News - India's Leading New Publisher for Satellite Broadcasting and Broadband Industries: March 2013

Saturday, 30 March 2013

Delhi Faces TV Blackout For Next 48 Hrs

As the March 31 digitisation deadline for the second Phase crawls closer, cable operators across the national capital are geared up to protest against the haphazard digitisation drive. A 48-hour ‘blackout’ would be observed by the cable operators in Delhi against the unfair revenue sharing model under the digital addressable system (DAS) and government forcing them to extract increased payments from reluctant consumers.

According to a section of cable operators, they have blacked out all televisions starting 9 pm on 29 March which will last till March 31. The operators are demanding extension of the deadline, a higher revenue share and lower tariffs for consumers.

MTNL's Kuldeep Singh to be new TDSAT member

Government is learnt to have approved the name of Kuldeep Singh for the post of member TDSAT which has been lying vacant after retirement of PK Rastogi from the telecom tribunal in mid-February.

"Orders have been signed by competent authority for his appointment (Kuldeep Singh)," a senior government official said.

MF Farooqui to be new telecom secretary

Senior IAS officer M F Farooqui is likely to be the next Telecom Secretary.

Farooqui, who is currently Secretary in the Department of Heavy Industries, is tipped to replace Rentala Chandrashekhar who superannuates at the end of this month.

The Cabinet Committee on Appointments to have cleared Farooqui's name and an announcement is likely to be made shortly.

Aircel, Nimbuzz tie-up for data service in J&K

Aircel has partnered free messaging applications provider Nimbuzz to provide data services in the Jammu and Kashmir telecom service area.

Aircel, which has launched a plan, will offer free data of up to 40 MB for subscribers in the circle for 30 days.

No DAS License To Arasu TV

The Tamil Nadu Arasu Cable TV Corporation (TNACTVC) cannot be given a Digital Addressable System (DAS) license. Additional Solicitor General P Wilson informed the Madras High Court on March 28, 2013 that the channel will not be able to get the license due to the recommendations in this regard by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India.

Siti Cable to invest in digital infrastructure

With aim to capitalize on the digitisation regime, cable television service provider Siti Cable Network said that, ‘We need to invest in upgrading the digital infrastructure further and enter into newer strategic markets.”

The company has implemented the first phase of digitisation of television signals in Mumbai, Kolkata and New Delhi. In the 38 Phase II cities, the company is aggressively seeding set-top boxes to meet the deadline.

Former adviser sues Virgin Media for $100m

UK cable operator Virgin Media has been hit with a $100 million lawsuit in a New Jersey, US court.

The plaintiff is investment manager W R Huff Asset Management, and they are alleging that they supplied Virgin (and its predecessors) with crisis management advice and in particular aided Telewest Communications and NTL with bankruptcy advice.

BT Vision still top of pay-TV complaints

Ofcom has published levels of complaints for the major telecoms and pay TV providers between October and December 2012. Overall, the total volume of complaints made to Ofcom continued to fall during the last quarter of 2012 – the sixth consecutive quarter of decline.

From October to December 2012, Ofcom received the most pay-TV complaints about BT Vision, at 0.24 complaints per 1,000 customers. Marginally increasing from 0.23 per 1,000 subscribers the previous quarter, complaints about BT Vision were six times greater than the industry average.

Liberty Global takes Ziggo stake

Continuing its transatlantic buying spree, following its takeover of Virgin Media in the UK and acquisition of a 27.3 per cent stake in Charter Communications in the US, broadband cable MSO Liberty Global has acquired 25.3 million shares in Ziggo, the largest cable operator in the Netherlands from Barclays Capital Securities Limited at €25.00 per share, representing a total investment of approximately €632.5 million. As a result of this investment, Liberty Global owns 12.65 per cent of Ziggo, based on the shares outstanding as of December 31st 2012.

