Payments firm eyes telecom sector for e-KYC offering

NEW DELHI: Payments services major Suvidha Infoserve has proposed paperless e-KYC service for the telecom sector to check the menace of illegal sim cards and fast-track issuance of genuine mobile connections.The Rs 8,000-crore company, which was founded by Mumbai-based entrepreneur Paresh Rajde in 2007 with angel funding by construction tycoon Shapoorji Pallonji Mistry, is currently in talks with top telecom service providers and expects to soon begin implementing the e-KYC for the sector.

The investors in Suvidha Infoserve, which has also applied for a payments bank licence, include Norvest Ventures Partners, World Bank Group's International Finance Corp, Mitsui & Co and Reliance Venture Asset Management.Present in the payment and remittance space, Suvidha Infoserve calls itself an s-commerce or service-commerce firm. It is an aggregator of multiple services like utility bill collection, insurance premium, mobile and DTH recharge, travel tickets, money transfer services on a single platform through a network of 65,000 franchise outlets.

Suvidha is now planning to offer paperless e-KYC service for the telecom sector, which is estimated to have 100 crore mobile subscribers.It recently launched a pre-paid card in association with Axis Bank where pre-paid cards can be issued and activated within few minutes using the e-KYC model.

"The new e-KYC system should become operational in select circles by the year-end," Suvidha chairman Paresh Rajde said.It will use the applicant's Aadhaar number and biometric data for the KYC authentication from UIDAI and confirmation will be given through encrypted file to the telecom service provider immediately."As a result, the applicant will get activation in real time," Rajde said, while adding that the application would be rejected too in real time in the case of mismatch in data.

"It will not only reduce the circulation of fake sim cards, but also considerably reduce the processing time of telecom companies. In other words, it will improve both the efficiency and bottom-lines of telecom operators," Rajde said.

According to reports, the Department of Telecom imposed Rs 2,800 crore in penalties in 2007-12 on mobile operators for issuing sim cards on the basis of fake identity documents."We are in discussions with the country's top telecom service providers and hopeful to finalize the deal shortly. Going by the initial response from these telecom operators, we are hopeful of implementing e-KYC by the year-end in a few circles, to begin with," Rajde said.

At present, an applicant needs to submit various documents including residential proof and photo ID with the retail outlet of telecom service providers for verification.The retailer forwards these documents to the respective service providers and the final verification is done by telecom companies. The verification takes anything between 12 hours to a few days depending on the location of the retailer. In metros, the activation is done within a few hours while in remote areas, it takes at least a few days.

Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com

Digital fallout: DTH cos set to lose, broadcasters poised to reap benefits

MUMBAI: Change is constant and change is good…. however, it seems like change isn’t good for all. While the proliferation of digital platforms giving an impetus to online videos, will turn out to be a boon for broadcasters, direct to home (DTH) operators however, are set to lose out.

According to a research report by Bank of America-Merrill Lynch, just like in the West, online video content will disrupt India’s Pay TV market. While broadcasters will benefit because of ad supported content monetisation, DTH players will suffer because of pressure on ARPUs. Moreover DTH companies are also poised to lose most as the price-sensitive Indian consumers will refrain from paying premium for content on live television when they have online alternatives

Broadcasters are well placed to monetise content on digital platforms as it only increases the opportunities. As a result, ad revenues are expected to improve following a pick up in economy. The report states that broadcasters will be able to improve their content monetisation through increased ad revenues and better declaration of subs in a digitised environment.

For DTH companies, despite digitisation delay, there will be improvements in the average revenue per user (ARPU) driven by the following factors: 1) HD channel penetration increase; 2) Differential tariff hikes; and 3) MSOs hiking tariffs to maintain profitability – offering DTH players more headroom to raise tariffs.

Creating a scenario comprising Zee TV (broadcaster) and Dish TV (DTH), Bank of America-Merrill Lynch’s analysis suggests that the overall risks are skewed to the upside for broadcaster Zee and to the downside for DTH operator Dish TV.

