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Tag: Videocon d2h

  • TRAI can only regulate transmission, not broadcast material: Star tells Mds HC

    NEW DELHI: The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India can only regulate the means of transmission and not take any decisions like pricing about the content, Star India contended today.

    In his rejoinder in the petition by Star India and Vijay TV challenging the jurisdiction of TRAI to issue tariff orders on the ground that content came under the Copyright Act, Star India counsel P Chidambaram said TRAI was free to regulate the carriage side of broadcasting right up to the consumer.

    Chidambaram was speaking after the arguments by TRAI counsel Saket Singh, and intervenors All India Digital Cable Federation counsel A R L Sundaresan and Videocon d2h counsel Vijay Raman.

    Chidambaram said that in theory, TRAI could not price even the movie channels.

    He said that the petitioners were not licencees under Section 2(1)(e) if the TRAI Act.

    Responding to points made by TRAI, he said the reliance to the 2004 judgment pf the Delhi High Court in the Star India vs TRAI case was misplaced. This was because the principles of res judicata estoppel and acquiescence do not apply to the present case since the present petition is challenging the jurisdiction of TRAI itself. Even that judgement had only directed TRAI to freeze and not to fix prices, he contended.  

    He also said that TRAI was fixing prices genre-wise in the new tariff order and not channel wise.

    While Chidambaram referred to the tariff orders of 2004 and 2007, he refrained from speaking about the tariff orders of 2012 and 2014.

    He contended that once uplinked, broadcasting was complete and TRAI did not come into the picture in broadcast re-production rights.

    Following the completion of his rejoinder, senior counsel Abhishek Manu Singhvi will present his rejoinder on behalf of Vijay TV. It is expected that the judges may reserve orders tomorrow.

    Although the Supreme Court had in early May while staying the tariff order directed the Madras High Court to complete hearing within four weeks, the High Court had commenced the in the last week of June.

    Meanwhile, TRAI TV reference interconnect offer (RIO) and Quality of service order (QoS) came into effect from 2 May following the order of the High Court.

    Apart from the Tariff order which had originally been issued on 10 October last year, the regulator also issued the DAS Interconnect Regulations which had been issued on 14 October last year, and the Standards of Quality of Service and Consumer Protection (Digital Addressable Systems) Regulations which had been issued on 10 October last year.

    The orders can be seen at:

    http://trai.gov.in/sites/default/files/Tariff_Order_English_3%20March_20…

    http://www.trai.gov.in/sites/default/files/QOS_Regulation_03_03_2017.pdf

    http://www.trai.gov.in/sites/default/files/Interconnection_Regulation_03…

    Also Read: Decks cleared for TRAI tariff order implementation as HC declines stay (updated)

    Star India case questioning TRAI jurisdiction over content postponed

     

  • Madras HC to hear Star India’s rejoinder in TRAI challenge today

    NEW DELHI: Following the completion of arguments of the All-India Digital Cable Federation and Videocon d2h, the Madras High Court will today commence hearing a rejoinder by the petitioners — Star India and Vijay TV.

    Concluding his arguments in the petition by Star India and Vijay TV challenging the jurisdiction of TRAI to issue tariff orders on the ground that the subject of content fell under the Copyright Act, counsel for AIDCF A R L Sundaresan explained how the Telecom Regulatory and Copyright Law do not infringe upon each other. AIDCF had intervened in the matter.

    AIDCF also explained the flow of revenue and the breakup, and what is carriage, network capacity fee, distribution fee etc. It told the court how the money would be divided amongst different stakeholders including broadcasters under the new tariff regulations. The concept of carriage fee, distribution fee and network capacity fees were explained with help of charts.

    Videoco d2h counsel Vijay Raman said the petition militates against the right of stakeholders to do business as guaranteed in Article 19 (1) of the Constitution. The new tariff order had asked broadcasters to declare their minimum retail price per channel to consumers and give ‘a la carte’ price for pay channels. This would give greater choice to the consumer.

