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Tag: Tata Sky

  • Tata Sky Binge expands its content library, partners with SonyLIV

    Tata Sky Binge expands its content library, partners with SonyLIV

    KOLKATA: Tata Sky’s OTT aggregator service, Tata Sky Binge, is partnering with SonyLIV to delight customers this festive season. The partnership will add 1000+ hours of exciting content to Tata Sky Binge including TV shows, movies and SonyLIV Originals like Scam 1992 – The Harshad Mehta story, JL50, Avrodh – The Siege Within, Your Honor, Undekhi and movies like Kadakh, Ram Singh Charlie among others. It will also offer a wide selection of movies and TV shows from its bouquet of Sony Pictures Networks channels and live sports.

    Tata Sky chief commercial and content officer Pallavi Puri said, “We have always believed in giving a wealth of choice to our subscribers in terms of new content offerings. Banking on shared synergies, we are confident that SonyLIV’s library of outstanding content will ensure that our subscribers continue to discover the most entertaining and engaging content on the Tata Sky Binge platform.”

    Sony Entertainment Television, digital business and StudioNEXT business head Danish Khan said, “From the time of relaunch, we have been witnessing huge surge in content consumption on the large screens and connected devices and our partnership with Tata Sky Binge will further bolster our leadership in the large screen households. We have a robust content library that has a lot to offer for Binge users to choose from. This collaboration will allow us to boost our engagement at a time when users are glued to their screens for captivating stories.”

    Tata Sky Binge is a streaming platform that aggregates the best of premium OTT and catch-up TV content under a single interface and single subscription. Accessed via the Amazon Fire TV Stick- Tata Sky Edition or the Tata Sky Binge+ Android powered Smart Set-top box, it offers a host of entertainment options from India’s nine premium OTT apps including Disney+ Hotstar Premium, ZEE5, SunNxt, Hungama Play, Eros Now, ShemarooMe, Voot Select, Voot Kids and now SonyLIV. It also offers three months of Amazon Prime Video at no extra cost.

    Tata Sky subscribers can access the library of premium OTT apps on Tata Sky Binge via the Amazon Fire TV Stick – Tata Sky Edition for just Rs 299 per month. New Tata Sky customers can avail a Tata Sky Binge+ connection at Rs 2,999 and existing users can upgrade or get a secondary connection at an offer price of Rs 2,499. This includes six months subscription to the Tata Sky Binge platform. Tata Sky Binge customers on the FireTV stick or the Binge+ Box also get access to the last seven days of missed shows (based on linear entitlement).

  • Netflix, Jio lead in customer experience: Kantar report

    Netflix, Jio lead in customer experience: Kantar report

    NEW DELHI: Jio and Airtel have emerged as the top telecom operators in terms of customer experience, according to a report by consulting firm Kantar. Among streaming platforms, Netflix delivered the most consumer satisfaction, followed by Amazon.

    Music streaming services like Amazon Music, Spotify and Apple Music also made the list as "special mentions" for providing great customer experience.

    The new CX+ TMT report released by Kantar evaluates companies in the telecom, media and technology sectors based on a unique combination of their experience scores, and on dimensions that are critical to the customer's journey.

    The study analysed responses from over 6,000 customers across 13 cities in the country in early 2020 to find out key brands in the TMT sector that consumers are most satisfied with.

    In the mobile device segment, Apple topped the list, displacing Xiaomi as the technology brand that provides the best customer experience. OnePlus and Samsung tied for third place. As per the report, Apple has 1.8x higher engagement levels than those at the lower end of the index.

    Tata Sky retained the top spot in the satellite service provider category.

    The landscape across the TMT sectors has changed drastically over the last one year, said Sushmita Balasubramaniam, domain lead for CX and Commerce – South Asia, insights division, Kantar. "Consumers' adoption of and dependence on digital, whether for basic everyday living, working, studying or entertainment has presented enormous challenges to companies in these sectors. And, the changes in usage of products and services will also mean that customer priorities on the kind of experience they are seeking will be different from the pre-COVID era."

    Soumya Mohanty, chief client officer, South Asia, insights division, Kantar explained that there will be vigorous competition in the TMT sector owing to tech convergence and emerging global media giants.

    “Be it network services providers, handheld device brands or streaming media providers, all will leverage customer data to build personalised journeys, CX and owning the relationship with the end user will become increasingly important,” added Mohanty.

