Comigo Set-Top Box solution gives Comigo enhanced OTT to Chitram TV

Comigo,  today announced that ChitramTV, a leading German service provider that offers Telugu, Tamil, Hindi, and Malayalam language content to viewers in Germany and the U.K., has chosen an Android™-based set-top box (STB) solution from Comigo to offer advanced personalization, as well as interactive and social capabilities, to the TV screen. Comigo's STB solution enables ChitramTV customers to stream a wide variety of enriched content, including linear channels, VOD, and catch-up TV, enhancing their engagement with the service. 

MEASAT Appoints Alex Tan as Senior Sales Director – Broadcast Sales Kuala Lumpur, 26 January 2015

MEASAT Satellite Systems, supplier of satellite communication services to broadcasters, DTH companies and telcos announced today that Alex Tan had been appointed as Senior Sales Director – Broadcast Sales. Alex is moving from his previous role as Senior Sales Director, Telecoms & VAS – Asia Pacific. 

Neotion, Broadpeak, Eutelsat team for FTA OTT

Targeted for smartphones, tablets and 4KTV screens, the solution combines Neotion’s DVBeacon platform and Broadpeak’s nanoCDN system so that Eutelsat’s SmartLNB and DTH operators can deliver live OTT TV channels and interactive services.

Crystal Sky Pictures offers 4KTV content with NanoTech

Independent film production company Crystal Sky Pictures has taken the Ultra HD plunge in a global licensing agreement with NanoTech Entertainment.

&TV to hit airwaves on 2 March

Zee Entertainment Enterprises Limited’s (Zeel) new GEC under the ‘&’ bouquet, which is christened &TV, will launch on 2 March.

ABS appoints Rajiv Khattar as the President of South Asia

ABS announced the appointment of Rajiv Khattar as the President – South Asia. In this newly created role, Rajiv will be responsible for business development and sales for this market.

23rd Convergence India 2015 expo ends

Themed as ‘Connecting India’, 23rd Convergence India 2015 Expo, largest South Asian platform for Telecom, Broadcast and Digital Media, came to an end with an overwhelming response from the industry, trade visitors and participating exhibitors.

MIB issues Information Memorandum (IM) for conduct of e-auction of First Batch of Private FM Radio Phase III Channels

The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting issued the Information Memorandum (IM) for e-auction of 135 channels of Private FM Radio in 69 existing cities of Phase II in the first batch. It was issued in continuation of the Union Cabinet’s approval on 16.01.2015 for conduct of FM Phase-Ill auctions for these channels and migration (renewal) of Private FM Radio licenses from Phase-II to Phase-III.

Court remands Maran aide, 2 others to judicial custody till February 4

A Special Court handling CBI cases on 22 January remanded till February 4 to judicial custody an aide of former Telecom Minister Dayanidhi Maran and two others over misuse of telephone lines at Maran’s residence during his term in office. They have been lodged in the Puzhal central prison in Chennai.

Use DTH for educational purposes via Prasar Bharati: TRAI

Telecom and broadcast regulator TRAI said non-commercial use of DTH services by the central and state governments for educational purposes should be done through the Prasar Bharati.

Pahlaj Nihalani appointed new censor board chief

The Information and Broadcasting (I&B) Ministry announced the appointment of Bollywood producer Pahlaj Nihalani as CBFC chief to replace Leela Samson who resigned accusing the ministry of "interference, coercion and corruption". 

I&B asks broadcasters to submit application for temporary uplinking 15 days

The Ministry of Information & Broadcasting (MIB) has reiterated that applications for temporary uplinking permissions must be submitted at least 15 days prior to the proposed starting date of uplinking. 

I&B grants five TV channel licences, private TV channels increase to 826

The Ministry of Information & Broadcasting (MIB) has granted five new TV channel licences including four non-news channels and one news channel.

MIB asks news channels to carry Republic Day with sign language feed

The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting issued an advisory on 19 January that it had received the request from the hearing impaired to ‘help them connect meaningfully with this important National Day.’