Liberty Global considers the acquisition of this minority stake in Ziggo as an attractive opportunity to make a strategic investment in a market where it already enjoys a sizeable presence through its UPC Netherlands subsidiary. It says the Purchase Price is also financially attractive given the stock’s approximate 7.4 per cent dividend yield, which is implied by Ziggo’s expectation that it will pay €370 million of dividends during 2013.

TV channel distributors in the radar of I&B Ministry

The television channel distributors could be pulled up by TRAI as I&B Ministry may approach Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) to look into the functioning of rapidly evolving content aggregators and television channel distributors. The regulatory body may also be asked to come up with the guidelines to bring in transparency and curb monopolies in this segment.

Content aggregators typically aggregate content of various broadcasting companies to form channel bouquets to sell to cable and DTH firms. Companies such as MediaPro, Star DEN and One Alliance (MSM Discovery) aggregate and distribute content across platforms. These companies are responsible for monetizing content and negotiating subscription revenue share with cable and DTH firms. Forming channel bouquets and aggregating content of various broadcasters help these companies strike better deals with cable and DTH firms and gives them negotiation powers for reduction in carriage fees. This also helps broadcasting companies to monetize their content better across various platforms including the fast growing mediums such as Internet and mobile phones.

Broadcasters meet Manish Tewari over TV ads issue

The recent uproar on TRAIs regulation on TV ads which bars television channels from telecasting more than 12 minutes of advertisements every hour led broadcasters to have words with Information & Broadcasting Minister Manish Tewari.

In a meeting that lasted nearly 40 minutes, the broadcasters are learnt to have apprised the minister that the TRAI move may make the going tough for several channels at a time when the industry was seeing a difficult phase. On the other hand the government also suggested a balanced approach over this regulation.

BBC goes open source for TV App

The BBC has made its open source TV Application Layer available to the industry at large.

Peter Lasko, technical product manager for BBC future media TV and mobile platforms, said blogged that the BBC is making the Application Layer available via open source repository GitHub. He said the open source code would allow other parties to contribute to the development of the TV Application Layer and “make building applications on TV easier for others, helping to drive the uptake of this nascent technology”.

Navin JindaL fall prey to cyber crime

The cyber cell of Delhi Police's Economic Offences Wing has registered a case of cyber crime in from Congress MP Naveen Jindal In his complaint minister alleged that unidentified persons have created his fake community pages on social networking site and uploaded abusive texts.

"There are also some messages posted on the said pages representing as that having posted by me. I suspect that these pages have been created with ulterior motives and may be part of a larger conspiracy," he claimed.

Lalit Bhagia quits STAR India

After a stint of two years and 11 months, Lalit Bhagia has put in his papers as the Vice President and Head, Digital (internet and mobile) at Star TV. He is currently serving his notice period with the company, which will be till the end of the month. Post STAR, Bhagia will turn entrepreneur in the digital media domain.

Broadcasters slam TRAI’s 12 mins/hour ad order

Broadcasters have slammed TRAI order to cap the number of advertisements to 12 minutes for every clock hour describing it as a "death warrant" and an "ambush" that would end in channels closing down due to costs overruns and heavy carriage fees.

News Broadcasters Association (NBA) president and NDTV executive vice-chairperson K V L Narayan Rao said, ‘They will be approaching the appropriate government authorities for dialogue. "We were not aware that such a stringent law was in the offing , this move will be a death knell for news broadcasters because of the realities of our revenue model. The mainstay for news broadcasters remains advertising revenues with no subscription from consumers. Also, costs remain very high because of high carriage fees,'' he said.

Kapil Sibal releases National IPv6 Deployment Roadmap Version – II

The ‘National IPv6 Deployment Roadmap Version – II, a document containing policy guidelines for IPv6 transition prepared by NT Cell, Department of Telecom (DoT), was released by Union Minister for Communications & IT Kapil Sibal.

