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Tag: Tata Sky

  • Star Utsav to go pay from 16 August

    Star Utsav to go pay from 16 August

    MUMBAI: More than a decade after its launch, Star Plus’ sibling free-to-air (FTA) channel, Star Utsav, is set to go pay from midnight of 16 August, 2015, on all cable and direct-to-home (DTH) platforms. 

    “The channel’s FTA contract is about to end on 15 August, 2015 and it does not plan to re-new or extend it further,” sources close to the development told Indiantelevision.com.

    The channel will be priced at Rs 5 on Tata Sky, at Rs 6 on Videocon d2h and at Rs 3 on Hathway Cable and Datacom. Through this development, the channel now aims to earn revenues from both ad and subscription based route. 

    It can be recalled that the channel witnessed a new logo and packaging in the month of January this year to tap and engage with the rural consumers, while keeping at pace with the urban audience. Moreover, it had changed its programming from six days a week to the entire week designed to mirror the daily routines of its viewers.

    According to a media expert, the purpose of launching Star Utsav was to reach out to its desired TG in smaller cities and towns where audiences were not exposed to Star Plus. However with the channel going pay, the expert doubts whether the channel will get the desired visibility. “The logic to me is unclear, why would consumers want to pay for a repeat content? The move makes sense when the channel experiments by bringing in original content for the same audiences,” he said.

  • Comedy Central goes HD

    Comedy Central goes HD

    MUMBAI: The English entertainment channel from Viacom18 stable, Comedy Central is going to take a high definition (HD) route. The comedy channel, which so far only had a standard definition (SD) feed, will now be available in HD.

     

    While the HD feed is currently available only on Tata Sky, it will soon be offered on other platforms as well. Comedy Central HD was launched on Tata Sky on 1 July. “Comedy Central is now HD and so all the Tata Sky subscribers can enjoy the channel in HD,” said Viacom18 group CEO Sudhanshu Vats.

     

    Comedy Central HD on Tata Sky is priced at Rs 20 on a-la-carte. Surprisingly, the SD feed on a-la-carte on the platform is priced the same. Currently, the channel’s SD and HD feed are part of Tata Sky’s ‘Grand Sports Pack’ that is available at Rs 470 per month.

     

    “We have just launched Comedy Central HD, once it is available on all platforms, we will only have the HD feed,” said a source from the network.

     

    No marketing plans have been chalked out to promote the HD version of the channel at least for the next two months.

     

    It can be noted that Viacom18 is all set to launch two new English entertainment channels—Colors Infinity and Colors Infinity HD. The new channels will have shows from across genres including drama, comedy, super heroes, talent, lifestyle, action, mini-series and live events.

     

    With the addition of Comedy Central HD, there are now four HD English entertainment channels. These include: Star World HD, Star World Premiere HD and AXN HD. This number, by the end of the year, after the launch of Colors Infinity HD, FX HD and Zee Café HD, will go up to seven. 

  • What’s in store for the Indian broadcast industry?

    What’s in store for the Indian broadcast industry?

    MUMBAI: The Indian media and entertainment industry is on the cusp of growth with phase-III and IV digitisation underway. However, even as the government is optimistic about meeting digitisation deadlines, multiple stakeholders are of the opinion that to meet the 2016 yearend deadline is unrealistic and far-fetched to say the least.

    Reiterating the sentiment is a research report by Bank of America-Merrill Lynch, which says that digitisation will be a slow process and will be complete only by FY2020-21. 

    The Bank of America-Merrill Lynch lists out four things that the Indian media industry should watch out for. They are as follows:  

    1) Digitisation: A Slow Process

    Even though the government has mandated full digitisation by December 2016, the research says that digitisation will be a slow process as on-ground checks show that it is nearly impossible for stakeholders to stick to the deadline. Bank of America-Merrill Lynch expects the entire roll out to be complete only by FY2010-21, with bulk of the benefits flowing in FY’18-19.

    Larger MSOs don’t have a local presence: In phase-I and II DAS-mandated areas, the large MSOs already had their infrastructure laid out and had knowhow of the local conditions. However, phase-III and IV are more remote areas where the MSOs do not have an established network, and hence will take time to rollout their network. These areas have been dominated by the local/ smaller MSOs, who may not have the wherewithal to invest capex and fund set-top-boxes (STB) for consumers. The report says that if digitisation happens slowly, the local MSOs will be able to capture this market (wherever analog cable is present), thus limiting the land grab of DTH operators.

