DTH operators may feel a prime pinch

Low price differential could lure customers to the likes of Netflix, Prime

As per data released by Chrome Data Analytics and media research firm Media, of the 168 million TV households in India, over 9 million are HD subscribers.

Online video streaming services like Netflix, which launched earlier this year in India, and Amazon Prime, which launched recently, could lure customers away from DTH operators because of the low price differential in services. At R735 per month for a high-definition subscription of Tata Sky, the Indian viewer gets to watch a bouquet of Hindi and English entertainment channels, in addition to news channels and free-to-air channels like Doordarshan.

However, for about R800 per month, she gets to binge on the latest seasons of English drama Narcos, Jessica Jones, etc, apart from some of the latest movies, on Netflix. And in case she opts for Amazon Prime Video — digital video streaming platform run by e-commerce giant Amazon — she would have to pay R499 ( a miniscule R41.5 a month) as yearly subscription fee for exclusive English content such as Hand of God and Into the Badlands. Says Nitesh Kripalani, director and country head of Amazon Prime Video India, “Every viewer, be it Indian or American, wants to watch exclusive content. Once she is provided with a value-for-money proposition, she will definitely opt for such services.”

As per data released by Chrome Data Analytics and media research firm Media, of the 168 million TV households in India, over 9 million are HD subscribers. The research firm added in its report that video over-the-top is largely an urban phenomenon, as 137 million users in urban India watched video content online at least once in the last three months.

“Consumers subscribe to multiple services because these services have different exclusive content. In fact, in India, consumers are now transitioning to Internet TV, because it gives them more control of when to watch, how to watch and where to watch,” says Jessica Lee, VP, communications, Netflix Asia.

The rise of OTT services in India has changed the dynamics at the higher end of the home entertainment category with the customer spoilt for choice. With more players such as Hotstar, Voot and Eros Now having come in, many of them showing Indian shows, besides the ubiquitous free to use YouTube, the urban Indian customer can now pick and choose. Television operators, however, are putting up a brave face, saying that the Indian market is not ready for such a shift in viewership patterns. “As cable TV price in India is low, it still remains the primary source of entertainment for Indian households. Video streaming apps are still largely used to catch up on content that has been missed on TV or to watch content like live sports on the go,” says Harit Nagpal, MD and CEO, TataSky.

Globally, OTT players have been advancing at the cost of cable TV operators. In Q3 2016, Netflix posted a subscriber base of 86 million users globally up from 83 million in Q2.

“In Q3, we added 3.2 million members internationally versus our forecast of 2 million. This international growth is attributable to the traction we are getting in all markets, including India,” explains Lee.

Industry watchers say there would not be too many customers in India who would subscribe to every form of entertainment, DTH as well as OTT. Subscribing to DTH plus Netflix plus Amazon Prime, Hotstar, etc, would bring the annual budget to around R2,000, a price that is too steep by Indian standards.

Zulfiqar Khan, business head, ErosNow and CRO, Eros Group, says the Indian consumer will ultimately not pay for all the services. “Different combinations will be tried as traditionally people are not used to paying a high price for a television connection,” explains Khan. Eros Now, the video OTT service of Eros International, claims to have an user base of 2 million paid subscribers.

For instance, a viewer may opt for a basic pack which comes at R200 on direct-to-home platforms such as Tata Sky, or only for the news channel packs and pay another R800 on Netflix’s subscription, another R499 on Amazon Prime Videos, etc.

Analysts believe that while pay TV is strong in India, thanks to the low basic Pay-TV subscription fees and high penetration, the Indian digital video market will go from strength to strength, helped by rising disposable income and improving infrastructure. “The market will see an average annual growth of 70% between 2015 and 2019, driven largely by the growth in subscription video-on-demand (SVoD) spend,” says Tristan Veale, research analyst of Futuresource, a UK market research firm.

Resource:http://www.financialexpress.com/industry/dth-operators-may-feel-a-prime-pinch/485631/

Global Direct-To-Home (DTH) Services Market Briefing 2017 - Research and Markets

DUBLIN--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Research and Markets has announced the addition of the "Direct-To-Home (DTH) Services Global Market Briefing 2017" report to their offering.


 The Direct-To-Home (DTH) Services Global Market Briefing provides strategists, marketers and senior management with the critical information they need to assess the direct-to-home (DTH) services sector.

