ITV

Tag: Trai

  • TRAI orders MSOs and payTV b’casters to file interconnect agreements

    TRAI orders MSOs and payTV b’casters to file interconnect agreements

    NEW DELHI: There has been a hue and cry over the last month or so that broadcasters and MSOs have been extremely slothful in signing channel agreements with each other. The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India has taken note of this and asked all of them to furnish the names of the MSO or the service provider with whom the interconnection agreement has been entered into along with the service area covered and the validity period of the said agreement by the week beginning 13 May.

    The directives were sent individually to all pay broadcasters/ aggregators and MSOs on 6 May.

    TRAI has also directed the pay broadcasters/aggregators and MSOs to produce in writing the terms and conditions of their interconnection agreements with MSOs or other service providers wherever they are is providing cable television services through digital addressable systems (DAS).

    The direction has been sent under section 13, read with sub-clauses (ii), (iii), (iv) and (v) of clause (b) of sub-section (1) of section 11 of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India Act 1997 for implementation of Digital Addressable Cable TV Systems.

    Regulation 5(3) of the regulations provides that every broadcaster has to, within a period of thirty days from the date of receipt of request from the multi system operator, enter into an interconnection agreement or modify the existing interconnect agreement in accordance with the terms and conditions of the Reference Interconnect Offer published under these regulations or as may be mutually agreed.

    Regulation 5(6) provides that it shall be mandatory for the broadcasters of pay channels to reduce the terms and conditions of the interconnection agreements into writing; and Regulation 5(7) provides that no broadcaster of pay channels shall make available signals of TV channels to any multi system operator without entering into a written interconnection agreement.

    Prior to this notice, TRAI had held meetings with broadcasters and MSOs on 22 March, 2 April, 12 April and 18 April on issues relating to implementation of the phase II of implementation of DAS systems wherein the broadcasters and MSOs were asked to expedite the signing of interconnection agreements and submission of the information of the same to the Authority.

  • Airtel DTH: Q4 2013 revenues & subs up, losses down

    Airtel DTH: Q4 2013 revenues & subs up, losses down

    MUMBAI: That the DTH market in India is doing well, is something that the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) latest quarter report turned up. This is reflected in Bharti Airtel’s digital TV services financials for Q4 and financial year ended 31 March 2013 which were announced earlier this week.

    The division’s revenues are up even as average revenue per user (ARPU) has moved northwards (albeit marginally) and losses southwards. But the business is obviously burning cash – though lower than earlier – as competition is forcing DTH players to expand their reach nationally and offer newer services. All this – without being able to pass on costs to subscribers.

    Q4 2013 revenues are up 24 per cent to Rs 441.90 crore as against Rs 356.5 crore in the previous corresponding quarter of 2012. The company continues to be EBITDA positive with the number rising to Rs 29.6 crore (Rs 20.9 crore in Q4 2012). Its operating losses are down to Rs 178.4 crore (Rs 194.4 crore). It incurred a capex of Rs 132.6 crore (Rs 98 crore) during the quarter. Its cumulative investments in the DTH business up to end March 2013 stand at Rs 4036.6 crore (Rs 3298 crore).

    The good news is that ARPU is also up to Rs 184 in Q4 2013 (Rs 166 in Q4 2012). The company says this was “achieved through product innovations, pricing corrections and up-selling.” Its subscriber base grew 12 per cent from 7.2 million in Q4 2012 to 8.1 million (Q4 2013). The company attributes this increase to the digitisation drive across the four metro cities of the country and it expects this to accelerate further with phase II digitization.

    The DTH business’ revenues for the whole year rose 26 per cent to Rs 1629.4 crore (Rs 1296 crore up to March 2012). Its EBITDA numbers were down three per cent to Rs 45.2 crore (Rs 46.5 crore). Its operating loss rose from Rs 719.8 crore to Rs 815 crore. And its operating free cash flow requirement improved seven per cent from a negative Rs 763.4 crore to Rs 709.6 crore.
    The company says it is doing pretty well on its HD set top box rollout (HD), digital TV recorders with 3D capabilities, and in providing a superior customer experience. It currently offers 373 channels and services including 15 HD channels and six interactive services. It says it is the first Indian DTH player to “provide real-time integration of all the three screens viz. television, mobile and computer enabling our customers to record their favourite TV programs through mobile and web.”

