ITV

Tag: West Bengal

  • TDSAT directs West Bengal network Saptak Digital to clear Taj TV dues

    TDSAT directs West Bengal network Saptak Digital to clear Taj TV dues

    NEW DELHI: West Bengal cable TV network Saptak Digital has been asked by the Telecom Disputes Settlement & Appellate Tribunal (TDSAT) to clear its outstanding dues to Taj TV of Rs 2,11,989 and Rs 2,48,006 for non-DAS and DAS areas as per terms and agreement of the previous agreement.

    Listing the matter for 7 September, member B B Srivastava also directed that for enjoying the signals the monthly payment will also have to continue to be made in accordance with the terms of the same agreement.

    The Tribunal said in its order of 9 August that the payment has to positively be made within two weeks.

    It however clarified that all these payments would be without prejudice to the rights and contentions of Saptak and subject to the final decision of the Tribunal.

    Meanwhile, the two sides were again asked to “sit down immediately after effecting the payment to resolve their differences and for signing the interconnect agreement in accordance with the TRAI regulation of March 2016.

  • TDSAT directs West Bengal network Saptak Digital to clear Taj TV dues

    TDSAT directs West Bengal network Saptak Digital to clear Taj TV dues

    NEW DELHI: West Bengal cable TV network Saptak Digital has been asked by the Telecom Disputes Settlement & Appellate Tribunal (TDSAT) to clear its outstanding dues to Taj TV of Rs 2,11,989 and Rs 2,48,006 for non-DAS and DAS areas as per terms and agreement of the previous agreement.

    Listing the matter for 7 September, member B B Srivastava also directed that for enjoying the signals the monthly payment will also have to continue to be made in accordance with the terms of the same agreement.

    The Tribunal said in its order of 9 August that the payment has to positively be made within two weeks.

    It however clarified that all these payments would be without prejudice to the rights and contentions of Saptak and subject to the final decision of the Tribunal.

    Meanwhile, the two sides were again asked to “sit down immediately after effecting the payment to resolve their differences and for signing the interconnect agreement in accordance with the TRAI regulation of March 2016.

  • Q2-2016: Ortel YoY revenue up 24.6 percent, PAT more than doubles

    Q2-2016: Ortel YoY revenue up 24.6 percent, PAT more than doubles

    BENGALURU: The Bibhu Prasad Rath-headed regional cable television and broadband internet player Ortel Communications Ltd  (Ortel) has reported a 24.6 percent growth in revenue from operations (TIO) at Rs 45.79 crore as in the quarter ended 30 September 2015 (Q2-2016, current quarter) as compared to the Rs 36.74 crore in the corresponding year ago quarter. TIO in the current quarter was also higher by 12.8 percent as compared to the Rs 40.6 crore in the immediate trailing quarter. Ortel provides services in the Indian states of Odisha, Chhattisgarh, Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and West Bengal,

     

    Notes: 100,00,000 = 100 lakh = 10 million = 1 crore

    The numbers mentioned in this report are standalone.

     

    The company reported more than a doubling of PAT (up 2.3 times) to Rs 2.83 crore (5.9 percent margin) as compared to the Rs 1.23 crore (3 percent margin) in Q2-2015, and 15.9 percent more than the Rs 2.44 crore (5.7 percent margin) in the immediate trailing quarter.

     

    Ortel President and CEO Rath said, “I am glad to report a strong operational and financial performance for the quarter ended   September 30, 2015. Performance during the quarter was driven by healthy addition in revenue generating units (RGUs) which stood at 571,834. We are witnessing encouraging traction to our LCO buyout strategy in emerging markets like Andhra Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, and I am confident that this would sustain going forward. Going forward, we would continue with our strategy of aggressive LCO buyouts across all our markets and diligently integrate the new  subscribers into Ortel’s last mile network. Healthy contribution from new RGUs along with ongoing focus on the high margin Broadband business would enable us to deliver strong financial performance in the forthcoming years.”

     

    The company’s EBIDTA (TIO plus Depreciation and Amortisation plus Other Income plus Fixed assets written off minus Total Expenditure) increased 31.3 percent to Rs 17.29 crore (37.8 percent margin) in the current quarter as compared to the Rs 13.17 crore (35.8 percent margin) and increased 8.8 percent as compared to the Rs 15.89 crore (39.1 percent margin) in Q1-2016.

     

    Ortel’s YoY RGUs grew 9.2 percent to 571,834 in Q2-2016 from 523,833 in Q2-2015 and increased 5.5 percent from 542,217 in Q1-2016.

     

    Cable TV RGUs’ increased 9 percent in Q2-2016 to 508,171 from 466,305 in Q2-2015 and grew 5.6 percent from 481,317 in Q1-2016.

