Bad News For Tata Sky And DTH Customers, Recording Feature Suspended For India-Australia Matches

India's leading DTH operator Tata Sky has suspended its recording feature on Sony's sports channels while citing restrictions imposed by the broadcaster, Dream DTH has reported.

"Dear Subscriber,as per broadcaster mandate, recording of India tour of Australia on all SD and HD versions of Sony Six, Ten 1, Ten 3 will be restricted till 19 Jan 2021", Tata Sky said in a tweet.As per the Tata Sky statement, it has received a mandate from Sony, directing DTH operators to restrict the recording feature on their platforms. This feature is available on Tata Sky HD+ Set Top box.

The report adds that while the mandate to pause recordings on Sony Sports channels appears to be an universal one, subscribers of other DTH operators are yet to report the same. This restriction will thus prevent DTH subscribers from using the record and rewind features in case they fail to watch the live telecast of the matches.

It should be noted that Sony also prevent viewers from pausing the live broadcast on OTT platforms like Sony Liv and Jio TV.

Resource : https://swarajyamag.com/insta/bad-news-for-tata-sky-and-dth-customers-recording-feature-suspended-for-india-australia-matches

RCom to shut down DTH business

RCom cites expiry of its DTH licence as the reason behind the shutdown, says it is working with three other DTH players to migrate its customers

New Delhi: Anil Ambani-led Reliance Communications has decided to shut down its direct-to-home (DTH) business under the brand Reliance Digital TV with effect from 18 November, according to an advertisement in a Malayalam publication.

The company, which started in 2008, cited expiry of its DTH licence as the reason behind the shutdown in the ad. “Since our licence is expiring, we will be shutting down our DTH service across India. We urge subscribers to make alternative arrangements to continue to watch their favourite channels,” the advertisement said.

Responding to an emailed query, Reliance Communications confirmed the development and said that the company is working with three other DTH players to migrate its customers. “DTH operations are a non-core area for RCom (Reliance Communications), and we are currently working with three leading DTH operators for seamless migration of our customers, for them to enjoy uninterrupted services. A new scheme without any additional costs will be communicated to our customers in the next few days,” a company spokesperson said.

Currently, there are six private DTH firms—Zee group-owned Dish TV India Ltd, Reliance Digital Ltd, Tata Sky Ltd, Videocon d2h Ltd, Sun Direct TV Pvt. Ltd and Bharti Telemedia Ltd. In addition to these, state broadcaster Doordarshan also runs a DTH platform for free-to-air channels called DD Free Dish.

Reliance Digital TV is the smallest player with a market share of 2% in the 65.31 million DTH subscriber market (as of June 2017), according to a report released by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India.

Dish TV is currently the market leader with a 24% share, followed by Tata Sky with a 23% market share.

“Reliance has been debt-ridden and trying to get rid of its loss-making businesses. It also tried to merge with Sun Direct but it didn’t work out. In an industry where top three players control the market and there are talks of Reliance Jio entering the business with its predatory pricing strategy, it makes perfect sense for such a small player to shut the business altogether,” said a media industry expert, who did not want to be named.

Reliance’s move comes a year after the initiation of a consolidation process in the DTH industry with Dish TV announcing the merger of its operations with Videocon d2h in November 2016.

Once formed, the new company will be called Dish TV Videocon Ltd. Dish TV will own 55% and Videocon 45% stake in the new company. The merger is pending before the information and broadcasting ministry.

According to a 2013 report on the Indian DTH market by Hong Kong-based research firm Media Partners Asia, revenues are expected to touch $3.9 billion in 2017 and $5.3 billion by 2020, up from $1.5 billion in 2012.

Reliance Group companies have sued HT Media Ltd, Mint’s publisher, and nine others in the Bombay high court over a 2 October 2014 front-page story that they have disputed. HT Media is contesting the case.

Resource  http://www.livemint.com/Consumer/TIAfngt4j1Wk13PgAsrMfM/Reliance-Communications-to-shut-down-DTH-business.html

Dish TV adopts TRAI tariff order; to offer channels on a la carte

NEW DELHI: Leading direct-to-home (DTH) player Dish TV has adopted the new tariff order of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) partly, in order to offer its subscribers a greater choice in selecting the channels they want to watch.

The DTH company has launched ‘Mera Apna Pack’, wherein subscribers can curate their choice of channels.

It provides subscribers the flexibility of channel selection to curate the best suitable pack. Customers can opt for popular channels by just paying Rs 8.5 per channel over and above the basic service pack for standard definition (SD) channels and Rs 17 per high definition (HD) channel.


“While ‘Freedom of Choice’ has been claimed for many decades, this initiative will truly empower consumers to choose from amongst the bouquet of channels and pay for only those channels that they would like to watch. This will also be in tune with TRAI’s new tariff regulations, an attempt to make channel pricing flexible yet affordable,” said Anil Dua, group CEO, Dish TV.

Resource http://telecom.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/dish-tv-adopts-trai-tariff-order-to-offer-channels-on-a-la-carte/59880646

Reliance JioFiber Preview Plan- Offers Free 100GB Data

Reliance JioFiber Preview Plan: Reliance Jio provides so many offers to the peoples. Now, they announce Reliance JioFiber Preview plan with attractive offers. The company website provided JioFiber Preview Plan that offers 100GB of data per month at 100Mbps of speed for three months for free. Users have to pay an installation charge (refundable security deposit) of Rs.4,500. After the 100GB FUP has been consumed, speeds drop to 1Mbps.

In their Twitter page, they tweeted as “The JioFiber Preview Offer has currently being launched in select areas of Mumbai, Delhi-NCR, Ahmedabad.” Reliance Jio is expected to launch services such as DTH, smart-TV boxes, IoT solutions; alongside its 1GBps broadband. The Jio’s DTH TV services with more than 360 channels and a “seven-day catch-up option being given to users” as well.

The JioFiber preview plan was spotted by a Redditor who was able to disable the redirect page and using Google cache; we were able to confirm what was reported.

The website also revealed the cities where the JioFiber Preview Plan will be launching. The cities are Ahmedabad, Delhi, Hyderabad, Jaipur, Kolkata, Mumbai, Surat, Vadodara, and Vishakhapatnam. Jio will also provide its custom router during installation, which is included in the cost of the installation charge. Notably, there is also an option that says “I am interested in enhancing Jio coverage in my building,” which could hint that Jio may install a network of routers to improve the coverage in a building.

By the report, Jio will test its JioFiber Service in Pune and Mumbai at speed between 70Mbps to 100Mbps. The preview plan will be offered for three months for free, like as “Welcome Offer.” Stay tuned for more updates.

