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Tag: Tata Sky

  • Tata Sky selects Genesys to revolutionise home entertainment

    Tata Sky selects Genesys to revolutionise home entertainment

    MUMBAI:  Direct-to-Home (DTH) provider Tata Sky, has associated with Genesys, to deploy customer experience platform to enhance service delivery to its subscribers.

     

    The association is an endeavour to empower Tata Sky’s workforce to service customers seamlessly across multiple touch points. The platform provides greater efficiencies in the company’s contact center operations and also provides subscribers with new, personalised self-service applications to provide customers with a complete user friendly experience, said the press release.

     

    Excited with the collaboration, Tata Sky CEO Harit Nagpal said, “Tata Sky is pleased to partner with Genesys in our quest to bring superior quality television entertainment to its viewers. The system is clearly the best in class and offers cost savings, operational efficiencies and visibility into contact center operations.”

     

    “Tata Sky strives to bring not only superior quality television entertainment to its viewers, but also to offer the best customer service possible. We have built an extensive customer service network across the country with 24-hour call centers manned by multi-lingual highly competent customer service associates,” he added.

     

    The multi-channel capabilities of the Genesys solution integrates with Siebel, and provides Tata Sky customer service agents with a more productive and efficient work environment that takes advantage of ‘customer-priority’ based agent routing technology.

     

    “We are pleased that Tata Sky has implemented Genesys to enhance the subscriber experience,” said Genesys APAC managing director Bruce Eidsvik. “Our best in class, multi-channel software is an ideal complement to Tata Sky’s vision of revolutionizing home entertainment in India and empowering every television viewer,” he added.

     

    Additionally, the company also provides a personalised, voice self-service application that reduces the time that customers spend on unwanted menu options and helps transform the overall customer experience.

  • MIPCOM 2014: What do buyers want in 4K?

    MIPCOM 2014: What do buyers want in 4K?

    MUMBAI: 4K is on everyone’s mind. Even when Indian direct to home (DTH) players, Videocon d2h and Tata Sky launched their 4K set top boxes (STBs), everyone questioned if there was enough content available in 4K. The same was discussed even at the just concluded MIPCOM 2014 at Cannes in the session ‘What do buyers want in 4K?’

     

    The session which saw Sky Deutschland EVP programming Gary Davey, France Télévisions director of future media Eric Scherer, Atlantic Productions director of operations Ruth Sessions and Red Bull Media House head of commercial distribution Bernhard Hafenscher speaking on the issue which was moderated by journalist & industry consultant Chris Forrester.

     

    Talking about the general prospect for 4K in the world, Davey said that a platform like Sky Deutschland is excited about the sea change that content is set to witness. “We will be very active on 4K. While we haven’t decided a launch date as yet, we are committed to it,” said Davey.

     

    What is interesting is that the take-up for 4K has outperformed even high definition (HD). So, is it the broadcasting push, the industry push or the consumer pull? Said Davey, “According to me, people just love the idea of big screen viewing with higher resolution.”

     

    For Sessions, content creators today are telling stories for multiple platforms and so a lot of them are filming it in 4K. Atlantic Productions has been filming in 4K for the past four years. “We have always been hungry for resolution and I believe in future proofing. So for the right projects, where we thought that stories that we are saying today will be relevant for the next 10-15 years, we film in 4K,” said Sessions adding that stories benefit when told in 4K.

     

    Television today has the risk of being over passed by new barbarians-Netflix and by millennial kids. “France TV too, have decided to test with 4K,” added Scherer.

     

    During the discussion, one thing which came out clearly was that it is sports and sports events which will be most important in 4K. “People can become a part of the sport, when they watch it in 4K. Once the market grows, we will have a lot of content in 4K,” said Hafenscher.

     

    The other content created in 4K will include high end documentary movies and arts content. “You have to pick the projects for 4K. It needs to mean something and add value,” informed Davey.

    In 3D and 4K quality, there is a lot of information in every shot. “There is so much going on in the image, because of the depth,” said Sessions.

     

    While content creators are excited about filming in 4K, the extremely high production cost is what keeps them on their toes. “The cost depends on the category of the content. It is expensive, but not multiple of costs. The cost increases also because of multiple use of cameras,” informed Scherer.

     

    So will 4K percolate to broadcasters? “It will take a little longer than people expect. For a long time, we will be cherry picking the content in 4K. In fact all the promise that ultra HD had made has not been realised as yet,” informed Davey.