  • TRAI to hold open house on Cross Media Ownership this month

    TRAI to hold open house on Cross Media Ownership this month

    NEW DELHI: After having received forty responses and counter-responses, the telecom regulatory authority of India (Trai) has decided to hold an open house to take views of stakeholders on media ownership.

    The open house has been slated for 18 May in Delhi. It had earlier been slated for 11 May but was postponed by a week.

    Interestingly one of the counter-responses is from the administrative staff college of India, which had triggered the second consultation paper by Trai on the issue.

    Trai had set 29 April as the last date for stakeholders to offer their cross-comments. The paper had been issued on 15 February but the final date had been extended in view of the ‘complexity of the issue‘.

    The paper among other issues has sought comments on devising ownership rules for vertical integration between broadcasting and distribution entities.

    The paper will also devise rules/restrictions in case of mergers and acquisitions in the media sector, and media ownership rules within and across media segments.

    Methodology to measure ownership or control of an entity over a media outlet, identification of genres to be considered while framing media ownership rules and prescribing norms for mandatory disclosures by media entities are some other issues.

    Trai has also discussed in its paper issues relating to identification of media segments wherein media ownership rules are to be prescribed, and identification of relevant markets for evaluating various parameters to be used for devising ownership rules and the methodology for measuring these parameters.

    At the outset, TRAI said the paper had been issued at the request of the information and broadcasting ministry earlier last year following a report of the administrative staff college of India, in Hyderabad.

    Trai said that it was felt that reasonable restrictions may need to be put in place on ownership in the media sector, to ensure media pluralism and to counter the ills of monopolies. It pointed out that such restrictions do exist in many international markets.

  • SC admits LCOs plea against Tdsat’s DAS order

    SC admits LCOs plea against Tdsat’s DAS order

    NEW DELHI: The supreme court today admitted for hearing an appeal by united cable operators welfare association (Ucowa) challenging the revenue sharing model under the digital addressable system (DAS) for cable television.

    Chief justice Altamis Kabir, justice Vikramjit Sen and justice S A Bobde also issued notice to the telecom regulatory authority of India (Trai) and the information & broadcasting ministry.

    The court also decided to list for hearing this appeal along with the appeals filed earlier by Incable and Digicable.

    All the three appeals are against the judgment of the telecom disputes settlement and appellate tribunal (Tdsat) of 19 October last year.

    In its petition, the Ucowa said the tariff order and regulations were aimed at helping the television broadcasters and the direct-to-home platforms.

    They said it was also clear that the channels were deliberately not revealing their retail tariff per channel.

    The counsel stressed that they were not opposed to introduction of digital DAS but some infirmities had to be corrected.

    The LCOs had failed to get any relief from Tdsat on their plea that the revenue sharing pattern of 55:45 on the basic service tier (free to air television channels) of Rs 100 and 65:35 on the upper tier of Rs 150 (combination of FTA and pay channels), and their appeals were dismissed.

    The appeals by the MSOs had been filed against the unfair fixation of the wholesale rate the price broadcasters can charge of channels for DAS at not more than 42 percent of the non-Cas area rate. The MSOs are concerned about the rate that would be fixed after DAS is implemented countrywide (by December 2014).

  • DTH, internet register growth till end Dec ’12: Trai

    DTH, internet register growth till end Dec ’12: Trai

    MUMBAI: DTH TV in India is doing very well thank you. Bouoyed by the mandated digitisation of India’s cable TV sector and increased marketing activity by the six direct to home television service providers, the number of subscribers to DTH has climbed to 54.52 million subscribers. That’s the finding of The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) in its latest quarterly report ending December 2012.

    These numbers were achieved half way through phase I digitisation.

