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Tag: Vynsley Fernandes

  • SCTE India announces its new executive board for the term 2021-2024

    SCTE India announces its new executive board for the term 2021-2024

    New Delhi: The Society of Cable Telecommunication Engineers (SCTE), India has appointed NXTDIGITAL Limited MD and CEO, Vynsley Fernandes as the honorary chairman, Sandeep Bhargava as the president, and Rahul Nehra as the national secretary.

    The announcement was made at the recently held annual general meeting.

    The new executive has a very aggressive charter for the year 2021 with initiatives like SCTE Academy, SCTE Consulting, SCTE Innovation, and SCTE India Tech TV to help India get the correct technical knowledge and facilitate the impetus in the years to come.

    “I am delighted to join the SCTE family as the Chairman. SCTE India has a significant role to play in Digital India; especially on the back of the rapidly changing technology landscape,” said Fernandes.

    Sandeep Bhargava said, “With data being the new fuel, Skilling and Innovation would play a significant role, and SCTE is right in the center of both.”

    SCTE India is a part of SCTE UK which celebrates its 75th year of existence and defines standards, certification, and innovation in the digital cable and the broadband space.

  • NXTDigital turns around its business with Rs 13.66 crore profit in Q4

    NXTDigital turns around its business with Rs 13.66 crore profit in Q4

    KOLKATA: NXTDigital has turned its business profitable by raking in Rs 13.66 crore profit after tax (PAT) for the fourth quarter. The company has reported Rs 277.96 crore consolidated revenue for the quarter.

    It posted Rs 0.32 crore PAT in the previous quarter and a loss after tax of Rs 43.43 crore in the corresponding quarter of the previous year. The revenue also grew by 6.95 per cent over the previous quarter of Rs 259.90 crores and by 22.38 per cent over the corresponding quarter of the previous year.

    The Earnings Before Interest Taxes Depreciation and Amortization (EBITDA) for the quarter at Rs 67.54 crores was higher by 8.10 per cent over the EBITDA of the previous quarter of Rs 62.47 crores and a 167 per cent growth over the EBITDA of the corresponding quarter of the previous year.

    For overall FY 21, the company recorded an EBITDA of Rs 232.08 crore, growing by 6.16 per cent over the EBITDA of the previous year of Rs 218.62 crores (excluding one-time revenues of Rs 123.12 crores in the previous year. Consolidated revenue for the year remained consistent at Rs 1,008.5 crores, marginally down from Rs 1,038 crores –due to a reduction in the low-margin non-core trading business.

    “The stellar performance can be attributed to the company’s focus on uninterrupted customer service during the lockdown and after, innovative products and solutions to combat the myriad of ground challenges, driving close to a 100 per cent digital mode of collections on a prepaid basis and the unstinting and tireless efforts of all our employees and our Last Mile partners – all of whom rose to the occasion, without exception,” NXTDigital MD & CEO Vynsley Fernandes said.

    The company will continue to focus on its transformation to an “all-digital” services company, driving a host of new products and solutions, whilst expanding into new geographies. One of the key growth drivers for the future will be its recently launched infrastructure sharing PaaS or Platform-as-a-Service offering.

  • NXTDigital’s broadband subsidiary OneOTT surpasses 600K subscribers

    NXTDigital’s broadband subsidiary OneOTT surpasses 600K subscribers

    KOLKATA: NXTDigital’s broadband subsidiary OneOTT intertainment Ltd (OIL) has surpassed 100,000 home broadband subscriber additions in the fourth quarter of the financial year 2020-21.

    According to a press statement issued by the company, OIL has attained a momentum of more than 1,000 subscribers-a-day on its way to crossing the 600,000+ mark, to retain its position in the top five private ISPs in India.

    OIL CEO Yugal Kishore Sharma believes that the dependence on internet has never been so high. “Internet use cases have moved beyond browsing and social networking to work-from-home (WFH), on-line education, OTT entertainment and gaming, online-shopping, online-health, e-governance and others. This requires broadband connections to deliver real ‘high speed’ to support multiple users, devices and sessions with consistency and near 100 per cent availability.”

