CQ-Facebook and GroupM enter into a deal

Social Networking site Facebook has signed its first agency deal in India with WPP’s integrated media and marketing company GroupM. The partnership was signed during Facebook COO Sherly Sandberg's recent visit to India.

CQ-Twitter quarterly revenue reaches upto $ 312 m

Social networking giant Twitter has reported a quarterly revenue of $312 million, a 124 per cent increase compared to $139 million a year earlier.  

CQ-Kolkata police registers FIR against two Hathway-linked LCOs

Kolkata police has registered FIR against two Hathway linked local cable operators for illegally re-transmitting signals of Star Sports 1 on without encryption. 

CQ-MIB grants license to MCCS to launch Punjabi news channel ABP Sanjha

Ministry of Information and Broadcasting has granted license to Media Content and communication Services (MCCS), the ABP group owned broadcasting company to launch its proposed 24-hour Punjabi news channel ABP Sanjha.

CQ-Telefonica, Samsung Smart TV deal

Telefonica and Samsung had signed an agreement that will allow users to acquire Samsung Smart TV sets with the Movistar TV services integrated. 

CQ-Kasthuri Media ropes in Sudhir Puthran as ad sales head

Bengaluru based Kannada media network Kasthuri Media has roped in former DDB Mudra group head Sudhir Raju Puthran as ad sales head for West. 

CQ-Startup Village and Getit Infomedia sign a JV

Getit Infomedia a leading digital information service provider has signed a joint venture with Startup Village to provide technical and marketing support to start-ups aspiring to make it big in the India and Asian markets.   

CQ-Airtle Digital TV’s ARPU increases in Q1

India’s leading direct-to-home (DTH) service provider Airtel Digital TV has registered growth to Rs 214 in its average revenue per user (ARPU) in the first quarter of this fiscal. This is the highest ARPU registered by the company for long time. Earlier company highest ARPU was at Rs 207 reported in the third quarter of the previous financial year, which subsequently fell to Rs 203. 

CQ-AXN India and CBS Studios International sign a content deal

Multi Screen Media’s (MSM) English entertainment channel AXN India has announced a multi-year content deal with CBS Studios International. The new deal gives AXN access to all content distributed by CBS. 

CQ-Delhi HC stayed EC’s Notice to Ashok Chavan

Former Maharashtra Chief Minister Ashok Chavan has been given a breathe for a few more days in the paid news case. The Delhi High Court 28th July has stayed EC’s show cause notice to him to explain why he should not be disqualified in a 'paid news' case.

CQ-French Broadcast regulator rejects FTA migration applications

French broadcast regulator the Conseil supérieur de l’audiovisuel (CSA) has rejected applications from three channels to migrate from pay-TV channels on France’s digital terrestrial TV platform to become free-to-air.

CQ-Fibre’s speed increasing Internet usage: Council Americas

The fibre to the Home (FTTH) Council Americas has released the results of a survey by RVA, LLC, revealing new data on the usage and impact of fibre to the home networks in North America.

CQ-dB Broadcast Selects Snell ICE & Morpheus Solution

dB Broadcast on 29th July has announced the selection of  Snell for a new multi-channel TV playout platform solution being built in the UK. dB Broadcast has selected Snell ICE to manage the project after a competitive tender process.

CQ-Pace gross profit up by 5.4 per cent

The British leading STB manufacturer and technology solution provider to the Pay-TV and broadband service industries Pace Plc has registered gross profit up by 5.4 percent. Adjusted EBITA was $106.3 million against $96.3 million last time. Profit after was up 9.3 per cent to $55.4 million against $50.7 million and the to June 3oth diviend was lifted 23 per cent to 2.25c per share.

CQ-BSkyB increases investment limit in virtual reality start-up

BSkyB has doubled its investment on virtual reality start up by investing a further $400,000 in Jaunt, a Silicon Valley-based firm a specialist in creating panoramic 3D video effects.   

CQ-Ofcom fines Discovery for violating the broadcasting code

The UK’s broadcast regulator Ofcom has fined Investigation Discovery-a channel dedicated to documentary programming about crime and criminal investigation for violating the broadcasting code.

CQ-SES to invest €2.3 billion in new satellites

Luxembourg based satellite operator SES on 25th July has announced that it will invest around €2.3 billion in new satellites, including the building of SES-12. The investment rate will be at about a rate of €450 million per year ($612 million). 

