Big TV joins hands with ESPN

BIG TV's iCricket will enable viewers to switch between different camera angles for watching the matches along with game highlights, updates, schedule and statistics.Anil Dhirubha Ambani Group's DTH arm Reliance Big TV has said that it has partnered with sports broadcaster ESPN to launch an interactive channel 'iCricket' on its platform, targeted at garnering more viewers for the ongoing ICC T20 World Cup.

BIG TV's iCricket will enable viewers to switch between different camera angles for watching the matches along with game highlights, updates, schedule and statistics, BIG TV said in a statement.

iCricket will be available in four languages — English, Hindi, Tamil and Telegu, it added.

"iCricket is a part of our effort to deliver the best to our subscribers understanding their current demands, especially at the time of T20 World Cup," Reliance Big TV chief executive officer Sanjay Behl said.

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DTH operators, analysts to tune in digitally

TV ratings provider aMap will use a new method to measure viewing habits in 1,500 homes nationwide.Direct-to-home (DTH) television service providers and TV rating analysts are tuning into the critical zone of digital TV audience measurement as more Indian households abandon cable operators and opt for personal dishes to receive satellite programmes.

To begin with, TV ratings provider Audience Measurement and Analytics Ltd (aMap) is installing a network of digital people meters—a tool to measure the viewing habits of TV audiences—in 1,500 DTH homes nationwide. The network would provide audience size and market share of each DTH operator, and viewership data of each channel and programme on the platform.

"Test data is already rolling out now for this DTH panel of 1,500 metered homes. Viewership data would be available on a daily basis and then we plan to extend this to real time (data as and when a programme is happening on TV)," said Amit Varma, chief executive officer of aMap.

DTH has a relatively small share of India's TV audience, but it is expanding its reach. The number of digital pay TV subscribers is expected to rise to 28 million by 2012, according to a study released last year by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry and audit firm PricewaterhouseCoopers.

The viewership metrics would ultimately provide a window to the real-time, 24X7 viewing habits of high-income television viewers, who are the prime target of marketeers and ad campaigns. They would also help channels on and off the DTH platform to independently validate viewing patterns of this segment of television viewers with advertisers.

TV viewership analysis firm TAM Media Research Pvt. Ltd already provides digital data for CAS (conditional access system, in which digital media or satellite TV signals are transmitted to subscribers only) and DTH television homes on a weekly basis. TAM has 8,000 people meters.L.V. Krishnan, chief executive of TAM Media, said the current penetration of DTH in the country is 15% and that's the ratio of people meters in its overall sample.

DTH operators such as BIG TV Ltd, part of the Reliance-Anil Dirubhai Ambani Group, have aspirations of getting into audience mapping themselves.BIG TV's chief executive Sanjay Behl said while digital set-top boxes (STBs) have the capacity to pull out viewership data, BIG's Mpeg-4 set-top boxes also allow for two-way transmission and interaction. It also has wireless infrastructure that can be used for transmitting data.

Behl said BIG TV has been in dialogue with TAM Media on a joint initiative in DTH research. "With TAM, what we are trying to do is to build the eco-system. They understand data better and their expertise lies in modelling, cutting and analysis of data while we have the technology and infrastructure," he said.

Another DTH operator, Dish TV India Ltd, a part of the Essel Group, is also eyeing the digital TV audience mapping space, according to a senior communications industry executive familiar with the development. The company is seeking price quotes for 50,000 two-way STBs from a Chinese firm, among others, that can provide real-time viewership patterns of DTH channels, said the executive who didn't want to be named.

Jawahar Goel, managing director of Dish TV, denied that it was venturing into digital TV audience mapping or had placed any orders for STBs. "In which industry has a broadcaster or DTH operator been also a party to providing research numbers? If Airtel or BIG or anyone else initiate this, then there would be no sanctity to the data. Research data is only respected and used as industry currency when it's done by an independent party." An Airtel spokesperson declined to comment for this story.

More news - http://www.satnetforum.com/showthread.php?tid=1283

Big TV on expansion spree with new channels, new partners

In a bid to introduce global channels, Reliance Big TV, the direct-to-home (DTH) arm of the Reliance ADA group, has expanded its channel bouquet with the addition of 10 new channels, including WB and Korea's KBS.

WB is the new English entertainment channel from Turner International India in association with their sister company Warner Bros. While, KBS is Korea's flagship public service broadcaster with two domestic terrestrial networks and has over 15 hours of programmes a day with English subtitles.

The rest of the eight channels include leading regional channels in India – DD Podhigal (Tamil), NE TV (Assamese), India Vision (Malayalam), Star Jalsa (Bangla), Star Pravah (Marathi), Mahua (Bhojpuri), DD Kashmir (Urdu/Kashmiri) and TV99 (Rajasthani).