Resource :  https://www.keralanews247.com/reliance-jiofiber-preview-plan-offers-free-100gb-data/

DD FreeDish a hit with advertisers, broadcasters; subscriber base reaches 40 mn mark

With a current subscriber base of 22 million, the government run DTH service provider DD FreeDish which telecasts free-to-air channels has turned out to be a favourite amongst broadcasters as well as advertisers.

According to the latest EY report titled, India’s FTA market – 2017, the subscriber base of DD FreeDish is projected to reach 40 million users in the next two–three years. (Representative Image: Reuters)

With a current subscriber base of 22 million, the government run direct-to-home (DTH) service provider DD FreeDish which telecasts free-to-air channels has turned out to be a favourite amongst broadcasters as well as advertisers. According to the latest EY report titled, India’s FTA market – 2017, the subscriber base of DD FreeDish is projected to reach 40 million users in the next two–three years. As a matter of fact, in the latest round of bidding for slots on FreeDish held on July 4, broadcasters paid R85 crore as carriage fee for 11 slots. “FTA market has become important, with the rise in subscriber base. However, these viewers are going through a transition, as FTA is the first step in TV viewing before they migrate to paid platforms,” said Rohit Gupta, president, network sales and international business, Sony Pictures Network.

The latest report on FTA market by ICICI Securities points out that the rise in FTA channels has been driven by Broadcast Association Research Council ‘s (BARC), measurement of ratings in rural India According to BARC ratings for week 26 (June 24-30, 2017), in the rural markets, Zee Anmol – the FTA channel from the house of Zee Entertainment Enterprises (ZEEL) grabbed the top spot with 470,357,000 weekly impressions, followed by Colors Rishtey at 432,128,000 weekly impressions at number two position. This has whetted advertisers’ interest.

“Companies such as Hindustan Unilever (HUL), Procter & Gamble (P&G) have a huge chunk of their target consumers residing in rural India. Thus FTA channels have become the perfect platform to advertise. In the last one year, these companies have increased their advertising spend by 50% on FTA channels,” said a senior media planner. As per the ICICI Securities report, the FTA advertising market which was pegged at Rs 400 crore –Rs 500 crore CY16, is expected to grow to Rs 800 crore- Rs 1,000 crore by end of CY17.

 Interestingly, advertising rates too have gone up in the last one year by 100%. Currently a ten second ad spot during prime-time on FTA channels costs anywhere in the range of Rs 10,000 – Rs 20,000 compared to the rate of Rs 5,000 – Rs 10,000, till December last year. Compared to this a ten second ad spot during prime-time on Star Plus, ZEE TV, costs between Rs 80,000 – Rs 1 lakh.

“FTA channels are growing at the expense of paid channels. The situation is similar to that of paid video over-the-top platforms (OTT) versus the free platforms. In India viewers are fine with the idea of watching content a bit late if it’s for free. Going forward broadcasters are expected to face a tough time converting these consumers into paid,” said Ashish Sehgal, COO, Zee Unimedia.

The ICICI Securities report estimates an annual revenue opportunity loss of Rs 1,800 crore for broadcasters from pay-TV, “assuming 300 million subscribers could have generated monthly content average revenue per user (ARPU) of Rs 50,” said analysts in the ICICI securities report.

Resource : http://www.financialexpress.com/industry/dd-freedish-a-hit-with-advertisers-broadcasters-subscriber-base-reaches-40-mn-mark/758045/

Alliance with Tata to help Bharti Airtel close gap with Vodafone-Idea

Bharti Enterprises and the Tata Group have held exploratory talks to evaluate a mega alliance involving their telecom, enterprise services, overseas cable and direct-to-home TV businesses

 Bharti Airtel will emerge stronger in the enterprise and undersea cable business and narrow the gap with the Vodafone-Idea combine in mobile service revenue market share (RMS) if the Sunil Mittal-led Bharti Enterprises and the Tatas form an alliance, analysts said.

However, Airtel will face some challenges from a merger: over Rs 30,000 crore in debt and a modest 48 million subscribers of Tata’s mobile service business, breach of market share cap in eight circles, and the need to spend $1.7 billion (over Rs 11,000 crore) to pay market rates for airwaves in the 1800 MHz band held by Tata Teleservices to use them for 4G, they said.

Bharti Enterprises and the Tata Group held exploratory talks to evaluate a mega alliance involving their telecom, enterprise services, overseas cable and direct-to-home TV businesses, ET reported last week. Both entities have not commented on the matter.

If a deal gets confirmed “and subsequently completed, Bharti Airtel would have an RMS of 40% on the cellular business front, closing the gap with the potential Idea-Vodafone merged entity (that will command a 44% RMS),” Bank of America-Merrill Lynch said in a note to clients. At present, Airtel’s RMS is 33%.

 Theoretically, this merger would also make Airtel stronger in the enterprise and undersea businesses, where the telco “is currently not in a dominant position,” the US bank said.

Analysts expect any potential Tata-Bharti mega alliance to unlock synergies in the direct-to-home TV industry.

BankAm-Merrill Lynch said the DTH industry would turn into a two-player market with a Airtel-Tata Sky combine commanding 43% of the subscribers and Dish-Videocon controlling 45%. Edelweiss backed the view and said such a potential merger would strengthen the bargaining power of DTH companies and help lower content cost.

Experts see strong business sense for Airtel to buy both the listed Tata Communications, a provider of network, cloud and security services, and Tata Sky.
“TataComm potentially brings a lot of value to the table by virtue of its sizeable intra-city fibre resources, its sub-sea cable system assets coupled with its strong enterprise business which would complement Airtel’s,” said an analyst at a Mumbai-based brokerage.

Brokerages also foresee minority/strategic stakeholder interests in Tata group outfits such as the listed Tata Communications and Tata Sky as a potential hurdle.

Edelweiss said minority stakeholders like the government – which owns 26% of Tata Communications – and Rupert Murdoch’s 21st Century Fox (owner of 30% in Tata Sky) “may not find their strategic stakes relevant in the combined (Tata-Bharti) entity and alignment of their interest could be a challenge.”

Among the challenges are Tata group’s mobility business assets, analysts said.

BankAm-Merrill Lynch said the Tatas’ holding of spectrum in the 850 MHz band may prove inadequate for Bharti Airtel to launch full-scale 4G LTE. Since the Tatas have 2.5 MHz of airwaves in the 850 MHz band, which are expiring in a few years, such spectrum can be used only for narrow-band LTE, the US brokerage said.

Edelweiss said the synergy benefits “are not meaningful” because a significant chunk of Tata’s spectrum holdings are unliberalised, for which market prices haven’t been paid.