    Government has reasons to be ambivalent on digitisation: The government benefits from digitisation in way of increased tax collections. At the same time, it will be vary of making voters pay a higher tariff for Pay TV bills. The ARPUs for phase-III and IV areas are lower; and a move to digital TV will entail a significant rise in their pay TV bills. Considering that TV is the main source of entertainment for Indians, the government may look to ease the digitisation roll-out slowly, rather than sticking to tight deadlines.

    ARPUs are lower: The phase-III and IV DAS-mandated areas have a lower ARPUs compared to phase-I and II geographies, which would make it difficult for MSOs and DTH companies to push through a premium ARPU product. As per the research, more innovations like Dish’s low-ARPU Zing proposition (focusing on low-cost local content), lower price points and differential geographical pricing to drive adoption are likely to be seen.

    2) Ad revenue growth to be strong in FY2016

    Advertisement revenues strong: Ad revenue growth is expected to be strong in FY16, on back of: 1) A pick up in economy and the resultant rise in ad spends; 2) Increased ad spending by e-commerce companies; and 3) Television maintaining its share of the advertisement pie. Ad spends have a strong correlation with nominal GDP. Considering that the economy is expected to pick up going forward, the Bank of America-Merrill Lynch report forecasts 13 per cent ad revenues growth for the industry, which is in line with industry estimates. (Source: KPMG-FICCI Annual report 2015).

    Implementation of BARC: The prevalent industry TV rating data (TAM) has often been cited for inconsistencies by broadcasters and advertisers. Hence, the industry bodies representing the three key stakeholders – broadcasters, advertisers, and advertising and media agencies – launched a new rating system – BARC India. Since it has the support of the industry, the report suggests that it will eventually replace TAM as the industry standard for determining TV ratings. Given that the new rating uses different methodology and sample set, the status quo TV ratings is at a risk of being upset. Though Zee has managed to hold on to third spot among Hindi GECs in the recently released data, as BARC moves towards a countrywide coverage, volatility in future ratings will remain a concern.

    Smart devices will lead to increasing viewership and ad revenues: With increasing penetration of smart devices, overall video consumption will increase. Since Indians are quite willing to watch ad-supported free content, the ad revenues will increase with the rise in online viewership.

    3) DTH: Factoring ARPU hike for 2-3 years

    Impending move to RIO to increase ARPUs: Star India has made the first move by completely moving its channel bouquets to RIO pricing, without materially impacting its viewership. Even as other broadcasters are still debating on whether to move to RIO, according to the Bank of America-Merrill Lynch report, Star’s successful move makes it only a matter of time before other broadcasters move to RIO pricing as well. Moving to RIO will increase the content cost for MSOs, necessitating an increase in tariffs to protect profitability. This does not factor in the RIO sing-ups in the base case. As per the report, an upside to subscription revenue estimates will be seen for both broadcasters and DTH operators in case market moves to RIO pricing.

    Subscribers in low-ARPU areas may opt for ala carte subscription: Unlike in the West, regulation in India mandates broadcasters to make available their channels on a piece meal basis. Since the average Indian watched just 17 channels, there is a risk of consumers in the low ARPU phase-III and IV DAS- mandated areas shifting to subscribe on a per-channel basis to reduce their monthly bills.

    Reduction in carriage and placement fees: Digitisation of Pay TV will reduce the carriage and placement fees (C&P fees) that are paid to MSOs for beaming their content. Digitisation mandates complete removal of the placement fees. Additionally, digitisation of the channel signals has resulted in a 3-4x decrease in the bandwidth needed to broadcast individual channels, allowing MSOs to beam as many as 2,000 channels within the allotted bandwidth, and thus weakening the case for MSOs to charge for a non-existent constraint. While the broadcasters are still paying carriage charges, the charges on a per-channel basis have been reducing. According to the report, this trend is expected to continue in the future.

    HD channels to increase ARPUs: Subscription to HD channels have increased in recent months, due to: 1) HD content being made available; 2) Costs of HD STBs have fallen and the non HD boxes point that distributors have stopped procuring non-HD boxes; and 3) Penetration of HD-enabled television sets have increased. As per the estimates by Bank of America-Merrill Lynch, HD subscribers on an average have ARPUs higher by about Rs 100. And with the HD take-up increasing up to 22 per cent for the DTH operators, HD is expected to positively drive up ARPUs.