    Earlier last week, TRAI counsel Saket Singh had said that, prior to the tariff order, the broadcaster would sell distribution right to the multi-system operators at wholesale price level, and MSOs would accordingly sell to the consumers. Thus, the consumer had no direct link with the pricing.

    The new tariff had taken away the power of distributors in terms of pricing and that has been given to the broadcaster. Hence, they are the master of their channel and can price the consumer, accordingly. The consumer also got the right to refuse to pay for channels he did not watch. Singh also explained the concept of carriage fee.

    Although the Supreme Court had, in early May, while staying the tariff order directed the Madras High Court to complete hearing within four weeks, the high court had commenced the hearing in the last week of June. The hearing had commenced with the pleadings of counsel for the petitioners.

    Meanwhile, TRAI TV reference interconnect offer (RIO) and Quality of service order (QoS) came into effect from 2 May following the order of the High Court.

    In the hearing in April-end, it had said Section 3 of the Tariff order and all other consequences of such implementation/enforcement would be subject to the outcome of the main petition.

    Apart from the Tariff order which had originally been issued on 10 October last year, the regulator also issued the DAS Interconnect Regulations which had been issued on 14 October last year, and the Standards of Quality of Service and Consumer Protection (Digital Addressable Systems) Regulations which had been issued on 10 October last year.

    The orders can be seen at:
    http://trai.gov.in/sites/default/files/Tariff_Order_English_3%20March_20…
    http://www.trai.gov.in/sites/default/files/QOS_Regulation_03_03_2017.pdf
    http://www.trai.gov.in/sites/default/files/Interconnection_Regulation_03…

    Also Read :Decks cleared for TRAI tariff order implementation as HC declines stay (updated)

    Star India case questioning TRAI jurisdiction over content postponed

  • DTH subscriber addition disappointing in calendar 2016

    BENGALURU: The carriage industry — more specifically the direct-to-home or DTH industry — has had a disappointing calendar year 2016 (CY-16) going by data provided by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) in the first edition of its Yearly Performance Indicator Report of the Indian Telecom Sector for  2016 (IR-2016). This was mentioned by indiantelevision.com earlier after some players declared their results for fiscal and fourth quarter ended 31 March 2017. (FY-17 and Q4-17).

    Substantiating our findings, the TRAI report says that in CY-16 the registered DTH subscriber base grew only 14.45 percent from 84.8 million in CY-15 to 97.05 million in CY-16. A further downside was that the active subscriber base grew just 11.91 percent to 62.65 million in CY-16 from 55.98 million in CY-15. In absolute numbers this means that a little more than half (54.45 percent) of the registered suppliers (12.25million) added were active suppliers (6.67 million).

    The DTH industry had expected to grab a substantial percentage of the analogue cable subscribers from DAS Phase IV, – the sunset date for which had been extended by the government to 31 March 2017 from the earlier date of 31 December 2017.

    Please refer to the figure below for the market share of the six private pay DTH players in India. According to TRAI data, these three players had a 68 percent share of the private DTH market. Besides the six private pay DTH players, Doordarshan’s (DD) FreeDish DTH service  is a major player and is the largest DTH player by far in terms of subscribers with an estimated 15 million or 1.5 crore subscribers in 2015 as per the KPMG-FICCI Indian Media and Entertainment Industry Report 2016 (KPMG-FICCI M&E Report 2016) titled The Future: Now streaming. It must however be noted that an exact number for registered or active subscribers is not available even with DD, since this is a free DTH service.

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    Of the 6.67 million active DTH subscribers added by the industry, 4.65 million (69.72 percent) were added by three major DTH players whose information is available in the public domain. They are Bharti Airtel’s digital TV services or Airtel DTH, Dish TV and Videocon DTH.

    DAS was a huge opportunity for all the players in the television carriage ecosystem – in phase IV alone, this meant about 42 million analogue cable television homes. It is quite obvious from TRAI data that the industry has failed to do so. The DTH players could capitalize on just about 16 percent of this opportunity. And despite the extension of the sunset date to 31 March, 2017, DTH subscriber growth has slowed down even further, if one were to go by the subscribers added by the three big players mentioned above in the fourth financial quarter (1 January 2017 to 31 March 2017) – the three added a shade above half a million subscribers combined in Q4-17. Please refer to the figure below for the subscriber addition data by the three major players.