     OIL has implemented unique business models to facilitate its rapid growth. The concept of “DST” or direct sales team has now evolved into digital sales teams, where the company is supplementing the traditional ‘push’ method of sales with digital mediums.

    On strategy for growth, Sharma shares, “We have imbibed learnings from the evolution of the telecom sector, not just in India, but globally – and we’ve applied a lot of those learnings to our own business model to ensure robustness and sustainability.” OIL has in fact achieved 42X growth over the last five years – with commensurate growth in revenues.

    Additionally, the broadband provider has adapted to the surge in consumption by doubling its internet capacity on the supply side without passing the additional cost to its customers to maintain customer experience.

    NXTDigital MD & CEO Vynsley Fernandes remarked, “Team ONE has redefined the business of broadband in India through innovative modelling, getting in the right skillsets and developing a performance centric organisation culture. The results of a focused strategy of OIL as demonstrated is visible in OIL’s consistently raising the bar on Q/Q basis.”

    OIL has also been steadily leveraging the cable television and HITS (Headend-In-The-Sky) subscriber base of NXTDigital – by expanding its footprint across the country.

  • ‘Foes to friends’: NXTDigital ramps up focus on collaboration & infra sharing

    ‘Foes to friends’: NXTDigital ramps up focus on collaboration & infra sharing

    KOLKATA: With the evolution of the media and entertainment industry, the boundary between friends and foes is fading away. The future is not about competition, but collaboration for long term sustainability, NXTDigital media group CEO Vynsley Fernandes believes. Moreover, the future of the distribution industry lies in consolidation and bundling all bills together, he says.

    Fernandes, an old face in the cable distribution industry, has recently been elevated as media group CEO of Hinduja group’s NXTDigital. The new role not only includes digital cable, HITS but also broadband and content business. To drive the growth of all businesses, he is looking to synergise cable TV or HITS service with broadband. While the video segment has got around 5.38 million customers, the broadband business nets 0.0408 million subscribers currently. He notes that the company has already seen good traction in combination service during Q2.

    However, NXTDigital is looking at pushing the product in selective markets where it already has a strong presence and a qualitative need for video and broadband is noticeable. The company has a stronghold in Mumbai, the rest of the west market, as well as Bengaluru and Delhi. Adding to its bastions, it has now set sights on West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana market. Fernandes emphasises that bundling products and solutions is very important at this point in time for the entire industry. Additionally, one of the biggest benefits of bundling is cost optimisation. During Diwali, NXTDigital has launched its hybrid device NXT Connect, which offers linear as well as OTT.

    “We are looking at penetrating our own customers of cable TV and HITS. We are looking for broadband to grow as it has been growing. The broadband segment has seen 16 per cent quarter-on-quarter growth in Q2. We are hoping for double-digit growth over the next two quarters in terms of broadband as a function of synergy. On the cable subscription side, we are not going to pursue revenue at the cost of profitability. We are not just rolling out discounted packages as ours is a qualitative product,” he comments.

    The ministry of information and broadcasting (MIB) has recently amended the HITS guidelines by allowing the sharing of infrastructure by HITS operators with MSOs. Hence, Fernandes identifies it as a big area of growth. As infrastructure sharing can reduce the cost of connectivity significantly, he is of the belief that many operators would like to ride on their platform. Currently, they are exploring how to leverage this opportunity in the B2B model. He also mentions that competitors will have no hesitation in partnering with them thanks to the transparency brought in by the new tariff order.

    “One of the benefits of infrastructure sharing will be cost-optimisation. Before NTO, the biggest cost was content. You had to negotiate with the broadcaster. Thanks to NTO, the whole model is changed and there is transparency. The second biggest cost for everyone is connectivity. We believe connectivity costs can be leveraged by more and more operators joining together to share infrastructure and share services like our own infrastructure sharing. If they cut down the cost, they will have a better bottom line,” he explains.

    Among other options, there is still a huge opportunity for value-added service (VAS) as well, he adds. The main reason is the availability of various content in the linear model and in different regional languages. He also mentions that content provided by One Take Media and Shemaroo Entertainment is quite unique. As the company has seen good traction in the last few years, it has kept on continuing those services along with adding new ones. The MSO looks at three metrics for VAS — age, group and genre.