  • DTH operators go big on hybrid boxes this festive season

    DTH operators go big on hybrid boxes this festive season

    KOLKATA: Leading direct-to-home (DTH) operators are endorsing their hybrid set-top boxes during the festive season. While it’s nothing new for them to piggyback on festivals to attract new subscribers, but this time rather than promoting discounted packages or value-added services, the operators are trying to bring in new perspectives about their products in users’ mind.

    Take Airtel India for instance. In its Ab Jo Dekho Bada Dekho campaign, the DTH service provider is running a TVC to promote its Xstream box. The video captures two young consumers discussing “entertainment ke bade duniya” (the larger world of entertainment). The core message of the video is that it is now easy to switch back and forth easily between linear TV and online premium content using Airtel’s new box. 

    The Sunil Mittal-led company launched its converged platform last year. With a robust wired broadband base, the company has been upbeat about its bundled offering.

    “Homes business segment witnessed revenue growth of 7.3 per cent YoY. We added over 129,000 customers during the quarter to reach a total base of 2.58 million. We re-calibrated our offering and launched Xstream bundles with content and unlimited internet to accelerate penetration. The company signed on many more LCO partnerships in non-wired cities, extending the model to 48 cities,” Airtel stated in its Q2 earnings release.

    The market leader in the DTH segment, Tata Sky, has also launched a TV campaign for Tata Sky Binge+. The latest ad highlights how the box meets different consumer needs across age groups. Moreover, it has also taken the influencer marketing route on its social media platforms featuring stars like Sayani Gupta and Rasika Dugal.

    However, the cost could be a barrier for these boxes in winning over the masses. In this regard, Tata Sky recently fine-tuned the pricing of its smart set top box Tata Sky Binge+, making it available at a competitive price of Rs 2,999 for new subscribers and Rs 2,499 for existing subscribers opting for an upgrade or a secondary multi-TV connection. On the other hand, Airtel Xstream Basic is available at Rs 2499.

    At the beginning of the Covid2019 crisis, the overall pay-TV ecosystem lost subscribers – be they cable operators or DTH players. Even in the first quarter of 2020, DTH subscribers grew marginally by 2.8 lakh. While on one hand, the leading players claimed that their new connection addition rate is back to pre-Covid period, the traditional players have to offer various propositions for consumer retention, especially given the massive OTT uptake during the last six months. Tata Sky, Airtel launching new campaigns for hybrid set top boxes could be a bid to retain their existing customer base in the face of the OTT challenge and also bolster their new subscriber count.

    “Hybrid boxes are the future for these players. Youth is moving to digital very fast. In terms of payment mechanism also, it is more expensive for a consumer to pay separately on TV, then for data and OTT platforms; effectively it turns out to be an expense of almost Rs 20,000 per year. The advantage of hybrid boxes is they give all at a very affordable price and conveniently. If you have a mechanism for bundling all those together, it’s a win-win for consumers, DTH players, and OTT platforms and beneficial for the entire ecosystem,” said Elara Capital VP – research analyst (Media) Karan Taurani.

    Although it is just the beginning for this segment, with several existing challenges, Taurani also added that there will be a high rate of conversion in future from pure play TV to these boxes. Moreover, the additional trigger will be smart TV growth, which is also going up significantly in recent times.

    Currently, the DTH industry has an active subscriber base of 72.44 million paying customers as of 31 March. Tata Sky, with a market share of 32.33 per cent, was leading the segment while Airtel Digital TV had 23.65 per cent of the pie.

    (Indiantelevision.com reached out to them for more clarity but they declined to respond.)

  • Tata Sky Binge+ partners with India Film Project

    Tata Sky Binge+ partners with India Film Project

    KOLKATA: Tata Sky’s OTT + TV aggregator service Binge+ and India Film Project, Asia’s largest content fest, have entered into a strategic partnership with an objective to engage meaningfully and curate a series of content-driven virtual sessions celebrating the contribution of content creators in the digital space. 

    India Film Project, since its inception in 2011, has put in efforts to build a community of content creators across the varying forms of art. Tata Sky, India’s leading content distribution and pay TV platform entered actively into the OTT platform aggregation space through its pioneering service, Tata Sky Binge last year and with Tata Sky Binge+ this year, it has brought both OTT and live TV together under one service. 