BankAm-Merrill Lynch estimates Bharti would need to invest $1.7 billion to liberalise Tata Tele’s 1800 MHz spectrum and would also cross the revenue cap in eight circles.

India’s telecom M&A norms require a single entity’s revenue and subscriber market share to be below 50% and spectrum holding to be below specified caps. 

Resource : http://brandequity.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/business-of-brands/alliance-with-tata-to-help-bharti-airtel-close-gap-with-vodafone-idea/59538589

GST bonanza: Electronics, lifestyle goods get cheaper

The new tax regime will not allow retailers a full set-off on goods procured in the last six months

 If you have been bitten by the shopping bug, you can’t be blamed. Well, at least, not this year. After all, it is not often that retail stores offer steep discounts in the months of May–June. While monsoon sales by apparel stores usually start by end of June and electronic stores do have some clearance sales in June-July, this year with the Goods and Services Tax (GST) starting from July 1, discounts are bigger than before.

For instance, electronic stores like Vijay Sales, Kohinoor and Digi1 are offering up to 50 per cent off on certain models or till stocks last. Snehanjali, another Mumbai-based electronic chain is advertising its offer as the pre-GST sale with a warning thrown in for good measure that “Prices for most electronic items are set to rise by 5 per cent’’. Electronic manufacturer Samsung is offering free DTH connection with televisions and extended warranty periods and free services with air-conditioners (ACs) and microwaves as part of its ‘June Fest’.


Brands such as Puma, Bata, ONLY, Jack & Jones, Vero Moda, Louis Philippe, Van Heusen, Benetton and US Polo have already begun their sales across major cities.

Retail chains such as Pantaloons, Lifestyle and Shoppers Stop are yet to come out with their formal end-of-season sale, but they have already started giving discounts on select brands in the range of 20-40 per cent.

Then, Flipkart and Shopclues are running their own versions of GST sale. Flipkart Fashion Days will run for nine days, from June 10 to June 18 under which the company would offer products from 50 brands. It will also hold A 'Bid n Win' contest for customers during the nine-day sale and the lowest unique bidders will win prizes like Emporio Armani watch worth Rs 13,995, Victorinox bag worth Rs 15,960 and more.

Impact of GST: With the GST on the anvil, retailers are worried that as any stock that they have procured in the last six months will not get the full set-off on the tax already paid when the transition to GST happens on July 1. That is why there is a scrambling to clear off stuff.

Currently, on stocks which are invoiced and delivered to the retailer, the VAT, excise and octroi in some cases have been has been paid. From July 1, if this stock is not cleared, retailers will be stuck with two kinds of stock. Stock on which there are GST invoices from the manufacturer client where the retailer can bill out and effectively claim a set off on GST and stock that is from before GST. On that stock retailer does not have GST invoice. And the effective set off would be only 60 per cent. “Essentially there is a loss on that and that is why retailers are trying to get the old stock out,”Ritesh Ghosal, Chief Marketing Officer, Infiniti Retail which owns Croma. The impact of GST will not be uniform and will vary depending on the region. For instance, in areas that have a lower VAT regime, like Karnataka and UP, prices could go up post GST. While in areas with higher VAT like Gujarat or Mumbai (which also has octroi) there could be softening of prices. “The immediate impact will not be more than 1.5 per cent either way,” he adds.

 case of apparels, with the input tax credit being made available under GST, prices will go down for cotton apparels below Rs 999 and remain unchanged for apparels above Rs 1,000, says Rakesh Biyani, Joint Managing Director, Future Retail. Apparels have a tax rate of 5 per cent and 12 per cent under GST. “June end-July is when end of season sales are held at stores. With the festive season this month, we are offering 50 per cent cash back on purchases of Rs 2,000,’’ he says.

Older models are being cleared: According to Arvind Singhal, Managing Director, Technopak, a management consulting firm, June and July are among the weakest months in the year for a number of categories. So these sales could be a way for many companies to actually use the pretext of GST and get their slow moving stocks out of the way by giving a discount. “Inventory lying in the pipeline will not be able to get any kind of tax rebate abatement. So, that is one reason why sales are happening. But GST is also a reason for stores to get their slow moving stocks out of the way by giving a discount,’’ he says.

Ghosal adds that the current sales are more clearance sales as stores push out inventory. “Every year, at this time there is a churn that happens. It is end of season and setting up for the new season. May and June is the period when stores flush out old stock,’’ he says. For instance, new television models are launched around August and between the festival season. Similarly, new laptop and computer models are launched in July when schools and colleges start their new terms.

It is likely that the discounts may continue post July, as stores clear their stock to make place for new models. “The festival period begins in September and usually there are not much discounts on the new models which will hit retail outlets by then,” says Singhal.

The discounts going on currently are more of a unit wise discount rather than a category wise discount. The discount depends on the age of the model and the particular store. Largely, they range from 15-25 on most categories. Though in stray cases they could be 70 per cent.

“Essentially the discount is catering to people who are deal seekers and who are happy to settle for older models,” Ghosal says. 

Resource : http://www.business-standard.com/article/economy-policy/gst-bonanza-electronics-lifestyle-goods-get-cheaper-117061401458_1.html

Sun Direct has 3-year capex plan of Rs 1,475 cr; capital infusion from promoters not needed

MUMBAI: With Sun Direct turning profitable, the promoters need not infuse equity funding to support the direct-to-home (DTH) company. Sun Direct, which is 80% owned by Kalanithi Maran and his wife and 20% by Malaysia’s Astro, has a capital expenditure plan of Rs 1,475 crore for the next three financial years. Out of this, the intent is to have a debt funding of Rs 450 crore during FY18–FY20. The future capital expenditure of the company is expected to be supported through internal accruals and debt, with no further dependence on promoters’ contribution.


The main capex will be for purchase of customer premises equipment (CPE), a market source said. Earlier, the promoters of Sun Direct had been providing financial support to the company by infusing equity. Though Sun Direct started generating cash profits from FY13, it continued to incur losses until FY16. For the first nine months of FY17, Sun Direct posted net profit of Rs 21.2 crore on a revenue of Rs 907.93 crore. In FY16, Sun Direct reported net loss of Rs 35.30 crore compared to Rs 156.92 crore a year ago. T


otal operating income grew to Rs 1,116.61 crore, up from Rs 1,048.62 crore in the earlier year. Sun Direct’s net subscriber base has remained nearly stagnant for over four years with the focus being on South India. The company has a 10% market share of the total active DTH subscriber base, which is pegged at 62.65 million, as of 31 December 2016. Sun Direct has been able to maintain its market share in South India at about 40%. I

n the company’s net subscriber base, the share of South India has increased from about 94% during FY14 to over 97%. Sun Direct’s ARPU has been seeing steady growth over the years. For the first nine months of FY17, the DTH company’s ARPU increased to Rs 175 compared to Rs 163 in FY16. ARPU in FY15 was Rs 153, up from Rs 143 in FY14 and Rs 131 in FY13. The growth in ARPU has helped Sun Direct to improve on profitability parameters.


