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Tag: Tata Sky

  • Digital: A complement or challenge for existing platforms?

    Digital: A complement or challenge for existing platforms?

    MUMBAI: FICCI Frames 2015 laid the stage for a open discussion on the 360 degree disruption, which the digital ecosystem has effected upon the entertainment sector. The session also had panelists analysing future and current trends in the digital business in order for these platforms to become growth drivers in truest sense. The emergence of the digital platform can become a threat to the other established platforms as all the platforms share the same source of revenue.

     

    The session was moderated by Filmkaravan founder Pooja Kohli and the panel comprised producer and actor Abhay Deol, Tata Sky chief content and business developing officer Paolo Matteo Agosstinelli, Facebook Wallla president Eric St. Anthony Pence and LA digital media advisor James Veraldi.

     

    Supporting the theory that content is king, Agostinelli said, “The emergence of the digital platform is not a threat but an opportunity for the enterprises willing to serve creative content. We are here to deliver content and sensible content in any platform will find relevance and generate revenue. We have to put efforts in understanding the change in behaviour and nature of our target audience and adapt as per need. The millennium youth in India is an encouragement for content makers and we have to utilise that by providing captivating content.”

     

    Technology is evolving with time and the existing platforms are challenged by the new ones. The battle for the old ones is to still be relevant. Commenting on the evolution, Veraldi said, “DVD came into existence in 1999 and saw huge success till 2005. Now the digital platform is growing and is poised to grow even bigger. There are various platforms that enable creators to deliver content and the challenge is in finding a way to monetise those platforms. If we keep earning money and devote it on quality content and the demand of consumer is taken care of, the new revolutions won’t make a difference. The biggest challenge is not how you adapt with the emerging challenge but is to keep meeting the demand of audience.”

     

    Digital has given unconventional content makers a platform to exhibit their excellence and offer new options to the audience. Traditional content finds producers easily, while the out of the box or breaking stereotype concepts are portrayed as risky. Hence financiers more often avoid such risks. Moreover global distribution of content is another tough challenge, which finds digital as a big solution.

     

    Deol produced movie One By Two was released on the internet for global audience the same day as it was released in Indian theatres. “I was sure of the fact that I won’t manage to get screens abroad but at the same time I also wanted the audience to have the option of watching the content and that’s when I took the decision of launching it online. The other reason was that whenever I have been to United States, I saw the willingness in people to see the unconventional but the option was not available for them. They used to ask me why we can’t make more unconventional content. When a theatre is three hours away and the pirated DVD seller is nearby, people opt for the pirated version but when we gave the same person option of watching it online by paying certain premium, they opted for it. That’s the beauty of the digital platform,” said Deol.

     

    While Pence was of the opinion that change complements other existing platforms. “The digital platform will complement the existing ones and the biggest beneficiary of that will be consumers. Every platform will try to provide as high quality content as possible and that’s the best part. With development of bandwidth and online payment infrastructure digital will grow but the traditional platforms will co-exist.”

     

    While the number of smartphone user is an encouragement for the digital platforms, low bandwidth and high tariffs are the major challenges that the venture has to tackle.

  • Tata Sky awaits MIB approval for Rs 250 crore investment

    Tata Sky awaits MIB approval for Rs 250 crore investment

    MUMBAI: Direct to home (DTH) operator Tata Sky has been applying a wait and watch policy not only for transponder space, but also for an approval from the Information and Broadcasting Ministry (I&B), for an additional Rs 250 crore investment.

     

    “The money for the project has already come. But, if the approval doesn’t come in the next 48 hours, I will have to return that money to the foreign investors,” said Tata Sky MD & CEO Harit Nagpal, while addressing the inaugural session at FICCI FRAMES 2015.

     

    Responding to this, I&B Ministry additional secretary JS Mathur said, “Well, we had granted the approval a month back, and then Tata Sky realized that for the route it wanted to take with the investment, it had to reapply and this is the reason it is taking time.”

     

    Taking cue from Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ‘Digital India’ campaign, Nagpal said, “The enabler of connectivity is broadband.”

     

    As per Nagpal, with low Average Revenue Per User (ARPU), putting fresh wires in the country would not give any return on investment. “Otherwise, there are enough hungry entrepreneurs, who would have used the opportunity. And if they haven’t, means that conditions are not viable in the country,” opined Nagpal.