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    In FY-16 (year ended 31 March 2016) , the three players had added about 65 percent more subscribers in absolute numbers at 4.93 million as compared to the 3.81 million added in FY-17 (year ended 31 March 2017).The DTH industry witnessed a slowdown in subscriber growth even in the previous financial year. Combined subscriber additions for the annual period ended 31 March 2016 (FY-16) vis-à-vis the previous year (FY-15) grew by 14.8 percent of the three pay-direct to home operators in India.  This subscriber growth rate was however a little less than half that these entities had in FY-15 at 24.7 percent as compared to FY-14.

    Also Read :

    DTH subscriber growth slows down even further

    Active DTH subscriber growth subdued in Oct-Dec’16 quarter

    The growth of DTH in India

     

  • Videocon d2h adds JK 24×7 & Gulistan News

    MUMBAI: Videocon d2h, a DTH service, now offers two new News Channels – JK 24×7 News and Gulistan News for its subscribers in Jammu & Kashmir. These channels will be available on promotional Hindi Top-up for flexi pack on channel No 335 and 790, respectively. The 24-hour news channels will deliver the day’s top stories both national and international at any point of time. JK 24×7 is a Hindi news channel while Gulistan News is an Urdu channel.

    Videocon d2h executive chairman Saurabh Dhoot said, “We at Videocon d2h have always kept ahead of what our consumers require. Whether it is innovating in our set top boxes or by continuously adding the best channels or in service, we have always led from the front. Content has been a key driver of our leadership, this calendar year we have already added 71 new channels in regional languages. With JK 24X7 News and Gulistan, our subscribers will have even more choice to stay informed with the latest news.’’

    Videocon d2h CEO Anil Khera added: “As DAS-4 nears an end, we are seeing a significant appeal of state specific and regional language channels. Adding two channels specifically for J & K underlines our commitment to provide holistic family entertainment to the state.”

    Videocon d2h offers a wide range of active services like smart services including Smart English, Smart Games. The other active services include d2h Hollywood HD, d2h music, d2h spice, d2h cinema in both Standard Definition and HD, etc.

  • Videocon d2h & Reliance Digital finding ways to wriggle out of tough situations

    MUMBAI: DTH companies in India are facing a tough time. While Videocon is making several significant moves to reduce its heavy debt, Reliance Digital TV is reportedly in talks with a Malaysian company to sell the business.

    Videocon is trying to repay its debt by selling some of its businesses such as Kenstar and merge its direct-to-home (DTH) division with Dish TV. But, if the Petrobras project takes off, it will be in a comfortable position, and could look at exiting the project at a later stage, a
    Videocon lender, who would accompany petroleum ministry’s delegation to Brazil, told the Financial Express.

    On the other hand, Astro Malaysia is reportedly doing the due diligence of Anil Ambani’s Reliance Digital TV, the DTH business of the listed Reliance Communications, for working out a suitable valuation, a source told the Times of India. An RCom spokesperson, it was reported, has denied commenting on the story.

    Videocon was recently declared a NPA by Dena Bank. The visit to Brazil was postponed to June; it will be a meeting between the governments of Brazil and India, but the bankers hope to lobby for faster resolution of the project so that Videocon’s cashflows improve.

    Airtel DTH, Dish TV and Videocon d2h have about two-thirds (65 percent) of market share of the DTH universe by private players in India. However, the DTH industry seems to be on a downward slide. Reports submitted by the carriage industry indicate that DTH subscriber additions in the extended period have been low.

    Now, if the transaction between Ambani and Astro goes through, it will be the second deal between the two. Astro shareholder T Ananda Krishnan’s Maxis Communications is a significant shareholder of Aircel, which is about to be combined with RCom’s wireless unit.