    This partnership is a continuation of the effort towards making content platform agnostic and democratising its reach. Through this collaboration, Tata Sky Binge+ and India Film Project aims to spark meaningful conversations around the digital ecosystem and felicitate the journey of creators who have helped in the growth of Indian content.    

    Commenting on the association, Tata Sky chief communications officer Anurag Kumar said, “Tata Sky as a brand has always believed that content is king regardless of the platform it is been showcased on and understands the increasing demand of digital content. Tata Sky Binge+ service is our step towards making the best of content across mediums available for our customers on a single platform. We are glad to be associated with India Film Project who have been at the forefront of discovering new content creators, valuing and showcasing their creation for the world to see. Through this partnership, we are furthering our individual brand promise to drive synergies towards appreciating the contribution of content creators in digital space.”     

    Commenting on the association, India Film Project festival director Ritam Bhatnagar said, “At IFP, we witness the celebration of some of the best content created across the world. Within IFP’s creator community, we noticed a need for creators to watch content that transcends not just geographical boundaries but also the limitations of switching between app subscriptions. The partnership will enable our community to explore a world not limited by subscriptions but sheer love for content.”

  • Tata Sky introduces a new age feature Smart Guide

    Tata Sky introduces a new age feature Smart Guide

    KOLKATA : Reinforcing its commitment towards building customer centric innovations, Tata Sky, India’s leading content distribution and Pay TV platform has introduced ‘Smart Guide’ –a new-age feature that enables each customer to discover and consume content on television in a smart way. The new feature has been activated on all HD and SD set top boxes paving the way for an enhanced and bespoke TV viewing experience.

    These recommendations can be easily accessed through the newly revamped guide that appears on the television screen with the press of the guide button on the Tata Sky remote. The channel guide screen offers thumbnail views of the most watched channels, genres and platform services by the subscribers, under the banners – ‘Your Top Channels’, ‘Trending Channels’, ‘Favourite Genre’ etc. based on a subscriber’s viewing history and the time spent viewing a particular channel or genre. The feature not only gives quick access to the most viewed channels but also recommends more channels based on the genres you like to watch. In case of multi-connection homes, recommendations will be different for the primary and secondary set-top box in line with individual preferences.

    Read more news on Tata Sky 

    Commenting on the upgrade,  Tata Sky chief commercial and content officer Pallavi Puri  said, “While digital platforms have developed the ability to personalise experiences, on broadcast television this hasn’t been offered so far in a significant way.  With the latest software upgrade, our HD and SD set-top boxes now offer smarter recommendations based on a subscriber’s content consumption patterns leading to an enhanced TV viewing experience.”

    As part of the update, the linear search feature has been further enhanced to enable subscribers to search for channels via channel name, offering a hassle-free way of switching to their favourite channel. Linear search can be directly activated from the banner, guide grid and full screen video by only pressing the ‘0’ button on the remote, thereby offering subscribers a faster and smarter option to discover their preferred content. 

    The software update has been successfully completed on more than 15 million set top boxes.

  • Tata Sky Binge+ becomes available at lower price

    Tata Sky Binge+ becomes available at lower price

    KOLKATA: Keeping customer interests at the forefront, Tata Sky has further fine-tuned the pricing of its android TV-powered smart set top box, Tata Sky Binge+. Converging the strengths of DTH and the world of OTT content together on the television screens, this new age device will now be available at a competitive price of Rs 2,999 for new subscribers and Rs 2,499 for existing subscribers opting for an upgrade or a secondary Multi TV connection.

    Tata Sky Binge+ set top box comes with six-months access at no extra cost to premium content from eight OTT apps as part of the Tata Sky Binge subscription including Disney+ Hotstar Premium, ZEE5, VOOT Select, VOOT Kids, SunNxt, Hungama Play, Eros Now and ShemarooMe. Additionally, three-months of Amazon Prime subscription is also provided at no extra cost.

    Speaking on this offer, Tata Sky chief commercial and content officer Pallavi Puri said, “Content consumption is witnessing trends where people want to consume linear TV as well as OTT content on one integrated platform. Tata Sky Binge+ is powered by Android TV, supports Google Assistant-based voice search, offers Google Play Store access, and offers six months subscription to some of the most-viewed premium OTT apps at no extra cost, making it an ideal destination for content viewing. We’ve seen a positive uptake in subscriptions in the past few months. With the festive season around the corner, we have decided to further delight the customer by offering the Tata Sky Binge+ Smart set top box connection and apps bundle at a really exciting price point.” 