    Ortel’s YoY primary digital cable RGUs grew 33.2 percent to 117,401 in Q2-2016 from 88,106 and grew QoQ to 4.5 percent from 112,296 in Q1-2016. Analogue cable RGUs’ increased to 330,739 from 322,175 in Q2-2015 and from 307,923 in Q1-2016. The company says that its Cable TV penetration stood at 23.7 percent and penetration in select 10 towns where company offers digital services stands at 71 percent.

     

    Broadband customers grew 8.9 percent to 63,663 in the current quarter from 57,528 in Q2-2015 and grew 4.5 percent from 60,900 in Q1-2016.

     

    The company has reported a slight drop in digital and analogue cable and broadband ARPUs’ in the current quarter. Digital cable ARPU in Q2-2016 was Rs 183 in Q2-2016; Rs 187 in Q2-2015 and Rs 185 in Q1-2016. Analogue cable ARPU in Q2-2016 was Rs 143; in Q2-2015 it was Rs 147 and in Q1-2016, it was Rs 144. Broadband ARPU in Q2-2016 was Rs 183, in Q2-2015, it was Rs 187 and in Q1-2016, it was Rs 185.

     

     

    Cable Subscription, Connection and Channel carriage fees

     

    The company’s cable subscription fees in Q2-2016 increased 4 percent to Rs 20.6 crore as compared to the Rs 19.8 crore in Q2-2015 and increased 3 percent as compared to the Rs 20 crore in Q1-2016. Connection fees declined to Rs 0.70 crore in the current quarter from Rs 1.1 crore in Q2-2015 and remained flat as compared to the Rs 0.7 crore in Q1-2015.Channel carriage fees in the current quarter increased 44.9 percent to Rs 9.7 crore from Rs 6.7 crore in Q2-2015 and increased 23.8 percent from Rs 7.8 crore in the immediate trailing quarter.

     

    Let us look at the other numbers reported by Ortel

     

    Total Expenditure in Q2-2016 increased 13.3 percent to Rs 38.72 crore as compared to Rs 34.17 crore in Q2-2015 and increased 12.5 percent as compared to the Rs 34.42 crore in the immediate trailing quarter.

     

    The company’s Programming cost in the current quarter increased 7.2 percent to Rs 9.44 crore from Rs 8.81 crore in Q2-2015 and increased 5.9 percent from Rs 8.91 crore in Q1-2016.

     

    Bandwidth cost in Q2-2016 increased 19.3 percent to Rs 1.92 crore from Rs 1.61 crore in Q2-2015 and increased 7.9 percent from Rs 1.78 crore in Q1-2016.

     

    Employee Benefits Expense in the current quarter increased 45.5 percent to Rs 5.64 crore as compared to the Rs 3.88 crore in Q2-2015 and was 15.4 percent more than the Rs 4.89 crore in Q1-2016.

     

    Last quarter, Ortel announced that it had introduced free broadband option for all Ortel Cable TV subscribers in the states of Odisha, West Bengal and Chhattisgarh as a complimentary special value added service in order to target to deeper penetrate into markets by making internet affordable. Ortel says that its offer includes a free data limit every month for a year. The subscriber will be charged a nominal amount after exceeding the free data usage for the month.

  • Who Will Bihar Vote For?

    Who Will Bihar Vote For?

    MUMBAI:  CNN-IBN and IBN7’s programming on the upcoming Bihar Elections is focused on bringing the actual picture from the Ground Zero. In continuation of this, the channels will bring a special pre-poll survey to comprehend the overall scenario, likely seat wise outcome and key issues which will matter in these elections. The findings of the survey are set to telecast on 8th October, 2015 on both the channels.

     

    Given the high decibel campaigns and presence of star campaigners, Bihar elections will be a crucial event in the political firmament of the country. Both the BJP and the Grand Alliance are pulling out all stops in an attempt to win in the state. The results of this election could also set the tone for several key state elections that are to happen over the next 2 years including Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal.

     

    Conducted by Axis MyIndia across 38 districts of Bihar, covering all 243 constituencies with a sample size of over 24,000 respondents, the survey intends to delve deep into what the electorate in Bihar in thinking. The survey comprises of a comprehensive set of questions to assess various factors, which could play an important role in influencing the choice of the voters.

     

    To know the findings of this study, tune into CNN-IBN’s ‘Battle for Bihar: The Pre-Poll Survey’ and IBN7’s ‘Mahasangram Ka Mahasurvey’ on 8th October 2015, from 7pm to 10pm.