     

    The country, though has hundreds miles of wires all over, which can carry broadband, and all it’s waiting for is an enabling and uniform environment, to use this infrastructure and deliver broadband to the consumer. “The rest as has happened in telecom, will happen,” he added.

     

    According to Nagpal, the industry lacks new thinking. “If anybody finds a successful format, 20 others follow and copy. I have seen general entertainment channels (GECs) being launched as pay TV, churning out the same content, and then either vanishing or becoming free to air (FTA). They lose viewership and distribution and then they are forced to carry 20-22 minutes of advertisement, which the regulator starts questioning and they are then seen sitting in courts,” he said.

     

    The problem, as per Nagpal, is not the producers, but the economics of the business, the restrictions and the permissions needed to do business. “All this restricts the producer from taking risks and choosing a safe and successful path,” he said.

     

    Nagpal, further went on to say, “I don’t think there is room for more Stars, Zees and Sonys. Also there is one Arnab and one Barkha, you can’t have too many of them. It is the niche, which will take us forward, and they are low investment and high return product.”

     

    Flair of creativity and new ideas is the key ingredient in the media and entertainment sector. “The deeper I travel, the more gems I see, but the production centres in the country are all located in the big cities. There is need to take production centres in smaller towns, where the talent is and create more self employed professionals in those areas,” he added.

     

    According to Nagpal, while the rules for setting up, funding and running the business are in place, one still needs to follow rules and ask for permission at every step. “Things have improved in the past few months and the government is keen to clear files, faster than ever before,” he said.

     

    The only way the industry can grow, as per Nagpal, is by allowing the businesses to inform and not seek approvals and also by self regulation. “In case we violate the law, issue penalties, cancel the licence,” he announced.

     

    Touching upon the movie business, Nagpal said that while we make the highest number of films, the industry is still not making money. “We have reached a choking point in terms of adding screens and it is marred by either high cost of real estate or the long list of approvals,” he said.

     

    According to Nagpal, the increasing number of digitized homes will help more producers to monetize their production. “This has already started, a lot of films are breaking even only on the basis of selling their rights to cable and satellite,” he said.

     

    The country has seen digitisation of 42 cities. Touching upon the condition in the digitized cities, Nagpal said, “The local cable operators are running the digitised area and the multi system operators (MSOs) are watching. Customers are not getting packages they want and neither are they getting value added services. The customers are willing to pay, unlike what is being projected by LCOs.”

     

    Digitisation is equal to automation. “The new role of the LCO is to be of a service provider to the MSO and not a partner. I think this needs to be thought about,” concluded Nagpal. 

  • Bhojpuri channel Anjan TV hops on to Videocon d2h platform

    Bhojpuri channel Anjan TV hops on to Videocon d2h platform

    MUMBAI: Bhojpuri entertainment channel Anjan TV is looking at increasing its viewership and as part of this has signed a deal with direct to home (DTH) operator Videocon d2h.

     

    The channel will be available on channel number 861 on the platform. Anjan TV is also available on Airtel Digital TV and all the multi system operator (MSO) platforms in Bihar and Jharkhand. 

     

    With this, the channel will be available to 12.8 million households across India as a free-to-air channel. The channel is currently in talks with other DTH operators such as Tata Sky, Reliance DTH, etc.

     

    Carving a niche for itself, the channel offers a programming mix of movies, music, daily soaps, reality, crime, cookery, comedy, travel and lifestyle shows.

     

    “We are delighted to be associated with Videocon d2h and are looking forward to cater to the needs of its subscriber’s base across India. I would like to take this opportunity to welcome and promise a wholesome entertainment to all our new viewers through this platform,” said Anjan TV channel head Anshuman Tripathi.

     

    Videocon d2h CEO Anil Khera added, “We continue to add more variety and value through our offerings. We want to offer the whole gamut of channels and services empowering the consumer to opt for his preferred choice of language. We believe in delivering the best for our customers and are hopeful of achieving better penetration, through the addition of this channel.”

     

  • Tata Sky chooses Elemental Technologies for 4K video service

    Tata Sky chooses Elemental Technologies for 4K video service

    MUMBAI: Direct-to-home (DTH) operator Tata Sky has chosen Elemental Technologies’ software to process Ultra HD live linear content in high-efficiency video coding (HEVC/H.265) for delivery to Tata Sky 4K-ready set-top boxes.

     

    Elemental Technologies is a supplier of software-defined video solutions for multiscreen content delivery. Selected by Tata Sky based on its reliable delivery of high-quality live 4K content in HEVC, Elemental is the sole video processing software selected for the subcontinent’s first commercial 4K service delivered to end-users.