Snapdeal partners with DEN Networks to launch a TV Commerce channel

Online market player Snapdeal has entered into a 50:50 joint venture with DEN, India's television distribution company, to launch a TV Commerce channel ‘DEN Snapdeal TV shop'. 

Delhi High Court adjourns ad cap case to March 24

The Delhi High Court adjourned the petition by the News Broadcasters Association (NBA) and others challenging the advertising cap of 12 minutes per hour sought to be imposed by the government to 24 March, 2015.

Cloud Vision Networks participates in Convergence India 2015

Cloud Vision Networks has confirmed its participation at Convergence India 2015, one of the largest technology exhibitions to be held from January 21st – 23rd, 2015 in New Delhi.

Xperio Labs participates in Convergence India 2015

Xperio Labs Ltd. announced its participation at Convergence India 2015, one of the largest technology expositions to be held in New Delhi from January 21st - 23rd 2015.

BBC’s Sunita Rajan moves to CNN International

After 17 years at BBC, executive vice president of advertising sales, Asia and ANZ Sunita Rajan is joining CNN International Commercial’s executive team as the head of Advertising Sales in Asia Pacific region under Chief Commercial Officer Rani R Raad. 

Albis Technologies Teams Up With SPB TV to Showcase Next-Gen Television Experience at CSTB 2015

Albis Technologies announced that it will team up with SPB TV, one of the world's leading providers of end-to-end OTT, IPTV, and mobile TV solutions for video content delivery to multiscreen devices, at CSTB 2015 held Jan. 27-29, in Moscow at booth 4-515A. During the show, Albis Technologies will demonstrate complete integration between its SceneGate™ 9090 set-top boxes (STBs) and SPB TV's Multiscreen Solution, enabling telco and Internet service providers to deliver a game-changing television experience and increase their revenue streams. 

SCTE™ and ANGA Team Up, Now Accepting Entries for 2015 Bursary Programme

The SCTE™, the Society for Broadband Professionals, has teamed up again with ANGA, the Association of German Cable Operators, to provide bursaries to 20 individuals for the ANGA COM 2015 conference and exhibition, which takes place from 9-11 June in Cologne, Germany. Each winner will each receive prepaid flight and hotel accommodation for three nights courtesy of the SCTE and entrance to the entire conference courtesy of ANGA.

Imagine Communications Showcases Transition to the IP future at Convergence India 2015

Imagine Communications, a market leader in advertising management and video infrastructure solutions serving global TV networks, broadcast stations, multichannel video programming distributors (MVPD), governments and enterprise markets, is showcasing a range of broadcast and content solutions at Convergence India 2015 (21-23 January, Pragati Maidan, New Delhi, India) that focus on the shift from today’s proprietary hardware architectures to the future world of IP-enabled, software-defined technologies.

Amagi Media Labs raises investment from Premji Invest and Mayfield Fund

Amagi Media Labs, India’s largest ad network, has raised its next round of investment from Premji Invest, the family office of Wipro’s chairman, Azim Premji and a continuing investment from Mayfield Fund. The investment represents a significant milestone for a company that has witnessed impressive growth over the past few years.

Govt approves 18 new FM channels for Northeast, 15 for J&K

The government has approved 18 new FM Radio Channels in the eight North-Eastern States and 15 new FM Radio Channels in J&K. Announcing this Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) of the Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER), MoS PMO, Personnel, Public Grievances & Pensions, Atomic Energy and Space, Dr. Jitendra Singh hailed it as a New Year gift for the border States of Jammu & Kashmir and North-East.