 The company’s losses at the net level have been declining over the last three years. In FY17, Sun Direct added three transponders on GSAT 15.

 It has a total of eight transponders, equally split between Measat 3 and GSAT 15. The addition of the transponders has enabled the company to increase the number of HD channels in its bouquet to 55. The increase in bandwidth will help Sun Direct to not only retain but also add subscribers while enhancing its ARPU, a media analyst said.

Resource : http://www.televisionpost.com/dth/sun-direct-has-3-year-capex-plan-of-rs-1475-cr-capital-infusion-from-promoters-not-needed/

Dish TV adds 3 channels to its portfolio

MUMBAI: Direct-to-home (DTH) operator Dish TV has added three new channels, namely Mirror Now, Miniplex and Teleone, on its platform. With the three new additions, the total count of channels and services offered by Dish TV now stands at 620.


Commenting on these additions, Dish TV CEO Anil Dua said, “We at Dish TV have been at the forefront of enhancing TV viewing experience and exploring opportunities to bring wholesome entertainment to the audience. With a sharp focus on content, the move aims at connecting strongly to provide the best of entertainment to our subscribers. The addition of these three channels will not only strengthen our presence but will also diversify our offerings.”

Moreover, keeping up the idea of providing the best of entertainment in industry, Dish TV recently added Arnab Goswami’s news channel Republic TV on their platform. Enhancing the kids genre, the DTH operator had also added Sony Yay to its channel repertoire last month. These two channels will be available on channel #771 and #989 respectively.

Resource : http://www.televisionpost.com/dth/dish-tv-adds-3-channels-to-its-portfolio/

Will the stars align for Airtel Digital TV's new SVOD astrology channel, Astrovaani?

Airtel Digital TV, the DTH arm of Bharti Airtel, and Dominiche, an MCN catering to the DTH and OTT ecosystem launched Astrovaani, a subscription-based video on demand (SVOD) astrology channel. Through this, Indian viewers will have access to on-demand, round the clock, cable content focused on astrology for the first time.

Currently, the service is available to Airtel DTH users at an introductory price of Re 1 for the first fortnight, after which subscribers can access the channel for a nominal Rs 39 per month.

Astrovaani showcases a variety of astrology techniques and practices including tarot, Vastu, Feng Shui, palmistry, numerology, healing, face reading, aura reading and Runes. Also, the programming will cover astrological accessories such as gems and precious stones, rudraksh, yantra and lalkitaab, among other things. Predictions on Astrovaani will be made by prominent names in the field including MunishaKhatwani, BejanDaruwala,Neel Choksi and Bhavesh Dave, among others.

Sriram Sundresan, Chief Marketing Officer, Airtel Digital TV, said, “We are pleased to announce the launch of Astrovaani. Indians have shown an appetite for content related to astrology and this service will offer them easy access to the latest in the genre and will go a long way in answering their questions on the subject.”

Utpal Vaishnav, Managing Director, Dominiche, said, “As part of our endeavour to constantly make unique and compelling content available to the DTH ecosystem, we have curated and produced the Astrovaani channel. The genre has the capability to drive a lot of viewership in India. The Astro genre also fills a significant void. Astrovaani features the best Indian astro experts. Dominiche has covered this genre most comprehensively by exclusively signing up over 350 top experts and creating over 500 hours of programme content.”

Earlier, Airtel Digital TV launched ‘Internet TV,’ its latest smart set top box, powered by Android TV, which comes preloaded with Netflix, YouTube, Google Play Music, Google Play Games, Airtel Movies and more.

Bharti Airtel lately has been pretty active in the digital space with its announcement of tie-up with Amazon for its recently launched Fire TV Stick with Voice Remote last month. Through this partnership, customers purchasing Amazon Fire TV will avail 100 GB high-speed data free via Airtel Broadband/Airtel 4G Home Wi-Fi.

Resource :http://www.exchange4media.com/digital/will-the-stars-align-for-airtel-digital-tvs-new-svod-astrology-channel-astrovaani_69014.html

Taxes on entertainment, cable, DTH to come down under GST

The Dollar Business Bureau

The government said on Tuesday that taxes on entertainment, Direct-To-Home (DTH)  and cable services would come down in the new Goods and Services Tax (GST) as 'entertainment tax' that is imposed by the states has been included in the GST regime.

The services offered through admission to cinematography films or entertainment events in cinema halls will be imposed with a rate of 28% under GST effective from July 1, the Finance Ministry said in a statement.

Presently, the states levy entertainment tax of up to 100% with regard to exhibition of films in cinema halls/theatres.

The entertainment tax has now been subsumed under the GST, and therefore only the taxes imposed by a municipality or panchayat on amusements and entertainments will stay.

“Entertainment services shall suffer a lower tax incidence under GST. In addition to the benefit of lower headline rates of GST, the service providers shall be eligible for full input tax credits (ITC) of GST paid in respect of inputs and input services,” the statement said.

The GST Council has decided a tax rate of 18% on cable TV and DTH services.

Presently, the states impose entertainment tax on these services in the range of 10-30% over and above the 15% service tax.

With regards to theatre, circus, classical dance together with folk dance and drama, a rate of 18% will be levied under GST.

Presently, the states levy entertainment tax on these services, the statement said.

“Presently, such service providers are not eligible to avail of input credits in respect of VAT paid on domestically procured capital goods and inputs or of Special Additional Duty (SAD) paid on imported capital goods and inputs,” it added.

While the GST is a value-added tax, the entertainment tax currently imposed by the states is similar to a turnover tax, it said.

The GST Council, last week, had finalised the tax rates of more than 1,200 goods and 500 services in a four slab rate structure of 5%, 12%, 18%, and 28% under the new GST regime.

Resource : https://www.thedollarbusiness.com/news/taxes-on-entertainment-cable-dth-to-come-down-under-gst/50374

Tata Sky to add five more HD channels to take total to 86

Tata Sky, the Indian DTH operator with the highest amount of spectrum and channels, will add five more HD channels to take the total high-definition offerings on the platform to 86.

The new channels being added tomorrow are DSports, MTV HD+, Surya (Malayalam), Udaya (Kannada) and Gemini Movies (Telugu).