According to the report, Zee has underperformed the markets by eight per cent year-to-date (YTD) on concerns about the loss in market share due to channel fragmentation and investments in new channels. “Post the share-price underperformance, we see the risk-reward as favourable since, in our view, the market is now factoring in all the risks, but not giving full benefits of strong ad growth, monetisation of new content and digitisation benefits,” the report states.

Factoring in the positives for Dish TV, the report says that though digitisation is inevitable, the expectations on timelines are optimistic and complete benefits of digitisation will be seen only by FY2020-21. However, over the next 12 months, ARPU improvements are expected due to: 1) MSOs hiking tariffs to maintain margins; 2) Increased penetration of HD channels; and 3) Differential price hikes in urban areas. “However, Dish TV has outperformed the market by 65 per cent YTD, and we see most of the positives are priced in,” says the report.

The upside of digitisation will be gradual. Citing risks and benefits of digitisation, the report says that it sees the risk of distributors (MSOs and DTH players) not realising the full potential of digitisation as the pace of roll out is slower than what the market is anticipating. Moreover, by the time the full benefits of digitisation are realised, the new-age video disruptors, internet-enabled smart devices like mobile, TV and PC will start eating into the revenues of Pay TV and MSOs like they have done in the West. Additionally, though phase-I and II of digitisation is complete, the expected benefits have not flowed to the players because of issues like MSOs/LCOs tussle and absence of customer billing. “There has been some progress on resolving the issues but it has been slow. These problems will only increase with roll out in phase-III and IV areas,” the report states.

In the next few years, the Indian media sector is expected to evolve as digitisation gradually picks up, fragmentation of channels increases and all companies (broadcasters, DTH and MSOs) evolve their business models in face of online content proliferation.
 

Positive on broadcasters: Content still the king               

According to the report, companies like Zee will benefit from an improvement in ad growth (led by GDP uptake) and expect to benefit from content fragmentation as it is one of the better companies leveraging this trend. “Over time, as traffic will shift to smart devices, we expect consumption of video content to increase. This presents increasing opportunities for broadcasters to monetise content. With improving economic activities, digitisation rollout and pressure on distributors’ P&L, we expect both advertisement and subscription revenues of broadcasters to increase. On the other hand, we believe that given the reluctance of Indian consumers to pay for online consumption, content on smart devices (smartphones, PCs, tablets) will be monetised primarily through advertisements,” the report states.

DTH: Digitisation is gradual; ARPU improvement to flow in

Despite slow digitisation, companies like Dish TV are likely to improve their ARPUs and EBITDA margins over next 12-18 months. The ARPU improvement will be led by the following factors: 1) MSOs facing some pressure from broadcasters to hike tariffs allowing DTH operators to follow them; 2) Increased penetration of HD channels; and 3) Players like Dish TV implementing differential pricing across cities to improve realisations and monetising on its “Zing” offering.

MSOs: Broadband push is the next big story

With the ongoing tussle between MSOs and LCOs, the full benefits of digitisation will come gradually for MSOs. As a result, MSOs are likely to focus on other revenue streams like broadband subs. According to checks carried out by Bank of American-Merrill Lynch, there’s increasing focus by MSOs to improve their broadband coverage, which would help cross-sell services overtime and have direct control over subs. The major MSOs have already started experimenting with high-speed broadband in high-density urban areas, and slowly they will start rolling out in Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities.

Key  risks:

1) Economy not picking up: Any slower-than-expected economic uptake may lead to material downgrades to our consensus ad revenue numbers for Zee.

2) LCOs/MSOs tussle unable to reach a solution: Continued tussle between LCO and MSO (LCOs are unwilling to share consumer details with MSOs in order to guard their turf) will impact ARPU improvements for the sector.

3) Rise in piracy: With the proliferation of online content and new mediums of consumption, we may see a rise in piracy. In such a scenario, it will impact the entire industry negatively as it would be difficult to monetise the content effectively.

 Source: http://www.indiantelevision.com

New Slovak DTH platform in sight

The Slovak national transmission Towercom has made significant progress in its efforts to launch a DTH platform.