     

    According to the panel, in the next five years, the world could see two-three 4K channels, which would start as special events and then move to a full-fledged channel.

     

  • Tata Sky revives Indian poetry with Javed Akhtar

    Tata Sky revives Indian poetry with Javed Akhtar

    MUMBAI: In yet another first, Tata Sky, the leading DTH player today at a literature rendezvous announced the launch of Actve Javed Akhtar service in partnership with Javed Akhtar, one of the finest lyricists of India. This innovative service gives Tata Sky subscribers an opportunity to experience the rich and classic poetic culture with an unconventional and modern approach.

     

    This interactive platform will have Javed Akhtar describing the true essence of some of the most beautifully penned shayaris and dohas of yesteryears, reminding us of its relevance and definition in context to our lives today.This conversational format with Javed Akhtar is followed by shayaris and dohas sung by contemporary artists such as Tochi Raina, Roop Kumar Rathod, Shweta Pandit, Aakriti Kakkar, Abhijit Pohankar and many more.

     

    Apart from the video format, the interactive service will also allow viewers to learn meaning of various Urdu & Sanskrit words used in the Dohas and Shayari with the help of the built-in On-demand option. Thus aiding subscribers in comprehension & enhancing vocabulary.

     

    At the launch, Vikram Mehra, Chief Commercial Officer, Tata Sky said:“Actve Javed Akhtar will enable our audience to relive and learn from the eons of classic Indian poetry with a contemporary touch. We hence associated with Javed Akhtar, who will walk us through centuries of soulful shayaris and dohas.” 

     

    Tata Sky prides in being the preferred DTH player with a list of popular interactive services as part of their offerings. Actve Javed Akhtar will be another innovative feather in the cap of Tata Sky. This interactive service is available on a monthly subscription and can be availed by a simple SMS (‘Javed’ to 56633) or missed call (076791 76791).

     

    Commenting on his association, Mr. Javed Akhtar said, “I am pleased to collaborate with Tata Sky in their endeavor to bring back the essence of our literature. This is a project which is very close to my heart as it resonates my love for the subject. The service revolves around the golden shayaris and dohas of Galib, Mir, Kabeer, Rahim and many more, which will continue to appeal to the people regardless of the constant changes that take place in today’ world.”

     

    Tata Sky has partnered with Insync (India’s first 24×7 Classical Based Music Television Channel) to collaborate with composers and 50 singers (fresh talent as well as renowned artists) to create original songs for the service, Actve Javed.

     

    A glimpse of the interactive service:

     

    Doha  – http://youtu.be/AuhUiL0TpDE

     

    Shayari – http://youtu.be/422WwmoeLAQ

  • Tata Sky targets south India during festive season

    Tata Sky targets south India during festive season

    MUMBAI: Last year, DTH operator Tata Sky ventured into the Malayalam market by getting Mohanlal on board as its brand ambassador. Now, it has targeted all the remaining three states in one go in its bid to expand in the south of India.

     

    The DTH operator has signed on Tollywood star Mahesh Babu to represent the brand in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana and Sudeep for Karnataka. It has refrained from signing one for Tamil Nadu but has refreshed its push with a new TVC campaign.

     

    ‘Better kante best’ is the tagline being used in Telugu to proclaim its 23 Telugu channels along with knowledge, English and Hindi news channels in the base pack. Babu will propagate this tag line through his TVCs.

     

    The ad campaign featuring Sudeep is built on the premise that people have gotten used to adjusting to things in life but with Tata Sky’s offerings, there is no need to compromise while choosing its STB. Sudeep will enhance this ‘no compromise’ theme in his TVCs.

     

    Kannada viewers will have 14 local channels along with knowledge and English news channels in the base pack.

     

    For Tamil Nadu customers, an advertising campaign will be activated across TV, print, outdoor and online media by conveying the message to Tamil customers who make purchases after careful evaluation that Tata Sky will be their preferred choice due to its quality. With packs starting at Rs 180, new connections will get the Tamil language pack free along with the base pack.

     

    The TVC campaign states ‘Ovvoru vishaiyathaiyum alasi aranju mudivu panravunga, set top box-inu varumbodhu kandippa Tata Sky-dhan choose pannuvanga!” (Those who decide everything after careful evaluation, choose a Tata Sky set top box).

     

    Customers of the southern states can avail an offer of an additional regional pack free for one whole year.