    According to Fernandes, the first half of the financial year 2020 had several positive as well as negative impacts on the sector, owing to the Covid2019 crisis. The lockdown brought greater engagement, higher viewership. For instance, kids programming has seen good offtake during the period while IPL has boosted TV viewership in the latter half. But labour migration, economic pressure did not bode well for the industry. However, he maintains that TV has a long future ahead with a continuous cycle of consumer evolution, gradually moving the ladder from FTA to pay TV, and the combination of HD and OTT.

  • NXTDigital posts strong Q2 results

    NXTDigital posts strong Q2 results

    NEW DELHI: NXTDigital has posted a year-on-year EBITDA growth of 15.8 per cent at Rs 50.7 crores for the second quarter, an improvement of 2.7 per cent over the previous quarter.

    While revenues remained stable despite the impact of the Covid2019 pandemic, the company posted an EBIDTA of Rs 102.1 crores for the half year ended 30 September 2020, a growth of 8.7 per cent over the corresponding period of the previous year. By laying greater focus on operational efficiency rather than pure revenue growth at the cost of profitability, it was able to improve EBIDTA margins to 21.7 per cent for the half year, compared to 19.2 per cent in the corresponding period of the previous year.

    NXTDigital has not only been able to maintain its subscriber base but grow its video and data businesses, in spite of the serious negative sentiments of the pandemic. The company has maintained its collection efficiency of over 99.5 per cent under its prepaid collection model.

    The board has designated Vynsley Fernandes as media group chief executive officer of NXTDigital with oversight of all the media businesses of the group encompassing cable TV, HITS and broadband. He will be responsible for leading the overall business and operations of the group as it continues to expand across the media spectrum.

    With NXTDigital being the only HITS platform in the country, it’s expected to get a boost from  the sharing of HITS infrastructure with other Multi-System Operators (MSOs) across the country, as recently notified by the ministry of information & broadcasting. The potential for infrastructure sharing or managed services stands at over 69 million cable TV households today – comprising smaller independent and regional MSOs.

    NXTDigital CEO Vynsley Fernandes said “The focus in Q2 was to lay greater emphasis on operational efficiency, rather than pure revenue growth at the cost of profitability. Our strategy was to continue enhancing customer engagement whilst rolling out innovative solutions and driving cross-selling relentlessly. The result is manifested in our key performance indices – where not only has our EBIDTA grown both year-on-year and quarter-on-quarter; but has also seen growth in margins.”

    Going forward, NXTDigital will continue to focus on consolidating and growing its serviced subscriber base, expected to cross 10 million; including onboarding of more than 5 million of managed services customers. It will also continue to drive cross-selling of digital video, broadband and value-added services whilst offering innovative bundled products and packages in diverse geographies.

    The company will also roll out its NXTCONNECT device, which is a single device for customers to access live television channels, OTT content, social and other apps, games & much more, to commemorate the festival season. The launch will be coupled with the rollout of NXTGO, an innovative dongle-type device that can be plugged into an OTT set top box or an Android-based television and provide immediate access to live television channels securely. 

  • Vynsley Fernandes becomes CEO NXTDigital

    Vynsley Fernandes becomes CEO NXTDigital

    Vynsley Fernandes has been known as the CEO of Hinduja group-owned Indusind Media & Communications which runs cable TV MSO InCable TV, a position he took up in August 2018. As of last month, his role and designations have changed: he has been redesignated as CEO of the theheadend in the sky (HITS) venture NXTDigital and president of IndusInd Media.

    Since joining, Vynsley or Vyns as he is known has managed to return the struggling NXTDigital businesses to profitability, thanks to better management at IMCL which he headed

    On a consolidated basis, revenues grew at NXTDigital by 65 per cent over FY19, from Rs 704.62crore to Rs 1,162.10crore; operating EBIDTA rose significantly to Rs 218.01crore against a loss of Rs 72.61crore; its PAT is a healthy Rs 110.05 crore as against a loss of Rs 303.43 crore in FY19.

    Thanks to the great showing, Vyns got elevated to CEO of NXTDigital with the additional responsibility of IMCL.

    Vyns updated his designation on linkedin today. 