CQ-TVPlayer ads Zing and Lamhe on its bouquet

The UK based free streaming service provider TVPlayer has brought two channels, Zing and Lamhe to its platform. Both the channels are taken from the ZEE Entertainment.    

CQ-BARC creates new identity

The Broadcast Audience Research Council has revealed it new logo and brand visual identity. 

CQ-Digiturk selects AirTies & Octoshape to deliver premium programming services

Turkey based Digiturk has selected, AirTies Wireless Networks, a supplier of advanced technology to the broadcast and broadband industry and Octoshape, an expert in cloud-based, OTT stream acceleration to its International customers.

Only 70% pay TV market in India will be digitalised by 2023-MPA

Projections from industry analysts Media Partners Asia (MPA) indicate that India’s pay-TV industry will grow from $7.4 billion in revenue in 2013 to $12.3 billion by 2018, an average annual growth rate of 11 per cent. By 2023, MPA predicts that India’s pay-TV industry will generate revenues of approximately $16.4 billion.

 The Indian market is important because of its accessibility for global media distributors and investors and its high levels of pay-TV penetration. Ever changing regulations are destabilising but the government’s Digital Addressable Systems (DAS) mandate will be an important catalyst while improved supply side factors, including healthy financial markets and investments from international strategics, are also critical.

Consumer Organisation seek Interoperable STBs

An MSO from Kerala, M/s Kollam Cable, already registered for DAS services for the last one year, along with one TN Bhaskaran Nair, a Cable TV subscriber and Chairman of ‘ Consumer Vigilance Cell’, a Kollam based consumer organisation have filed a writ petition in the Kerala High Court bearing No 18759/2014 on 22 July seeking relief to pause the digitalisation process till interoperable STBs are made available to the subscribers that use a government approved common CAS. 

The parties have demanded in their joint petition that every Cable TV headend in the country should have a common CAS as the second option so that subscribers can purchase interoperable STBs of their choice and use them in a network of choice.  Mr Bhaskaran Nair before approaching the court has been filing number of RTI applications to I&B Ministry, TRAI, BECIL and BIS to find information  on why Interoperable STBs are not being made available by the MSOs to subscribers when the same has been provisioned in DAS regulations and the Amended Cable TV Act. 

CQ-Facebook brings bookmarking facility ‘Save’

Social media giant Facebook has rolled out new application “Save” that allows users to save pages that interest them for latter access. The application aims to help people who don’t have much time to explore links, places, movies, TV shows or music immediately. The feature is available for iOS, Android and Web users.

CQ-DoPT introduces e-record book portal for govt. employees

Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) has rolled out an e-service record book portal for government employees.

CQ-ACT introduces its new broadband brand ‘ACT Fibernet’

Atria Convergence Technologies (ACT) has launched its new broadband brand ACT Fibernet. 

CQ-Dentsu Aegis Network buys majority share in Milestone Brandcom

The Dentsu Aegis Network has acquired majority stake in Milestone Brandcom, one of the largest out-of-home agency in India.

CQ-Hyderabad HC rejects petition of Telugu Channel ABN

Hyderabad High Court on 25th July has rejected the petition filed by Telugu Channel ABN seeking resumption of the channel telecast in Telangana State. The petition was filed by the channel Associate Editor DHVSSN Murthy. 

CQ-MG Parameswaran elected AAAI president

MG Parameswaran, Advisor, FCB Ulka Advertising, was elected President of Advertising Agencies Association of India (AAAI) for the year 2014-2015 at its Annual General Body Meeting. Nakul Chopra, CEO South Asia, Publicis Communications, was elected Vice-President of the Association.

CQ-Amritsar cable ops move TDSAT against Fastway’s subscription fee hike

Amritsar Cable TV operator Sangarsh Committee has gone to TDSAT against multi-system operator (MSO) Fastway Transmission’s decision to hike monthly subscription fees.

CQ-Over 1400 designs received from public for DAVP ads: Javadekar

Information and Broadcasting Minister Prakash Javadekar has said that the government has received 1470 designs from the general public for advertisements to be issued by the Directorate of Advertising and Visual Publicity (DAVP).

CQ-Murdoch to create pan-European TV network

Rupert Murdoch plans to forge a new pan-European pay-TV giant with his British satellite broadcaster BSkyB paying 4.9 billion pounds (8.3 billion dollars) in cash to buy the media mogul’s television offshoots in Germany and Italy.

CQ-Vodafone reports 10.3% hike in service revenues in India

Vodafone on  26 July reported a six per cent decline in service revenue at £1.02 billion during the April-June quarter, compared to £1.09 billion in the year-ago period.