    4) Fragmentation of channels & content costs

    Ad cap and the fragmentation of channels: The government has recently implemented the 12-minute ad cap (per hour). As a result, the sector has seen a slew of new channel launches and increase in ad rates to offset the impact. The report expects that investment in new channel launches will continue in the near term.

    Content to become increasingly more important: In a digitised world, quality content is going to be increasingly more important. With the likely kicking in of RIO pricing, and possible move to ala carte packages, broadcasters will need the content “hook” to lure the subscriber to pay a higher price for the same content.

    Content costs to rise: As more channels compete for the revenue pie, and channels move to RIO pricing, broadcasters are likely to increase their investments to produce quality content. In this context, the larger broadcasters will be in a better place to cope with the change with them having deeper pockets to invest in new content.

  • MIB warns MSOs, LCOs against removing mandatory channels

    MIB warns MSOs, LCOs against removing mandatory channels

    NEW DELHI: The Government today warned all multi-system operators (MSO) and local cable operators (LCO) of action if they failed to carry the mandatory channels of Doordarshan, Rajya Sabha TV and Lok Sabha TV.

     

    Noting that it had been found that many MSOs and LCOs were not carrying mandatory channels notified by the Information and Broadcasting Ministry (I&B) under different notifications, a note posted on the Ministry’s website said this was a violation of Section 8 of the Cable TV Networks (Regulation) Act 1995.

     

    Non-carriage of mandatory channels was liable to attract Section Il, Section 12 and Section 8 of the Cable Act.

     

    Any violation of Section 8 of the Cable Act shall invite such action as provided in the Cable TV Act and the Rules framed thereunder as well as the terms and conditions stipulated in the MSO permission, as the case may be.

     

    DD alleges DD Bharati taken off by Tata Sky

     

    Meanwhile in a separate note, Doordarshan said that its cultural channel DD Bharati had been taken off by DTH operator Tata Sky from 13 June till date without any official information. “This accounts to a serious violation from Tata Sky’s end,” the note said.

     

    Prasar Bharati had already moved the Ministry in this regard, and requested it to initiate action against the DTH operator.

     

    DD Bharati and some other Doordarshan channels including DD UP, DD MP, DD Bihar & DD Rajasthan are not being carried by Tata Sky on its network, which amounts to violation of the Government rules, DD said.

     

    Doordarshan reiterated that it is obligatory for every DTH operator to carry all Doordarshan channels, irrespective of any bouquet(s) or a-la-carte channel(s) being subscribed by subscribers. The DTH operators have to place the channels in the respective genre and display them in full television screen.

     

     

    The notification of 5 and 6 September, 2013 and 25 May, 2015 had specified a list of channels that are to be mandatorily carried by DTH operators, MSOs and cable operators on their cable TV networks.

     

    In areas where cable TV digitization has been completed, it is obligatory for the cable operators to carry 23 channels of Doordarshan including Kisan Channel, besides Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha channels. 

     

    In other areas, the cable operators are required to carry eight channels of Doordarshan, in addition to Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha channels.

  • FY-2015: Inflection point for DTH companies in India?

    FY-2015: Inflection point for DTH companies in India?

    BENGALURU: Is FY-2015 the inflection point for direct to home (DTH) companies in India? The answer seems yes, if one were to go by the financials declared by three listed operators for the quarter and year ended 31 March, 2015 (Q4-2015 and FY-2015 respectively) – Airtel Digital TV, Dish TV and Videocon d2h. And the players are gung-ho about the future. Subscriber growth and higher ARPUs (Average Revenue Per User) are some of the factors that have brightened the picture for this segment of the carriage industry in fiscal 2015.

     

    Note: 100,00,000 = 100 lakh = 10 million = 1 crore.

     

    This report covers only three of the seven DTH service providers in India since the other four – Reliance Digital TV, Sun Direct (about 97 lakh subscribers as on 31 March, 2015), Tata Sky and DD Free Dish are not listed on the bourses and their financial numbers are not available.