Media needed to avoid the conduct of parallel trials - Arun Jaitley

The Minister for Finance, Corporate Affairs and Information & Broadcasting, Shri Arun Jaitley has said that in the last two decades, the conventional contours of the issues pertaining to Freedom and Responsibility of Media had changed due to changes in the nature and content of media and the definition of news. News in the electronic media today was being defined by what the camera could capture. In the current paradigm, technology had become a driving force for these changes. The impact of technology was profound as information dissemination was taking place 24x7 across different technological tools and media platforms including the digital space. Shri Jaitley stated this while delivering the delivering the first Justice J. S. Verma Memorial lecture on the ‘Freedom & Responsibility of Media’ organized by the News Broadcasters Association at New Delhi on 18 January 2015.

Discovery Communications strengthens global sports strategy with two new leadership appointments

Discovery Communications has made two new executive appointments that will further strengthen the company’s global sports expertise and strategy. While Jean-Thierry Augustin has been named president, sports strategy & development in a newly created position at Discovery Networks International, Peter Hutton has been appointed chief executive officer of Eurosport.

Network18 appoints A P Parigi as Group CEO

Network18 has appointed A P Parigi as its Group CEO, effective from January 29, 2015. He will be taking from B Saikumar who had quit the company along with Network18 group COO Ajay Chacko and Network18 group CFO RDS Bawa, just prior to the RIL acquisition in May this year and will be based in Mumbai.

Reliance Jio applies for MSO licence

Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd (RJIL) has applied for a pan-India cable MSO licence to the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting (MIB) through its subsidiary, Reliance Jio Media. 

Reliance Media Works acquires additional stake in Prime Focus

Reliance Media Works (RMWL) has acquired 16.10 per cent additional stake with Prime Focus promoters at the end of mandatory open offer.  Both have jointly acquired 4.8 million shares in the merged VFX and media services giant for approximately Rs 2.50 billion.

Vuclip ties up Indosat to video on-demand service

Vuclip, a mobile video on demand service entered into a deal with an Indonesian service provider Indosat to provide premium mobile video on-demand service.

Video Transcoders: A Business-critical Technology in Global Media and Entertainment

Fierce competition and consumer pressure is giving a boost to over-the-top (OTT) content volumes, intensifying the demand for video transcoders globally. With media and entertainment companies looking to deliver OTT multiscreen offerings at par with traditional primary screen content, both in terms of volume and quality of experience, they are investing significantly in digital content workflows and multi-screen transcoders. As industry focus shifts from delivery to monetization, product differentiation will hinge on speed, quality, density, operating cost, flexibility and future-proof architectures.

Dilip Venkatraman joins iTV Network as Group COO

Dilip Venkatraman has joined iTV Network as Group COO, Strategy and Business Development. He will be reporting to Kartikeya Sharma, Managing Director, iTV Network.

Delhi HC stays govt order to run apology on Colors TV’s show ‘Fear Factor: Khatron ke Khiladi’

Delhi High Court on 13 January stayed a government order directing Colors TV to run a scroll apologising for the content shown on the show ‘Fear Factor: Khatron ke Khiladi’, saying the Centre’s view that the programme was not in good taste was “subjective”.

DD Free Dish Migrating to Upgraded Platform

Doordarshan's 'DD Free Dish', India's only Free Direct-To-Home Service, is migrating from Old Platform to New upgraded Platform with effect from midnight of January 9, 2015.

Amagi announces Deployment of Cloudport playout for Magic of Cinema

Amagi, the leader in cloud-based broadcast infrastructure announced a full-fledged deployment of its CLOUDPORT Edge Playout servers for Magic of Cinema (MOC), a 24x7 Free-to-Air movie channel across 17 digital cable platforms.

Sanjeev Paliwal quits from IBN7

Sanjeev Paliwal has put in his papers as executive editor at IBN7.

US-based Broadcom pledges support to cable TV digitisation in India

According to a report published in the Hindu Business Line, Broadcom Corp, the US-based chipmaker, has pledged support to India’s ambitious move of developing its first home-grown Conditional Access System (CAS) for cable television. 

11 new MSOs get registration for DAS areas

The Ministry of Information & Broadcasting (MIB) has granted permanent registration to 11 new multi-system operators (MSOs) between 8 November 2014 and 5 January 2015 for operating in digital addressable system (DAS)-notified areas. 