     

  • NXT Digital does a financial turnaround in FY 2020

    NXT Digital does a financial turnaround in FY 2020

    MUMBAI: Among the early movers in the cable TV industry, the Hinduja group run – NXT Digital has turned out impressive financials for the financial year 2020. The topline has shown significant growth, it has turned EBIDTA positive and how; the red ink on its bottomline has been replaced by fat profits and to top it all it has even declared a dividend of 50 per cent. And it's all thanks to its subsidiary IMCL, which has declared a robust performance over the past four quarters. 

    On a consolidated basis, revenues grew by 65 per cent over FY19, from Rs 704.62crore to Rs 1,162.10crore; operating EBIDTA rose significantly to Rs 218.01crore against a loss of Rs 72.61crore; its PAT is a healthy Rs 110.05 crore as against a loss of Rs 303.43 crore in FY19. Buoyed by the great showing, a dividend of 50 per cent has been declared to the joys of many a shareholder. 

    NXT Digital announced that its HITS platform today has five million subscribers through local cable operators (LCOs) and smaller multisystem operators (MSOs) in 1500 towns all over India, and even in remote places such as Ladkah, Kargul, the far north east and the Andaman, Nicobar and Lakshwadeep islands. The technology, using C-band is not affected by rain or adverse weather and customers in these areas continue to enjoy digital services, uninterrupted. 

    "This kind of outstanding performance consistently over the last four quarters speaks volumes on our commitment towards our subscribers through strong value creation," says IMCL CEO Vynsley Fernandes."We firmly stand committed to further our endeavor of creating an integrated platform for digital services, offering cable TV, satellite, broadband and other digital media, all under one roof. Building an effective framework along with our product bundling strategy has been crucial for our business turnaround in FY20. With close to a 100 per cent prepaid base and a substantial presence in phase 3 and 4 markets, IMCL expects to continue on its digital growth path."

     The company says it has continued to focus on key drivers through FY' 20. Some of these include: 

    * Targeting the the fastest growing segments of semi-urban and rural India. Over 60 per cent of its subscriber base is in these markets which continue to see increasing pay TV penetration as well as growing average revenue per user (ARPU).

     *Growing ARPU through value added services and differentiated products in the cities. Launching innovative products like layering cable TV with broadband and value-added services, coupled with 24X7 services on ground.

     * Successfully implementing the new regulatory framework, set out by the TRAI (Telecom Regulatory Authority of India) in early 2019. The visionary framework which brought in much needed transparency to the pay TV ecosystem and enhanced subscriber choice has buoyed the business model and set out a clearly defined level playing field for the industry. 

    * Maintaining pre-paid collections at nearly 100 per cent, whilst ensuring low churn through a focused E&R (engagement &retention) model for subscribers and franchisees. 

    * Leveraging its leadership position in technology, whilst improving cost efficiencies. Recently moved to 32APSK technology, that improves satellite throughput by over 30 per cent. 

    * Working closely with its 9,000 plus franchisees to remain focused on the subscriber through continuous enhancement of the quality of service and viewership experience. 

     This apart, the company is working on developing an indigenous set top box keeping in mind the government's Make in India mandate; it has been conducting digital online training for its LCOs; it has built a robust digital payment collection platform, and even rolled out a proactive business continuity plan to ensure that its subscribers get top class service even during cyclone and the ongoing Covid2019 pandemic that has rocked India and the world. 

    Going forward, it plans to expand on its managed services model and has signed on additional MSOs; that should double its subscriber base to 10 million. The company says the model effectively supports these smaller MSOs and LCOs several of whom are unable to sustain their businesses due to increasing costs of connectivity and technology obsolescence. 

    Fernandes adds that the idea is to expand the services its franchisees can offer, making them multi-product and multi- service providers; offering customers a whole range of services from FMCG products to digital and financial solutions. 

    "This will help our franchisees not only sustain their businesses, but diversify and grow their earnings portfolio, across the country," he says. "We remain focused on delivering integrated services to customers, bundling television with broadband services from our ISP subsidiary OneOTT iNTERTAINMENT, which has a presence in over 40 cities."