The report covers market characteristics, size and growth, segmentation, regional breakdowns, competitive landscape, market shares, trends and strategies for this market.

The direct-to-home (DTH) services comprise establishments offering television viewing services via signals transmission from direct-broadcast satellites. DTH service providers develop and establish a broadcasting center, satellites, encoders, modulators, and DTH receivers. They acquire and operate under ku-band licenses that are geographic specific.

IPTV is a system through which television services are delivered using the Internet protocol suite over LAN or the Internet. DTH service providers are increasingly catering to the growing IPTV audience by developing services such as video on demand (VOD), live streaming, and time shifted television. IPTV is expected to pave way for the declining DTH market.

Scope

    Markets Covered: Direct-To-Home (DTH) Services
    Countries: Brazil, China, France, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, Spain, Russia, UK, USA, Australia.
    Geographic scope: Americas, Europe, Asia, Middle East and Africa, Oceania.
    Time series: Five years historic and forecast.
    Data: Market value in $ billions.
    Data segmentations: Regional breakdowns, market share of competitors, key sub segments.
    Sourcing and Referencing: Data and analysis throughout the report is sourced using end notes.

Companies Mentioned

    DirecTV
    Dish Network
    HughesNet
    Exede Internet Service
    Sky Angel
    Bell TV
    GlobeCast World TV
    Foxtel
    Shaw Communications Inc.
    APT Satellite
    Norsat International Inc.
    JSAT Corporation
    Pace Micro Technology Plc.
    Optus Communications Pty. Ltd.

For more information about this report visit http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/vdm4wr/directtohomedth

Contacts

Research and Markets
Laura Wood, Senior Manager
press@researchandmarkets.com
For E.S.T. Office Hours Call 1-917-300-0470
For U.S./CAN Toll Free Call 1-800-526-8630
For GMT Office Hours Call +353-1-416-8900
U.S. Fax: 646-607-1907
Fax (outside U.S.): +353-1-481-1716
Related Topics: Broadcast, Televisions and Television Services

Resource:  http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20161223005239/en/Global-Direct-To-Home-DTH-Services-Market-Briefing-2017

Today’s ETF Action: WisdomTree International High Div ETF (DTH) Rises 0.05% for Dec 22

Dec 22 is a positive day so far for WisdomTree International High Div ETF (NYSEARCA:DTH) as the ETF is active during the day after gaining 0.05% to hit $38.32 per share. The exchange traded fund has 263.98M net assets and 0.68% volatility this month.

Over the course of the day 2,300 shares traded hands, as compared to an average volume of 16,450 over the last 30 days for WisdomTree International High Div ETF (NYSEARCA:DTH).

The ETF is -4.50% of its 52-Week High and 15.84% of its low, and is currently having ATR of 0.36. This year’s performance is 1.94% while this quarter’s performance is -2.41%.

The ETF’s YTD performance is 1.29%, the 1 year is -1.38% and the 3 year is -3.51%.

The ETF’s average P/E ratio is 14.14, the price to book is 1.31, the price to sales is 0.92 and the price to cashflow is 4.98. It was started on 6/16/2006. The fund’s top holdings are: BP PLC for 2.98% of assets, HSBC Holdings PLC for 2.65%, Royal Dutch Shell PLC Class A for 2.62%, TOYOTA MOTOR CORP NPV for 2.46%, Total SA for 2.30%, NOVARTIS AG CHF0.50 (REGD) for 2.19%, GlaxoSmithKline PLC for 1.99%, Sanofi SA for 1.52%, British American Tobacco PLC for 1.44%, Daimler AG for 1.37%. The ETF sector weights are: Basic Materials 7.23%, Consumer Cyclical 11.67%, Financial Services 24.38%, Realestate 1.38%, Consumer Defensive 4.65%, Healthcare 8.30%, Utilities 7.73%, Communication Services 8.47%, Energy 13.51%, Industrials 11.28%, Technology 1.40%. The ETF currently as 4.06% yield.

WisdomTree DEFA Equity Income Fund seeks investment results that closely correspond to the price and yield performance of the WisdomTree DEFA Equity Income Index (the Index). The ETF has a market cap of $263.98 million. The Index is a fundamentally weighted Index that measures the performance of companies with high dividend yields selected from the WisdomTree DEFA Index. It currently has negative earnings. At the Index measurement date, companies within the WisdomTree DEFA Index with market capitalizations of at least $200 million and average daily trading volumes of at least $200,000 for the prior three months are ranked by dividend yield.