     

    The Numbers

     

    Dish TV

     

    Dish TV’s standalone and consolidated net Total Income from Operations (TIO) in FY-2016 at Rs 2781.64 crore was 10.9 per cent more than the Rs 2508.97 crore in FY-2014. Standalone TIO in Q4- 2015 at Rs 754.72 crore grew 18.5 per cent as compared to the Rs 636.91 crore in the corresponding year ago quarter and was 10.3 per cent more than the Rs 684.26 crore in Q3-2015.

     

    According to Dish TV, the DTH sector is a direct beneficiary of a positive consumer sentiment. The company achieved strong subscriber growth of 1.5 million net subscribers during the year. Fiscal 2015 also saw Dish TV swing to net profit, a first for any DTH company in India.

     

    The biggest among the three in terms of revenue as well subscribers, Dish TV at the close of FY-2015, reported standalone net profit after tax (PAT) of Rs 35.01 crore in Q4-2015 and a standalone PAT of Rs 1.01 crore in FY-2015 as compared to a standalone loss of Rs 154.21 crore in FY-2014. For Q3-2015, Dish TV’s loss was just Rs 2.87 crore as compared to double-digit crore loss numbers in the previous or like-to-like quarters. Dish TV also doubled its subscriber growth to 15 lakh in FY-2015 as compared to the previous year. As on 31 March, 2015, the company reported a net subscriber base of 1.29 crore, having added 4.04 lakh subscribers in the last quarter of 2015.

     

    Dish TV also reported higher ARPU of Rs 179 in Q4-2014 as against Rs 177 in Q3-2015 (1.13 per cent increase in ARPU) and was 5.3 per cent higher than the annual ARPU of Rs 170 reported in Q4-2014.

     

    “As digitization spreads far and wide, we continue to believe that there is sufficient headroom to further explore price differentials between key urban markets and their rural counterparts. All pack prices, for new as well as existing subscribers of Dish TV, have been moved by Rs 10 each in the 42 cities under phase I and II. We are confident that pack price hikes, higher HD uptake, as well as industry level developments such as initiation of packaging in cable will be key contributors to ARPU expansion going forward,” said Dish TV managing director Jawahar Goel.

     

    Post a successful absorption of higher pack prices in Delhi, Mumbai, Pune and Kolkata, Dish TV initiated another price change during the current month. In less than three months since it was first introduced, differential pricing – an industry first from Dish TV was rolled-out in the balance 38 cities covered under DAS phases I and II with effect from midnight on 12 May, 2015.

     

    Last year Dish TV launched a second brand, Zing, in the Indian DTH space. A resounding success, Zing cemented Dish TV’s supremacy in the DAS Phase 3 and 4 markets with custom-made content, hardware and service packages for the regional audience, says the company.

     

    Airtel Digital TV Services

     

    Airtel’s Digital TV Services (DTH segment) revenue grew 19.2 per cent in FY-2015 to Rs 2475.9 crore from Rs 2077.1 crore in FY-2014. The segment reported 11.8 per cent growth in number of subscribers with 100.73 lakh subscribers on 31 March, 2015 as compared to the 90.12 lakh subscribers at the close of the previous year. ARPU in FY-2015 at Rs 214 was five per cent more than the Rs 203 in FY-2014. The segment reported slightly higher monthly churn of one per cent as compared to 0.9 per cent in FY-2014.

     

    The DTH segment reported an operating profit of Rs 8.1 crore in Q4-2015 as compared to an operating loss of Rs 36 crore in the immediate trailing quarter. For FY-2015, Airtel DTH reported a lower operating loss of Rs 158.1 crore, for FY-2014, operating loss was three times more at Rs 481.2 crore.

     

    EBIDTA and EBIDTA margins in FY-2015 at Rs 675.2 crore (27.3 per cent of total revenue) were more than double (2.02 times) the Rs 334.7 crore (16.1 per cent of total revenue) in the previous year.

     

    Videocon d2h

     

    Coupled with higher ARPU for FY-2015 at Rs 196, and Rs 202 in Q4-2015, Videocon d2h reported 32.5 per cent growth in revenue from operations in FY-2015 at Rs 2337.7 crore as compared to the Rs 1764.4 crore in FY-2014. The company’s subscription revenue increased 38.3 per cent in the current year to Rs 2058.1 crore from Rs 1487.7 crore in the previous year.

     

    Videocon d2h says that it was able to push through an inflation linked ARPU increase in February 2015. As a result, Q4-2015 ARPU was Rs 202, up 11.7 per cent from FY-2015.