Zive reports that it has signed agreements with Markiza and Joj, the country’s leading commercial broadcasters, to distribute their channels Markiza, Doma, Dajto, Joj, Joj Plus and Wau in SD for free.

This comes on top of an agreement reached with the public broadcaster RTVS last month to also distribute its two channels Jednotka and Dvojka for free.

The agreement with Markiza apparently took a while to reach and is only for a limited time. Both Markiza and Joj would charge for the right to distribute their channels in HD.

There are question marks as to how long Towercom will be able to offer the basic services on its planned platform free to viewers.

It is pointed out that Skylink, the market leader in both Slovakia and Czech Republic, moved away from such a model by introducing a service charge, which now amounts to €2.40 a month, for its basic service.


Source: http://www.broadbandtvnews.com

Videocon d2h ups HD fare; looks to offer 50 channels

MUMBAI: Direct to home (DTH) player Videocon d2h has strengthened its bouquet of HD channels and services. With the addition of TLC HD channel, the platform now offers 35 HD channels and services. Moreover, with strong demand for high definition content, Videocon d2h is looking at upping its HD offering to 50 channels and services soon.

The 35 HD channels and services available on Videocon d2h include India’s first and only 4K Ultra HD DTH channel. With flat panel TVs being widely accepted and its consumption increasing, the time is ideal for increasing the number of HD channels.

Videocon d2h executive director Saurabh Dhoot said, “We at Videocon d2h believe in giving our viewers the finest quality content to transform their television viewing experience. The rich quality video of HD channels makes viewing a delight and it is our honest endeavour to provide maximum content in HD. TV viewing experience in India is set for an upgrade and Videocon d2h is ready for the same with its innovative technology and quality services.”

Videocon d2h CEO Anil Khera added, “Videocon d2h believes in offering its customers the most premium content. With 35 HD channels & services, we are working towards delivering more than expected. Our subscribers can enjoy a wide range of high-definition channels of various genres like sports, movies, entertainment, infotainment, and music. This promise of giving the best channels and services across genres has built trust for Videocon d2h.”

Source: http://www.indiantelevision.com

Videocon d2h adds TLC HD channel

 Videocon d2h has further strengthened its bouquet of HD channels and services with the addition of TLC HD Channel.

Videocon d2h now has 35 HD Channels and services, a press release said here today.

The 35 HD Channels and services available on Videocon d2hinclude Indias first andonly 4KUltra HD DTH Channel.

The availability of a vast array of HD Channels on Videocon d2h has been one of the reasons forits tremendous growth.

"With the flat panel TVs being widely accepted and its consumption increasing, this is the ideal time for increasing thenumber of HD Channels.

With a strong demand for high definition content, Videocon d2h continues to add more HD Channels and will soon offer 50 HD Channels and Services," Mr.

SaurabhDhoot, Executive Director,Videocon d2h, said.

Videocon d2h has launched many firsts in the Indian DTH industry like the first to launch the 4K Ultra HD Channel, 1000 GB High Definition Digital Video Recorder, Radio Frequency Remote for DTH, Wireless DTH Headphones, 500 channels & services, he added.

UNI DS VV RSS1121

-- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0324-184006.

Xml 1234


Source: http://news.webindia123.com

Videocon d2h Expands Offering to 35 HD Channels and Services, Including Newly Added TLC HD Channel

MUMBAI, India, June 15, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Videocon d2h has further strengthened its bouquet of HD channels and services; with the addition of TLC HD Channel, Videocon d2h now has 35 HD Channels and services. These channels have superior picture clarity, giving more depth and sharpness to the picture, crystal-clear digital quality picture and HD digital quality sound.

The 35 HD Channels and services available on Videocon d2h include India's first & only DTH 4K Ultra HD Channel. The availability of a vast array of HD Channels on Videocon d2h has been one of the reasons for the tremendous growth of Videocon d2h. With the flat panel TVs being widely accepted and their consumption increasing, this is the ideal time for increased HD channel viewing. With strong demand for high-definition content, Videocon d2h has continued to add more HD channels and will soon offer 50 HD channels and services.