  • Videocon d2h reports maiden annual net profit

    BENGALURU: Videocon d2h Limited (Videocon d2h) led by executive chairman Saurabh Dhoot reported its maiden annual net profit for the year ended 31 March 2017 (FY-17, current year or fiscal). Notwithstanding the effects of demonetization, overall, the company reported growth across important matrices including subscription and activation revenue, subscriber numbers and operating profits. Annual ARPU, despite declining within fiscal 2017 was flat as compared to the previous year.

    The company’s revenue from operations increased 7.6 percent to Rs 30,717.34 million in FY-17 from Rs 28,558.62 million in FY-16. The company’s consolidated profit after tax for the current year was Rs 304.42 million as compared to a loss of Rs 902.05 million in the previous year. Operating profit (adjusted EBIDTA, including other income) in the current year increased 27.1 percent in FY-17 to Rs 10,181 million. Adjusted EBIDTA less capex in FY-17 was Rs 3,932 million as compared to Rs 744 million in fiscal 2016.

    Net subscriber additions in the year were 1.05 million. The company closed fiscal 2017 with a net subscriber base of 12.91 million. The company reported 0.80 percent churn, slightly higher than the churn of 0.73 percent reported in the previous year. Average revenue per user (ARPU) for the current year came at Rs 207, same as the previous year. ARPU numbers for the four quarters of fiscal 2017 – Q1-17, Q2-17, Q3-17 and Q4-17 were Rs 211,Rs 209, Rs 205 and Rs 196 respectively. Average net EBIDTA per user increased to Rs 69 in FY-17 from Rs 61 in FY-16.

    Company speak

    Dhoot said, “I am excited to share that Fiscal 2017 has been a yet another landmark year for Videocon d2h, as the Company achieved net profit and free cash flow breakeven. The Company reported 27.1 percent year on year growth in EBITDA, despite moderation due to Government of India’s demonetization policy during the November 2016, which also coincided with the seasonally stronger second half. More importantly, our Adjusted EBITDA per subscriber per month grew a healthy 13.0 percent year on year to INR 69. This clearly demonstrates the strength of our business and our ability to monetize the subscribers we added in Phase III and Phase IV Digitization markets.

    During Fiscal 2017, we announced the scheme of amalgamation with Dish TV to create the fastest growing and the second largest pay TV company in the world, according to company estimates. We have now received the necessary approvals from the equity shareholders of Videocon d2h and the Competition Commission of India. The company has started working on an integration plan and has appointed Price Waterhouse Coopers, Deloitte and Aon Hewitt to work on post-merger integration along with the management of Videocon d2h and Dish TV India.”

    Speaking on the business outlook for the DTH sector, Videocon d2h CEO Anil Khera said: “There has been numerous industry developments during Fiscal 2017, which we believe will provide for growth opportunities in the DTH sector in India. Recently, the government shared information on the applicable Goods and Service Tax (GST) rate for DTH. The GST rate of 18 percent for DTH operators could reduce tax payments in Fiscal 2018 and beyond.”

    Other matrices

    The company’s content cost in fiscal 2017 increased in terms of percentage of revenue to 39.9 percent compared to 37.8 percent in FY-16. During the four quarters of the current year – Q1-17, Q2-17, Q3-17 and Q4-17, content costs as percentage of revenue were: 38.7 percent, 38.7 percent, 39.6 and 42.5 percent respectively.

    The company has invested Rs 6,249 million towards capacity expansion (capex) in FY-17 as compared to Rs 7,269 million in FY-16 and Rs 7,649 million in FY-15.

  • Tata Sky has spectrum glut, adding five more HD channels

    MUMBAI: Leading DTH operator Tata Sky is reportedly planning to add five more HD channels and take its total high-definition offering to 86. DTH operators in India mostly provide only 45-65 HD channels, while cable operators provide between 30-50 HD channels.