     

    The customer case service has been strengthened with additional call centre support, on-ground manpower and trained personnel to deal with increasing enquiries during the upcoming festive season.

     

  • Star World Premiere HD to celebrate first birthday with 24 new series

    Star World Premiere HD to celebrate first birthday with 24 new series

    MUMBAI:  Catering to a super premium audience, Star World Premier HD from the Star India kitty, which was launched last year, is all set to celebrate its first birthday.

     

    Star India English portfolio business head Kevin Vaz is proud with the way the channel has managed to help build a major premium subscriber base. “Despite being a pure a la carte HD-only offering, we are confident that additional premium consumers will begin subscribing to the channel,” he says while adding that on the occasion, the subscription-based channel will showcase 24 of the most popular international television series in genres like comedy and drama.

     

    When quizzed, which have been the best performing markets in the last one year, Vaz informs that since it is  a paid for premium channel, currently priced at Rs 60, it is mostly consumed by audiences in the metros. And hence, it is these markets where the channel has been performing well.

     

    The channel is targeted towards those seeking exclusivity, novelty and superior viewing experience. Even though it is ad free at the moment, Vaz say that its content and popularity has drawn interest from categories like e-commerce, FMCG, automobile companies.

     

    By airing most of the shows in India, 12 hours after their US telecast, the channel has enabled viewers to gets access to latest shows and has curbed issues like piracy and illegal downloads to an extent.

     

    The new launches include: From Tuesday 23 September; New Girl season four at 8 pm, The Blacklist season 2 at 10 pm, Sleepy Hollow season two at 11 pm. Person of Interest season four will start from Wednesday 24 September at 11 pm. Downtown Abbey season five will begin from 25 September at 10 pm. Modern Family season six, Sons of Anarchy season seven, and The Goldbergs season two will start from Thursday 25 September at 8:30 pm, 11 pm and 8 pm respectively. The other shows include Bones season 10 from September 26 at 10 pm followed by Agents of Shield season two at 10 pm. On September 29 The Simpsons season 26 will start at 8 30 pm. How To get Away with Murder will start from September 29 at 10 pm. Revenge season four starts 30 September at 9 pm.

     

    The October lineup includes Blackish at 8 pm, Once Upon A Time season four at 9 pm and Castle season seven at 10 pm on 1 October. On October 3, Manhattan Love Story will begin at 8 30 pm. Last Man Standing season four and Homeland season four will start from 6 October at 8pm and 9 pm respectively. Criminal Minds season 10 will start from 9 October at 9 pm. American Horror Story season four will air at 11 pm from 10 Oct. The Walking Dead season five will start on 13 at 11 pm. 2 Broke Girls season four will start from 29 at 8:30 pm and Two and A Half Men season 12 at 31October at 8 pm.

     

    Meanwhile, White Collar season six will be aired from November 2014 to January 2015 at 10 pm, The Americans season three will start from January to May 2015 at 10 pm while Parenthood season six will start from December at 11 pm. The other shows are Agent Carter, Empire and Backstorm. The channel will continue having its out-put deals with five major studios; Fox, Disney, Universal, Sony Pictures and Marvel.

     

    The channel, in celebration mood, will present its viewers by airing special weekend marathons of shows like Homeland, Two and a Half Men and The Blacklist giving them a chance to catch up on previous seasons before all new and latest seasons commence from 23 September 2014.

     

    Apart from this, it has planned free previews for DTH subscribers of Airtel, Tata Sky and Videocon d2h to offer viewers a feel of the HD proposition. From 20 to 29 September Tata Sky viewers will be provided with the free sampling of the channel. The same will be offered to Airtel subscribers from 29 September to 5 October and Videocon d2h subscribers from 5 to 29 October 2014.

     

    As part of its marketing initiatives, the first episode of Homeland season four will be premiered on Twitter as a curtain raiser. Promotions will run across the Star network channels and advertisements will be placed in editions of the Times of India on 23 September. 

  • Yo Yo Honey Singh goes digital; launches album on Hungama

    Yo Yo Honey Singh goes digital; launches album on Hungama

    MUMBAI: From launching Happy New Year trailer on Whatsapp to releasing Mary Kom pictures on social media, the industry is getting innovative with its marketing and promotional strategies and moving more towards the digital space. Yo Yo Honey Singh has also taken a digital leap.

    The latest album of the famous singer/rapper has been launched on the Hungama, a first of its kind initiative. “The main objective behind launching the album on an app was to distribute it to 20-25 million people at the same time who subscribe to the app,” said Hungama Digital Media CEO and MD Neeraj Roy.