CQ-KBC 8' to focus on stories of bonding

The show, which emphasised on the 'common man'  theme last year, will revolve around the hopes of people with diverse regional, cultural and religious backgrounds.

CQ-KBC 8' to focus on stories of bonding

The show, which emphasised on the 'common man'  theme last year, will revolve around the hopes of people with diverse regional, cultural and religious backgrounds.

CQ-KBC 8' to focus on stories of bonding

The show, which emphasised on the 'common man'  theme last year, will revolve around the hopes of people with diverse regional, cultural and religious backgrounds.

CQ- MIB cancels registration of four MSOs

As per the latest list of cancellation and issue of registration for Digital Addressable market, of four multi-system operators (MSOs) including that of Kolkata-based Digicable Comm. Services, Chennai-based Jothishankar Annamalai, Mysore-based Mediasix Digital Networks, and Thanjavur-based Kavery Digital Networks.

CQ- TN local cable operators refuse to pay more to Arasu

Tamil Nadu cable operators working with the state run MSO network ARASU cable TV corporation have requested the Government that ARASU must sign formal agreements with them as mandated by TRAI ( Telecom Regulatory Authority of India).They have also urged the Arasu Cable officials to facilitate a meeting with the Chief Minister J.jayalalitha to highlight the challenges they face.

CQ- Vijaya Laxmi Chhabra named interim DG of Doordarshan

Vijaya Lakshmi Chhabra has been named as the interim DG of Doordarshan.

CQ- Ajit Thakur takes charge of Channel V

Star India executive vice-president and general manager Prem Kamath - who heads Channel V and Star Pravah was quitting. Kamath will move to A+E Networks. Currently, Kamath is serving his notice period which ends this month.

CQ- Francis Lai to be honoured at World Soundtrack Lifetime Award

French composer Francis Lai is all set to receive the world Soundtrack Lifetime Achievement Award for his outstanding work at the 14th World Soundtrack Awards’s focus on France.

CQ- Tata Sky launches the first ever Scholarship on television

Tata Sky, the leading digital Pay-TV player in the country,has taken edutainment to the next level by announcing the launch of the first ever Scholarship for kids that can be availed through television. Author &motivational speaker Chetan Bhagat has been roped in to promote the Tata Sky Scholarship Quiz – a gratifying concept of edutainment.

CQ- Two more Union Ministries join Twitter

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, asking all his ministers to join twitter, two more union ministries debuted on the platform 25 July.  The Ministry of Textiles and the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare will be tweeting from their handles; @MoHFW_INDIA  and @TexMinIndia

MSO demands amendment in MIB record

In its representation to Ministry of  Information and Broadcasting ,Amritsar (Punjab)  based MSO Godfather communication  has urged MIB to modify the official records as well as website of the ministry  in compliance with honorable HC of Punjab and Haryana order dated  9 July ,the MSO through a letter has requested to MIB for the same.

CQ-Tata Sky launches ‘TV is Good’ campaign for Kids!

Tata Sky, launched  its latest ad campaign ‘Ab Bachchey Seekhein TV se’ for kids. The ad is set out to convey the fact that while television is a great entertainment medium, which is a good learning aid, and helping children to be all rounder and above all grow out.

CQ-Aircel -Maxis deal chargesheet against D Maran

A day after Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi asked the CBI to file a chargesheet against the Maran brothers in the Aircel-Maxis deal, saying there is enough evidence to prosecute them, there is still no word from former telecom minister Dayanidhi Maran as well as his  brother and Sun Tv promoter  Kalanidhi Maran.

CQ-VSN to unveil new user interface for MAM at IBC 2014

Amsterdam is the stage chosen by VSN to show its media and business process solution's new user interface, designed to improve user experience and system operability.

CQ-Pay-TV software spending shrinks in developed markets

A survey from ABI research has found that developing nations are leading the charge when it comes to operator spending on middleware, conditional access, DRM and other back-office software elements.

CQ-COA Website inaugurated by Cine Director

Cable operators Association of Kerala has launched its own website www.coakerala.com . The site has details of the works of  Kerala Cable TV Industry as a whole. It also has links to works of Cable TV Operators Association of Kerala, Details of the local Cable Channels under COA, news related to Cable TV Industry, Updates on Activities of TRAI and Kerala Vision Digital TV,an MSO network run by the association.