    The channels that are reportedly being added are MTV HD+, Surya (Malayalam), DSports, Udaya (Kannada) and Gemini Movies (Telugu). With 86 HD channels, the operator plans to further consolidate its position as the largest provider of high-definition content in India. Tata Sky hugely benefitted owing to an oversupply of spectrum after one of ISRO’s satellites failed to ‘terminate’ as scheduled.

    In the Indian subcontinent content delivery, Tata Sky was reportedly using 432 MHz of spectrum on INSAT-4A and was backing Dish TV, which had 648 MHz and Videocon D2h, which has 540 MHz. INSAT-4A was expected to reach ‘end of life’ this year, for whose replacement ISRO sent GSAT-10 to the same orbit.

    Both satellites however are working simultaneously. Owing to ISRO’s reported dilemma of neither being able to sell capacity on its new satellite nor on the old (about to die) satellite to a new player, Tata Sky has been allowed to use both satellites, and adds up to about 828 MHz of spectrum at its disposal, which is almost two times of what DTH operators have in India.

  • Republic TV insists it’s FTA, DTH platforms to charge subscribers for viewing?

    NEW DELHI/MUMBAI: Republic TV continues to make news even as it reports views and news. Touted as the country’s truly free-to-air (FTA) news channel, however, what is surprising is that some DTH platforms have put a price on the channel and started charging subscribers accordingly a little over a fortnight after its launch.

    It all started last weekend when a gentleman posted on Facebook “Dus ka dum. #RepublicTV  starts charging Rs 10 pm (Power of 10. Republic TV starts charging Rs. 10 per month).” A flurry of posts — some of them sarcastic — for and against this move followed. We at at Indiantelevision.com decided to go back to  industry to get the real picture.

    In a nutshell this is the scenario: some of the DTH platforms in the country have decided to charge subscribers for Republic TV from a price ranging between Rs 10 and Rs 3 per month per sub; MSOs, at least the big ones, are still keeping the new kid on the block free for viewing, while on popular OTT platform Hotstar, one can sign in with a personalized email or one’s FB account to watch Republic TV for free.

    But, the news channel in question maintained it is still FTA.

    Tata Sky MD & CEO Harit Nagpal, while confirming his company has put a price on Republic TV for subscribers, told indiantelevision.com all DTH platforms are permitted to charge a minimal pre-decided rate for even FTA channels.

    While pointing out rates for FTA channels were fixed by the platform and placed on the website, Nagpal explained such a move (like that involving Republic TV) was permitted under the relevant tariff orders issued by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India. Though he did not dwell on the actual pricing, some subscribers have reported that Tata Sky is charging Rs 10 per month from its subscribers for Republic TV on ala carte basis.

    According to Videocond2h’s spokesperson, by definition FTA channels are supposed to be free, but there’s a cost that a distribution platform incurs on distributing a TV channel and which has to be recovered.

    Pointing out that there was “no compulsion” to give a FTA channel `free’ to subscribers, spokesperson explained, “The ala-carte price is Rs 3 for Republic TV. Pricing is a matter of continuous discussion on marketing feedback, fine tuning and how competition was doing. The channel might be free, but there is a cost to carry the channel on my platform. If I don’t get any revenue from the channel, how will I recover the (satellite) rental.”

    Though officially it could not be confirmed, but Airtel Digital TV too is charging Rs 3 per month per month from subscribers for Republic TV. As far as the Essel group’s Dish TV is concerned, a scroll from time to time is being run on channel number 771, Republic TV, highlighting that it channel will be available till  the first week of June as part of a free preview scheme, which makes it clear that the platform also may start charging subscribers sooner or later.

    When Indiantelevision.com got across to Republic TV for clarifications, a senior executive insisted on Monday that the news channel was FTA and had no plans to become a pay channel. The executive added that the company would reach out to DTH ops trying to “persuade (them) not to charge for Republic TV and to place it in the FTA package.”

