MUMBAI: Videocon d2h is on a spree to strengthen its regional channel profile. The platform has now added another Odia channel Naxatra News on its platform. The Odia News channel will be available in the Super Gold pack.
With this addition, Videocon d2h now offers 12 Odia channels and services.
Videocon d2h offers 500 channels and services, 27 Asli “HD” channels and a host of regional channels. Naxatra News will be available on the d2h platform on Channel Number: 788
NEW DELHI: The direct-to-home (DTH) operator Tata Sky today made a payment of Rs 383 crore to the Information and Broadcasting Ministry (I&B) to cover its license fee and other dues.
A demand draft of the amount was submitted to the Ministry, even as a petition to this regard is pending in the Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal (TDSAT) in this regard.
This amount covers license fee for the year 2013-14 according to the rate specified for license as well as past dues, for which the Ministry had raised a demand note recently.
TataSky MD and CEO Harit Nagpal said in a statement: “We hope that this will end the long standing dispute on the subject and pave the way forward for a constructive rationalisation of taxes with the support of our parent Ministry.”
However, Dish TV CEO R C Venkateish told indiantelevision that the TDSAT in its hearing on 4 April had taken an assurance from the government that it would not pressurise the DTH operators in this regard until the next date of hearing on 6 May.
He said that the government had been asked by TDSAT to respond to the petitions by the operators by the next date of hearing.
Although TDSAT is expected to give time to the operators to file their respective rejoinders to the government’s reply, DTH industry sources said the Tribunal may give a directive with regard to the payment.
NEW DELHI: Only 35.81 million subscribers of the six private direct-to-home (DTH) service providers are active out of a total 62.97 million registered subscribers, working out to around 56.87 per cent. The private DTH players include: Tata Sky, Dish TV, Airtel Digital TV, Reliance Big TV, Sun Direct and Videocon d2h.
According to the Indian Telecom Services Performance Indicator Report of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) for the quarter ending December 2013, a total of 782 private television channels and a total of 242 private FM radio channels were registered with the Information and Broadcasting Ministry (I&B).
This is apart from the FM radio and TV channels operated by Prasar Bharati. Doordarshan has 37 channels including DD Bharati and DD National besides four allied channels like Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha TV, Prasar Bharati sources told indiantelevision.com.
AIR network has grown up to 299 stations and 461 transmitters (146 MW, 48 SW & 267 FM) which provide coverage to about 99.19 per cent of the country’s population spread over 91.87 per cent area of the country, these sources said.
There are a total of 187 pay channels, as reported by the broadcasters/ distributors for which the rates have been taken on records at the QE December 2013.
The report says the maximum number of TV channels (Pay, Free to Air and Local) being carried by any of the reported MSOs in digital form is 231, while that carried by any of the reported MSOs in the conventional analogue form is 100 channels.
The report showed that of the total 238.71 million internet subscribers, broadband subscribers totaled 55.2 million and narrow band subscribers totaled 183.51 million.
Of these, only 18.33 million were wired internet subscribers while 220.38 were wireless internet subscribers.
The study also shows that 92.13 per cent of the wireless internet subscribers were on mobile, while just 0.19 per cent were on fixed wireless mode. A total of 7.68 per cent of the internet subscribers were on wired mode.
Meanwhile, the number of news and non-news channels has almost become equal with the government recently revealing it has so far given permission to a total of 786 television channels in the country.
According to the statistics revealed by the I&B Ministry earlier this year, the number of news and current affairs channels is 389 while the number of non-news (general entertainment channels) is 397.
Of the total, 664 TV channels including 369 news channels have been given permission to uplink and downlink from within the country.
A total of 31 channels including 27 GECs are allowed to uplink from India but not downlink – thus they are aimed at other countries.
A total of 91 channels uplinked from overseas are allowed to downlink into the country. These include 75 GECs.
MUMBAI: Videocon d2h has added another Malayalam channel Jai Hind on its platform. Jai Hind is a Malayalam language News channel, and is available in the basic pack South Silver pack onwards. With this addition the DTH platform now offers 25 Malayalam channels and services.