Sibal said that, ‘Internet is an important tool to connect not only people but people and devices. The explosive growth of mobile subscribers and exponential growth of data has made it imperative to transit to IPv6 to move to smart knowledge society. He emphasized that IPv6 is a limitless highway and the challenge is to bridge the gap between IPv4 and IPv6. He further added that Internet of Things (IoT) offers an immense opportunity for India whereby products & services based on IPv6 can be manufactured here and exported globally. He said that IPv6 based innovative applications in areas like rural emergency healthcare tele-education; smart metering, smart grid, smart building, smart city etc. have tremendous potential to boost the socio-economic development of the country.

IBF upset over TRAI's move to put hourly cap on advertisements

Expressing deep concern at a TRAI notification seeking to put a 12-minute hourly cap on advertisements on TV channels, the Indian Broadcasting Foundation called for its immediate withdrawal.

The IBF, an industry body with TV broadcasters as its members, said that it had no objection to the decision but has questioned the timing of the move adding that the full value of digitization should first have been allowed to kick in. The IBF said like several industries that continue to reel from the after effects of the global economic recession, the television broadcasting industry has also been suffering. The industry was largely dependent on advertising revenues for its economic sustenance, IBF said, adding that it had been working with TRAI over the last several months to arrive at a way forward on the quantum of advertising duration.

Viacom18 Motion Pictures enters regional cinema

Viacom18 Motion Pictures announced its entry into regional cinema on March 26, 2013. The company, part of the 50:50 joint venture between Viacom Inc and Network18, said the foray was being made with the aim of becoming a pan-Indian studio.

According to the company Jayesh Muzumdar, Director, Commercial Affairs, Viacom18 Motion Pictures, will spearhead the regional films business and will report to the Chief Operating Officer. In a statement, Sudhanshu Vats, Group CEO, Viacom18, said, “Foraying into regional cinema is in line with our vision to have a strong presence in the regional entertainment space - both television as well as films. Geographic and linguistic segmentation is a key component of our growth strategy, and we have already firmed our plans in five key regional markets.”

DAS Stayed In Ahmedabad & Bangalore By High Court Orders

Two High Courts in the country stayed on 28 March 2013 the switching off of the analogue television signals for varying periods after 31 March because of non-availability of digital set top boxes (STBs).

While the Gujarat High Court in Ahmedabad stayed the introduction of digital addressable system (DAS) till 8 April in Ahmedabad, the Karnataka High Court issued the stay till 1 April in Bangalore.

Ministries taking indirect route for channel ownership

In view of the government ownership of TV channels, few ministries are taking the SVP route to bypass the TRAI regulation through which they can participate in a TV channel indirectly. The ministry of human resource and development (HRD), the departments of higher education (DoHE), space and telecommunications are planning to set up a Special Purpose Vehicle with public broadcaster Prasar Bharati as a stakeholder, to push a series of education channels and public service awareness content via DTH platform.

In December last year, TRAI had disallowed central/state governments or their departments from owning/distributing TV channels. The SPV route is sought to be justified through a 2009 Cabinet decision that allows the National Mission on Education to deliver TV/ e-content through Information and Communication Technology (NMEICT) using all possible technologies, including DTH. The decision for floating a SPV was taken recently at a high-level meeting of the Committee of Secretaries (CoS). The meeting was attended by secretaries of the departments of telecommunications, information and broadcasting, HRD, DoHE, legal affairs, science and technology, space and the cabinet secretary.

Another DTH platform for Georgia

Georgia seems to be going the way of Romania in having an excess of would-be satellite operators. JSC Global, a Tbilisi–based media company, says it has signed a multi-year lease with Eutelsat in order to launch a new DTH pay-TV bouquet for Georgia, “its surrounding regions and as far as Western Europe”.

JSC will use Eutelsat’s 36B craft with 4 free-to-air channels and “progressively expand to include both Georgian and international channels.” JSC adds that it will supply “several thousand dishes across Georgia”.