WisdomTree DEFA High-Yldg Eqty Fd (ETF)-Receive News & Ratings Via Email - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings with our FREE daily email newsletter.

Resource: https://www.kentuckypostnews.com/2016/12/22/todays-etf-action-wisdomtree-international-high-div-etf-dth-rises-0-05-for-dec-22/

Sunil Taldar to head Airtel’s DTH business

The country's largest telecom operator Bharti Airtel Ltd has appointed Sunil Taldar as director and chief executive officer (CEO) of its DTH (direct to home) business, the company said on Monday.

Taldar, who has nearly three decades experience in the FMCG industry, will be a member of the Airtel management board and report to Gopal Vittal, MD & CEO (India & South Asia), the company said in a press statement.

Taldar has replaced Shashi Arora, who after a stint of around five years in this role, has moved as MD & CEO, Airtel Payments Bank. The telecom major launched its payments bank in November, which also happens to be the country’s first payments bank.

“We are pleased to have Sunil as part of our leadership team and hope that his rich experience across consumer facing categories will add value to our DTH portfolio,” Vittal said on getting Taldar on board.


In his new role, Taldar will be responsible for driving growth and innovation for Airtel Digital TV, which is a key growth driver within the company’s B2C portfolio.


Taldar, who had held several senior leadership positions across multiple geographies for Mondelez in the past, was also associated with Cadbury where he is known to have transformed the company's go to market capabilities and delivered solid growth.


Airtel Digital TV claimed to have 12.4 million customers at the end of the quarter ended September 2016 and the business recorded a revenue growth of 21% and customer growth of 17% for the same period.


The direct-to-home space in the country has witnessed several vital deals, especially in the M&A category. Earlier this month, Videocon group promoters Dhoot family decided to merge the direct-to-home (DTH) firm Videocon d2h Ltd with bigger domestic rival Dish TV Ltd, to create the largest Indian listed media firm by revenues.


Prior to this deal, the DTH space in the country was essentially a fragmented TV business with each of the players holding around 8% or less market share. The top DTH and cable players - Dish TV, Tata Sky, Videocon d2h, Airtel Digital TV, Hathway, Siti Cable, Sun Direct - all own between 6-8% market share each currently.

Resource: http://www.vccircle.com/news/media-entertainment/2016/12/05/sunil-taldar-head-airtel-s-dth-business

Column: The DTH is fighting for more than records

Just before Thanksgiving, this newspaper sued UNC for the release of public records for cases in which someone was found responsible for sexual assault.

When we asked the University for these records in September, I wrote a column about why we wanted to take on this fight. All those reasons are still true.

But this isn’t an ordinary story, or even an ordinary lawsuit.

As an editor, I believe in open records and celebrate the fact that The Daily Tar Heel is independent and therefore capable of suing UNC. As a woman, well — try to find one of us who hasn’t been groped, catcalled or harassed. Try to navigate a college dance floor when it is routinely assumed you do not have the privilege to control who touches you. Try to find a woman whose life would not be markedly improved by even — as Andrea Dworkin wrote — a 24-hour truce in which there is no rape.

We are committing money and time to this lawsuit, and we’ve already made sexual assault a focus of our investigative reporting. We will never give up on this issue because we don’t leave it behind when we leave work.

The issue of sexual assault on college campuses is far from theoretical. It is real, painfully real; it is holding friends while they cry and watching personalities change and not assigning stories to reporters anymore because people are drained, because we do not get a break from this issue.

And even though campus sexual assault gets a ton of attention, RAINN reports that women ages 18 to 24 who aren’t enrolled in college are at an even higher risk. We’re pursuing the campus angle because this is a college town, but our coverage isn’t the end of the story.

Indeed, when we get the records, that will only be the beginning of more investigative reporting. Part of why we want the names of people UNC has found responsible is so that we can talk to them and understand the adjudication process from their side, too.

Statistics differ on how prevalent sexual assault is. I’m confident that the number of survivors I’ve met in three-and-a-half years of college is higher than it should be.

We’re pressing the University to tell us more about whether and how these cases are resolved. Personally, all I know is that “he was punished” isn’t a phrase I hear often, or at all.