With 86 HD channels, the operator has further solidified its position as the largest provider of high-definition content in India.

In comparison, most DTH operators provide only 45-65 HD channels, while cable players provide between 30-50 such channels.

However, due to the paucity of high-definition content, Tata Sky has been forced to offer so-called ‘plus 1’ channels, which are essentially one-hour delayed feed of existing offerings.

As such, it provides +1 services for ‘Star Gold’, ‘Zee Cinema’ and so on.

SPECTRUM BONANZA

Tata Sky has found itself in a happy position of being faced with a glut of spectrum after one of ISRO’s satellites — INSAT-4A — failed to ‘die’ on time.

Tata Sky was using 432 MHz of spectrum on INSAT-4A to deliver content to the Indian subcontinent and was behind players like Videocon D2h, which has 540 MHz, and Dish TV, which had 648 MHz.

INSAT-4A was supposed to reach ‘end of life’ in 2017, and to replace it, ISRO sent GSAT-10 to the same orbital location with 432 MHz of capacity.

As luck would have it, both satellites are working simultaneously. However, because the older satellite can die any time, ISRO cannot sell the capacity on its new satellite to a new player. For the same reason, it cannot sell its capacity on the older satellite either, to any new player.

As a result, Tata Sky has been permitted to use both satellites at the same time, and now has about 828 MHz of spectrum at its disposal.

This is almost double of what most operators in India have.

The only serious competitor is Dish TV, which has recently increased its capacity to 828 MHz. However, since Dish uses the older and less-efficient MPEG-2 standard, 828 MHz is equivalent to around 600 MHz only.

Airtel Digital too has increased its spectrum recently to 396 MHz to 504 MHz and can take it even higher, depending on its need.

Resource : https://ultra.news/t-t/31436/tata-sky-add-five-hd-channels-take-total-86

Airtel Digital increases HD channels to take on Tata Sky

Airtel Digital has bounced back into reckoning in fast growing high-definition DTH market by adding capacity from the newly launched SES-9 satellite and could emerge a strong challenger to Tata Sky in coming days.

The SES-9 satellite was launched last year and new transponders were made available to Airtel earlier this year.

Over the last several days, the DTH provider has added around 10 high-definition channels and more are expected to be added shortly.

Among the new HD channels added to Airtel are TLC, Times Now, Animal Planet, Zee Talkies, Zee Bangla and Zee Marathi.

With the latest additions, it has now tied with Tata Sky and Sun Direct as the platform that offers the highest number of HD English movie channels in India. All three now offer 10 Hollywood movie channels.

The expansion has also helped the company boost its non-movie English offerings by bringing onboard Animal Planet, TLC etc. In the his regard, the platform now offers as wide a selection in this regard as Sun Direct and Tata Sky.

BACK TO NO. 2

With the latest additions, the total number of HD channels on the platform has gone up from 55 to 65, and the company has re-emerged as the No. 2 operator in this segment beating Sun Direct and Dish TV.

It was, at one time, the No. 1 HD operator in the country with the highest number of such channels, but was forced to surrender its leadership due to paucity of spectrum.

Even with the newly added channels, it is still behind Tata Sky, which has 75 HD offerings. However, the gap is likely to close fast in coming days.

TOP THREE

As far as the English language market is concerned, Airtel’s expansion has further opened up the gap between the top three — Sun Direct, Airtel and Tata Sky — and the others — Dish TV, Videocon D2h and Reliance Big TV.

Dish TV, which has as much capacity as the others, is now clearly behind the top three in terms of channel count in the English market.

In the English segment, Dish TV offers only seven movie channels and six entertainment channels in the HD segment and is ranked No. 4 — compared to ten movie channels and seven entertainment channels on Sun Direct, which is ranked No. 3.

SPECTRUM PLAY

DTH operators, like mobile operators, are dependent on availability of spectrum, and in this matter, no other operator has been as lucky as Tata Sky — which partly explains its HD leadership.

The operator was using a modest 12 transponders on INSAT-4A satellite which was launched in 2005 and supposed to reach end of life in 2017.

To replace the satellite when it dies, ISRO sent up GSAT-10, and gave 12 transponders on the same to Tata Sky.

However, INSAT 4A is still going strong, with the result that Tata Sky now has around 23 transponders at its location.

None of its competitors has anything comparable.

For example, Airtel Digital was operating with just 11 transponders on SES-7 satellite till last year.

Given that a single transponder can only transmit 12 to 14 high definition channels or about 40 standard definition channels, the company could not take on Tata Sky in terms of the sheer number of channels.

As a result, it was offering only around 55 HD channels despite being a pioneer in the segment.


However, it got some timely help from its satellite provider SES last year as it launched a new satellite — SES-9 — last year with lots of capacity.

Thanks to an extra three transponders (108 MHz) of capacity on the new satellite, Airtel is again able to add new HD channels.

At 3 MHz per channel, the extra 108 MHz is enough for the company to add 36 HD channels — taking the total to 90 such channels.

SUN DIRECT

Similarly, Sun Direct too has seen a pick-up in the spectrum available to it, though it is not as dramatic as in case of Tata Sky or Airtel Digital.

The Chennai-based operator was working with just eight transponders, including three shared with Reliance Big TV, till last year.

This year, it was able to get three more transponders, which helped it add 42 new HD channels to its platform and take its total high-definition line-up to 55.

DISH TV

Another potential competitor is Dish TV, which is using 12 transponders on the NSS-6 satellite to transmit its standard definition channels.

Since it could not get enough capacity on the same channel for its HD offerings, it was forced to go to a nearby satellite Asiasat 5 to take on six (4 x 1.5) extra transponders,

This gave it enough capacity to launch 84 HD channels.

However, it has been rather slow in taking advantage of the extra capacity. As of last year, the company was offering only around 60 HD channels, and has recently increased it to 65. Most of the new additions are in non-English languages.

STANDARD DEFINITION

Dish TV has also leased 5 new transponders on India’s new GSAT-15 satellite, which was the same one that was used by Sun Direct for its HD services. However, this will be used for transmitting more standard definition channels.

Since Dish TV uses the older MPEG-2 technology for its standard definition service, it requires about twice as much spectrum as other operators.

As a result, it could carry only around 240 channels on its 12 transponders, while others would have been able to carry 350-400 channels. With the extra five transponders acquired on GSAT 15, it has now been able to increase its capacity to 340 standard definition channels — more or less matching what the others offer.

Moreover, Dish TV will get 15 transponders — or about 540 MHz — after its acquisition of Videocon D2h is completed. It is, however, not clear whether the company will try to divert this spectrum for Dish TV, as doing so will require about 10 mln dish antennas in India to be re-aligned.

