kannada, Zee Telugu, Zee Kalinga, Zee Classic, Zee Action, Zee Premier, 9X, Zee Madhya Pradesh Chattisgarh, Zee Bangla Cinema, Zee Marudhara, Zee Tamil, & Pictures, Zee Anmol, Zee Q, Zee Khana Khazana, Zee Sangam, 24 Ghante, Zindagi, Zee TV HD, Zee Cinema HD and Zee Studio HD from the Zee stable as well as CNN International, Cartoon Network, HBO, POGO and WB of Turner International India.

     

  • “With Taj Television, we bring the best of channels to our customers”

    “With Taj Television, we bring the best of channels to our customers”

    MUMBAI: Zee Entertainment has got on board a subsidiary company that will handle the distribution of the entire Zee Network in the form of Taj Television India. It will distribute channels of both Zee Entertainment as well as Zee Media.

     

    This apart, it will act as an agent for Turner International India channels as well. The latest addition and the start for Taj Television is the new general entertainment channel Zindagi.

     

    Commenting on the development, Zee MD and CEO Punit Goenka said, “I am very pleased to announce that Taj Television, which earlier was distributing Ten Sports channels, will now distribute all the channels of Zee Entertainment and Zee Media Corporation, while also representing Turner channels as its authorized agent. I would like to thank all our DTH and Cable partners who have been part of our growth journey and look forward to their continued support to Taj Television.”

     

    Arun Kumar Kapoor who was earlier CEO of MediaPro, Zee’s distribution JV with Star India, will be the CEO at Taj Television too. Rajesh Sethi will continue to be CEO for the sports broadcasting network of Zee which includes the Ten brand of channels.

     

    Said Kapoor, “Zee has been the pioneer in Indian television and has the experience and leadership capability to shape the future of pay revenues in India. With Taj Television being created as the distribution entity for the network, we bring together the best of television channels to our customers. We are confident that the new channel Zindagi will really connect with the viewers and help grow Taj Television offering even stronger. We are committed to quality and achieving leadership through fair and transparent business practices.”

     

    Taj Television president Atul Das commented, “With digitization having been completed in Phase I and Phase II cities in India, we now look forward to its implementation in rest of the country. Taj Television would aim to create a harmonious relationship within the ecosystem and create value for all stakeholders. With a leading portfolio of television channels, both in the national and regional space and with a powerful portfolio of sports programming, we are excited about the future of pay revenues in the country.”

     

    Taj Television has a list of 47 channels. Taj Television distributes Zee’s well-known brands like Zee TV, Zee Cinema, &pictures, Ten Sports, Zee Cafe, Zee Studio, Zing and a powerful repertoire of regional language channels including Zee Marathi, Zee Bangla, Zee Telugu, Zee Kannada and Zee Tamizh, besides the HD channels like Zee TV HD, Zee Cinema HD, Zee Studio HD and Ten HD. Taj Television also distributes channels of Zee Media Corporation with two national and eight regional channels. Taj is also distributing channels in the kid’s space and English movie segment, including HBO, Cartoon Network, Pogo, CNN and Warner Brothers as an authorised agent of Turner International.  

  • Taj Television to distribute Zee and Ten Sports channels; agent for Turner

    Taj Television to distribute Zee and Ten Sports channels; agent for Turner

    MUMBAI: Two months after the distribution joint venture (JV) between Star India and Zee Turner called MediaPro dissolved; Zee has decided to hand over its distribution to Taj Television India, a wholly owned subsidiary of Zee Entertainment.

     

    While initially Taj Television was the sole distributor of Ten Sports channels, it will now act as agent for Zee Entertainment, Zee Media and Turner along with Ten Sports. Zee’s sports broadcasting business will continue to be headed by Rajesh Sethi.

    According to sources the move is to integrate all the Zee channels in one bouquet and give an additional push to the whole network.

     

    After the news of MediaPro split broke, Zee Turner had announced that it will set up its independent distribution arm. In the latest, the Network has announced that the new distribution agreements with the various operators will be done under the name of Taj Television. Arun K Kapoor will be the CEO of Taj Television, who was the CEO at MediaPro, earlier.

     

    Taj Television has a suite of 47 television channels. This includes: Zee TV, Zee Cinema, &pictures, Ten Sports, Zee Cafe, Zee Studio, Zing, Zee Marathi, Zee Bangla, Zee Telugu, Zee Kannada, Zee Tamizh, Zee TV HD, Zee Cinema HD, Zee Studio HD, Ten HD, Zee News, Zee Business, HBO, Cartoon Network, Pogo, CNN, Warner Brothers and Zeel’s new channel Zindagi.

  • Ten Golf kicks off, priced at Rs 200

    Ten Golf kicks off, priced at Rs 200

    MUMBAI: Taj Television Thursday launched Ten Golf, its third specialised channel, and has priced it aggressively at Rs 200 per subscriber a month.

    The golf-dedicated channel will be currently available on Dish TV and on Hathway Cable & Datacom‘s digital set-top boxes (STBs).

    “We have priced the channel at Rs 200 and are only offering it as a standalone channel . Ten Golf has set a target of 500,000 subscribers in three years,” Taj TV CEO Atul Pande told Indiantelevision.com.

    Taj has become a four-channel sports network, the other three being Ten Sports, Ten Cricket and Ten Action+. The channel will be on four platforms by the end of the month.

    “India as a sporting nation is fast transforming from a single sport to a multi-sport nation. As one of India’s leading sports broadcaster, we understand that the sports consumption pattern of the Indian viewer raises the need for specialised differentiated sport channels and this is what we hope to deliver to our revered golf viewers,” Pande said.

    The channel will showcase a mix of live, non-live and feature programming, “Along with live Golf action, Ten Golf will also showcase feature programming on Golf including magazine shows and archival programming,” said Pande.

    In terms of marketing, the channel will be promoted through a combination of ATL and BTL activities. Below the line activities will come in the form of a promotional offer through things like free golf rounds and merchandise.

    International syndication is also an important part of the plan, Pande said. Locally, the channel sees viewership potential in non-metro cities like Pune and Punjab.

    Ten was recently on a content acquisition spree , getting hold of the broadcast rights of professional golf tournaments in India through a three-year partnership with PGTI.

    The broadcaster had recently inked a licensing deal with NBCUniversal which will allow it to showcase 400 hours of golf programming. It also has European Tour and Asian Tour rights till 2016, in addition to US PGA Championship, Ryder Cup, LPGA and LET.