  • We are not a cable TV company but a digital services provider: IMCL’s Vynsley Fernandes

    We are not a cable TV company but a digital services provider: IMCL’s Vynsley Fernandes

    MUMBAI: Innovation is the key to sustain any business. With newer entrants capturing market share, emerging alternatives to traditional TV, the cable operators in the country have focused on creating a diverse portfolio of services. IndusInd Media and Communications Ltd. (IMCL) CEO Vynsley Fernandes, who believes in innovation to stay ahead of the competition, says it is not a cable television company but a digital services provider.

    “We have launched broadband as our combo pack. Today, we are not a cable television company. We are a digital services provider. We provide video broadband and data to consumers’ homes. When we work with cable providers, we groom them to become digital service providers,” Fernandes said during a virtual fireside chat with Indiantelvision.com founder, CEO and editor-in-chief Anil Wanvari.

    He mentioned that all the major cable operators have moved to fibre and provide both broadband and cable because they understand the need to have a diversified portfolio. According to him, the cable operators are ahead of the curve as they have been providing broadband well before the bigger players entered.

    “You have to keep on innovating. There is no other rule book in this business for success other than innovation. Everyone – DTH, cable TV, OTT – has to innovate to stay ahead of the curve. Can you build home security products built into it? Can you create payment gateways? The only way to keep innovating new products,” he stated.

    About the broadband business, he said that they have a subscriber base of 300,000 which is growing very rapidly. “The good part is you need not have one at the cost of the other. Today our product is a combo product. We are offering fibre to the home, a high-value pack: 750 channels on cable television. So consumers are opting for cable, data, and broadband. Will there be a skew? Yes, there will be a skew. But technology will evolve but the ethos and principles will remain fundamental to the business,” he added.

    Fernandes added that they have spent the last year ensuring that the subscriber base is built up again while it was affected during the rollout of new tariff order (NTO). Hence, IMCL closed the year with a large number of subscribers migrating back to IMLC. It also crossed five million-mark in the month of March.

    “Cable continues to work in the highly-dense markets, urban areas like Mumbai, Bangalore, Delhi, and to some extent places like Ahmedabad, Nagpur, etc. But our focus will always be major cities. We don’t have a major presence in Kolkata, but we are building it there. The cable works well because we are able to bundle it with broadband. In all our city markets we have been able to do that. HITS was always designed as a product to reach consumers in tier-3-4 markets and it has lived up to its reputation. Close to sixty-five per cent of our HITS base is from rural markets. Another 35 per cent is probably a mix between tier-2 and tier-3 markets. Our growth has continued in rural markets,” he added.

    The veteran professional in the industry also said that during the last six months, a lot of businesses including competitors have realized that the future lies in collaboration. IMCL has also been working with some large pan-India MSOs to provide managed services through its HITS platform. The MSOs were also facing challenges of fibre cuts in rural India because the subscriber servicing cost (SSC) in rural India is much higher than cities because the density is much more.

    “In our company today, with the WFH in place, everyone is given a new role. How can they innovate and work differently? The challenge is on revenue and margins. Revenues are going to be hit, but margins will be hit harder. The only way to do that is to substantiate the margins by building layers. So you have a cable TV layer, and you build broadband and offer OTT with it; not your own OTT, but partnering with someone to offer it as a hybrid product. You build a digital payment app over. So you build a stack of useful products. It is going to be tough and challenging in the coming days,” Fernandes commented.

  • IMCL launches innovative packages for subscribers to stay connected

    IMCL launches innovative packages for subscribers to stay connected

    MUMBAI:  IndusInd Media and Communications Ltd (IMCL), the media vertical of the global Hinduja Group, has implemented a slew of innovative products and solutions to help its Local Cable Operators (LCOs) and its millions of subscribers across India to ensure access to quality content amid the COVID-19 lockdown.

    IMCL – which owns a digital cable platform (InDigital) and the only HITS platform (NXTDIGITAL) in the country – has rolled out a significantly low-cost package for subscribers called the Vishesh Manoranjan Pack. 

    This pack, which gives subscribers access to over 400 television channels, includes the popular NXT Value Added Services package, comprising up to 20 unique channels for its subscribers. The package can be activated immediately and LCOs can make the payment till16 April 2020. The credit period effectively allows for LCOs to collect the payment after the lockdown is lifted.