MSO registration deadline for Phase III extended to 6 Feb

I&B Ministry has extended the cut-off date for multi-system operator (MSO) registration for Phase III of digital addressable system (DAS) to 6 February 2015. 

Charter chooses Cisco next-gen solutions

Cisco’s cloud-based offerings are gaining traction in the broadband multi-channel sector. Following its confirmation of a partnership with Kabel Deutschland, Cisco and Charter Communications, the fourth-largest cable operator in the United States have entered into a strategic agreement through which Cisco will supply key products in support of Charter’s breakthrough next-generation video solution.

4K STB from DISH

US satellite pay-TV operator DISH Network is claiming it is the first to launch a 4K ‘Ultra HD’ set-top box. Named the 4K Joey, the unit is designed to integrate easily with DISH’s Hopper Whole Home HD DVR system.

Charter chooses Cisco next-gen solutions

Infonetics Research, a technology market research firm, has released excerpts from its Q3 2014 Broadband CPE and Subscribers: PON, FTTH, Cable, DSL, and LTE report.

Mobile 6D theatres to hit Delhi roads in February

Delhi will soon be able to enjoy 6-dimension (6D) movie shows in public with a civic body deciding to launch mobile theatres at three landmarks in the national capital.

DoT seeks time from PMO to complete nation-wide project

The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has approached the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) for a nine-month extension of the national broadband project rollout deadline to December 2016, citing delayed procurement of key devices that will carry voice, data and video signals over a countrywide fibre-optic network at very high speeds.

ALi Launches Hardware-assisted DRM Solution Integrating Microsoft’s PlayReady Technologies

ALi Corporation, a leading Set-Top Box (STB) chipset solution provider, announced a hardware-assisted DRM solution integrating Microsoft PlayReady Porting Kit 2.5 on ALi’s M3733 platform. The strategic collaboration between ALi and Microsoft PlayReady delivers a highly secure DRM solution utilizing a unique combination of hardware and software security for a revolutionary level of protection not available in pure software solutions.

Changhong ships 15 Million Digital Addressable STBs to India

Changhong, a China based STB and broadband products provider announced 15 Millions Pay TV STBs were shipped to India till Dec, 2014. “We are glad to announce till Dec end 2014 we had shipped more than 15M STBs to India since we entered into this market.” Said Mr Richard Cheng Li, Senior Vice Present of Sichuan Changhong Network Technologies Co., Ltd.

Care World TV goes global, launches in the US

Care World TV, the seven-year-old health and fitness television channel has been launched in the United States of America (USA) to become the world's largest global health care television channel. Top media professional, Lal Dadlaney has been roped in to set up and launch the channel in the US.

ISRO Charman Radhakrishnan Retires after a Glorious inning

The men who lead India to the Mars has hung his boots after a long stint of 42 years in the Indian Space Industry K Radhakrishnan retires as Chairman of Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) on 31 December after having set many milestones including India’s successful mission to Mars last year.

Kiran Vadodaria elected INS president

Kiran B. Vadodaria of Gujarati newspaper Sambhaav Metro was elected president of Indian Newspaper Society (INS) for 2014-15 at its 75th annual general meeting on 2 January.

Tejash Kothari of DNA joins BBC

Tejash Kothari, AVP, Marketing at DNA - Diligent Media Corporation Ltd, Mumbai (DNA), has joined BBC India as Marketing Manager for India. 

Amazon India may start offering music, movie and video streaming services in India

In a bid to expand its offerings in the country Amazon India may start offering music, movie and video streaming services later this year besides debuting its Prime subscription service. The company is currently evaluating the feasibility of such services while building up a content library, which would be a critical element of Amazon Prime. This is considered to be a part of its global expansion strategy.

AP Govt plans to provide broadband connection to 12 million homes

The Andhra Pradesh Cabinet on 3 January 2015 approved a project that envisages providing state-of-the-art optical fiber network in the state and internet connection to 12 million homes.