    The report also says that the maximum TV channels being carried by any MSO nationally is 267, while traditional analogue cable TV operators were carrying 100 channels. It adds that India has close to 823 private satellite TV channels – in addition to the state owned broadcaster Doordarshan. 184 of these are pay TV channels. The data for the report was collated from 26 broadcast distributors.

    The report also says that Indians are taking to the internet more and more with the number of subscribers increasing to 25.33 million from 24.01 million in end September 2012 – registering a quarterly growth rate of 5.49 per cent. The Top 10 ISPs together hold 95.42 per cent of the total internet subscriber base. As far as broadband is concerned, the number of subscribers increased by 2.02 per cent to 14.98 million as against 14.68 million up to end September 2012. Almost 84.82 per cent of these subscribers are using DSL. However, the share of broadband subscription to total internet subscription decreased from 61.16 per cent (end September 2012) to 59.15 per cent (end December 2012).

  • TRAI extends date for TRP consultation paper comments

    TRAI extends date for TRP consultation paper comments

    NEW DELHI: The last date for receipt of comments on the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India‘s (TRAI‘s) consultation paper on accreditation of television rating organisations has been extended to 23 May. The last date earlier was 9 May.

    TRAI said that it had on the request of the stakeholders given 30 May (earlier 16 May) as the date for any counter-comments.

    In an effort to put an end to controversies generated by television rating points, TRAI had on 17 April issued a paper to deal with issues such as establishing an accreditation mechanism for the rating agency and methodology of audience measurement.

    The consultation paper on “Guidelines/Accreditation Mechanism for Television Rating Agencies in India” also seeks to get the views of stakeholders on sample size; secrecy of sample homes; cross holding between rating agencies and their users; complaint redressal; sale and use of ratings; disclosure and reporting requirement; competition in rating services; and audit.

    The consultation paper has been issued at the behest of the information and broadcasting ministry, which had earlier received a report from the Amit Mitra Committee on the subject. The Indian Broadcasting Foundation has since been working to set up the Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC) as an alternative to TAM.

    The consultation paper aims to lay down comprehensive guidelines/accreditation mechanism for TRP (television rating points) rating agencies in India to ensure transparency and accountability in the rating system.

    A press note from TRAI says ‘incorrect ratings will lead to production of content which may not be really popular while good content and programmes may be left out. Therefore, there is a need to have an accurate measurement and representative television ratings for the programmes. The importance of a credible, transparent and representative television audience measurement system is recognised the world over. Presently television rating in India is being done by only one agency. Issues related to credibility and transparency of the ratings services in India has been raised by certain stakeholders. Lack of credible TRP system will hamper the growth of TV industry as a number of decisions having financial implications and also bearing on the type of content being watched are influenced by the TRP ratings supplied by rating agencies. So, there is a need to establish suitable mechanism/guidelines for the rating agencies which ensures that the data generated by the rating agencies is representative, credible and transparent.”

    The full text of the Consultation Paper is available on TRAI‘s website www.trai.gov.in

  • TRAI gives more time to stakeholders to comment on its order relating to pricing of STBs

    TRAI gives more time to stakeholders to comment on its order relating to pricing of STBs

    NEW DELHI: The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has extended till 3 May, views of stakeholders on its draft tariff orders prescribing standard tariff package for set top boxes in digital addressable cable TV systems (DAS) and consumer premises equipments (CPE) for direct-to-home (DTH) services.

    The previous date was 26 April and the extension is on the request of the stakeholders.

    Under the order, the standard tariff packages for STB/CPE on rental basis are to be offered mandatorily by DTH and cable TV operators.

    The Tariff Order also assumes significance as it attempts for the first time to give inter-operability to consumers of DTH players. The authority is of the view that the interests of the consumers can be largely protected through the provision for commercial interoperability of STB. The commercial interoperability provides an exit option for a subscriber in case he/she wishes to change the operator for any reason.

    Accordingly, in the relevant Regulations/Tariff orders of TRAI, it has been mandated that the operators of Digital Addressable Cable TV Systems and DTH operators shall give an option to every subscriber to procure the STB either on outright purchase basis or hire purchase basis or rental basis, or in accordance with the scheme, if any, prescribed by the authority.