No updation of Cable Quest website on March 27

There will be no daily news and site updates on March 27 on account of Holi. Cable Quest wishes our readers a very Happy and Colourful Holi.

Sixth NT Awards celebrate the best in news business

The news television industry came out in droves to celebrate success on 25 March evening at New Delhi’s Taj Palace Hotel. Representative of TV news channels reporting in Marathi, Hindi, English and Telugu all came together under one roof, forgetting rivalries, news breaks and to hold themselves under the spotlight at the Indiantelevision.com’s Sixth News Television Awards.

Presented by LR Active Oil, with the support of many other industry partners, the NT Awards had a packed house as 116 awards in various categories were given away by dignitaries from politics, sport, society and culture.

Farncombe: Cable operators must embrace OTT

Media technology services provider Farncombe has published a white paper to help cable operators confront the business and technical challenges they face from emerging OTT services from new entrant video distribution and traditional competition.

Sponsored by NAGRA, a provider of security and multiscreen user experience solutions, the white paper argues that cable operators have little option but to embrace OTT technologies for multiscreen services which will ultimately lead to an all IP-future. It also details how they should adopt a phased approach to the migration process to all-IP, to protect the investment they have made in their HFC infrastructure.

5.9 Mn Boxes Yet To Be Installed - I&B Ministry

With just few days left for the March 31 deadline of digitization phase II according to Information and Broadcasting Ministry 5.9 million analogue TV homes are yet to be installed with set-top-boxes (STBs) in 38 cities.

The level of digitisation in the cities, as of March 20, has reached 65.05 percent, as per the ministry sources. Out of this, 26.24 percent homes are covered by direct-to-home (DTH) alone. As per the data available, out of 16.01 million TV homes, a total of 6.21 million homes have received cable STBs, while 4.2 million have been installed with DTH boxes. The ministry has made a provision of 20 percent for multiple TVs in houses in the 38 cities and TVs in offices/shops. The total number of TV Households according to Ministry statistics is 13.34 million.

Price hike signal from DTH firms

DTH firms are geared up to cash in on the digitisation drive. Dish TV India Ltd of the Essel group has hiked prices of its monthly subscription pack by 10 per cent on a pan-India basis.

The increase comes a month after Dish TV, the country’s largest DTH operator, raised set-top box prices by Rs 300. Analysts said other operators were likely to follow suit soon. The country is in the midst of the second phase of television digitisation. The government had earlier notified that it was obligatory for every cable operator to transmit or re-transmit programmes of any channel in an encrypted form through a digital addressable system in the entire country in four phases.

Al Jazeera Arabic gets a new look

Al Jazeera, the Arab world’s leading news channel, recently unveiled a radically revamped look involving a transformation of news studios, programmes studios, and on-air graphics.

The biggest refresh at the channel since 2004 can be seen from in standard definition, and for the first time, HD on Nilesat. Social media interactivity will be even more integrated into the output.

Rashmi Berry steps down as Homeshop18 CMO

Network18 owned Homeshop18’s Rashmi Berry has stepped down as the chief marketing officer (CMO) within a year of taking up the post. Rashmi was appointed CMO of Homeshop18, run by TV18 Home Shopping Network Ltd, a teleshopping and e-commerce firm of the Network18 Group, in July 2012.

Govt. committed to freedom of expression of internet users: Sibal

The ‘Big Tent Activate Summit’ in New Delhi on 21 March, brought together leading Indian and international experts to discuss the accessibility of internet in today’s time. The experts discussed that whether the Internet would benefit only a particular section of the society or will it also go down to the bottom of the pyramid.

On this event Communications and IT Minister Kapil Sibal assured that the government is committed to the freedom of internet users. Delivering the key note address at the summit, he underlined that the Internet is the most important and transformative forum. Underlining the power of the internet as a most inclusive medium, as there are no borders on the net, he stated we must move slowly but surely towards making internet the equinet.