  • AMBC targets installation of additional 1.6 lakh STBs by Dec 2016

    AMBC targets installation of additional 1.6 lakh STBs by Dec 2016

    KOLKATA:  The West Bengal based multi-system operator (MSO), Advance Multisystem Broadband Communication (AMBC), is aiming to install 1.6 lakh set top boxes (STBs) by December 2016.

    AMBC claims to be the first private limited company in cable industry that is still run by a professional management team built by cable operators only. Launched in 2000, the company has more than 450 LCOs affiliated with it at present. AMBC in the Kolkata municipal area (KMA) claims to have more than 1.83 lakh digital connections.
     
    The company has one digital headend, which caters to the Kolkata municipal area and three analogue headends. The analogue headends at Arambag and Birbhum were to be converted into digital ones with the implementation of DAS in analogue areas. The company had earlier earmarked Rs 5 crore for converting the analogue headends into digital ones, but now the company has ‘withdrawn the signal’ from some non-potential areas.
     
    In the DAS areas, AMBC has seeded STBs in Hooghly, Howrah, Nadia, Salt Lake and North 24 Parganas among others, while in locations like Burdwan, Birbhum and parts of Bankura, it has more than 2.5 lakh analogue cable TV connections.
     
    “We were preparing to seed STBs in phase III and IV, and are encouraging the LCOs to do as much as they can, but RIO arrangement of SIPL is becoming a major drawback,” said AMBC managing director Sujit Das.
     
    Das informed that the company had already accounted for stock and trade interest rate due to postponement of digitisation deadlines when his company had taken loans to procure STBs’.
     
    “We are looking for some loops in KMA,” revealed Das. “Actually we are trying to saturate our core market with topmost priority. A set back after making a new venture in a new market may spoil our name and deflect our target,” he shared.
     
     Speaking about the challenges in cable TV digitisation, Das said, “As the market is still directed mostly by the LCOs, we need to have their confidence first, and then the job will become easier. A confused ground partner can be harmful for the operation. We need to work with cooperation with the LCOs, not with compulsion.”
     
     “Value chain is also a big factor. For the remaining phases we need to start by breaking even,” he said.  “Only a la carte channels offer will not be feasible enough as LCOs have to bear high cost to carry the channels.”
     
    Das feels that the experiment of digitisation will be over before the next phase starts and the market will be mature enough to work with. “So we may reduce our capex loss in seeding of STBs and operational cost as well. In phase 1and 2 we all were riding on the tiger’s back.”
     
    When being asked to comment on the phase III and phase IV of DAS, he said the locations where the company has analogue presence are price sensitive market and the monthly subscription fee hovers around Rs 100-Rs 110. “Keeping in mind the price sensitive market, we might do various permutations and combinations while providing the channel package to consumers in DAS 4 areas. A price hike in small towns and rural Bengal will slow down STBs seeding,” he added.
     
     
    Ground networking and channel placing are major factors for acceptance of a signal to the consumers. AMBC also works with the best channel sequence, which is reviewed from time to time depending upon the feedback from the ground, Das informed.
     
    AMBC says that it gets immense support from its LCOs’ to deliver quality service and technical support to meet consumer demands.

     

  • FIFA World Cup draws female fans to Sony Aath

    FIFA World Cup draws female fans to Sony Aath

    MUMBAI: The 2014 FIFA World Cup has gripped the nation, and if one thought it was only a man’s game, the TAM TV ratings for FIFA World Cup on Sony Aath will prove them wrong.

     

    As per the week 26 of TAM TV ratings, Sony Aath from the Multi Screen Media stable has seen a rise in the female viewership in the 15 plus age group. The channel saw a four per cent hike, from the 146 TVTs that ESPN Star Sports (the then official broadcaster of FIFA) received during the FIFA World Cup 2010 telecast to 152 TVTs it has got in the current season.   

     

    In the first week of the telecast of FIFA World Cup, Sony Six had an all India reach of 12,469,000 while Sony Aath’s reach was 3,114,000. Combined, the two channels had a total reach of 14,792,000 in the CS 4+ years group.

     

    In the West Bengal market, while Sony Six recorded a reach of 3,056,000, Sony Aath’s reach was 3,043,000. In the second week of FIFA World Cup, Sony Aath’s reach increased to 5,589,000 in the West Bengal market. Within Kolkata, the reach of Sony Aath was 2,561,000 for the first week while in the second week it rose to 4,427,000.

     

    Amongst male in CS 15+ age group, Sony Aath recorded 173 TVTs in the West Bengal market in week one, which dropped to 154 TVTs in the second week. For Sony Six, the all India ratings in the same category was 613 TVTs in the first week, which saw a huge drop in the second week, as it recorded 453 TVTs.