Resource : https://ultra.news/t-t/31173/airtel-digital-increases-hd-channels-take-tata-sky

PAC seeks probe into allocation of satellite capacity to private DTH ops

MUMBAI: The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) has called for a probe into alleged wrongdoings by the Department of Space (DoS) in allocating satellite capacity to private direct-to-home (DTH) operators which resulted in loss of revenue to the public exchequer.

 The cases, which was flagged by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) in 2014 and later by PAC in 2016, date back to more than a decade when the private DTH sector was witnessing a flurry of activity with the entry of new players.

 In its 71st report titled ‘Management of Satellite Capacity for DTH Services by Department of Space’, the committee has directed the DoS to conduct inquiries into out-of-turn allocation of satellite space and the grant of exclusive first right of refusal for using Ku-band transponders at 83 degrees east of GSAT-10 satellite to Tata Sky.


 It also asked the DoS to conduct a probe into the undue favour given by Antrix Corporation, the commercial arm of ISRO, to private DTH operators by not collecting transponder lease charges in advance leading to accumulation of transponder lease charges to the tune of Rs 62.5 crore. Another issue flagged by PAC is the non-revision of transponder lease charges levied against DTH operators by the DoS that led to a loss of Rs 36.17 crore.

The committee noted that DTH transponder lease agreements had a lease period of 5–10 years with no provision for revision of prices whereas lease agreements with foreign satellites ranged from 1 to 6 years with provision for price revision from 5% to 33%. The committee also asked for a probe into 1.5 months’ bonus period provided by the DoS to Sun DTH, which resulted in a benefit of Rs 3.56 crore to the DTH company. Reiterating their earlier recommendation, the committee desired that the department/ministry concerned earnestly fine-tune their system for allocating satellite capacity and to reduce the time taken for clearances/approvals from the stakeholders and intimate this committee about the developments in this area.


Out-of-turn allocation of satellite capacity to Tata Sky

 PAC asked the DoS to thoroughly investigate through an external agency the out-of-turn allocation of satellite capacity to Tata Sky and appraise it of the outcome.

The committee noted that while Tata Sky was fifth in order of preference of satellite capacity allocation, it was granted precedence on INSAT-4A and given exclusive rights at the prime slot of 83 degrees east in December 2005 superseding Doordarshan (DD) which was later allocated capacity on INSAST-4B launched in January 2007.


 The committee further noted from the submission of the DoS that DD was allocated satellite capacity on a foreign satellite before allocation of capacity to Tata Sky on INSAT-4A and DD migrated to INSAT-4B at the end of the contract period. Expressing shock, the committee noted that the national broadcaster was allocated capacity on a foreign satellite and then a private broadcaster was given exclusive rights on INSAT-4A. The committee observed that the national broadcaster being the first in precedence should have been given preference on Indian satellite being a free to air service accessed by majority of population across India and also has an obligation towards the citizens of this country. It also noted that the charges paid to a foreign satellite for usage by Doordarshan was a wasteful expenditure, more so, since Tata Sky could not be retained on INSAT-4A in addition to the revenue forgone fearing litigations by Tata Sky, taking advantage of its first right of refusal. The committee asked the DoS to provide reasons for apparent favoritism towards Tata Sky and further desired that punitive action may be taken against all those responsible for the same. The MIB on its part submitted to PAC that the Doordarshan started their test services in a foreign satellite during June 2004. During this period, the INSAT/GSAT system did not have high power Ku-band satellites. The decision to start the DTH services was taken by Doordarshan. After examining the options of starting DTH services in INSAT- 4A satellite. ICC has also noted this decision in its 68th meeting held on 17 June 2004. In view of the above justification, the submission of the Department may be considered favourably, the MIB submitted.
Grant of exclusive rights over prime orbital slots

 The committee further expressed displeasure that their recommendation for conducting an enquiry in grant of exclusive rights over prime orbital slots to Tata Sky and taking action against the guilty within a period of three months has not been paid heed as the MIB has set up a committee after a passage of the deadline. The committee said it would like the matter to be thoroughly investigated through an appropriate agency and apprised of the outcome thereof.The DoS had given Tata Sky the exclusive first right of refusal for using Ku-band transponders at 83 degrees east of GSAT-10 satellite, which allegedly gave it a very advantageous position over other DTH service providers. Due to this, the Ku-band transponders of GSAT-10 could not be allocated to any other DTH service providers and remained idle thereby causing a loss of Rs 60 crore per year to the exchequer. The committee hoped that the committee formed for investigating the matter will conduct a detailed enquiry in the matter to bring out the truth and to take punitive action against those found responsible. It also expressed unhappiness with the DoS for non-furnishing of information relating to the conduct of an enquiry in to the grant of exclusive right over the prime slot of 83 degree east to Tata Sky and to take stern action against the guilty persons within three months of the presentation of the Fortieth Report.

 Outstanding dues from back-to-back agreements

 The committee has also called for an enquiry into Antrix’s decision for not collecting advance payment as per the transponder lease agreements which led to undue favour to DTH operators and accumulation of transponder lease charges.


The DoS arranged foreign satellite capacity to Indian DTH service providers for short term period through Antrix as a temporary measure to ensure that the service could be brought back to INSAT system when Indian satellite capacity was eventually available. The DoS entered in back to back agreements for Dish TV, Sun DTH, Airtel, Reliance and Videocon. The transponder lease charges to the tune of Rs 62.55 crore remained to be recovered from these parties.

The committee recommended that erring officials be identified and accountability be fixed on them by means of punitive action and also a thorough investigation be done by agencies such as CBI, DRI, ED, etc. to further probe the matter and bring the guilty parties to justice. It further noted that till March 2014, an amount of Rs 57.17 crore was recovered and the balance Rs 5.38 crore was still to be collected. The committee sought information about the action taken by the DoS to collect the outstanding amount of Rs 5.38 crore.

The committee felt that satellite capacity allocation contributed a handsome amount of revenue to the government treasury, and the DoS faltering in administering established rules and procedures leading to the flow of revenue was totally unacceptable. It insisted that a robust system of internal control should be established while making financial transactions and desire that SOPs in this regard may be issued urgently. They desire to be apprised of the findings of the committee proposed to be constituted to look into the matter.