    Launched by the press of a button on a smartphone, Desi Kalakaar is the first album of Yo Yo Honey Singh with a romantic angle. The album consists of eight songs. While the video of the title track was released on 26 August starring Sonakshi Sinha with the rapper, the videos of the other songs will be released over time. Shot like short movies with a basic storyline, all the videos will feature foreign locations.

    The album was released exclusively on all digital platforms across Hungama on 26 August, while it will be launched very soon on iTunes, YouTube and other platforms.

    Talking about the marketing strategy for the album, the MD said, “We are looking at a lot of famous forums to launch the album as it contains both music as well as rap songs. We are looking at taking the album to the international Honey Singh fan base through the app.”

    Excited about the launch, Hungama Digital Media COO (Consumer Business & Allied Services) Siddharth Roy said that he is confident that the album will succeed due to the Honey Singh magic and also because the artist has been extensively pushed and promoted by T-series.

    While the COO did not comment on the marketing and distribution cost, he added, “We will distribute the album to telecom giants like Vodafone live, Airtel music etc. We are expecting revenue by the audiences subscribing to the song through hello tunes and caller tunes. We are also looking to launch the album on the DTH platform through a campaign with Tata Sky. While the streaming is free for the audiences, the ads that come during the video will help us generate revenue.”

    The Hungama team may also add gaming element to the album by the second or third video release.

    While Honey Singh, Bhushan Kumar, Neeraj Roy and Siddharth roy were present at the launch, Sonakshi Sinha could not come due to prior engagements.

    Hungama exclusively sources content from 300 providers and distributes it in 60 countries over 500 networks.

  • Tata Sky’s celebrity association: Key to increasing sales

    Tata Sky’s celebrity association: Key to increasing sales

    MUMBAI: ‘Isko laga dala toh life jingalala’ was one line that caught the attention of the entire country. To add to it, DTH operator Tata Sky got on board Bollywood celebrity Aamir Khan to endorse the product in his inimitable style. Last year, it took a u-turn to the south and roped in Kerala film star Mohanlal to do the trick in the Malayalam market and recently it tapped into the north east section of the country with popular singer Papon.

    While Khan endorsed the product years ago, Mohanlal was taken up only last year and Papon was roped in during the 2014 FIFA World Cup to send the message of Tata Sky into areas where it hasn’t gained traction. Mohanlal was used extensively across the state through TVCs, van activations and outdoor hoardings. “We wanted to tell that Tata Sky is as much a Malayalam brand as it is in other parts of the country. So we wanted a name that would connect not just with the audience but with the brand offering as well.  We had Mohanlal speak to the family audience after he tested our product and approved its quality,” says Tata Sky CCO Vikram Mehra.

    Simultaneously it launched 19 Malayalam channels and set up sales and services structure in the state including 3000 dealers across 10 districts along with service partners and call centre executives trained in the local language. The perception of the brand was that it had less Malayalam channels and poor infrastructure. The TVC with Mohanlal sought to communicate a new message- ‘there can be arguments on many things but no arguments on our set top boxes’. A year on, Mehra says that its sales in the area have multiplied by 800 per cent.

    Taking advantage of the FIFA fever in June 2014, Tata Sky went ahead and introduced HD and personal video recorder (PVR) along with its latest innovation of streaming Tata Sky channels on the laptop. “With these products, we wanted to associate with someone who could talk to the youth segment,” says Mehra. Hence, popular singer Papon’s photo was spread across print, outdoor and digital with a lot of stress on the former.

    The result was a 110 per cent increase in sales in the seven sister states with a lot of it coming from its laptop viewing service. Phone and iPad service did not pick up well.

    Soon, the operator is looking to unite itself with two more personalities. “We will be making an announcement soon regarding two other south Indian markets,” says Mehra.

    This apart, Tata Sky also undertakes several associations for its ‘home’ channel, targeting markets at a time. The personalities roped in for promotion of the home channel include former cricketer Navjot Singh Siddhu and actors Nina Gupta and Richa Chadda. According to Mehra, personalities are used depending on the market, the product and whether there is a need for a famous face to be associated with the product.

    Several researches are conducted for particular markets as well as on a regular basis. Regular research is done with GFK Mode and Nielsen as and when required. “I personally visit 300 customer homes every year for feedback,” says Mehra. The core team of 14 people ensures that every month 3 million Tata Sky homes are reached out to, to know their feedback on its services.