     

    Videocon d2h closed fiscal 2015 with 101.8 lakh subscribers as compared to 84.4 lakh in the previous year. It claims market leadership in subscriber growth in FY-2015 with 26.4 lakh gross subscribers and 17.4 lakh net subscriber additions. Subscriber churn per month increased fractionally in FY-2015 to 0.8 per cent as compared to 0.76 per cent in the previous year.

     

    The company reported lower net loss in FY-2015 at Rs 272.7 crore as compared to the Rs 319.5 crore in the previous year. Adjusted EBIDTA increased 55.3 per cent in the current year to Rs 609.1 crore (margin 26.1 per cent) from Rs 319.5 crore (margin 34.1 per cent), the company said in its earnings release on NASDAQ.

     

    Videocon d2h CEO Anil Khera said, “The Pay TV segment in India is positioned for extraordinary growth over the next few years with millions of new TV homes being created on account of the strong economic outlook in India as well as the Government of India’s initiative to roll out its digitalization mandate across the country. We believe that 9 to 10 crore homes will be making the switch to digital platforms, which will be available to the DTH and digital cable operators. We are well positioned to benefit from this and we believe we will take the largest share of this opportunity, as we have in the past. With strong economic growth outlook for India, overall media sector is expected to grow in the years to come. We believe this will help grow ARPU, TV penetration and increase HD uptake leading to stronger revenue growth for Pay TV in general and Videocon d2h in particular.”

     

    End points

     

    The last quarter of fiscal 2015 (Q4-2015) has shown better than average results in the case of all the three DTH players examined in this report. PAT in Q4-2015 eliminated the loss Dish TV incurred in the first three quarters of FY-2015. In the case of Airtel DTH segment, EBITDA for Q4-2015 increased to Rs 207.8 crore as compared to Rs 96.7 crore in the corresponding quarter last year. The reported EBITDA margin improved significantly to 32.7 per cent in Q4-2015, as compared to a margin of 17.9 per cent in the corresponding quarter last year.

     

    As mentioned above, Airtel DTH turned EBIT positive to Rs 8.0 crore in the current quarter, as compared to EBIT loss of Rs 110.7 crore in the corresponding quarter of last year. Comparable numbers for Videocon d2h have not been made available since the company debuted on NASDAQ on 1 April, 2015 and has disclosed only a limited amount of information about its annual numbers.

     

    The Indian carriage universe has 16.8 crore households. DTH operators have continued to focus on improving realisations by increasing penetration of HD channels, premium channels and value added services (VAS) according to the FICCI-KPMG Indian Media and Entertainment Industry Report 2015. However, they may have to rework their channel packages to be more relevant and affordable for phases III and IV subscribers. A case in point mentioned above is Dish TV’s sub-brand Zing, which caters to specific linguistic needs of subscribers and offers regional specific packs as a part of all available packs.

     

    Also, all major DTH operators have launched apps for mobiles and tablets through which subscribers can watch live TV for an additional fee and DTH operators have the advantage of monetising these viewers because of their existing payment relationships with their subscribers. 

     

    The FICCI-KPMG 2015 report also says that battle for subscribers in phases III and IV of DAS in India is expected to be more keenly fought between MSOs’ and DTH players. While DTH players managed to get only 20 to 30 per cent of the subscribers converting from analogue to digital in phases I and II, they are in a much better position in phases III and IV due to inherent technology advantage of DTH in sparsely populated areas and also due to their balance sheets being healthier than the MSOs’.

     

    The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting extended the deadlines for phases III and IV to 31 December, 2015 and 31 December, 2016, respectively, and there could be another delay by 12 months according to experts, which means that phase IV rollout could complete only at the end of 2017 or even 2018. The benefits of digitisation in these phases in terms of improved addressability and ARPU is expected to take much longer. At the end of 2019, the FICCI-KPMG report expects digital cable subscriber and DTH subscriber ratio to be 55:45 with 9.4 crore digital cable subscribers and 7.6 crore DTH subscribers.

     

    HITS (Headends in the Sky), if it takes off even in a small way, could affect the fortunes of both the DTH and the cable TV industry. Let’s wait and watch how the Hinduja Group, which has a license to launch HITS and is a major player in the cable TV business, plays this out. Jain TV, the other licensee for HITS, has made a miniscule dent. IPTV is still at less than an infancy stage in the country.