CQ-Godfather Communication challenges DAS regulation in Punjab, Haryana HC

Godfather communication , an MSO from Amritsar , Punjab has challenged the Ministry 's order cancelling his DAS licence in a CWP NO 21922 OF 2013 in the High Court of Punjab and Haryana at Chandigarh .The petition has been admitted on 9 July 2014 and cancellation order has been stayed.The MSO has asked the ministry to amend the DAS  MSO list and other records accordingly so that he can start his digital cable operation.

UHD TVs lack market penetration

Panasonic-Ultra HDUltra-HD TVs continued to make slow and steady inroads throughout the world, but their share of the overall flat-panel TV market remained minimal by the end of May, suggesting that Ultra-HD TV pricing in the market remains too high to gain meaningful share, according to a report from IHS Technology.

Among the top 13 brands for liquid-crystal-display televisions (LCDTV) worldwide, the share of Ultra-HD TV shipments reached 5 per cent in May, up from 4 per cent in April, 3 per cent in March and 2 per cent in February. But while Ultra-HD TV share has expanded by at least 1 per centage point for the last three months, growth hasn’t budged much since September last year when the market was already at the 2 per cent level. The top 13 brands account for more than 75 per cent of total LCD TV shipments, and also represent over 90 per cent of overall Ultra-HD LCD TV shipments.

BSkyB ‘must pay more’ for Sky Deutschland

The minority shareholders in Sky Deutschland are looking for a significant premium for their stock from BSkyB. BSkyB is looking to acquire all of Sky Deutschland (as well as 100 per cent of Sky Italia) and there are numerous reports that a formal acquisition bid is only days away. Financial analysts have suggested that BSkyB’s final bill for the German and Italian pay-TV assets could easily top £20 billion – and it could be much more.

BSkyB will unveil its latest results on Friday (July 25) and the market is anticipating a formal announcement from Sky regarding its German and Italian plans. Analysts have suggested potential synergy savings of some £100 million a year could be achieved by 2017 with the enlarged ‘Sky Europe’ in place.

Broadcasting Unions unite against TV spectrum release

The World Broadcasting Unions (WBU) – the coordinating body for broadcasting unions who represent broadcaster networks across the globe – has released an official joint position on radio spectrum allocation, stating their support to maintain the allocation of UHF frequencies (470 to 694 MHz) currently used for terrestrial TV broadcasting.

The WBU says that broadcasters from all over the world are resolved about the importance of the UHF band because it provides the only set of air waves which are globally available for digital terrestrial broadcasting. “Long-term certainty about the availability of the UHF band is also necessary to ensure continued investment and innovation by broadcasters. Whether or not 4K television will be available to the general public will, for example, heavily depend on the sufficient availability of radio spectrum for television broadcasting,” it advises.

CQ-Komli Media ropes in Ruksh Chatterji as VP, India

Media technology platform provider Komli Media, has appointed Ruksh Chatterji as Vice President - India,  to achieve rapid growth in the Indian marketplace. In this role, Chatterji will be responsible for Komli Media’s India-based business.

CQ-CBS Channel for Talk Talk TV

Britain 's fastest growing TV service CBS Action, CBS Drama ,CBS Reality+1and Horror Channel have confirmed  that they will expand their  reach by launching on Talk Talk.

Comcast expands X1 eligibility as it seeks to further accelerate deployment

Comcast (NASDAQ: CMCSA) is looking to more aggressively accelerate deployment of its next-generation X1 video platform amid an early performance that has seen marked decreases in churn and significant upticks in VOD transactions and DVR usage compared to legacy platforms.

The X1 rollout we are very pleased with," said Neil Smit, executive VP and president and CEO of Comcast Cable, during the company's second-quarter earnings call on Tuesday, July 22. "We are in 100 percent of the footprint right now. It has brought down churn 20 percent to 30 percent, VOD usage is up 25 percent and VOD transactions are up 20 percent. Additionally, you are getting two times the DVR take rate on it and you are getting more additional outlets. So the ARPU of the product once it is deployed has gone up very nicely."

AT&T's growing U-verse now controls 62% of company's consumer wireline business

Driven by the growth of its U-verse platform and subscriber gains in its wireless postpaid business, AT&T (NYSE: T) reported a 1.6 percent increase in second quarter consolidated revenue to $32.6 billion, and an 8 percent drop in operating income to $5.6 billion on a 4 percent uptick in operating expenses.

The revenue performance missed investor consensus forecast by about $840 million, while a reported earnings per share of 62 cents narrowly missed the target by 1 cent.