Need to regulate social media – Salman Khurshid

Again the media is under scanner and now the External Affair Minister Salman Khurshid pointed out the freedom of speech and expression. Praising the effectiveness of social media Minister said that freedom that comes out of using it needs to be regulated.

Speaking on freedom vs equality at The Telegraph National Debate, he said, “I have never known of equality being regulated but I have known of every freedom (being regulated).” Today media is effective because we are equal. It is the equality of social media and your ability to manipulate and use technology that gives you the freedom—a freedom which then, perhaps, needs to be regulated.

100m IPTV subs this year

Worldwide IPTV subscriptions are forecast to top 100 million in 2013 and hit 181 million in 2017, according to Pyramid Research.

The latest Research in Focus: IPTV, said that IPTV penetration is expected to increase across all regions and, as a share of global pay TV subscriptions, is expected to increase from 9.3 per cent in 2012 to 15.8 per cent in 2017. “IPTV subscriptions grew at an impressive compound annual growth (CAGR) rate of 40 per cent between 2008 and 2012,” said Pyramid Research associate analyst, Guillermo Hurtado.

Genachowski quits FCC

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski has revealed he will be stepping down from his post in the coming weeks. Genachowski has led the FCC since 2009 during a time of rapid growth and transformative change in the media and comms sector.

Genachowski made his announcement to FCC staff:

HBO mulls unique broadband tie-up, Game of Thrones distribution model to remain unchanged

HBO could widen access to its HBO GO online streaming service by teaming up with broadband Internet providers for customers who do not subscribe to a cable TV service, HBO Chief Executive Richard Plepler said.

Plepler told Reuters on Wednesday evening at the Season 3 premiere of HBO's hit TV show "Game of Thrones." "Maybe HBO GO, with our broadband partners, could evolve."

Gaming firm 888 set for U.S. launch after Nevada license

888 could launch an online gaming offering in Nevada, home to gambling center Las Vegas, after the group won the first ever U.S. license to be awarded to an internet betting firm.

The license to operate in Nevada granted to London-listed 888 Holdings Plc is the first time an internet gambling company has been licensed in the United States, which banned online gambling in 2006. Chief Executive Brian Mattingley said, ‘This is an historic moment for 888. This is the first time a company uniquely providing online gaming has been licensed by any US jurisdiction.”

BCCC restrain Sony from airing gangrape re-enactment episodes

Sony Entertainment Television will not be able to telecast special episodes of re-enacting the Delhi gangrape in its popular crime-based show for now as the Broadcast Content Complaints Council, the self-regulatory body for non-news TV channels, has restrained it from airing the episodes until the verdict in the case is pronounced by the trial court.

Censor Board not doing its job 'properly': Delhi HC

The Delhi High Court slammed the Censor Board for not doing its job properly and asked it and the Centre to respond to two separate PILs alleging vulgar contents in Salman Khan-starrer 'Dabangg 2' and Saif Ali Khan's 'Race 2'.

While asking the Information and Broadcasting Ministry, CBFC and producers of 'Dabangg 2' and 'Race 2' to file their responses by May 14, a bench comprising Chief Justice D Murugesan and Justice V K Jain said, ‘"Now days, the Censor Board is not doing its duty properly.

NexGTv bags mobile streaming rights of IPL 6

Bringing the cricket fever onto mobile screens, DigiVive's mobile TV service nexGTv has bagged the official mobile streaming rights for the sixth season of IPL 2013, from master rights holder Times Internet.

Users will be able to access all the cricketing action on their handsets along with match repeats and highlights available in the Video-on-Demand section. The special IPL channel can also be clubbed into the existing subscription packs of nexGTv, making it easier for users.

Journalists condemn privilege motions against two channels

Mumbai Press Club, TV Journalists Association (TVJA) and Mumbai Marathi Patrakar Sangh condemned the move by both houses of Maharashtra Legislature admitting privilege motions against two senior journalists.