Mr. Saurabh Dhoot, Executive Director Videocon d2h said, "We at Videocon d2h believe in giving our viewers the finest quality content to transform their television viewing experience. The rich quality video of HD Channels makes viewing a delight, and it is our honest endeavour to provide maximum content in HD. The TV viewing experience in India is set for an upgrade, and Videocon d2h is ready for the same with its innovative technology and quality services."

Mr. Anil Khera, CEO Videocon d2h said, "Videocon d2h believes in offering our customers the most premium content, and with 35 HD channels and services, we are working towards delivering more than expected. Our subscribers can enjoy a wide range of high-definition channels of various genres like sports, movies, entertainment, infotainment and music. This promise of giving the best channels and services across genres has built trust for Videocon d2h."

Videocon d2h has launched many firsts in the Indian DTH industry like the first to launch the 4K Ultra HD Channel, 1000 GB High Definition Digital Video Recorder, Radio Frequency Remote for DTH, Wireless DTH Headphones, 500 channels & services.

Note to Editors: About Videocon d2h

Videocon d2h is India's fastest growing DTH service provider which offers over 500 channels & services. Videocon d2h also offers 35 "HD" channels. It launched India's first 4K Ultra HD DTH channel.  Videocon d2h offers India's first 1000 GB High Definition Digital Video Recorder and is the first DTH service provider to offer Radio Frequency Remote Control (available with High Definition Digital Set Top Box with unlimited recording).  Powered by the MPEG-4 and DVB-S2 technology, Videocon d2h offers services such as 12 PIP Mosaic, d2h Cinema, weather updates and multiple tickers to transform your TV into a hub of entertainment and knowledge. It offers High Definition channels in 1080p, HDD Sound and 16:9 aspect ratio. Apart from these, it also offers the Active Music service, which includes 41 Audio / Video active music channels, 24-hrs a day. In addition, Videocon d2h provides round-the-clock prompt and efficient customer support in nine regional languages in addition to English and Hindi from the dedicated 8 Customer care centres present in seven locations.

Videocon d2h is the most valued Indian company on NASDAQ by equity market capitalization as of May 28, 2015 and was the first Indian media company to be listed on NASDAQ.

Contact:

Jeff Pryor, Priority PR

310-954-1375 / jeff@prioritypr.net 

Source: http://www.prnewswire.com

FY-2015: Inflection point for DTH companies in India?

BENGALURU: Is FY-2015 the inflection point for direct to home (DTH) companies in India? The answer seems yes, if one were to go by the financials declared by three listed operators for the quarter and year ended 31 March, 2015 (Q4-2015 and FY-2015 respectively) – Airtel Digital TV, Dish TV and Videocon d2h. And the players are gung-ho about the future. Subscriber growth and higher ARPUs (Average Revenue Per User) are some of the factors that have brightened the picture for this segment of the carriage industry in fiscal 2015.

Note: 100,00,000 = 100 lakh = 10 million = 1 crore.

This report covers only three of the seven DTH service providers in India since the other four – Reliance Digital TV, Sun Direct (about 97 lakh subscribers as on 31 March, 2015), Tata Sky and DD Free Dish are not listed on the bourses and their financial numbers are not available.

The Numbers

Dish TV

Dish TV’s standalone and consolidated net Total Income from Operations (TIO) in FY-2016 at Rs 2781.64 crore was 10.9 per cent more than the Rs 2508.97 crore in FY-2014. Standalone TIO in Q4- 2015 at Rs 754.72 crore grew 18.5 per cent as compared to the Rs 636.91 crore in the corresponding year ago quarter and was 10.3 per cent more than the Rs 684.26 crore in Q3-2015.

 According to Dish TV, the DTH sector is a direct beneficiary of a positive consumer sentiment. The company achieved strong subscriber growth of 1.5 million net subscribers during the year. Fiscal 2015 also saw Dish TV swing to net profit, a first for any DTH company in India.