     

    A joint venture between the Tata Group and 21st Century Fox, Tata Sky deployed the latest 4K service and set-top boxes in advance of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 tournament currently underway in Australia and New Zealand. Software-based Elemental Live systems perform real time processing of Tata Sky 4K content in HEVC at 60/50fps for linear streaming to Tata Sky 4K STBs.

     

    “We pride ourselves for being at the forefront of technology and delivering world class TV experiences to our viewers. The Tata Sky 4K service is an example of not only keeping up with changing times, but in fact giving our viewers a pioneering technology that the world would follow. The seamless integration between Ericsson and Elemental HEVC compression technology for live 4K streaming enables us to reinforce our technology and industry leadership positions, further adding to our delighted subscriber base,” said Tata Sky CEO and managing director Harit Nagpal.

     

    “Tata Sky has selected Elemental video processing to bring 4K content programming to the India market. We are proud to provide Tata Sky with our software-defined video solutions to deliver unbeatable picture quality,” added Elemental Technologies senior vice president worldwide sales Dan Marshall.

     

    The new generation 4K UHD Tata Sky STB is capable of delivering Ultra HD picture quality and Dolby Digital Plus 7.1 surround sound. Viewers can enjoy 8.3 megapixel (3840×2160) video, which is approximately four times the pixel count compared to the current HD standard, offering far greater clarity and more vivid colors on screen. In addition to 4K content, the set-top box also showcases standard definition (SD) and HD TV channels.

     

    Elemental will also showcase its suite of software-defined video solutions at the NexTV Summit in Mumbai on 7 April, 2015.

  • Tata Sky expands content offering; to add 20 channels

    Tata Sky expands content offering; to add 20 channels

    MUMBAI: By introducing a new compression technology to its network, Direct To Home (DTH) operator Tata Sky will soon be adding 20 new channels to its platform including an unspecified number of HD channels.

     

    At present, Tata Sky offers 300 channels. The upgrade work meanwhile has hurt close to 17,000 subscribers who received disrupted services during the last few days. The DTH operator has a subscription base of 10 million active subscribers.

     

    According to a PTI report, Tata Sky CEO Harit Nagpal said that the company had got additional capacity due to its timely decision to shift from MPEG 2 format to MPEG 4 format. “It cost us money, but helped us,” he said.

     

    Due to the digitisation programme, Tata Sky is expecting the DTH industry to add four million subscribers every year. Nagpal foresees the industry to grow in the next five to six years as there is enough opportunity since digitisation of analogue delivery system of home cable TV is in progress.

     

    The operator is also undergoing a tariff hike for its subscribers. “Every year, we go for a price hike in March, which is roughly four per cent. Last year, it was Rs 230 and this year we have increased it to Rs 240,” he told PTI.

     

    The company has average revenue per user (ARPU) of Rs 250 and has a growth of over five per cent on a year-on-year basis. Nagpal stated that Tata Sky would like to keep its ARPU constant and grow its base by adding customers from small places.

     

    He also informed that the disruption in services was because the platform changed compression standards every three to four months. To address the concerns of its customers, the DTH operator has sent its engineers to their place to resolve the issue.

  • MAX 2 hops on to Tata Sky DTH platform

    MAX 2 hops on to Tata Sky DTH platform

    MUMBAI: Multi Screen Media’s second Hindi movie channel – MAX 2 has hopped on to the Tata Sky DTH platform.

     

    The channel has been made available for Tata Sky subscribers from 1 February, 2015 on channel number 324.

     

    Besides Tata Sky, MAX 2 is available on other DTH platforms namely Videocon d2h, Airtel, Dish TV and Reliance Digital TV. The channel is also available on leading cable operators like DEN, Siti Cable, Hathway and InCable.

     

    MAX and MAX2 senior EVP and business head Neeraj Vyas said, “We are pleased to announce the availability of MAX 2 on India’s leading DTH platform – Tata Sky, which widens the channel’s reach. We have received numerous requests from Tata Sky viewers for showcasing MAX 2 and are convinced that our association will help us reach out to a larger audience. We are sure the subscribers will love the channel and will enjoy savouring the timeless films of Indian cinema.”

     

    MAX 2 is the second Hindi movie channel from the stable of Multi Screen Media (MSM) and was launched in 2014.