    ALSO READ:

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    Indian English news channels boycott BARC’s viewership monitoring

    Republic TV, TRAI, NBA and the case of multiple LCNs

    BARC-NBA face-off: Experts feel ad agencies, TV channels will take individual call; resolution best option

  • Dish TV India ropes in marketing heavyweight Anil Dua as group CEO

    MUMBAI: There’s change at the top at Dish TV India. The DTH firm late last night announced (to the Bombay stock exchange) the appointment of FMCG and consumer durable marketing veteran Anil Dua as its group CEO. He will be replacing current CEO Arun Kapoor who was leading the company for the past 18 months.

    Dish TV said it was bringing in Dua as another leading DTH player Videocon d2h is undergoing an amalgamation with it, which would create a gigantic cable and satellite distribution platform with around 28.1 million subs (as of December 2016). Dua is expected to work closely with Dish TV CMD Jawahar Goel and lead the future merged entity. He carries with him a stellar track record as an astute brand builder, marketer, with a sharp focus on customer experience and supply chain and strategy working with companies such as Hero Motorcorp, Unilever, and Gillette. His specialty has been transformation and building brands of scale.

    During his earlier eight year stint with Hero Motorcorp during which he looked after its advertising, marketing and sales and distribution network, Dua more than trebled the company’s turnover and market cap. Dua also worked at Hindustan Uniiever and helped streamline its foods distribution pipeline. His last outing was as managing director of the diversified Middle east group OTE.

    “We welcome Anil and are confident that his experience will further add to our capability and will help lead the company on a faster growth path,” said Goel in a press release. “His experience in brand building and distribution will add immense value to our organization.”

    Dua on his part is quoted in the release as stating that he was excited with the action in the DTH space and with the opportunity that has been given to him. “I look forwarding to leveraging my experience and working together with the DishTV team in realising their lofty vision,” he said.

    Kapoor, meanwhile, is going to be with Dish TV until the completion of the merger, following which he is expected to go back to teaching MBA students apart from venturing into social work. The proposed merger recently got the Competition Commission of India’s nod for it and the companies are following the process of getting the go ahead from to the National Company Law Tribunal.

  • Videocon strengthens VAS with d2h Nachle

    MUMBAI: What Tata Sky did in December 2015 seems to be inspiring Videocon now. Videocon d2h has partnered with ‘Dance with Madhuri’ to launch an interactive dance service called ‘d2h Nachle’. The service is set to win the hearts of dance-lovers across the 18 million strong Videocon d2h subscriber base and is available for free preview till 22 May.

    Madhuri Dixit, renowned for her legendary dance moves along with her Dance with Madhuri team of eminent gurus and choreographers, is all set to get you dancing on Videocon with its d2h subscribers.

    This association will give dance enthusiasts a chance to synchronise their steps and learn the best in class, dance lessons from the comfort of their living rooms. With support from gurus like Pt. Birju Maharaj, Saroj Khan, Terence Lewis, Remo D’Souza and a host of renowned choreographers from the industry, D2h Nachle powered by Dance with Madhuri is sure to charm subscribers. There are now over 100+ classes, 100+ hours of content and 1800+ lessons. From Indian Classical dance forms like Kathak, Bharatnatyam, to Western forms like Jazz, Contemporary, Hip Hop, Salsa, Bachata and of course lots of Bollywood, d2h Nachle powered by Dance with Madhuri is sure to be a dancer’s delight!

    Commenting on the launch,Videocon d2h executive chairman Saurabh Dhoot said, “D2h Nachle will strengthen our Value Added Services(VAS). Our consumers will find d2h Nachle compelling and engaging, especially the younger ones.”

    Talking about the launch, Videocon d2h chief executive officer Anil Khera said, “Dance is among the most popular expressions of joy and celebration in every part of the country. d2h Nachle, powered by Dance with Madhuri, will bring to every home Madhuri & her expert team of renowned choreographers as their personal dance teachers.”

    Dixit said, “The idea is to give the joy of learning any dance form of one’s choice to everyone and we strongly believe that our association with Videocon D2h will enable millions of people to learn various dance forms from the comfort of their homes. We have assembled a team of some of the most accomplished and renowned choreographers, who help us create lessons that let everyone learn how to dance in the most, authentic, structured and convenient way possible.”