 The biggest among the three in terms of revenue as well subscribers, Dish TV at the close of FY-2015, reported standalone net profit after tax (PAT) of Rs 35.01 crore in Q4-2015 and a standalone PAT of Rs 1.01 crore in FY-2015 as compared to a standalone loss of Rs 154.21 crore in FY-2014. For Q3-2015, Dish TV’s loss was just Rs 2.87 crore as compared to double-digit crore loss numbers in the previous or like-to-like quarters. Dish TV also doubled its subscriber growth to 15 lakh in FY-2015 as compared to the previous year. As on 31 March, 2015, the company reported a net subscriber base of 1.29 crore, having added 4.04 lakh subscribers in the last quarter of 2015.

 Dish TV also reported higher ARPU of Rs 179 in Q4-2014 as against Rs 177 in Q3-2015 (1.13 per cent increase in ARPU) and was 5.3 per cent higher than the annual ARPU of Rs 170 reported in Q4-2014.

 “As digitization spreads far and wide, we continue to believe that there is sufficient headroom to further explore price differentials between key urban markets and their rural counterparts. All pack prices, for new as well as existing subscribers of Dish TV, have been moved by Rs 10 each in the 42 cities under phase I and II. We are confident that pack price hikes, higher HD uptake, as well as industry level developments such as initiation of packaging in cable will be key contributors to ARPU expansion going forward,” said Dish TV managing director Jawahar Goel.

Post a successful absorption of higher pack prices in Delhi, Mumbai, Pune and Kolkata, Dish TV initiated another price change during the current month. In less than three months since it was first introduced, differential pricing – an industry first from Dish TV was rolled-out in the balance 38 cities covered under DAS phases I and II with effect from midnight on 12 May, 2015.Last year Dish TV launched a second brand, Zing, in the Indian DTH space. A resounding success, Zing cemented Dish TV’s supremacy in the DAS Phase 3 and 4 markets with custom-made content, hardware and service packages for the regional audience, says the company.

Airtel Digital TV Services

Airtel’s Digital TV Services (DTH segment) revenue grew 19.2 per cent in FY-2015 to Rs 2475.9 crore from Rs 2077.1 crore in FY-2014. The segment reported 11.8 per cent growth in number of subscribers with 100.73 lakh subscribers on 31 March, 2015 as compared to the 90.12 lakh subscribers at the close of the previous year. ARPU in FY-2015 at Rs 214 was five per cent more than the Rs 203 in FY-2014. The segment reported slightly higher monthly churn of one per cent as compared to 0.9 per cent in FY-2014.

 The DTH segment reported an operating profit of Rs 8.1 crore in Q4-2015 as compared to an operating loss of Rs 36 crore in the immediate trailing quarter. For FY-2015, Airtel DTH reported a lower operating loss of Rs 158.1 crore, for FY-2014, operating loss was three times more at Rs 481.2 crore.

 EBIDTA and EBIDTA margins in FY-2015 at Rs 675.2 crore (27.3 per cent of total revenue) were more than double (2.02 times) the Rs 334.7 crore (16.1 per cent of total revenue) in the previous year.

Videocon d2h

Coupled with higher ARPU for FY-2015 at Rs 196, and Rs 202 in Q4-2015, Videocon d2h reported 32.5 per cent growth in revenue from operations in FY-2015 at Rs 2337.7 crore as compared to the Rs 1764.4 crore in FY-2014. The company’s subscription revenue increased 38.3 per cent in the current year to Rs 2058.1 crore from Rs 1487.7 crore in the previous year.

 Videocon d2h says that it was able to push through an inflation linked ARPU increase in February 2015. As a result, Q4-2015 ARPU was Rs 202, up 11.7 per cent from FY-2015.

 Videocon d2h closed fiscal 2015 with 101.8 lakh subscribers as compared to 84.4 lakh in the previous year. It claims market leadership in subscriber growth in FY-2015 with 26.4 lakh gross subscribers and 17.4 lakh net subscriber additions. Subscriber churn per month increased fractionally in FY-2015 to 0.8 per cent as compared to 0.76 per cent in the previous year.