    New pricing has gone live from 18 September across all channels of purchase for new and existing subscribers.

  • Active DTH subscribers reach 70.26 million, Tata Sky solidifies its lead

    Active DTH subscribers reach 70.26 million, Tata Sky solidifies its lead

    KOLKATA: The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) today released ‘The Indian Telecom Services Performance Indicators’ data for the January- March’20 quarter. Sustaining its growth pace for three quarters in a row, Tata Sky has solidified its lead yet again in the DTH and Pay TV category clocking in a market share of 32.33 per cent and a growth of 2.1 per cent in the quarter ending March’20. 

    According to the report, the Indian DTH service has displayed phenomenal growth since its launch in 2003. The total number of active subscribers with pay DTH operators (Tata Sky, Airtel, Dish TV, Sun Direct) in India in the quarter ending March 20 is 70.26 million. This is in addition to the Tata subscribers of DTH Free Dish (free DTH services of Doordarshan).

    Read more coverage on India’s DTH sector:

    A Tata Sky spokesperson commented on the report, “The TRAI report shows that Tata Sky has been consistently gaining market share and subscribers at a pace that is faster than any other platform. We believe this can be attributed to our customer centric outlook. The overall increase in DTH subscribers is also a great sign for the M&E sector.”

    Among other players, Tata sky’s close competitor Dish TV-D2H’s combine market share fell from 31.23 per cent in the quarter ending September 2019 to 29.49 per cent in March 2020. Airtel Digital TV and Sun Direct has seen slight growth in the same period.

  • Tata Sky partners with Accedo to develop the user interface of Tata Sky Binge+

    Tata Sky partners with Accedo to develop the user interface of Tata Sky Binge+

    KOLKATA: Accedo has worked with Tata Sky, India’s leading content distribution platform to develop the user interface for its latest offering, Tata Sky Binge+ Smart Set-top Box. The Android TV enabled device provides content from Linear Television and a host of OTT apps onto a television screen.  

    Accedo leveraged its Google-certified Android TV Launcher solution alongside its Accedo One platform to develop and deliver a high-quality video experience for the growing base of Tata Sky subscribers who like to enjoy the best of both worlds conjoined together, toggling through just one remote. To further enhance the user experience, Accedo customized its standard Android TV Launcher application to include 3rd party integrations, bespoke UX/UI features, and DVB satellite channels. 

    Accedo product director & regional head South Asia Abhishek Sood commented, “We’ve seen the OTT Market become increasingly competitive in India, and the number of available video services is constantly growing. Managing multiple platforms can be cumbersome for consumers so we see a real value in offering viewers a single point of access to all third-party apps. Binge+ addresses this pain point and allows users to seamlessly access much of their OTT content in one place.” 

    Tata Sky chief commercial officer and content officer Pallavi Puri added, “With Tata Sky Binge+, the objective was to enable our subscribers to access all of their Live TV, On-demand, and OTT services in one place. Having worked extensively with Accedo in the past, we relied on its technical and practical knowledge to develop a great user experience for our dynamic Android TV-powered set-top box. Accedo’s professional services team worked diligently and delivered the bespoke features required for the platform.” 

    Delivering over 600+ live TV channels and services, an on-demand library, and 3rd party OTT applications via a single sign-on, Binge+, provides users with a premium viewing experience.

    Tata Sky Binge+ hosts many advanced features. It enables viewers to play any show, movie, music, game on their laptop, tablet, or mobile phone and watch-it-directly on their TV with its in-built Chromecast. It also includes Google Assistant that makes discovering content easy with voice search. It is compatible with all types of TVs including 4K, HD LED, LCD, or plasma technology as it supports HDMI output and can also be connected to older TV sets over audio and video cable.

  • Tata Sky’s partner Technicolor to shift settop box manufacturing to India

    Tata Sky’s partner Technicolor to shift settop box manufacturing to India

    KOLKATA:  In a big move, Tata Sky, India’s direct-to-home (DTH) operator has decided to shift a significant portion of its settop box sourcing within the country. It has partnered with Technicolor to develop settop boxes for the Indian market that will be manufactured and distributed within India. 