We take survivors’ privacy seriously. We take sexual assault seriously. I want UNC to handle these cases as well as possible, and I want transparency so the DTH can make sure they do that.

The threat and reality of sexual assault should not be so routine. It isn't extreme to ask for basic safety.
Resource: http://www.dailytarheel.com/article/2016/12/column-the-dth-is-fighting-for-more-than-records

Go cashless! Five mobile wallets to ease your post-demonetisation cash crunch

New Delhi: Giving a push for the country to go digital, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday appealed the people, particularly the youths, to embrace e-banking and mobile banking for cashless transactions.

The Prime Minister suggested that mobile should be used for the banking purposes. “My mobile… My bank… My wallet,” Modi said.

Following PM’s request to turn India into a cashless economy, we took stock of the different options available among mobile wallets. These were the ones that really seem to ease the cash crunch. .

Paytm

One of the most popular wallet apps in the country, Paytm started out with mobile recharges, DTH plans and bill payments but later launched an e-commerce marketplace as well. Its wallet partners include Uber, Bookmyshow, and Makemytrip, along with others. Notably, Paytm is the only app to provide such an option for online shoppers.

Also, it is the only wallet that supports IRCTC bookings and the only app to offer current and saving account deposits.

Freecharge

FreeCharge lets you recharge any prepaid mobile phone, postpaid mobile, electricity bill payments, DTH and data card in India. Interestingly, the app very recently added a new feature enabling it to recharge metro cards. the wallet can be topped up with debit cards, credit cards and net banking.

MobiKwik

Just like the other mobile wallet apps, MobiKwik can be used to recharge mobiles and pay bills but it’s also accepted across merchants such as BookMyShow, MakeMyTrip, Domino’s Pizza, eBay, among others. MobiKwik has done a good job of building up offline partners such as Cafe Coffee Day already.

Oxigen Wallet

The wallet allows users to top up money and use it for mobile data recharge, DTH and data card recharge. It also allows mobile payments for mobile, landline and electricity bills.

Its ideal use though is money transfers. The wallet can have a maximum balance of Rs.10000 and lets you transfer 5000 rupees per day and 10,000 per month.

Vodafone M-Pesa

M-pesa is an appropriate choice in case you need to send money to someone who doesn’t have a bank account because the app lets you turn your virtual balance into cash easily.

The app lets you send money to anyone, to recharge prepaid numbers, DTH connections, postpaid Vodafone numbers, utility bills and online shopping.

Others

The above list includes the 5 most popular mobile payment wallets in India. There are many other widely used digital wallets like Airtel Money, mRupee, Freecharge, Citrus Pay etc. that are making lives easier for people in India.

Background:

The central government on November 8 demonetised old Rs 500 and 1,000 notes to crack down on black money holders. The move led to a cash chaos in the country.

Following Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s call to go for cashless transactions, his office on Monday conducted a training workshop for its staff in mobile banking, an official said.

Officers demonstrated the process of cashless transactions and helped their staff members download the relevant mobile apps on their phones, it added.

(With inputs from IANS)

Resource: http://www.abplive.in/india-news/go-cashless-five-mobile-wallets-to-ease-your-post-demonetisation-cash-crunch-454252

After 4G LTE, Reliance Jio sets eyes on DTH, broadband services

Reliance Jio is not just about the 4G LTE network but it wants to be a part of every aspect of your life.
Reliance Jio is already breaking all sorts of records with its 4G services, but turns out, it is only the beginning and there’s a lot more in store. After incumbent 4G network operators, Jio now has its eyes set of existing DTH and broadband service providers. Though there is no set timeline for a launch, Jio is working on soon offering broadband services with up to 1Gbps speeds, and a set-top-box with a host of HD channels. Last month BGR India visited Reliance Jio’s Experience Centre to get a first-hand experience of some of the services the company has in the works, which could be launched soon.