    While interoperability is available to customers of LCOs, TRAI observed that in case of DTH services, ‘the predominant DAS platforms at the moment, the schemes for CPEs offered to the subscribers by the DTH operators, have wide variations and at times are such that no viable exit option is available to the subscribers. Instead the consumer has to re-invest in new hardware in case of migration from a particular operator or platform. The same may also hold well in case of the upcoming Digital Addressable Cable TV Systems.‘

    Standard Tariff Package for STBs for DAS has been worked out. In addition to offering the STB as per the Standard Tariff Package prescribed by the Authority, the operators are free to offer their own schemes for supply of STB to its subscribers in accordance with the existing Regulations/Tariff Orders and the subscribers shall have option to choose from the Standard Tariff Package prescribed by the Authority and the alternative schemes offered by the operators.

    The Standard Tariff Package for Cable TV operators has been worked out on the basis of the following facts and figures as provided by the Industry stakeholders/ Associations:-

    a) The total cost of STB has been taken as Rs 1750.
    b) Life span of STB has been taken as five years.
    c) The residual value has been taken as nil.
    d) Rental per month is based on cost of STB on Equated Monthly Installment (EMI) Basis @15 per cent per annum (@1.25per cent per month) for a period of sixty months.

    The Standard Tariff Package for DTH operators has been worked out on the basis of the following facts and figures as provided by Industry stakeholders/ Associations;

    a) The total cost of CPE has been taken as Rs 2250.
    b) Life span of CPE has been taken as five years.
    c) The residual value has been taken as nil.
    d) Rental per month is based on cost of CPE on Equated Monthly Installment (EMI) Basis @15 per cent per annum (@1.25 per cent per month) for a period of sixty months.

    The authority has also noted that no monthly rentals will be payable after the period of five years and the Customer Premises Equipment (CPE) will become the property of the subscriber (except smart card/viewing card) after the expiry of five years. An amount equal to the sum of security deposit to be refunded per month and interest per month on balance security deposit has been adjusted in Rent per month per CPE. The Full amount of security deposit stands adjusted in a period of five years.

    Up to five years, on returning of the CPE, the Security Deposit shall be refunded, provided that the CPE is not tampered with.

    In case of un-installation/discontinuance of service before the last day of the month, balance security deposit shown as refundable at the end of that month will be refunded on return of CPE.

    No repair or maintenance charges would be levied by DTH operator on the subscriber, towards repair or maintenance of CPE up to the period of five years from activation of the same. The subscriber, however, shall be liable to pay repair and maintenance charges from sixth year onwards.

    No installation charges or re-installation charges (except in case of shifting of connection) or activation charges or smartcard/viewing card charges is to be levied by the DTH operator on the subscriber.

  • Trai seeks industry’s views on TV ratings system

    MUMBAI: In an effort to create a reliable television rating system, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) today issued a paper to deal with issues of establishing an accreditation mechanism for the rating agency and methodology of audience measurement.

    The consultation paper titled “Guidelines/Accreditation Mechanism for Television Rating Agencies in India” also seeks to get the views of stakeholders on sample size, secrecy of sample homes, cross holding between rating agencies and their users, complaint redressal, sale and use of ratings, disclosure and reporting requirement, competition in rating services, and audit.

    The consultation paper aims to lay down comprehensive guidelines/accreditation mechanism for TRP (television rating points) rating agencies in India to ensure transparency and accountability in the rating system. Written comments have been invited by 9 May with any cross-comments by 16 May.

    The Consultation paper has been issued at the behest of the Information & Broadcasting ministry, which had earlier received a report from the Amit Mitra Committee on the matter.

    The Indian Broadcasting Foundation (IBF) has since been working with the Advertising Agencies Association of India (AAAI) and the Indian Society of Advertisers (ISA) to set up the Broadcasting Audience Rating Council (BARC) as an alternative to TAM.

    “Incorrect ratings will lead to production of content which may not be really popular while good content and programmes may be left out. Therefore, there is a need to have an accurate measurement and representative television ratings for the programmes,” the Trai says.