 Loss due to non-revision of transponder charges The committee expressed dismay that despite their recommendation to set up an inquiry by the DoS to consider the lease agreements with various parties and take stringent action against those responsible for agreeing to terms that were against the interest of the exchequer and apprise them of the action taken within three months of the presentation of Fortieth Report (16th Lok Sabha), the DoS has not initiated any action as yet. Instead, the DoS has submitted that the lease agreements with foreign satellites were entered for a short-term period and to examine periodic revision clause, a committee would be constituted. The committee reiterate that the price revision clause should be incorporated in all the transponder lease agreements which extends beyond one year irrespective its entire term. The committee, therefore, reiterate their earlier recommendation that the service providers be charged at competitive rates and the lease term should also be uniform for everyone ensuring level playing field across the DTH sector thereby leading to more transparency and healthy competition and further desire that the committee be apprised of the action taken in this regard.

 Allocation of bonus time On the issue of allowing bonus free period of 1.5 months to Sun DTH which resulted in a benefit of Rs 3.56 crore to Sun DTH, the committee found the reply of the DoS untenable that Standing Committee of the DoS had taken such a decision as Sun DTH could not get regulatory clearances from Network Operating Control Centre (NOCC)/DoT for uplink in first three months.

 The committee further noted that DoS demand for payment for the bonus free time earlier ended in Sun DTH, initiating arbitration proceedings and bringing out an injunction from the Madras High Court. The committee is of the view that the government collectively was responsible for such a situation wherein the DoS had to bear costs to save the commercial interests of the service providers for retaining them.


The committee, therefore, recommended that the Government of India should streamline all the necessary procedures relating to satellite capacity allocation, especially the clearances and approvals from the concerned Ministries in a time bound manner.

The committee felt that exemplary disciplinary action be taken against the then officials who did not give approvals in stipulated periods.
Resource : http://www.televisionpost.com/dth/pac-seeks-probe-into-allocation-of-satellite-capacity-to-private-dth-ops/

Make your TVs smart with new set top boxes from Videocon D2H, Tata Sky, Jio

Smart set-top boxes with pre-loaded popular apps such as YouTube and Netflix are set to turn all idiot boxes into intelligent televisions.

Cable operators and direct-to-home service providers such as Videocon D2H, TataSky and Airtel are set to launch new set-top boxes (STB) by May — a move that will take away the thunder of smart TVs or streaming devices such as Google Chromecast or Apple TV. These will be priced at Rs 3,500, roughly.

“The new set-top boxes from our stable, also called connected box, have the ability to connect to the internet either via WiFi or through a dongle attached to its USB hub,” a Videocon D2H spokesperson said on Monday.

The STBs will have social media, music and content streaming apps. And games, too.

“The new connected box will eliminate the need for users to buy a new smart TV or a streaming device such as Google Chromecast and Apple TV. The STB will provide both linear programming as well the option to stream on-demand video and audio,” he said.

STB users can upgrade by paying Rs 1,000 and returning their old boxes.

Videocon D2H said their box has news and social apps such as NDTV, Facebook, and Twitter, and is in the process of adding support for Netflix, Voot, hotstar and Amazon Prime Video.

Netflix and Videocon D2H signed a deal in the first week of March to let its clients gain access movies and titles using the connected box. Airtel too is eyeing a slice of the new pie.

“We are working on a new hybrid STB that will enable users to watch TV as well as stream content,” an Airtel source said.

Airtel’s new STB is expected to corner the market-share of smart TV-makers and streaming devices, according to industry experts.

Videocon’s launch is likely to prompt players such as DEN network and Siti Cable to come out with their products soon.

“Reliance Jio is pushing for its Android-based STB, which will come with Jio apps,” said Neil Shah, a partner at Counterpoint Research. The rise in home broadband and free data, along with app-based remote controls, will give rise to a new digitised STB penetration.”

Of about 10 million flat panel TVs shipped to India, nearly five million units are smart TVs, Counterpoint data show. The smart TV market size in India is around ?24,000 crore.

However, Faisal Kawoosa, analyst at CyberMedia Research, was sceptical about the all-in-one STBs


Users don’t like to be bound by the manufacturer with a specific set of apps and we have seen this with smartphones. The new STBs’ success may be limited as these will have to rely on pre-installed apps in contrast to access to a smart app store in a smart TV.”

Tata Sky, which was the first DTH that tried to digitise STBs, is working on a concept called Webapps.

“Tata Sky+ customers are able to use apps while watching TV,” said Harit Nagpal, the company’s MD and CEO.

“Tata Sky is providing customers an additional interface to access information and games from popular apps through their TV,?apart from conventional handheld devices.” Tata Sky already has Sky+ Transfer STBS where apps come for free. The company said that its digitised STBs will not need to be purchased separately and all updates to the Transfer box will be provided by the company for free.

Smart TV makers are unfazed by the new product.

“Customers who need to buy a smart TV go with the inbuilt smart TV from the manufacturer ... people tend to use these devices (STBs) to their existing non-smart TVs,” said Neeraj Bahl, head of consumer electronic business of Panasonic India.

VU Technologies declined to comment on the matter, while Google, Samsung and LG had not responded to HT’s query at the time of going to press.

Resource:http://www.hindustantimes.com/tech/make-your-dumb-tv-smarter-dth-operators-to-bring-smart-set-top-boxes-soon/story-KGZNKg3LGqs3Sq59UFhHjK.html

Tata Sky turns around, posts Rs 80 cr net profit in FY16

MUMBAI: Tata Sky has turned around in the fiscal ended 31 March 2016, posting a net profit of Rs 80.08 crore on a higher revenue base.

 The direct-to-home (DTH) company, which is a joint venture between Tata Sons and Rupert Murdoch-controlled 21st Century Fox, had reported a net loss of Rs 267.27 crore a year ago. Tata Sky does not officially announce its financial performance as it is not a listed company.

 While Dish TV was the first DTH company in India to turn profitable, Videocon d2h is on course to be net positive for the full period this fiscal. In the first three quarters of FY17, Videocon d2h, which is awaiting regulatory approval to merge with Dish TV, posted net profit. 

Tata Sky’s total revenue climbed 20% to Rs 4,490.96 crore in FY16 compared to Rs 3,739.04 crore a year ago. Total revenue from operations grew to Rs 4,471.83 crore from Rs 3,723.04 crore.

 The DTH company’s profit before depreciation, finance costs, tax and prior period items jumped 19.4% to Rs 1,106.35 crore compared to Rs 926.74 crore a year ago.

 Total expenses stood at Rs 3,384.61 crore, up 20% from Rs 2,812.30 crore in the prior year.

 Starting 1 April 2015, Tata Sky has changed the method of accounting in respect of certain discounts given to distributors and dealers. These discounts, which were earlier charged upfront to the statement of profit and loss, are now accounted at the time of rendering of services to customers. This resulted in a uniformity of accounting of various discounts. 

Due to the change, profit for the year ended 31 March 2016 is higher by Rs 121.03 crore.