Reliance Jio has been doing the groundwork for the better part of a decade now to lay down fiber optic cables across major cities in India. The company is set to offer Fiber To The Home (FTTH) services with speeds up to 1Gbps, and it has already started a limited pilot program in cities like Mumbai and Delhi. This isn’t the first time we are hearing of Jio’s FTTH plans, and Mukesh Ambani had mentioned about it during the Jio 4G launch earlier this year.
Along with FTTH, Jio is also planning to have a set top box that will provide live TV streaming (Jio TV) along with other services that Jio already offers as a part of its ‘My Jio’ app suite for 4G LTE users. At the experience centre, the company showcased how its FTTH service would work with an NVDIA Shield Android TV to have smart TV functionality. Along with a bouquet of 350 channels, including over four dozen HD channels, users will also be able to view “catch up” TV up to seven days. The best part is they don’t have to record anything as everything is stored on Jio’s servers. Users will also be able to use the smart remote and use voice search commands like “Shah Rukh Khan”, which will show all content related to the actor that has appeared on TV in the last seven days. Of course, the hardware can support 4K playback and can also connect with other apps.

For a connected home lifestyle, users will be able to use the same connection to have multiple TV streams on multiple devices. For this, there is an app called MediaShare, so you can leave the stream on one device and continue it on another. Jio is also working on Chromecast Audio like hardware that will convert your old speakers into connected ones. The company is also working on other smart home devices like connected security cameras, smart locks and others. It is also working devices that can provide broadband over power lines in order to extend the range of internet connectivity across one’s house.

Coming to the physical world, Jio also showcased a tiny device that connects into the car’s OBD port. The device not only provides internet connectivity inside the car but also has an app where you can view the car’s diagnostics in real time, locate the car, and even control various functions. RELATED: Reliance Jio reportedly working on Car Connect OBD for in-car entertainment and safety

Reliance Jio has only given a glimpse at what it plans to launch going forward, without actually revealing any particular timeline. We must admit that these plans sound pretty interesting, and a tad ambitious as well. The idea behind Jio’s 4G services was equally ambitious, but since launch, the issues being faced by its users is no secret. Almost every day, we come across users complaining about call drops or low mobile data speeds. It would be interesting to see how these services fare once they are launched in the country.

Resource: http://www.bgr.in/news/after-4g-lte-reliance-jio-sets-eyes-on-dth-broadband-services/

Reliance Jio’s next big offering: 1Gbps optical fibre broadband and DTH

Reliance Jio is expected to roll out its direct to home services, which will affect established broadband and DTH players
Reliance Jio has already shaken up the telecom industry in India with its Reliance Jio 4G service offerings. However, the company has more up its sleeve. In fact, in a few months the conglomerate will roll out its direct to home services, which have the potential to make life hard for existing broadband players as well as DTH operators.

The service will come in the form of a high-speed optical fibre – pushing speeds up to 1 Gbps. The cables are already laid for most of India and some pilot services are being offered in part of Mumbai. There is no clarity yet on the final hardware offering or the date of full rollout. As far as pricing goes, the company has suggested that it will offer value for the customer like with all its Jio services.

Customers of the service will get access to high-speed internet, as well as a host of Jio services. The hardware will include a set-top-box, as well as an Android smartbox or Apple TV that will help them control the content and also play games.

The speeds will be unprecedented for the Indian home segment where 16Mbps is considered a luxury. With the Jio fibre offering — if everything goes well — customers will be able to stream and play high-definition games with multiple players. Also, 4K videos will become much more easier to access without any buffer.

However, where Jio could bring in big impact is with JioTV which will offer more than 360 channels, at least 50 of which will be in HD. The offering is differentiated by existing players because of the seven-day catch up option. This content is not saved locally, but on Jio servers and pulled in as per demand. Users will be able to use a voice enabled remote to search by channel, show, category or even by the names of actors.

It is not new for broadband services to offer television channels. MTNL tried IPTV many years ago while Airtel too has a similar service. However, none have been really successful. For households with multiple televisions, a single router will work but with individual set-top-boxes.

Then there is Jio MediaShare, with which the company is promising the ability to locally play content across all your devices from your PC or hard-drive – using the Home Gateway. Jio is also working on solutions to make legacy music systems and televisions smart.

Read- Reliance Jio’s impact still muted, say analysts: Here’s why

Plus, the service wants to push internet-of-things (IOT) as well. It will use smart plugs (already available in the market) to control appliances in a home. The home gateway will also enable better security of home through surveillance with real-time monitoring via cameras, connected doorbells and motion sensors.