CQ-JAINHITS welcomes TRAI’s new tariff order for commercial subscribers

JAINHITS, India’s first and only HITS based Direct to Network (DTN) service welcomed TRAI’s newly announced tariff order on 21 July pertaining to commercial subscribers, subscribing to cable TV services in the country. 

CQ-MSM Motion pictures appoints Vivek Krishnani as SVP

Vivek Krishnani has joined MSM Motion Pictures as senior VP marketing and revenue.

Satellite TV revenues set to rocket to $100BN

The latest report from Digital TV Research is forecasting that revenues from satellite TV services will reach $99.9 billion in 2020, up from $87.8 billion in 2013.

If realised, this would mean that satellite TV revenues will overtake cable TV revenues in 2014, accounting for almost half (46%) of total pay-TV revenues in the year, rising to 47.8% by 2020. The Global Satellite TV Forecasts report also calculates that including free-to-air and satellite pay-TV households, 439 million homes will directly receive TV signals via satellite dishes by 2020, up by almost 100 million on the end-2013 figure. More than a quarter of global TV households are predicted to have a satellite TV dish by 2020, up from 18.3% in 2010 and 22.3% in 2013.

YouView all set for expansion

Following completion of its shareholder agreement, subscription-free video-on-demand (VOD) service YouView says that it is now ready to embark on a major expansion plan.

Despite a number of false starts, delays and even recently losing a trademark case with a small UK company over the YouView brand itself, the company assures that the agreement guarantees five years of funding by all seven shareholders — the BBC, ITV, Channel 4, Channel 5, Arqiva, BT and TalkTalk — giving it scale in the UK broadband market.

Cable operators meet MIB Officials- Discuss hurdles in Digitisation

Cable operator associations from across the nation held a meeting with Information and Broadcasting Ministry on 17th July; the meeting was called by the Ministry as it has been receiving many complaints from operators on various issues plaguing the industry.

CQ-Dish TV expands its net subscribers base by 3.32 lakh

India’s largest DTH operator, Dish TV Limited (Dish TV) in its earnings release on 23 July) informed the bourses that its net subscriber base in Q1-2015 has gone up to 1.17 crore, the company says that it has added a net of 3.32 lakh subscribers in this quarter. The company says further that its average revenue per user (ARPU) is Rs 170, same as the ARPU reported for FY-2014.

CQ-Technicolor delivers 11 million STBs to Tata Sky

India's leading DTH service providerTata Sky  with 11 million subscribers, has renewed its contract with Technicolor for Media Play set -top--boxes (STBs)till mid 2015.

CQ-Rajya Sabha TV producer found dead

A TV producer was found lying dead under mysterious circumstances last night near her apartment building in Ghaziabad near Delhi.

CQ-MAIT announces ICT SME Conclave 2014 across five cities

MAIT, the apex body representing India’s IT hardware, training and R&D services sectors, in association with the Department of Electronics & Information Technology (Deity) and Ministry of MSME is organised “MAIT ICT SME Conclave – 2014” across 5 major cities in India  Bangalore, Hyderabad, Pune, Ahemdabad and Noida.

CQ-IOC mulls over dedicated Olympic TV channel

Olympic leaders met on 19 July to discuss the Olympic agenda for 2020. 16 officials along with International Olympic Committee (IOC) president Thomas Bach convened in Switzerland. One of points on the agenda was to have a dedicated TV channel for Olympic sports.

CQ-Yahoo buys Flurry to scale up its mobile ad biz

Yahoo Inc. buys mobile analytics startup Flurry to beef up a fast-growing mobile advertising business, that still lags google Inc's and facebok Inc's in scale. Yahoo too is following the trend. Yahoo has announced that it has reached a definitive agreement. 

CQ- Green peak Technologies smart Home chip support new networking protocols like thread

Green Peak's is pleased to recognize Thread’s entry in the family of protocols based on the IEEE 802.15.4 standard. GreenPeak’s family of patented multi-stack low-power radio chips has been developed to simultaneously support different wireless networking protocols. The family of GP71x chips on 22 July, supports ZigBee PRO, SEP 2.0, RF4CE and Green Power, and is capable of supporting new and emerging protocols such as the recently announced protocol by the Thread Group, allowing customers to upgrade their devices to support existing protocols for legacy devices as well as newer devices running Thread at the same time. 

CQ- No ideological apartheid or hate in invitations to media by Prasar Bharati: Javadekar

The Government has emphasised that Prasar Bharati is 'not overshadowed by ideological apartheid or hate.'Information and Broadcasting Minister Prakash Javadekar said recently that Prasar Bharati carries out the public broadcasting services in a fair manner and does not discriminate on the basis of ideologies.