     

    If DTH companies can sustain, innovate in technology and offerings and grow from here, FY-2015, and maybe Q4-2015 could really be the turning point when at least one segment of the carriage business in India has started making money. Only time will tell…

  • Tata Sky taps IBM to launch new mobile solutions

    Tata Sky taps IBM to launch new mobile solutions

    MUMBAI: Tata Sky has partnered with IBM to launch new mobile solutions that will enable it to reach new markets, and improve customer service and responsiveness for its 14 million subscribers across the country.

     

    With the IBM MobileFirst Platform, Tata Sky can securely integrate customer and enterprise data and launch new apps to spur growth, especially in rural markets. For example, the new mSales app helps dealers and distributors quickly respond to customer inquiries, track existing accounts and onboard new subscribers. Access to mobile capabilities that enable more efficient customer service is especially important in rural areas where there is often limited access to laptops or reliable Internet connectivity.

     

    According to a market study by Hong Kong-based research firm Media Partners Asia, the DTH active subscriber base in India will increase from 37 million in 2013 to 60 million by 2018 and 75 million by 2023. By launching innovative mobile solutions for its 300,000 dealers, Tata Sky aims to add more subscribers and gain market share.

     

    With more than 50,000 downloads since its launch, the mSales app creates new cost efficiencies by decreasing help desk calls to manage existing customer needs, and streamlines processes for establishing new accounts. With simplified access to customer analytics, dealers and distributors can better engage customers with more targeted, personalized products and services.

     

    “With IBM’s deep mobile and industry expertise we have gained a trusted partner for mobile solutions. The Tata Sky mSales app is one of the few examples of how mobile handsets can help us overcome business challenges thereby opening new markets and creating more valuable customer interactions,” said Tata Sky chief information officer Ravishanker.

     

    Advancing clients’ digital transformation strategies, the IBM MobileFirst portfolio of solutions can be integrated as a part of a hybrid cloud solution that combines public and private cloud elements with the flexibility to choose and change environments, data and services as needed.

     

    “Service Providers around the world are facing heightened competition as they compete for customer wallet share and loyalty. Creating personalized customer interactions is critical for extending those relationships and identifying new business opportunities. With the IBM MobileFirst Platform, Tata Sky can take advantage of new growth opportunities in untapped markets and easily scale the number of users and apps being delivered to market to offer differentiated services and get ahead of the competition,” said IBM India and South Asia regional general manager Vanitha Narayanan.

     

    The IBM MobileFirst Platform is available from Bluemix, IBM’s cloud development platform, or via on-premises deployment. IBM total cloud revenue – covering public, private and hybrid engagements – was $7.7 billion over the previous 12 months at the end of March 2015; it grew more than 60 per cent in the first quarter 2015.

  • Tata Sky upgrades to Ericsson’s platform to enhance video services

    Tata Sky upgrades to Ericsson’s platform to enhance video services

    MUMBAI: Direct to home (DTH) operator Tata Sky has upgraded upgraded and expanded its entire DTH platform to the Ericsson’s video compression platform AVP 4000 System Encoder.

     

    The upgrade enables Tata Sky to substantially increase the bouquet of channels offered to subscribers while maintaining the highest quality of viewing experience.

     

    Tata Sky CEO Harit Nagpal said, “For Tata Sky, it is of utmost importance to consistently deliver a high quality viewing experience to our subscribers. The Ericsson AVP 4000 System Encoder allows us to enhance picture quality, offer increased volumes of channels and content and launch new services, such as OTT, on the same platform.”

     

    Ericsson head of region India Chris Houghton added, “Ericsson is committed to helping its customers overcome the challenges of satellite spectrum scarcity and meet increasing quality expectations of Indian consumers. The AVP 4000 System Encoder is designed to overcome today’s bandwidth and delivery constraints by providing the necessary flexibility, velocity and agility to deploy new services within an extremely competitive landscape.”

     

    Four out of the seven DTH operators in India are based on Ericsson’s video compression technology. In March this year, Ericsson supported Tata Sky to launch the first commercial 4K video service in the subcontinent. Customers subscribing to the 4K service could watch video up to four times the resolution of the standard high definition (HD) video currently available.