     

    As of the current ratings, Sony Six (all India) has recorded 483 TVTs and Sony Aath has garnered 161 TVTs, combined the two have scored 644 TVTs.  

     

    Telecasting most of the matches at prime time has definitely paid off since the Germany versus Portugal match on 16 June telecasted at 9:30 pm
    received 1,514 TVTs on Sony Six and 393 TVT’s on Sony Aath. Combined the two have garnered 1,907 TVTs. This is the highest rated match so far.

  • CNN-IBN & IBN7 set off on Election Yatra

    CNN-IBN & IBN7 set off on Election Yatra

    MUMBAI: As we draw closer to the 16th General Elections, CNN-IBN & IBN7 bring to their viewers a special election based show called ‘Election Yatra’, a unique programme that brings forth the true flavour of elections from Ground Zero.

     

    Fronted by IBN Network’s expert team of anchors and journalists, the show will be a combination of vox pops, walk throughs, chaupals and campaign trails. Throughout the next month and a half, ‘Election Yatra’ will examine the mood of the nation by covering key constituencies in 15 states that will play a major role in government formation. The states to be covered in this unique initiative include Andhra Pradesh,  Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, Haryana, West Bengal, Bihar, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Assam, Odisha, Punjab, Uttarakhand, West Bengal & Karnataka.

     

    Speaking about this new show, Rajdeep Sardesai, Editor-in-Chief, CNN-IBN, IBN7 & IBN-Lokmat, said, “With the World’s biggest democratic exercise around the corner, we as the leading news network of the country believe in delivering viewer centric content and Election Yatra is a leap in that direction. The show will capture the real picture of all key constituencies across the country and present it to our viewers to help them make the right choices.”

     

    Don’t miss the special show from Monday to Friday @ 8.30 PM on CNN-IBN & 7.30 PM on IBN7.

  • Al Jazeera ups its ante for general elections

    Al Jazeera ups its ante for general elections

    MUMBAI: We are three days away from the big fight. And as India goes into general elections, one of the international news channels, broadcasting in the country, is strengthening its election coverage that began from 1 April.

     

    Six Al Jazeera correspondents have been roped in to highlight crucial issues bothering the country- economy, food, health, corruption and security. The coverage will be in two phases- from now till the results are announced the focus will be on what the election means to India and the ground realities. The second phase, once the government is formed, will discuss on how the new government’s policies will impact the world.

     

    “In the first phase we will tell the people’s story through our news pieces. The issues they face, the reason they are choosing a certain party and whether the problems they are facing have been addressed by these parties. In the second phase we will show the impact of the new government on world affairs,” says Al Jazeera India bureau chief Anmol Saxena.

     

    The Al Jazeera correspondents will cover different issues from different regions of the country. So while Nidhi Dutt will explore the issue of food inflation and impact of rice farmers in West Bengal, Sohail Rahman will look at the maoist rebel attacks in Chattisgarh as well as internal security issues. Karishma Vyas will investigate the rise of Hindu nationalism from Gujarat, Faiz Jamil will look into the separatist issues affecting Assam. Baba Umar and Kamal Kumar will also assist the team. Apart from this, seven other freelancers have been roped in to help in both reporting as well as production.

     

    Special programmes include: One hour special show that analysis the measures taken by main political parties regarding healthcare facilities; ‘101 East’ that asks people if BJP Prime Ministerial candidate Narendra Modi is the right person for India and ‘Inside Story’ that debates crucial points before and after voting.

     

    The news packages will be interspersed throughout the day with at least one news piece from one part of the country in a day.

     

    Not to forget that the channel will also indulge in live coverage on some of the polling days and specifically on the verdict day -16 May. Live output will be provided from three locations on 16 May- BJP headquarters, Congress headquarters and an Al Jazeera set up from a location for which one OB van, one fly away dish and one AVI vest have been hired. The first day of polling (7 April) will see live broadcasting from Assam and south India.

     

    Marketing plans to promote visibility of the shows as well as the channel will begin soon. Social media will be used extensively to lock in people using hashtags #AJIndia and #IndiaElections that will be tracked by its online team and the programme ‘The Stream.’

     

    Speaking about the coverage, Al Jazeera managing director Al Anstey said in a release, “India is the world’s biggest democracy and the country is diverse in opinion and sentiment. Al Jazeera will attempt to reflect the voices of people ranging from the metropolitan hubs of Delhi, Mumbai and Ahmedabad; to the rural landscapes of Rajasthan and Kerala. Al Jazeera’s coverage will encompass TV, online and social media which will ensure real opinion, thought and voices that will be heard.”