    Seeking to ensure “fair competition, better standard and quality of services”, the government had asked the Trai to draft recommendations on comprehensive guidelines and accreditation mechanism for agencies involved in measuring television rating points.

    The consultation paper also outlines suggestions on the eligibility criteria for ratings agencies. Some of the suggested criteria include –
    a. The rating agency should be set up and registered as a company under the Companies Act, 1956.

    b. The Rating Agency should have, in its Memorandum of Association, specified rating activity as one of its main objects.

    c. The rating agency should have a minimum net worth (say rupees five crore).

    d. The rating agency should have professional competence, financial soundness and general reputation of fairness and integrity in business transactions, to the satisfaction of the Government;

    e. Rating agency should meet the prescribed cross holding requirements.

    Another key area that the consultation paper touches upon is the issue of cross holding between a ratings agency and its user. It has asked stakeholders to comment/suggest on the guidelines of cross holding of ratings agency which may include:

    a. There should be no cross holding between the rating agencies and broadcasters, advertisers, media agencies and advertising agencies.

    b. This cross-holding restriction should also be applicable in respect of individual promoters besides being applicable to legal entities.

    c. No single company/ legal person, either directly or through its associates or inter-connected undertakings, shall have substantial equity holding in more than one rating agency. Similarly no single company/ legal person, either directly or through its associates or inter-connected undertakings, shall have substantial equity in both rating agencies and broadcasters/advertisers/ media agencies/advertising agencies. Substantial equity could be defined as certain percentage (say 10% or more) of paid equity

    d. A promoter company/ legal person/ directors of the rating agency cannot have stakes in any broadcaster, advertiser and advertising agency either directly or through its associates or inter-connected undertakings.

  • Trai issues draft tariff package for STBs/CPEs for DTH and cable TV ops

    Trai issues draft tariff package for STBs/CPEs for DTH and cable TV ops

    NEW DELHI: In order to ensure a smooth migration of customers from one service provider to another without having to re-invest in a new STB, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) today issued draft tariff orders prescribing standard tariff package for set top boxes in digital addressable cable TV systems (DAS) and consumer premises equipments (CPE) for direct-to-home services.

    The standard tariff packages for STB/CPE on rental basis are to be offered mandatorily by DTH and cable TV operators. The draft tariff orders have been put on the TRAI site to seek comments of stakeholders by 26 April.

    The Tariff Order also assumes significance as it attempts for the first time to give inter-operability to consumers of DTH players.

    The authority is of the view that the interests of the consumers can be largely protected through the provision for commercial interoperability of STB. The commercial interoperability provides an exit option for a subscriber in case the subscriber wishes to change the operator for any reason.

    Accordingly, in the relevant Regulations/ Tariff orders of Trai, it has been mandated that the operators of Digital Addressable Cable TV Systems and DTH operators shall give an option to every subscriber to procure the STB either on outright purchase basis or hire purchase basis or rental basis, or in accordance with the scheme, if any, prescribed by the Authority. The relevant provisions of various Trai Regulations/ Tariff Order in this regard are attached as Appendix-I.

    While interoperability is available to customers of LCOs, Trai observed that in case of DTH services, ‘the predominant DAS platforms at the moment, the schemes for CPEs offered to the subscribers by the DTH operators, have wide variations and at times are such that no viable exit option is available to the subscribers. Instead the consumer has to re-invest in new hardware in case of migration from a particular operator or platform. The same may also hold good in case of the upcoming Digital Addressable Cable TV Systems.‘

    The authority is of the view that in order to, provide an easy exit option to the subscribers, ensure availability of STBs at reasonable cost and terms and at the same time to protect the interest of the service providers a Standard Tariff Package, for STBs, as provided for in the existing Regulations/Tariff Orders be prescribed by the Authority.

    Accordingly Standard Tariff Package for STBs for DAS has been worked out. In addition to offering the STB as per the Standard Tariff Package prescribed by the Authority, the operators are free to offer their own schemes for supply of STB to its subscribers in accordance with the existing Regulations/ Tariff Orders and the subscribers shall have option to choose from the Standard Tariff Package prescribed by the Authority and the alternative schemes offered by the operators.