The privilege motion against the two scribes Nikhil Wagle, chief editor of IBN Lokmat, and Raju Khandekar, Chief Editor of ABP Majha pertains to the coverage of the recent assault on a police officer in the premises of the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly by half a dozen legislators led by Maharashtra Navnirman Sena MLA Ram Kadam.

Submit commercial telecast details in every 15 days: TRAI

Taking exception to TV channels not following rules under which duration of advertisements should not exceed 12 minutes per hour, Telecom Authority of India (TRAI) has made it mandatory for broadcasters to provide details of commercials telecast in every 15 days. The latest regulations notified by TRAI stated, ‘"Every broadcaster shall, within 15 days from the end of a quarter, submit to the Authority, in the format specified by it by order, the details of advertisements carried in its channel,"

Submit commercial telecast details in every 15 days: TRAI

TRAI asks TV channels to restrict ad duration

Telecom regulatory of India asked television channels on 22nd March, 2013 to limit the duration of advertisements for up to 12 minutes in one hour. The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India feels that the restriction on the duration of advertisement will improve the quality of services to customers.

In a notification — the regulation “Standards of Quality of Service (Duration of Advertisements in Television Channels) (Amendment) Regulations, 2013, TRAI also said that several broadcasters violated the current guidelines. In a statement of TRAI, this regulation mandates the broadcasters to restrict the duration of advertisements in their channels to a maximum of 12 minutes in any given clock-hour as prescribed in the existing rules,”

NBA expresses shock over restriction on the duration of ads

News Broadcasters Association (NBA) expresses deep shock and concern on the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) notification dated 22.3.13, notifying regulation “Standards of Quality of Service (Duration of Advertisements in Television Channels) (Amendment) Regulations, 2013”, which mandates broadcasters to restrict the duration of advertisements in their channels to a maximum of 12 minutes in any given clock hour.

NBA is appalled that by way of advertisement regulations, the TRAI has issued the most sweeping and intrusive “controls” not just “regulations” in relation to advertising that may be carried on TV channels. These regulations have been issued at a time when news channels are facing a most unfriendly business environment. Dependence on advertising remains absolute with over 90 percent of revenues coming from it. The economic slowdown of 2008 has not been corrected even today and advertising has been slow and at unimaginably low rates. Despite Phase-1 of digitisation being implemented, the benefits have not yet accrued to broadcasters, particularly news broadcasters. Carriage fees continue to be high and most news broadcasters do not get subscription revenues. Over the last year or so, news organizations have not received any advertising from DAVP, which has cut rates to levels 75 percent lower than they were even 5 years ago. All of these factors have ensured that most news channel companies face losses on an annual basis.

Hungama launches music streaming mobile app

Hungama.com, the online service that offers Bollywood, Regional and South Asian music entertainment content has launched a new mobile app. According to the company, the free-to-download app offers a catalogue of music tracks and music videos from over 2 million songs from Bollywood, International, Telugu, Bhojpuri, Tamil, Malayalam and other regional content.

As per Hungama, the major feature that differentiates the app from other offerings in this segment is that it brings the ability to play videos and socialise while streaming music. The app is available on iOS and Android platforms with a light version available on the BlackBerry 10 platform. Users can earn points every time they watch videos, play/share music, invite friends or create playlists. Once collected, the points can be redeemed to download and own content, movie tickets, autographed merchandise, gizmos and gadgets and dinner dates with film stars. It adds a Mood Discovery mode that finds and plays music to match the user's mood. This feature allows users to discover music based on their preferences - Mood, Tempo, Language, Genre or Era. Users can also save the discovery list and replay it later.

Turner Broadcasting sets its eyes on Asia for next growth phase

With the new boss, Gerhard Zeiler, at the helm, Turner Broadcasting is eyeing major growth in the Asian region, including in India. The Asia president of Turner, Steve Marcopoto and his management team now has to deliver on a potentially liberating vision and meet Zeiler's blueprint.