    Surveys are conducted for all states individually every month and the market is analysed over two or three years. Simultaneously its product offerings are also studied in terms of consumer reception.

    This involves third party agencies reaching out to random sample size of people who are ready to buy a DTH set top box and ask them which brand will they buy and why? This is termed as ‘intention to buy score’. The measurement is done comparing ‘intention to buy score’ to the actual sale in that area.

    Similarly, Tata Sky also introduced six new Odiya channels to promote that it is not only great in customer service but also its channel offerings.

    A few years ago, this wouldn’t have been so easy, since it hadn’t been getting the additional transponder space from the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). But now that has been overcome by using MPEG-4 technology compression.

  • Tata Sky Scholarship winners with Chetan Bhagat

    Tata Sky Scholarship winners with Chetan Bhagat

    MUMBAI: The first ever Tata Sky Scholarship Quiz winners were declared and felicitated by Tata Sky today. Winners were presented with scholarship worth Two Lakhs rupees each, by author & motivational speaker Chetan Bhagat and Vikram Mehra, Chief Commercial Officer, Tata Sky.

     

    Tata Sky Scholarship Quiz, was an innovative format that encouraged children to learn from edutainment channels & interactive platforms on Tata Sky, participate through television from the comfort of their homes and get rewarded. Conducted on Independence Day (15th August), the interactive quiz was well received by subscribers from across the country. Prize money worth Twenty Lakh rupees was hand to top 10 winners between the age group of 8 to 18 years. Winners were selected on the criteria of maximum right answers in minimum time taken to answer the 50 questions.

  • 820 UHD channels in world by 2025: Report

    820 UHD channels in world by 2025: Report

    MUMBAI: A new report by research firm Northern Sky Research (NSR) says that by 2025, there will be over 820 ultra HD (UHD) definition satellite channels across the world. This, according to the research, will lead to greater customer retention and higher average revenue per user (ARPUs).

     

    Although every region will be able to have at least a few UHD channels through DTH, IPTV and cable TV, much of it will be provided by DTH operators. It will account for nearly 560 4K and 8K channels while cable TV and IPTV will account for 260+ channels.

     

    NSR analyst Alan Crisp says that while HD TVs remained expensive for several years, the price of 4K TV is eroding very quickly.  This should lead to faster adoption and creation of UHD content. Revenue growth is forecast to reach $370 million from capacity leasing for 4K content. This will be not just in developed but also in developing countries where a few UHD channels could be the difference in attracting subscribers to the tune of tens or even hundreds of thousands even with relatively lower ARPUs.

     

    “In years past, and with previous technological advancements relating to TV content, we have seen a number of hurdles, not least of which has been the prohibitively high cost for end-users to attain TVs suitable for new content. With HD about 15 years ago, this was a major sticking point. Conversely, with UltraHD, this hurdle is eroding quickly, with UHD compatible TV sets reducing in price to as low as $1,000 today”, notes Crisp. “Further, NSR notes that as compared to HDTV, a number of satellite operators and DTH platforms, from regions as diverse as North America to South Asia, are investing heavily in UHD content and UHD compatible set-top boxes”, adds Crisp.

     

    Currently, Videocon d2h and Tata Sky are the only operators in India who have announced their involvement in UHD services that will roll out soon.

     

    In the medium term, it will be a niche market but will soon be mainstream in developed regions. The intense competition in developing countries would mean utilizing UHD as a differentiator.

  • Vikram Mehra to quit Tata Sky and join Saregama as MD

    Vikram Mehra to quit Tata Sky and join Saregama as MD

    MUMBAI: He has spent 10 long years at one of the leading DTH companies in India. Now, Tata Sky chief commercial officer (CCO) Vikram Mehra has decided to move on to Saregama.

     

    He will join the company in October as its managing director. The announcement was made by Saregama at the Bombay Stock Exchange.

     

    Mehra had started his career with Tata Consultancy Services and then moved on to Tata Administrative Services, Tata Motors and Star TV. At Tata Sky, he was responsible for subscription revenue management, churn management, brand marketing, new product development, consumer analytics, interactive service operations, consumer research and PR.

     

    According to media reports, his mandate will be to handle the digital platform for Saregama and grow the company in that direction. He has prior experience in the digital medium at Star TV where he worked for four years and led the company to venture into the DTH medium with its JV business Tata Sky.