The company reported lower net loss in FY-2015 at Rs 272.7 crore as compared to the Rs 319.5 crore in the previous year. Adjusted EBIDTA increased 55.3 per cent in the current year to Rs 609.1 crore (margin 26.1 per cent) from Rs 319.5 crore (margin 34.1 per cent), the company said in its earnings release on NASDAQ.

Videocon d2h CEO Anil Khera said, “The Pay TV segment in India is positioned for extraordinary growth over the next few years with millions of new TV homes being created on account of the strong economic outlook in India as well as the Government of India's initiative to roll out its digitalization mandate across the country. We believe that 9 to 10 crore homes will be making the switch to digital platforms, which will be available to the DTH and digital cable operators. We are well positioned to benefit from this and we believe we will take the largest share of this opportunity, as we have in the past. With strong economic growth outlook for India, overall media sector is expected to grow in the years to come. We believe this will help grow ARPU, TV penetration and increase HD uptake leading to stronger revenue growth for Pay TV in general and Videocon d2h in particular."

End points 

The last quarter of fiscal 2015 (Q4-2015) has shown better than average results in the case of all the three DTH players examined in this report. PAT in Q4-2015 eliminated the loss Dish TV incurred in the first three quarters of FY-2015. In the case of Airtel DTH segment, EBITDA for Q4-2015 increased to Rs 207.8 crore as compared to Rs 96.7 crore in the corresponding quarter last year. The reported EBITDA margin improved significantly to 32.7 per cent in Q4-2015, as compared to a margin of 17.9 per cent in the corresponding quarter last year.

 As mentioned above, Airtel DTH turned EBIT positive to Rs 8.0 crore in the current quarter, as compared to EBIT loss of Rs 110.7 crore in the corresponding quarter of last year. Comparable numbers for Videocon d2h have not been made available since the company debuted on NASDAQ on 1 April, 2015 and has disclosed only a limited amount of information about its annual numbers.

 The Indian carriage universe has 16.8 crore households. DTH operators have continued to focus on improving realisations by increasing penetration of HD channels, premium channels and value added services (VAS) according to the FICCI-KPMG Indian Media and Entertainment Industry Report 2015. However, they may have to rework their channel packages to be more relevant and affordable for phases III and IV subscribers. A case in point mentioned above is Dish TV’s sub-brand Zing, which caters to specific linguistic needs of subscribers and offers regional specific packs as a part of all available packs.

 Also, all major DTH operators have launched apps for mobiles and tablets through which subscribers can watch live TV for an additional fee and DTH operators have the advantage of monetising these viewers because of their existing payment relationships with their subscribers.

 The FICCI-KPMG 2015 report also says that battle for subscribers in phases III and IV of DAS in India is expected to be more keenly fought between MSOs’ and DTH players. While DTH players managed to get only 20 to 30 per cent of the subscribers converting from analogue to digital in phases I and II, they are in a much better position in phases III and IV due to inherent technology advantage of DTH in sparsely populated areas and also due to their balance sheets being healthier than the MSOs’.

The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting extended the deadlines for phases III and IV to 31 December, 2015 and 31 December, 2016, respectively, and there could be another delay by 12 months according to experts, which means that phase IV rollout could complete only at the end of 2017 or even 2018. The benefits of digitisation in these phases in terms of improved addressability and ARPU is expected to take much longer. At the end of 2019, the FICCI-KPMG report expects digital cable subscriber and DTH subscriber ratio to be 55:45 with 9.4 crore digital cable subscribers and 7.6 crore DTH subscribers.

 HITS (Headends in the Sky), if it takes off even in a small way, could affect the fortunes of both the DTH and the cable TV industry. Let’s wait and watch how the Hinduja Group, which has a license to launch HITS and is a major player in the cable TV business, plays this out. Jain TV, the other licensee for HITS, has made a miniscule dent. IPTV is still at less than an infancy stage in the country.

 If DTH companies can sustain, innovate in technology and offerings and grow from here, FY-2015, and maybe Q4-2015 could really be the turning point when at least one segment of the carriage business in India has started making money. Only time will tell…

Source: http://www.indiantelevision.com