Mahesh Prasad, president, Reliance Communications, said, "Besides reducing prices on some of the existing packages, we have also added to the regional channel count in 13 regional packs. We make sure Reliance Big TV caters to all kind of viewers in entertainment category."

Big TV is also set to ink deal with Fox Group, to launch Fox Adventure, Fox Crime, Fox FX, Fox History and Nat Geo Music channels to its bouquet. The discussions with global entertainment giants form part of the DTH operator's overall strategy to increase its channel bouquet from the current 200 to 400 channels by 2010.

Big TV is also said to be in advanced stages of discussion with global DTH operators and some private equity investors to hive off 49 per cent stake for Rs 8,000 crore. On hiving off stake, Big TV officials said to Televisionpoint.com that a clutch of investors have evinced interest in the stake sale.

"The company has commenced the process of identifying a partner and is likely to complete the exercise by July end. The enterprise value of Big TV is pegged around $ 3 billion. A 49 per cent stake dilution can get fresh infusion of over $ 1.6 billion." an Big TV official said.

Global majors, who are believed to be in talks with Big TV, include DirecTV, KKR, The Carlyle Group and Sequoia Capital. Sources said the enterprise valuation is not just based on subscription numbers and average revenue per user (ARPU), but also the overall brand value of the Reliance ADAG network.

The Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) norms allow up to 49 per cent foreign equity in the DTH sector. Big TV is the only DTH company in India that has no foreign investments. All other DTH service providers operating in the country, like Tata Sky, Dish TV, Airtel's Digital TV and Sun Direct, have foreign investment of over 20 per cent.

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Big TV adds 10 channels from 1 June

Big TV is expanding its bouquet with 10 new channels from 1 June.The slate includes Korea's KBS and WB, the English entertainment channel from Turner International India and Warner Bros.

The remaining eight are regional channels including DD Podhigai (Tamil), NE TV (Telugu), India Vision (Malayalam), Star Jalsa (Bangla), Star Pravah (Marathi), Mahua (Bhojpuri), DD Kashmir (Urdu / Kashmiri), and TV99 (Rajasthani).

Says Reliance Communications president Mahesh Prasad, "Our new offers are part of Big TV's continuous endeavour to offer increased value to customers with great savings in mind. Besides reducing prices on some of the existing packages, we've also added to the regional channel count in 13 regional packs. We make sure Reliance Big TV caters to all kind of viewers in the entertainment category."

Big TV will be offering these channels across various subscription packs. The customer can select the free regional pack as part of the new subscription/recharge, which are available from Rs 115 (plus taxes) onwards.

More news - http://www.satnetforum.com/showthread.php?tid=1246

Slowdown-hit DTH industry seeks government intervention

Hit by the global slowdown and slow growth in subscriber base, the country's direct-to-home (DTH) service providers Tuesday asked the government to bail them out and take a relook at the four-level tax system imposed on them.

"With the dollar appreciating against the rupee, the hardware cost has gone up by 10-15 percent," Dish TV chief operating officer Salil Kapoor told reporters on the sidelines of a conference organised by the Cable and Satellite Broadcasting Association of Asia (Casbaa).

Tata Sky managing director and chief executive Vikram Kaushik shared the view: "The DTH industry can face massive losses in the years to come on account of low average revenues per user (ARPU) and also the duty that each service provider has to pay while importing hardware.""In a few years to come, one can expect consolidation or players winding up business," he added.

Added Kapoor: "The industry is dogged by four levels of taxation - service tax, VAT (value-added tax), licence fee and entertainment tax. The industry will approach the government on this matter."Due to dollar appreciation, the hardware, especially the set-top boxes, which is imported from other countries, has become costlier. Therefore, the DTH players have not benefited much from service duty cuts.

However, the current trend has not stopped the companies from launching new offers and services.Players like Dish TV and BIG TV are now offering multi-dwelling units (MDUs), and are exploring options with real estate developers for wiring their projects in the construction stage.

The MDU offers a single dish antenna that caters to all flats in a building through multi-switches and amplifiers.Such a tie-up with developers will ensure multiple subscribers for the DTH operators, officials said.At present, DTH operators are bearing the installation cost of the MDU antennas, which is ranging between Rs.1,200-1,500 per flat.However, set-top boxes need to be installed for every television set which has to be bought by the user.

http://www.satnetforum.com/showthread.php?tid=1041

 

Govt to cut DTH licence fee to 6%

Indiantelevision.com Team

Direct-to-home operators, who are saddled with losses as they ramp up subscribers, can now hope to get some cushioning from the government.