    Further, to ensure uninterrupted dissemination of critical information during this challenging period, IMCL has worked with its LCO partners to activate its special InfoPack, at zero cost for customers who are unable to make any payment. This will enable subscribers to stay connected with all Doordarshan channels, including news and entertainment.

    These packages come close on the heels of a slew of initiatives taken by IMCL to ensure safety of its LCOs and subscribers. IMCL has provided critical awareness and education through its national network of LCOs, multiple platforms and portals – in 11 languages, through posters, pamphlets, e-books and video messaging. To help subscribers remain connected, IMCL has extended its online recharge facility through Easebuzz, where subscribers can make their payment directly to their LCOs online, thereby eliminating any level of interaction.

    IMCL CEO Vynsley Fernandes said: “We remain committed towards the well-being of our LCO partners and subscribers. At the time of a global crisis, our endeavour is to consistently create awareness and the dissemination of critical information, to ensure the safety and protection of all our stakeholders. These packages, especially our InfoPack at zero cost, are in line with that philosophy.”

  • IMCL’s business continuity plan to ensure LCO safety during COVID-19 crisis

    IMCL’s business continuity plan to ensure LCO safety during COVID-19 crisis

    MUMBAI: Organisations across the globe and across sectors are re-orienting work procedures amid the COVID-19 pandemic as the crisis continues to escalate. While remote work is easier for a few organisations, the industries which demand on-ground work are facing tougher challenges; distributor platform operators (DPOs) come under this segment. IndusInd Media and Communications Ltd (IMCL), one of the major multi-system operators (MSO) in India, is stepping up its efforts through ‘Business Continuity Plan’ (BCP) to ensure the safety of the staff alongside smooth operation.

    IMCL CEO Vynsley Fernandes spoke about the BCP which was in place way before the pandemic kicked in. The plan applies to all the functions including sales, technical across regions and layered in three levels. Under L1, basic precautions would be taken and employees work under three shifts, each of eight hours. The L2 kicks in under a lockdown when certain functions are not able to perform; the operation then takes place in two shifts of 12 hours and employees coming to office get reduced to 33 per cent. In the extremely critical situation, L3 gets effective under which only very critical 2-3 per cent staff come to office and stay at the workplace for 24 hours; rest work from home. Moreover, the company puts into action all the digital mechanisms for collections from the cable operators at this level. IMCL is currently operating under L3.

    “LCOs have a concern that they don't want to allow the subscriber to make the payment transfer directly to us. And so, what we did was we tied up with EASEBUZZ and we got the LCOs to get money transferred from their subscribers to their accounts. The Central Action Team (CAT) gets on a video conference call in the morning at nine o'clock and in the evening at five o'clock every day. Every day, we talk to take stock of the situation, what action to take, how to keep our staff safe, and what procedures to put in place,” Fernandes added.

    How the business is running under current situation

    Fernandes said this plan is helping them keep the businesses ongoing in terms of renewal, subscription, collection and packages. LCOs are easily collecting money from customers. Moreover, IMCL has also circulated a number of materials to LCOs on how they can stay safe and keep customers safe. He added that they did the entire communication in 11 languages. He mentioned that when the crisis started about three weeks ago, they circulated the health guide at that time itself.

    “We shared with all our LCOs and we also asked them to share with their customers, because we wanted to make sure the safety as it is not just a business, it's also a moral duty. We made sure that we spread a lot of communication on how to stay safe,” he added.

    How is IMCL effectively communicating?

    As Fernandes said, it is communicating to the LCOs on WhatsApp because they are all connected to the IMCL team through this messaging app. IMCL also sent out letters and posters to the LCOs. Moreover, they are also connecting to the subscribers on TV itself. If a NXTDigital subscriber switches on the TV, he will get to see a lot of communications from the MSO on what precautions to take, what call centres to call up along with other details.

    “We've been very proactive on this, because we are dealing with the LCOs. We made sure that we got everything sorted out in the difficult time but also looked at how we can help our staff and LCOs as much as possible. We took whatever action we had to take that way,” he concluded.