CQ- See, hear, touch the future at InfoComm India 2014

InfoComm India 2014 Trade exhibition and summit returns for the second year from 17-19 Sept, in Mumbai,India, as more than 110 companies from 21 countries congregate to display and demonstrate the latest developments in AV and Information Communication Technology(ICT).

CQ- TRAI extends date for responses on migration to IP-based networks

Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) of India on 22 July extended time on the request of stakeholders to respond to a Consultation Paper issued by it on 30 June. 

CQ- Vinay Srivastava appointed private secy to I&B minister

Vinay Srivastava, a 1992 batch officer of the Indian Railway Service of Mechanical Engineers (IRSME), was appointed private secretary (PS) to Information and Broadcasting Minister Prakash Javadekar. Srivastava is currently director in the Cabinet Secretariat. 

CQ- Colors ropes in Zee TV 's Sapangeet Rajwant as marketing head

Zee TV’s marketing head Sapangeet Rajwant who had recently quit will be replacing Rajesh Iyer, in Color’s as its marketing head.

CQ- Nikhil Wagle Editor-in chief of IBN Lokmat quits

IBN Lokmat editor in chief Nikhil Wagle has also decided to part ways with the company. Announcing the decision through Twitter, Wagle said, “Just resigned from IBN LOKMAT.  Will continue journalism without fear or favour!”

BSkyB nearer to buying Sky Italia, Sky Deutschland?

BSkyB could agree a deal in the next two weeks to buy Rupert Murdoch’s Sky Italia and his stake in Sky Deutschland, according to reports.

Murdoch’s 21st Century Fox owns 100 per cent of Sky Italia and 57 per cent of Sky Deutschland. Murdoch currently owns a 39 per cent stake in BSkyB, the British pay-TV firm.

Connected devices to double US Internet households

By 2017 there will be 204 million connected TV devices linked to the Internet and able to deliver apps to viewers, more than double the projected number of US Internet households. These devices include video game consoles, streaming media players, Blu-ray Disc players, and TVs. According to the latest NPDConnected Intelligence Connected Home Forecast, ownership of connected TV devices is expected to grow 100 percent by 2017.

Two driving forces in the market are pushing the adoption and use of connected TV devices, streaming media players and TVs. These devices are expected to represent the majority of the growth in installed and Internet-connected units over the next three years.

2014 pay-TV market $280.4bn

The worldwide pay-TV market continues to grow in Q1 2014. According to ABI Research’s Market Data, the total pay-TV subscriber base is expected to surpass 936.4 million at the end of 2014, generating $280.4 billion in service revenue.

Although the global cable TV market grew in 2013, the North American cable TV market lost around 4 per cent subscriber base in 2013. High subscription cost and other pay-TV alternatives are blamed for the declining subscriber base; however, cable TV operators experienced slower subscriber loss rate in the past two quarters. In Q1 2014, subscriber net loss of major cable operators in the United States was around 7k compared to over 200k subscriber loss in 4Q 2013. “Innovative services such as Comcast’s cloud based X1 system which allows customers to store and watch TV Shows on different devices has helped to reduce churn,” commented Jake Saunders, VP and practice director of core forecasting. “The North American pay-TV subscriber base is expected to reach 113.2 million in 2014.”

Amino scores with C Spire for IPTV media centre

Broadcast technology provider Amino Communication is celebrating landing a major US order with C Spire for its IPTV set-tops and media hubs.

The Mississippi-based telco and technology services company has selected Amino's Intel-based IPTV platform for the roll-out of entertainment services across its 1Gbps fibre Internet access network. Specifically it will deploy Amino's Live Advanced Media Centre and A140 devices as part of a triple-play offering.

YuMe taps Nielsen Catalina for multiscreen purchase data

Advertising platform provider YuMe has enhanced its multiscreen capability to allow consumer packaged goods (CPG) TV brand advertisers to reach audiences at TV-like scale across all connected platforms.

Made possible through a collaboration with Nielsen Catalina Solutions, YuMe says that it can now offer actual retail sales with media exposure in a single-source dataset, enabling CPG marketers and agencies to optimise advertising performance to maximise their return on ad spend.

CQ-Dish TV adds some sub brand Zing to Maharashtra

After targeting the east of the country, Dish TV has trained its sights on the diametrically opposite part of India - Maharashtra - with its regional sub brand Zing.  The western state has  the highest penetration of TV viewing homes nationally.