The newly added channel is available on the d2h platform on Channel Number: 859. Videocon d2h offers 500 channels and services, 27 Asli “HD” channels and host of regional channels.
The platform now has 132 South channels and services on its platform. Videocon d2h offers 1000 GB High Definition Digital Video Recorder and claims to be the first DTH service provider to have Radio Frequency Remote for DTH service, which is available with High Definition Digital Set Top Box with unlimited recording. Powered by the MPEG-4 and DVB-S2 technology, Videocon d2h offers services like 12 PIP Mosaic, d2h Cinema, weather updates and multiple tickers to transform your TV into a hub of entertainment and knowledge. It offers High Definition channels in 1080p, HDD sound and 16: 9 aspect ratio. “Apart from these, the platform has Active Music which includes 41 Audio / Video active music channels, 24 hours a day,” says a statement from the DTH player.
Videocon d2h has a customer support system which offers services in eight languages from the customer care team present in six locations.
BALI: He is young, but the young Dhoot scion’s debut on the Asian stage at the Asia Pacific Operators Summit (APOS) in Bali was pretty impressive by most yardsticks. Dhoot dismissed any suggestions about DTH operators getting together to bring down content costs. “We at Videocon d2h have very good relations with broadcasters. We don’t have a single court case against any of them; we don’t have any contentious disagreements over packages. And we don’t want to get into any complex arrangements,” he said.
He revealed that the newest DTH player has about 11 million gross subs out of which about seven million plus are active. “It’s all about how everything is being executed,” he said. “And we are doing it right. The top two or three players have almost 70-80 per cent of active subs. India is a land of opportunities; there is space for everyone even for a FreeDish.”
The next phase for the DTH players is going to be about HD, he emphasised. “We embraced HD from day one. HD is a game changer in our plan. HD sub base will treble—that will make a great difference to ARPUs.”
Additionally, he said that packaging of products such as kid’s packs will make a difference. “We need to work with our broadcast partners to work out new packages,” he highlighted.
He revealed that the company was generating cash from operations, excluding finance costs, depreciation and amortization.
One of the big impediments to growth of the DTH business is regulatory is Saurabh Dhoot’s view. “The 30 per cent entertainment tax in some states almost equals to the tax on alcohol and cigarettes. We as an industry need to come together to raise our voice. It is archaic and needs to be changed,” he concluded.
MUMBAI – With a view to recreate the vibrant magic of India in America, IIFA Stomp is a unique initiation into Bollywood. The opening event of the Videocon d2h IIFA Weekend is an open to public, community party that will kick start celebrations. IIFA Stomp is set to take place on 23 April at the Curtis Hixon Waterfront Park which overlooks the Hillsborough River. The event is co-sponsored by TECO Energy and Nielsen, and support sponsored by USAmeriBank.
Playing out as a befitting welcome party of the biggest celebration of Indian cinema, the event will celebrate Indian culture at its best in Tampa Bay in an effort to include the locals and tourists alike. The IIFA Stomp party will show gratitude to Tampa and all the local citizens for the warmth and love they have shown in hosting the IIFA Weekend & Awards. Visitors can experience Bollywood music teamed with Bollywood dance and Indian cuisine and handicrafts. The evening will also see specialty food stalls serving both Indian and international cuisines.
Performances by popular Indian and local DJ’s await audiences with DJ Clement, DJ Aman Nagpal and DJ Ravi Drums, among others slated to perform. Having played along music stars like Paula Abdul, Tupac Shekar, Justin Timberlake, the sensational percusionnist DJ Ravi Drums who is slated to perform at the event, has also produced the official Track for IIFA titled ‘Do Da Tampa’. The open-event hopes to encourage as many fans to attend the occasion as possible.
MUMBAI: Videocon d2h has decided to go one step further to strengthen its technology by tying up with Taiwan based MStar Semiconductor for its new HD MPEG-4 DVB-2 set top boxes (STB) that will be provided to the Indian market.
The new STB with MStar’s technology provides features such as PVR that allows users to watch content of their interest at their own time. It also allows for watching TV channels with functions such as title/time based recording, rewind and forward, auto serial recording, pause live TV and mark-skip-watch.