 Tata Sky’s net deficit in the statement of profit and loss stood at Rs 3,649.74 crore as of 31 March 2016. Accumulated loss was at Rs 3,729.82 crore as of 31 March 2015.

 In line with market trends, Tata Sky revised its subscription price twice during the financial year under review. Average revenue per user (ARPU) expanded due to increased HD paying subscriber base and continued upselling of new products to existing subscribers.

 Five new interactive services—Actve Smart Manager, Actve Fitness, Tata Sky Dance Studio, Actve Devotion and Tata Sky Comedy—were launched during the year, which helped drive the revenue. Tata Sky continued to migrate the MPEG-2 boxes into MPEG-4 in its attempt to offer more channels to its subscribers. All MPEG-2 boxes have already been converted as of 31 March 2016. In FY15, Tata Sky had converted nearly 1.3 million MPEG-2 boxes into MPEG-4 so as to release additional capacity and offer more channels to its subscribers.

 The company closed FY16 with a total offering of more than 500 channels, including 81 HD channels.

Continuing its focus in innovation, Tata Sky was the first to introduce the Transfer PVR Box. Push VOD was launched during the year under review which allowed subscribers to watch the content (already pushed and stored in the PVR box at the subscriber premises) without the need for Wi-Fi. 

Meanwhile, the company renewed the appointment of Harit Nagpal as its managing director and CEO for five years with effect from 1 January 2016. 

Tata Sky Ltd was incorporated in India on 9 January 2001 to provide DTH broadcasting services to TV viewers across the country. The company commenced its operations on 1 August 2006.

Resource : http://www.televisionpost.com/dth/tata-sky-turns-around-posts-rs-80-cr-net-profit-in-fy16/

Tata Sky provides maximum number of Telugu channels across DTH industry

Tata Sky, India's leading content distribution platform providing Pay TV and OTT services, has launched its latest campaign ‘Annintikante Yekkuva Telugu Channels’ with superstar Amitabh Bachchan. The campaign announced Tata Sky’s offering #MaxJingalala of 600 channels and services, which is the highest ever in the DTH sector. Tata Sky today is a market leader in Telugu and HD channels.

With a strong distribution network, there is a great recall value for the brand in towns and villages across the state. The districts of Mahboobnagar and Nizamabad have shown wide acceptance towards the brand. While Hyderabad as a market has been slowly growing for the brand, the current focus would be to reach the rest of the state through this campaign.

Along with the maximum number of Telugu channels, Tata Sky has the maximum number of Marathi, Malayalam, Assamese, Punjabi, Tamil, Odia, Kannada and Bengali channels on offer across the DTH sector in India. Tata Sky is offering an unprecedented 75 HD (highest in the industry) and 483 SD channels. The bouquet of 31 value added services, 15 SD and HD movie platforms specials, nine exclusive +1 channel feeds, have been a clear differentiator and a key focus area for the brand.
Close ad X

The latest integrated campaign will involve a contest that gives the viewers an opportunity to a meet and greet with superstar Amitabh Bachchan. The first phase of the campaign kicked off in the second last week of December with Big B playing a game of ‘Hide and Seek’ with the audience. The second phase will be on air from December 28, with a Q and A contest where the viewers need to send their messages to 56633.

Malay Dikshit, Chief Communications Officer, Tata Sky, said, “Consumers in India consider the number of channels provided by an entertainment platform to be amongst the second biggest reason to make their purchase decisions. Tata Sky is leaving no stone unturned to offer the maximum number of channels and services to its subscribers.

Hence offering Annintikante Yekkuva Telugu Channels catering to every member of the family is key to the Tata Sky offering.” Apart from TV, the integrated campaign will run for a period of 4 weeks across print, radio, OOH, bus-backs, utility bills, cinema halls and wall paintings.

Resource : http://www.thehansindia.com/posts/index/Technology/2017-02-08/Tata-Sky-provides-maximum-number-of-Telugu-channels-/279357

Tata Sky offers 600 channels, services in Indian DTH bonanza

Direct-to-home (DTH) operator Tata Sky claims that it is now delivering more than any of its rivals in the competitive Indian pay-TV sector, increasing channel and service offerings to 600.


The operator is now offering 76 high definition (HD) channels and 483 standard definition (SD) channels, with 31 value added services, 15 SD and HD movie platforms specials, and nine exclusive plus 1 channel feeds.

“Consumers in India consider the number of channels provided by an entertainment platform to be amongst the second biggest reason to make their purchase decisions. Tata Sky is leaving no stone unturned to offer the maximum number of channels and services to its subscribers. Hence offering Sabse Zyada Manoranjan catering to every member of the family is key to the Tata Sky offering,” said Malay Dikshit, chief communications officer, Tata Sky.

The DTH operator noted a number of highlights during 2016, including enabling Internet browser application on its set-top box, introducing Kids Showcase, Bengali and Punjabi movies, MAMI films and m-Visa payment option to first of its kind interactive services such as comedy, devotion, music + and Gurus.

Read more: Tata Sky offers 600 channels, services in Indian DTH bonanza | Broadcast | News | Rapid TV News http://www.rapidtvnews.com/2017010945690/tata-sky-offers-600-channels-services-in-indian-dth-bonanza.html#ixzz4VSKbP6Fo
Follow us: @rapidtvnews on Twitter


Resource http://www.rapidtvnews.com/2017010945690/tata-sky-offers-600-channels-services-in-indian-dth-bonanza.html#axzz4VSK5HRad

Tata Sky Launches New Set-Top Box Along With Wi-Fi

Tata Sky is a direct broadcast satellite television provider in India, which uses MPEG-4 digital compression technology and transmission done through INSAT 4A and GSAT-10 satellite. This Tata sky launched a new set-top box (STB) on September 2 which will have recording ability and will come with a Wi-Fi dongle. Using this new set top box consumers enjoy recorded content on smartphones and tablets without consuming internet data. The announcement assumes significance as this is a first of its kind technology in India.

Tata Sky, which was launched in 2006 as a joint venture between Tata Group and 21st Century Fox, currently has 14.5 million connections out of the estimated market opportunity of 50 million connections. The new Tata sky STB has storage capacity of 500 GB and it comes with a price Rs 9,300. This product aimed at customers in the metro and Tier-I cities.

The new STB empowers the subscriber to transfer their recorded television content from the set top box to their smartphones or tablets. The chief commercial officer of Tata Sky, Pallavi Puri said, “We expect to see a fair share of growth as we have seen with our other products”.

Resource :-http://timesofkabul.com/720/tata-sky-launches-new-set-top-box-along-with-wi-fi/