CQ-FOX or Time Warner who will blink first

If the deal between Rupert Murdoch-owned 21st Century Fox and Time-Warner had sailed through, it would have been the second largest media deal ever in the history and created a mega media powerhouse. Unfortunately, the deal failed to see the light of the day as Time-Warner rejected Murdoch’s offer allegedly worth about USD 76 billion cash and stock. While turning down the offer, Time Warner CEO Jeff Bewkes said that its board had decided such a deal would not be in the ‘best interests’ of his company or its shareholders.

CQ-USD 1 trillion to be spent on telecom and datacom over next 5 years

The Asia Pacific region has shown major growth of six per cent year-over-year in the telecom/datacom equipment and software revenue as against 4.5 per cent by North America.

CQ-Hathway and Star Sports agree to sign RIO pact

India’s leading multi system operator Hathway and Sport broadcaster Star Sports has informed Telecom Dispute Settlement and Appellate Tribunal that they had finally agreed to enter an agreement based on reference interconnect offer (RIO).  

CQ-Microsoft shuts down Xbox Entertainment Studios

Microsoft says it's closing Xbox Entertainment Studios – the company responsible for making original content for its Xbox Live subscribers. The planned Halo TV series will, however, remain unaffected.

CQ-STMicroelectronics to boost Technology Innovation in Rural India

STMicroelectronics, a global semiconductor leader serving customers across the spectrum of electronics applications, on 21 July announced a strategic cooperation with India’s National Innovation Foundation (NIF) under the aegis of the Department of Science and Technology, Government of India, to support technological innovation in remote areas of India and create a marketplace for the result of that innovation.

CQ- Sony India launches its new PSZ-HA2T Hard Disk Drive

Sony India on 17th June has announced the launch of its new PSZ-HA2T Hard Disk Drive (HDD), expanding its line of portable storage drives to the existing range of 500GB and 1TB (PSZ-HA50 and PSZ-HA1T) and a 256GB solid state drive (PSZ-SA25).  

CQ-No sign of lifting the ban on YouTube in Pakistan

As the Youtube has been banned in Pakistan since long time, the High Court of Sindh Province of Pakistan has issued notices to information technology secretary, the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) chairman and other concerned authorities. The notices are on a petition challenging the ban on video-sharing website.  

CQ- Siti Cable gets board approval to raise Rs 600 cr

Siti Cable Network has decided to raise funds worth Rs 600 crore through the issuance of securities. This will be used for operations of the company.

CQ- Javadekar says no plans to reduce DAVP allocations

The Union government has denied that there is any move to drastically cut the budget of the Directorate of Advertising and Visual Publicity (DAVP).

CQ- Biswa Majumdar to join ETV News Bangla as senior editor -

Network 18 controlled ETV News Bangla has brought on board veteran journalist Biswa Majumdar as senior editor from August, industry sources have confirmed.

CQ- Hathway launches Broadband movies with Eros

A global company in the Indian film entertainment industry , Eros International, has announced the launch of movie streaming service, ‘Broadband Movies’, a partnership between Hathway Cable and Datacom one of the leading cable television services provider in India.

CQ- TDSAT orders Sahara TV Network to clear IMCL's carriage fee dues

TDSAT the sector tribunal has ordered Sahara India TV Network to clear outstanding carriage fees it owes to multi-system operator (MSO) IndusInd Media & Communications Ltd (IMCL). This amounts to Rs 8.7 million at 9 per cent interest per annum till the payment of the said amount. 

CQ- MSO DEN launches its football team ‘Delhi Dynamos’

National MSO DEN Networks, has now gone into sports activities .On 17 July it announced a creation of a subsidiary DEN soccer pvt ltd which will own Delhi Dynamos as one of the teams in the Indian super league (ISL). 

CQ- Nielsen and FB team up to track TV viewership on mobile devices

Nielsen, a research company, has entered a partnership with social media giant Facebook to know what TV viewers are watching on their tablets and other mobile devices. The agency currently tracks TV viewing habits through peoplemeters.

CQ- I&B ministry to conduct open House meeting twice in a month to expedite channel licence clearance

I&B ministry has decided to conduct open House meeting twice in a month with stakeholders to speed up long list of pending applications for TV channel licence clearance as against the earlier practice of one meeting a month.

CQ- Computers lose ground to Smart TVs, tablets for online viewers

Computers were the first devices used for watching TV online, and even today they remain the  most used device for online viewing. However, research suggests that online viewing is beginning to shift away from computers and toward mobile devices and Smart TVs.