Information and broadcasting secretary Sushma Singh today said at Ficci-Frames 2009 that the government is considering a reduction in licence fee for DTH to six per cent of gross revenue from the prevailing rate of 10 per cent.

DTH operators including Dish TV, Tata Sky, Big TV, Sun TV and Airtel Digital TV have asked for a reduction in licence fee, a move which they feel would ease some of their pain.

Meanwhile, minister of state for I&B Anand Sharma said the government has increased the rate for DAVP to 10 per cent across the board. This in effect means a 25 per cent hike as earlier the government had done away with the mandatory discount of 15 per cent in DAVP ads.

The government is also looking at formulating a policy framework for Headend-In-The-Sky (HITS) soon. This will give a big boost to digitalization of cable TV across the country.

Sharma also said that the government should work with industry stakeholders to create "film festivals which would bring the entire world to us." He also urged the industry to come out with film awards that would have the same status as the Oscar Awards in the US.

On the FM radio front, Singh urged radio station owners and music companies to sit together and sort out the issue over music royalties. To offer a boost to the burgeoning animation, gaming and visual effects industry the government is setting up a centre. This has been envisaged as being a public/private sector partnership.

The Film and Television Institute in Pune is being developed to become a global institution which can attract students from across the globe. The government has also taken steps to ensure that films are scientifically archived with a facility in Pune. Over 100,000 films can be archived there.

On the film front, India has co-production agreements with Germany, Italy, UK and Brazil. The Indian government is in talks to have similar co-production agreements with France and China, Singh said.

DTH Satellite TV Service Excels in India

By Jyothi Shanbhag

TMCnet Contributing Editor

Direct-to-home, or DTH Satellite Television, is a recent phenomenon in India showing a strong growth indication that doubled to about 9 million subscribers at the end of 2008, according to a report by In-Sat,

"India now has five pay DTH satellite providers with a sixth expected to enter the market early in 2009," said Mike Paxton, In-Stat (News - Alert) analyst.

Previously, Doordarshan was the only free to air satellite channel in India, but with the advent of Star TV and Zee TV, Sun TV and various other satellite channels, its market has extended through private channels for Satellite TV in India.

Satellite television is becoming increasingly popular due to problems cable television has created. The quality of signals, availability and pirated channels is prevalent among cable service networks and providers had become a nuisance, according to the study. DTH service providers are offering an efficient solution to the problem with a better picture quality that every consumer prefers, the study said.

Another report from In-sat says that Cable TV operators around the world are now relying on cable modem services to generate new revenue streams and "beef up" their business model. In fact, bundled cable video and cable modem service is providing cable TV operators with a significant competitive advantage over their pay-TV service rivals.

The report also reveals that worldwide market for pay-Direct-to-Home (DTH) satellite television has also grown significantly in 2008, with an estimated 18 percent rise in subscriptions and revenues will eclipse $142.7 billion by 2011.

In-Stat research which is named The Worldwide Digital Satellite Pay-TV Market, 2008 covers the worldwide market for digital satellite pay TV. Report says that there will be nearly 200 million DTH pay-TV subscribers worldwide by 2012.

This report identifies where that subscriber growth is taking place and discusses why it is occurring and also includes historical and current subscriber totals for all service providers by country and geographic region, and identifies new service providers planning to begin offering service in the near future. The report also provides worldwide subscriber and revenue forecasts by region and countries.

In-Stat analyst predicts that, in the Asia/Pacific region, China is likely to introduce a pay DTH satellite service in 2009 or 2010, which will help sustain strong growth in Asia.

DTH cos ask govt for changes in current norm

Joji Thomas Philip, ET Bureau

Direct To Home (DTH) companies Bharti Airtel, Zee group promoted Dish TV and Reliance ADAG's Big TV have asked the government for changes in the current norm that prevents them from revising tariffs for channels and packages for six months from the date of enrollment of a customer.

Bharti Airtel and Dish TV have told Trai that, often, free channels get converted to pay channels, and therefore, 'it is not fair on the DTH operator to continue offering it free for six months without any change in the rates'.

Bharti has also pointed out that broadcasters often pay DTH players to carry certain channels, and at the expiry of such agreements, they should be allowed to charge their customers for the channels despite the six-month clause.

Under existing norms, DTH players must offer a channel for a minimum period of six months. Big TV is of the view that this six-month time frame to carry a channel is not economically viable. The company has proposed that broadcasters be permitted to withdraw the channels whose ratings fall substantially over a 12-week period after giving customers a six week notice.