    Authority has observed that The operators are offering to its subscribers various types of STBs having different features/ capabilities such as “recording facility”, “Internet/broadband compatibility”, “High definition/ 3D reception capability” etc., in addition to the basic functionalities. Since for such STBs there would be wide variations in terms of features and cost and hence the Standard Tariff Package is provided only for the basic/ vanilla STBs meant for reception of Standard Definition TV signals (SDTV) conforming to the relevant Indian Standard set by the Bureau of Indian Standards.

    The Standard Tariff Package for Cable TV operators has been worked out on the basis of the following facts and figures as provided by the Industry stakeholders/ Associations:-

    a) The total cost of STB has been taken as Rs. 1750/-.
    b) Life span of STB has been taken as 5 years.
    c) The residual value has been taken as nil.
    d) Rental per month is based on cost of STB on Equated Monthly Installment (EMI) Basis @15% per annum (@1.25% per month) for a period of 60 months.

    The Standard Tariff Package for DTH operators has been worked out on the basis of the following facts and figures as provided by Industry stakeholders/ Associations;

    a) The total cost of CPE has been taken as Rs. 2250/-.
    b) Life span of CPE has been taken as 5 years.
    c) The residual value has been taken as nil.
    d) Rental per month is based on cost of CPE on Equated Monthly Installment (EMI) Basis @15% per annum (@1.25% per month) for a period of 60 months.

    The authority has also noted that no monthly rentals will be payable after the period of five years and the Customer Premises Equipment will become the property of the subscriber (except smart card/viewing card) after the expiry of five years. An amount equal to the sum of security deposit to be refunded per month and interest per month on balance security deposit has been adjusted in Rent per month per Customer Premises Equipment. The Full amount of security deposit stands adjusted in a period of five years.

    Up to five years, on returning of the Customer Premises Equipment, the Security Deposit shall be refunded as per attached table-B, provided that the Customer Premises Equipment is not tampered with.

    In case of un-installation/discontinuance of service before the last day of the month, balance security deposit shown as refundable at the end of that month will be refunded on return of Customer Premises Equipment.

    No repair or maintenance charges would be levied by DTH operator on the subscriber, towards repair or maintenance of Customer Premises Equipment up to the period of five years from activation of the Customer Premises Equipment. The subscriber, however, shall be liable to pay repair and maintenance charges from sixth year onwards.

    No installation charges or re-installation charges (except in case of shifting of connection) or activation charges or smartcard/ viewing card charges is to be levied by the DTH operator on the subscriber.

  • Trai issues format for submission of ad duration details on channels

    NEW DELHI: The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) Wednesday issued the format in which broadcasters will have to provide information about ad duration on a quarterly basis.

    As per the format, every television channel will be required to provide details of commercial ads, self promotional ads, and public service ads, where no revenue accrues to the broadcaster, broadcast on a clock hour basis for all 24 hours of the day.

    According to Trai, the said information will have to be reported on first Saturday and Sunday and the last Wednesday and Thursday of each month of the quarter. For all other days of the quarter, the broadcasters will have to specify maximum duration of the advertisements in any clock hour for each day of the quarter reported upon.

    Under Standards of Quality of Service (Duration of Advertisements in Television Channels) Regulations 2012, every broadcaster has to submit information about ad duration on their respective channels in a set format within fifteen days from the end of a quarter.

    The Trai had on 22 March notified the Standards of Quality of Service (Duration of Advertisement in Television Channels) after watering down the amended version of the ad regulation. The main regulation was issued on 14 May last year but had to be amended after it was challenged by broadcasters in Tdsat.

    The amended ad regulation has done away with contentious clauses by keeping standardised ad duration at 12 minutes on clock hour basis for all channels as stated under the advertising code of the Cable Television Networks Rules (CTNR) 1994.

    As per the advertising code, no programme shall carry advertisements exceeding 12 minutes per hour, which may include up to 10 minutes per hour of commercial advertisements, and up to 2 minutes per hour of a channel‘s self-promotional programmes.