Freesat launches Android mobile

UK subscription-free satellite TV service Freesat has boosted its multiscreen capabilities with the launch of an Android version of its Freesat app.

Now available for free download from the Google Play store, the app is designed to allow users to manage and control their TVs via Android mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets as supplied by the likes of Samsung, Google and Sony. It is optimised for the latest Android devices running Android 4.0 and offers the unique Showcase editorial service, which provides daily-curated recommendations on what to watch on both live TV and on-demand. The Android app helps-how to watch, record shows remotely and catch-up on the free TV shows available on Freesat.

4KTV tech on track as large-size TV panel shipments slow

Global shipments of large-size TV panels reached 20.95 million, up 0.6% month-on-month, in June 2014, while 4K/UltraHD TV panel shipments grew steadily over the first half of 2014, research from WitsView has revealed.

The subsidiary of Taiwan-based market intelligence firm TrendForce calculated that increased demand for TV products pushed down demand for monitors and that the steady demand for TV panels and increasing panel prices have led vendors to restock inventories with various sizes.

CQ-Atlas ties up with Bhima Riddhi Group

Atlas Consolidated LLC, a joint venture between US-based Greenwich with Equity Partners and Jagran Infra Projects, has decided to foray into Indian cable television market in tie-up with Bhima Riddhi Digital Services, which runs cable TV networks in parts of Karnataka, Maharashtra, Goa and Gujarat.

The two companies will sign a memorandum of understanding (MoU) today on 17 july 2014 to create a nationwide multisystem operator (MSO). The estimated valuation of the deal is $200 million, or about Rs 1,200 crore.

CQ-STBs considered as telecom equipment to boost indigenous production: Javadekar

To promote indigenous manufacture of STBs, Department of Telecommunication (DOT) confirmed that set top boxes (STBs) are a part of telecommunication equipments so that their component import for manufacturing is exempt from duties. 

Information and Broadcasting Minister Prakash Javadekar had earlier said that his ministry was taking this step because in the first two phases of digitalization there was hardly any local manufactured STBs installed. On 17 July 2014 Javadekar informed the Lok Sabha that this was done after his ministry along with other ministries had taken up the constraints of Indian manufacturers in the production of indigenous STBs, in view of the fact that an estimated 110 million STBs would be required for the third and fourth phase of digital access system (DAS).

CQ-Lakshmi Narasimhan resigns from Network18

Lakshmi Narasimhan, has resigned from his role in Corporate Strategy division at Network18 as per highly placed industry sources.

CQ-ISRO to launch GSAT-15 and GSAT-16 by mid 2015

Indian space agency, ISRO will launch GSAT-15 in the current financial year while GSAT-16 will be launched by mid 2015, this  was informed by Minister of State for Department of Space Jitendra Singh.

The launches are expected to augment the communication facilities including the Ku-band and Upper Extended C-band.

CQ-Aircel unveils 4G services in AP, Assam , Bihar and Odisha

Aircel which has pan-India spectrum across all 22 circles, launched fourth-generation (4G) telecom services in Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Bihar and Odisha, becoming the second operator after bellwether Bharti AirtelBSE 0.07 % to offer highspeed Internet in India, and increasing the value of its broadband assets that may be put up for sale.

CQ-Liberty Global acquires 6.4% stake in ITV

Liberty Global, owner of Virgin Media, has confirmed its purchase of a small stake in ITV from BSkyB for approximately GBP 481 million. As a result of this investment, Liberty Global will own approximately 6.4% of the UK’s leading commercial broadcaster.

CQ-Sameer Nair joins Balaji Telefilms as CEO

MUMBAI: Sameer Nair, former CEO of star network and more recently CEO of NDTV Imagine has joined Balaji Telefilms as the group CEO . As part of the turnaround strategy, Nair had played a greater role in bringing the ‘saas-bahu’ sagas produced by the Ekta Kapoor-led Balaji Telefilms. Star Plus’ primetime rule was led by KBC and Balaji Telefilms’ three ‘K’ daily soap operas. 

CQ-Pradeep Hejmadi joins ZEE TV as buisness head

MUMBAI: Zee Entertainment Enterprises Limited (ZEEL) on 16th july announced the appointment of Pradeep Hejmadi as business head of its flagship- Zee TV. Pradeep will be responsible for the overall functioning of Zee TV and will report in to Bharat Ranga, chief content and creative officer (CCCO), Zee Entertainment Enterprise.