“Having a 10 million subscriber base in a very short time in India is a strong testimony of Videocon d2h’s success. It is our honor and pleasure to be the partner with Videocon d2h. Leveraging our cutting-edge set-top box platform, we will continue to support Videocon d2h to further build upon their success,” says MStar Semiconductor chairman Wayne Liang.
Videocon d2h CEO Anil Khera said “We have partnered with MStar, global leader in integrated chips. The ease of user experience, best in class integration and performance provide a significant edge for our cutting edge high definition set-top box. We are hopeful that MStar technology will provide better experience to our consumers as we are looking at consolidating our leadership position.”
Currently Videocon d2h is offering its SD STBs at Rs 1990 the HD ones cost Rs 2000. In an earlier interview Khera had told indiantelevision.com that the DTH operators’ current number of HD subscribers is 8 per cent of the total that has the potential to rise to 20 per cent in the coming few years.
In 2014, the DTH platform’s parent company Videocon group is planning to set up a one million STB plant that will provide STBs for people in phases III and IV of digitisation.
MUMBAI: India’s food lifestyle channel, FOODFOOD, a single channel entity, reaches across 35 mn households in India. In addition to key MSOs across the country, the channel is available on all major DTH platforms – Videocon d2h, Airtel Digital TV and Tata Sky and digital platforms pan India. The brand today is one of the most popular and talked about channels, in its genre, across the country.
The channel is all set to break its new campaign, on April 14th ,with a lineup of shows–an ode to home makers, concentrating on driving excitement and reinforcing the new positioning and statement that the channel is clearly differentiating itself from the plethora of ‘me too’ channels.
The campaign breaks with an array of fresh programming– India Unlimited, Pure Sin, K for Kids, Cook Smart, Oriental food among others. It is complementing the channel’s stand of being a food lifestyle channel, with innovative content, creating a “wow” factor through the new line up. India Unlimited is food from various parts of India, in one platter; Pure Sin, a celebration of making desserts, which has been a part of our culture & traditions from time immemorial. From healthy deserts to desserts for occasions to all time favorite, this food genre is something exclusive for the viewers; K for Kids, is filled with adventure, fun and sparks from enthusiastic kiddy chefs on the show, churning out winning recipes; Cook Smart another master stroke from the Master Chef Sanjeev Kapoor; and introducing sumptuous mouth watering oriental dishes, the all time favorite with Indians.
Explaining the reason behind the campaign burst SK Barua of FOODFOOD channel said, “With the new campaign we are redefining the philosophy, positioning and the tagline that speaks volumes about the specially targeted content, across food genre. Our efforts are to reiterate our authority on food and reach out to our target audiences. This is the first campaign and going forward we want to continue to give best of food to our viewers.”
The campaign will address the youth and the matured viewers, and not to forget our die hard loyal viewers. Though Young in its looks, it can entice a whole generation with its mantra to learn easy-to-make food and enjoy food.
The 45 days campaign burst in Mumbai & Delhi, from April 14, will be across various media—outdoor, radio, digital, print, MSOs, social media…. With the new campaign the channel promises to attract, allure and engage the viewers – through social media, on-ground activities, on radio and television.
MUMBAI: Videocon d2h has launched three new subscription packages in the mid level price segment targeted at sports lovers.
The three new packs launched are: ‘Gold Maxi’ which is priced at Rs 260 per month and will consist of 328 channels and services including sports channels like Star Sports 2, Star Sports 3, Hindi general entertainment channels (GECs) like Star Plus, Colors, Zee TV, Sony etc, Hindi movies channel like Max, Zee Cinema etc, Hindi news channels including Aaj Tak, NDTV India, IBN 7, India TV and regional language channels comprising all Marathi, Bengali, Odia, Punjabi, Assamese and Gujarati channels and services.