    “As the world adjusts to the rapid changes emerging due to the recent effects of the Covid2019 pandemic, Tata Sky and Technicolor connected home is realigning production of a group of settop boxes (STBs) to India by early 2021,” said Tata Sky MD & CEO Harit Nagpal.

    The shift in production and supply chain operations, according to the two companies, will streamline the manufacturing and delivery of STBs to consumers in India and further strengthen the longstanding collaboration that has been in place between Technicolor and Tata Sky. 

    “Working with Tata Sky to move settop box production to India will better serve this important market. It is yet another example of Technicolor’s best-in-class supply chain, which remains flexible and adaptable. This is especially valuable in volatile situations, such as those created by Covid2019. Our supply chain capabilities have proven to be a strategic asset as we offer multiple options to our customers. We remain committed to minimizing risk and total cost of ownership for services providers around the world,” Technicolor Connected Home president Luis Martinez-Amago commented.

  • Customers are in an omnichannel world now, reaching them is a lot more complex: Tata Sky’s Anurag Kumar

    Customers are in an omnichannel world now, reaching them is a lot more complex: Tata Sky’s Anurag Kumar

    KOLKATA: India’s undisputed DTH leader Tata Sky unveiled a digital campaign to celebrate its 14 anniversary recently. Of all other usual campaigns, it stands out in its approach of keeping consumers at the heart of the video. Rather than boasting of success with putting a few numbers together, the company has conveyed its journey through its loyal subscribers. While it has invoked a sense of authenticity, Tata Sky chief communication officer Anurag Kumar reiterated more empathy, more authenticity, talking about community, the family in communication are making it easier to connect with consumers in the post-Covid2019 period.

    To get a sense of the campaign, Tata Sky’s challenges and opportunities going forward, we caught up with Kumar. He shared that when they were ideating about what would be the best way to reach consumers, they thought of going back to subscribers who have been a part of the brand’s journey for a long time. The subscribers spoke their mind, did not read a script given by the company, and the videos were shot on the phone. 

    According to Kumar, such pieces of content created around consumers have greater engagement on social media platforms while TVC would have been one-way. Hence, the company opted for a digital campaign. Even so, the campaign was put up on Tata Sky’s landing page for a short period of time. The video on the digital medium has garnered 23 million impressions and 5.9 million views within seven days.

    “I think what we have seen in lockdown is the desire to care about the community and the family has increased. People are more aware of who is around them, they are helping each other a lot. Hence, what we have found is that communication which will be conveyed with sympathy for consumers, authenticity in terms representing real life, what the customer is going through, how they are at home, that is connecting much better in the post-Covid2019 period than before. communication filled with more empathy, more authenticity, talking about community, the family is connecting more,” Kumar opined.

    While pandemic is accelerating an overall change, the media and entertainment industry has already started facing an overhaul of the ecosystem. Standing at the critical juncture, Tata Sky is treating OTT as a friend rather than foe. While it has forayed into the video-on-demand market through Tata Sky Binge, Kumar said the overall challenge is now how do they make the brand as phenomenal for OTT as it has been for live TV. 

    He shared their approach to counter that challenge. Tata Sky is an expert at aggregating content and brings it to consumers. Now, it is looking at bringing the same kind of convenience and aggregation to OTT. “We have to continuously innovate, try to be relevant in future, from a TV point of view and OTT point of view,” Kumar contended. He said along with opportunities in OTT, pay-TV still has opportunities with 100 million TV unpenetrated households. 

    There are challenges in the industry along with opportunities. Kumar said the regulatory uncertainty, that industry faces, is a big challenge  As a result of frequent regulatory changes, the entire relationship between the various players in the value chain has to be evolved constantly resulting in a change in the business model, customer selling strategy, customer management approach. 

    “The other challenge is a significant cost and investment which we have to spend to reach consumers via media as it is expensive in India. Earlier, it was TV and print while now there are so many platforms. The customer is actually in an omnichannel world now. If we want to reach a consumer that is a lot more complex now. It is true even for sales as they can go to e-commerce, a physical dealer can contact the call centre. Hence, reaching the consumer in an efficient way via media and physical channels is a challenge. It’s not insurmountable, but it is something which we have to keep in mind,” Kumar commented.