DTH operators have also opposed Trai's proposal to reduce customer subscription charges if a channel goes off air before the six-month time frame. Both Dish TV and Big TV have suggested that DTH operators be allowed to replace the channel that goes off air 'by a same genre channel'. "There should not be any reduction or refund of the subscription fee to the customer as channels are removed due to circumstances beyond the control of DTH. The reasons of such removal mostly pertain to the broadcaster," the company has told TRAI.

Operators also want Trai to do away with the norm that prevents DTH operators from disabling a subscriber's Set-Top-Box if he is not availing the service. Besides, they also want Trai to review an existing regulation that does not allow them to charge a reactivation fee from customers. "Since reconnection or reactivation involves substantial costs in terms of use and deployment of resources and customer services management, the DTH operator is forced to bear the cost of the same to comply with this illogical regulation," Bharti's communication added.

R-ADAG's Big TV likely to call off IPL deal

 

ET Bureau

Reliance-Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group (R-ADAG)-owned Big TV's four-year Rs 137-crore deal with the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) as Indian Premier League (IPL)'s exclusive DTH partner is being renegotiated and may be called off.

Big TV has raised objections to its rival Bharti Airtel's DTH brand picking up on-air sponsorship on IPL's broadcast rights holder Sony Entertainment Television (SET).

Big TV does not want any of its rivals to partner with Sony as on-air sponsor. As per the original deal inked almost six months back, Big TV is a ground sponsor and has rights to advertise only on ground.

An official close to the development told ET, "Big TV is renegotiating its exclusive DTH rights deal for IPL and is most likely to pull out if the company's demands are not met. It is also negotiating on the amount it has committed to IPL since it believes the deal has loopholes through which some other players can get benefits from the deal."

Replying to an email sent by ET, an R-ADAG spokesperson said, "We will not be in a position to offer any comment on your query at this point of time."

But, for BCCI, giving in to Big TV's demands may not be possible. Unlike last year, Sony is not offering any category exclusive on-air rights to advertisers now. So any DTH company can pick up on-air sponsorship during the IPL matches on Sony, and the broadcaster's deal with Bharti Airtel is almost closed. A Sony official, who did not wish to be named, said: "We had offered Big TV on-air sponsorship rights some time back, but at that time they were not interested."

PL commissioner Lalit Modi or IPL CEO Sundar Raman could not be reached for comment. ET has learnt that Big TV has also asked BCCI for exclusive re-runs and behind-the-scenes uncut footage of IPL matches. That too is not possible since Sony has exclusive broadcast rights for all platforms—satellite and DTH, which it had won early last year along with World Sports Group for $918 million.

Also, as per government regulations, exclusivity of content is not allowed on the DTH platform. A channel is bound to provide its feed to all the DTH platforms unlike the West.

Big TV adds 0.5 million subscribers from South India

Televisionpoint.com Correspondent | Hyderabad

Big TV, the direct-to-home (DTH) service from Reliance Communications, has reached an figure of 0.5 million subscribers in the four Southern states within five months of its launch.

The competition to accumulate subscribers and capture market share is intense in the DTH space. Big TV, which launched last August, claims to have gained a million customers within 100 days of its launch, across the country.

Recently, Dish TV and Tata Sky crossed the 4 million and 3 million subscriber marks, respectively, while Sun Direct TV acquired 2 million subscribers. The numbers for Airtel Digital TV are not disclosed by the company.

"Reaching the figure of 5 lakh customer milestone in the four Southern states was a great New Year gift to us. It is indeed a testimony to the product and proposition offered by Big TV and its success in accelerating the growth momentum of DTH sector in India." said Mahesh Prasad, president, Reliance Communications.

According to Mahesh, Big TV is the only one to score high on an all-inclusive channel bouquet for a cross section of populace from different regions, while other DTH operators focused on stiff packaging in South India.

In a bid to further tap the Southern markets, Mahesh claims that the company will look for potential partnerships with echaupals, post offices and even fertiliser companies.

Big TV lines up English films for PPV subscribers

Indiantelevision.com Team

Reliance ADAG owned Big TV has lined-up a bouquet of English films on its pay-per-view (PPV) channels for the month of January.

The list of films includes David Lean directed Lawrence of Arabia which won seven Academy awards and four Golden Globe awards. The film is about Thomas Edward Lawrence who blazed his way to glory in the Arabian desert, then sought anonymity as a common soldier under an assumed name.

Big TV will also show Peter Sellers Comedy, Dr. Stragelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb, Bad Boys and Jerry Maguire for its PPV subscribers.

The films will be shown in back-to-back shows throughout the day and subscribers will have to pay Rs 60 for accessing them.The subscription will give consumers access to the PPV channel from the time they pay the fee till midnight of the same day.