The second pack launched is the ‘South Silver Maxi’ which will cost Rs 205 per month. The pack consists of 308 channels and services which includes sports channels like Star Sports 2, Star Sports 3 and all Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Kannada language channels. The third is the ‘South Gold Maxi’ at Rs 270 per month. The pack comprises 364 channels and services includin sports channels like Star Sports 2, Star Sports 3, all Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam and Kannada channels and popular Hindi GECs.
“We have always been focused on offering customer centric packages and entertainment solutions. These new packs have been designed keeping in mind the requirements of consumers and his preferences of channels like Star Sports 2 and Star Sports 3. Consumers will now have more choice than ever before,” said Videocon director Saurabh Dhoot.
Videocon d2h CEO Anil Khera added, “We have launched three new packs, giving our consumer the convenience of choosing the packs as per his requirements. As sports is a religion in India, we have included two major sports channels Star Sports 2, Star Sports 3 in these new subscription packs at affordable prices.”
MUMBAI: Recognising the immense potential of Indian movies to cross boundaries and gain recognition as world class cinema, the International Indian Film Academy (IIFA) will screen the directorial venture of renowned Indian and international actor, Anupam Kher which would be preceded by an acting workshop for the students of the University of South Florida.
One of India’s biggest celebration of cinema – the 15th Videocon d2h IIFA Weekend and the Tata Motors IIFA Awards is all set to take place at Tampa Bay, Florida from 23 to 26 April, 2014.
Titled I went shopping for Robert de Niro, Anupam Kher’s short film will have a World Premiere at IIFA on the second day of the Videocon d2h IIFA Weekend. The premiere will be open to celebrities from the Indian film fraternity, who will be seen attending the screening and lending support to the veteran actor. Through the film, Kher has paid tribute to iconic Hollywood actor Robert De Niro, his co-star from the Oscar nominated film – Silver Linings Playbook. The film’s writer and main actor, Shivangi Kshirsagar, who actually did go shopping for De Niro describes the film as wild, feminine, and brazen. She portrays the role of the girl who goes shopping for De Niro in the short-film and has tried to best represent what she has seen of De Niro’s work in the 29-minute short film.
Actor, Anupam Kher spoke of the film saying, “The film has had an exciting journey which came a sort of full circle for us on 10 November, 2013, when De Niro visited our (acting) school and met the team. It was a very special occasion and I invited some prominent actors and directors from the Indian film industry to meet him. It was fun to watch some of our biggest stars sit around him – like students who crowd around their guru – while De Niro patiently answered questions about his work, characters, scripts, co-actors, his films, his associations with filmmakers, etc. He graciously signed books, pictures and DVDs for everyone. It was such a memorable evening. He wrote a note for my students and teachers as well.”
Having contributed immensely to the world of cinema in the last 30 years, Anupam Kher is undoubtedly one of the finest actors Indian cinema has ever seen. Kher has proved his mettle time and again playing diverse roles in over 460 films and numerous theatre productions. He has been a part of many Hindi-cinema classics, including A Wednesday, Lamhe, Khosla Ka Ghosla, Special 26, Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge among others. Kher has also been a part of a number of crossover and mainstream Hollywood films including Midnight’s Children, Bend It Like Beckham, Bride & Prejudice, Woody Allen’s You Will Meet A Tall Dark Stranger and the Oscar nominated movie, Silver Linings Playbook.
“Having the World Premiere at IIFA in Tampa, Florida, showcases in essence the spirit of the short film, where a group of Indian artists pay tribute to the American legend, as India celebrates the centenary of Indian Cinema this year,” added Kher, who is sharing his craft through the acting workshop at IIFA Awards 2014, Tampa Florida.
The workshop will also throw light on various topics on Indian cinema and will provide guidance to those seeking a professional career within the acting fraternity. The workshop on 24 April is open to students of USF.
Speaking on the acting workshop and premiere, Wizcraft International and IIFA director Andre Timmins said, “IIFA has long endeavoured to introduce the short film into the Weekend. We want to promote different films and give opportunities to students to be a part of the Indian cinema and IIFA experience. We look forward to screening ‘I went shopping for Robert De Niro’. We believe it will showcase both Indian and American aspects, making it a perfect premiere for IIFA in the United States and a catalyst for cinematic exchange.”