  • Big Magic strengthens distribution network with Tata Sky

    Big Magic strengthens distribution network with Tata Sky

    MUMBAI: Hindi general entertainment channel (GEC) from Reliance Broadcast Network, Big Magic, has strengthened its distribution with direct-to-home (DTH) player, Tata Sky.

     

    Starting 1 February, the channel will be available on Tata Sky channel number 138 to subscribers across the country.  This move helps Big Magic to gradually fortify its space in the comedy genre in India with original differentiated content.

     

    This announcement enables Tata Sky to offer its viewers a differentiated content around comedy with Big Magic’s programming mix targeted to a relevant and discerning audience base across relevant markets. Big Magic’s original programming mix is a comical line up of hilarious sitcoms, a side splitting historical comedy; laugh out loud weekend specials, festive specials and comedy blockbuster films.  Its shows include Har Mushkil Ka Hal Akbar Birbal, Uff Yeh Nadaniyan, Bal Gopal Kare Dhamaal and more catering to wholesome entertainment for each segment and age group. With new shows coming up centered around comedy, Big Magic is poised to engage, enrich and entertain its new audiences across the country.

     

    Tata Sky chief content and business development officer Paolo Agostinelli said, “For Tata Sky, catering to consumers across age groups with the growing preference towards comedy, Big Magic as a channel would be a rather unique offer suiting the needs of our customers across the country. We will finally showcase the range of offerings from Big Magic on our platform.”

     

    Added Reliance Broadcast Network COO Lavneesh Gupta said, “We are happy to announce our availability on Tata Sky, which allows Big Magic to immediately grow its reach across the geography. We are confident of our product with differentiated comedy content and designed as per audience needs for the entire family. Strengthening our distribution spectrum is a strategic move towards focusing on growing the channel with additional new content that is expected soon.”

  • 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.

  • Tata Sky strengthens its top brass

    Tata Sky strengthens its top brass

    MUMBAI: Direct to Home (DTH) operator Tata Sky has strengthened its top level management team. The company has brought on board Pallavi Puri as chief commercial officer (CCO) for commercial function and Malay Dikshit for communication function. After the exit of Tata Sky CCO Vikram Mehra, the post was vacant, since August 2014.

     

    Confirming about the development to Indiantelevision.com Tata Sky CEO Harit Nagpal says, “We have appointed people in his place. We have Pallavi Puri who has come on board for commercial functions and Malay Dikshit who has joined us for communication function.”

     

    Mehra had quit the company in August last year. He then moved on to Saregama as its managing director. Puri is an alumnus of Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies. She began her career with Blow Plast in the area of product marketing. She then joined Hutchinson Max Telecom. Her previous stint was with Vodafone India where she was the VP-VAS. Puri and Dikshit took charge last month.

     

    The appointments come at a time when Tata Sky recently launched its 4K set top box ahead of this year’s ICC Cricket World Cup 2015. This is to ensure that cricket and sports enthusiasts are well in time to own Tata Sky 4K STBs to witness the cricketing extravaganza for the first time in 4K picture quality. The launch plans were unveiled in July last year when Tata Sky showcased the first ever live FIFA World Cup quarter final match in 4K.

     

  • Govt. has no plans to place restrictions on number of DTH platforms

    Govt. has no plans to place restrictions on number of DTH platforms

    NEW DELHI: Even as it is in the process of revamping its free-to-air direct-to-home (DTH) platform Freedish, the government has made it clear that it has no intentions to impose any restrictions on the total number of DTH licenses.

    The Ministry has till now granted license to six private companies: Dish TV, Tata Sky, Sun Direct TV, Reliance BIG TV, BhartiTelemedia and Videocon d2h.

    These platforms provide DTH services in India under the DTH Guidelines issued on 15 March, 2001, as amended from time to time.

    Information and Broadcasting Ministry sources told Indiantelevision.com that Freedish is in the process of making changes so that it can provide up to 100 FTA television channels in the first stage in addition to All India Radio channels. A total of 19 e-auctions have also been held in this regard.

    DTH licenses, under the DTH guidelines, are granted to those companies which fulfil the eligibility criteria, terms and conditions and subject to security clearance and technical clearances by the appropriate authorities of the Government.

    The details are available on the website of this Ministry at www.mib.gov.in.

    Under clause 3.1 of the DTH Guidelines, the licensee, in addition to an initial non-refundable entry fee of Rs 10 crore, is required to pay an annual license fee at 10 per cent of its gross revenue.