     

    According to Ericsson, the total mobile video traffic over the next six years (2015-2020) will be more than 17 times that of the last six (2009-2014). With availability of more content for an ever – increasing number of video-enabled devices, it is critical to maximize video delivery over available bandwidth and multiple networks. 

  • Kisan TV set to launch on 26 May

    Kisan TV set to launch on 26 May

    NEW DELHI: After numerous delays, Doordarshan’s Kisan TV will finally see the light of day on 26 May, 2015.

     

    The channel, which was earlier slated for formal launch on Baisakhi Day last month as a 24-hour channel devoted to farmers and rural India, will be launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the presence of the Information and Broadcasting Minister Arun Jaitley at a formal function in Vigyan Bhavan.

     

    While trial runs have already been on for some time, a test run which will make it available to other platforms commenced today (25 May).

     

    Jaitley had said last month that the delay had been caused as the PM was traveling.

     

    The channel, to be run by Doordarshan, was initially slated for launch on Makar Sankarti Day on 14 January, 2015.

     

    A budget of Rs 100 crore had been set aside in July last year. However, this year’s budget had cut down Kisan TV’s corpus to Rs 90 crore for 2015-16.

     

    The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Information Technology, which also examines issues linked to the I&B Ministry had said in a recent report that emphasis should be laid on local dialect on regional basis so that farmers all across the country are able to access the channel in their local language/dialect, thereby getting benefited by this laudable initiative of the Government.

     

    The Parliamentary Committee in a subsequent report also said that the Ministry should spend Rs 35 crore, earmarked in this year’s budget for content, judiciously.

     

    The FTA channel will be available on major direct to home (DTH) platforms including Tata Sky, Videocon d2h, Dish TV apart from pubcasters’ own DTH platform Freedish. 

  • Tata Sky looks to gain deeper consumer insights with Cloudera

    Tata Sky looks to gain deeper consumer insights with Cloudera

    MUMBAI: Direct to home (DTH) player Tata Sky has selected Cloudera to support its big data initiative – to gain deeper customer insights from data gathered on subscribers across the country.

     

    Cloudera will provide Tata Sky with an enterprise data hub (EDH) to process and scale its analysis of customer data.

     

    Tata Sky, which offers an array of programming choices and interactive features, will use its Cloudera enterprise data hub to better understand the viewing habits of customers and to create opportunities that enhance and change the viewer’s experience.

     

    “Tata Sky being the fastest growing DTH providers in India today, needs an infrastructure that will help us scale our data collection, processing, and analysis efforts so we can continue improving the customer experience. Implementing an enterprise data hub from Cloudera will allow us to capitalize on the data we collect and cement our position as India’s preferred DTH provider,” said Tata Sky chief information officer Ravishankar N.

     

    “This significant customer win demonstrates our growing traction in India, while further cementing Cloudera’s platform as the platform of choice for communications providers looking to gain a 360-degree view of their businesses in order to further improve customer satisfaction and drive profit maximization. We’re excited to see the business impacts that Tata Sky will realize from using Cloudera’s platform and the new avenues that the company will explore with our technology,” added Cloudera big data evangelist and telecommunications subject matter expert Amy O’Connor.

  • Anil Khera replaces RC Venkateish as DTH Operators Association president

    Anil Khera replaces RC Venkateish as DTH Operators Association president

    MUMBAI: Videocon d2h CEO Anil Khera has replaced Dish TV CEO RC Venkateish as the president of DTH Operators Association.

     

    Khera said, “We will be working together to resolve the issues pertaining to DTH industry. We will take up the issues of DTH operators with the relevant government authorities.  I hope that we will be able to resolve all issues of DTH operators amicably with all the stakeholders. I thank all the members for showing faith in me.”

     

    Khera was chosen unanimously by the members of the association as Venkateish’s replacement to represent the six direct to home (DTH) operators namely Tata Sky, Dish TV, Videocon d2h, Sun Direct, Reliance Digital TV and Airtel Digital TV.

     

    In June 2014, Venkateish  was unanimously elected as the president for a term of one year, where the association had also decided to hold regular meetings every quarter to address issues concerning the DTH industry.

     

    Prior to Venkateish , Tata Sky CEO Harit Nagpal served as president of the DTH Operators Association for three years. After the conclusion of Nagpal’s tenure last year, the association had decided to elect the president for a one year term.