Despite the ambitious plans, it might take a few months for the services to be rolled out as Jio wants to go pan-India with whatever services they have. Also at the moment getting the necessary permissions to install the Jio Fibre into residential societies and other private compounds is proving to be the bigger hurdle. However, Jio certainly stands out for being the first to offer, or at least think of, a whole bouquet of services that are linked to the web.
Resource:
http://indianexpress.com/article/technology/tech-news-technology/reliance-jios-next-big-offering-could-hit-dth-and-broadband-services-4371283/

DTH at a Glance: I peaked in high school

My sophomore year of high school, I was on the homecoming court and won class favorite. I was also in a relationship, president of my class and involved in more than seven clubs.

My sophomore year of college, I have more presence online than I do in the real world, cannot remember the last time I brushed my hair and spend more time having existential crises than I do sleeping.

I pretty much peaked in high school. Others hit a high point in college. @Mr. and Miss UNC 2016, Logan Gin and Dani Nicholson: please rub off on me.

— Tiana

QUICK HITS

    With a slight change of location, the Orange County GOP office building officially reopened Thursday after its Oct. 17 firebombing.
    A group of students created a UNC pingpong club. People don’t exaggerate when they say there really is a club for everything here.
    A new diversity supercourse called “Intersectionality: Race, Gender, Sexuality and Social Justice” will bring three different UNC departments together to educate students on important but sensitive topics.
    UNC defeated Georgia Tech 48-20 at Saturday’s homecoming football game, proving again why I left Georgia to come to North Carolina. (Does that make it a home-leaving game for me? Who knows.)

IN UNC ROYALTY

Congratulations to Logan Gin and Dani Nicholson on being crowned Mr. and Miss UNC 2016! The announcement was made this Saturday before the start of the Homecoming game. Nicholson’s service project will focus on starting dialogue on sensitive topics among students and faculty while Gin’s project will bring adaptive sports, like wheelchair basketball, to UNC.

IN BEING A FAVE

The Chapel Hill Historical Society honored exceptional citizens of Chapel Hill and Carrboro on Sunday. The society celebrated the 50th anniversary of its founding with the annual Town Treasures award, presented to citizens that hold special places in the two towns’ hearts. (I’m still waiting for my honorable mention.)

IN GOING AU NATURAL

The medicinal gardens surrounding the Health Sciences Library is growing. After two years of hard work, the Gardening and Ethnobotany in Academia Project are ready for the garden to become a go-to for students. The group hopes to plant the seeds of knowledge, helping visitors expand what they know about plants while simultaneously expanding the club’s membership.

IN REALLY, REALLY INTENSE EYE CONTACT

The dark void of human interaction is one that we like to avoid. At UNC, this is particularly difficult to do. Considering the number of people on campus every day, you are bound to make awkward eye contact with someone at some point in your four-year career. But when it happens — and it will — don’t panic. Use these evasion techniques instead.
Resource:  http://www.dailytarheel.com/blog/dth-at-a-glance/2016/11/dth-at-a-glance-i-peaked-in-high-school

RCom to rebrand Reliance Digital TV as Chois HD?

Anil Ambani group’s Reliance Digital DTH may be rebranded to ‘Chois HD’, according to a twitter user, who also tweeted some photographs of the upcoming brand.

Reliance Communications’ Reliance Digital is arguably the weakest candidate among the five private companies that compete in India’s DTH space.

The DTH business is dominated Dish TV, Tata Sky, Videocon, Airtel Digital and Sun Direct, while Doordarshan’s Free Dish caters to the free DTH market.

RCom’s DTH service has around 5 mln subscribers and an estimated 6% market share.

A sale of Reliance Digital has been rumored about for years, and the Anil Ambani group has not been spending much on promoting the venture over the past several years, unlike its competitors.

The user, @realraghv, who tweeted the suggestion and the photos seems to be basing his assumption on the similarly in the brand logo. While Reliance Digital TV has 4K Tech written in a particular style, the new Chois HD dish also has the words 4K Tech written in the exact same style.

It is also possible that Chois HD may be an entirely new player who is coming to the market, or a sub-brand of any of the existing players including Reliance. Dish TV, for example, has a sub-brand called Zing, aimed at lower-income customers.

The name Reliance Digital has been causing some confusion recently because of the rising prominence of an electronics retail chain by the same name started by Mukesh Ambani, the elder brother of Anil Ambani.

The renaming of the DTH venture to Chois, if it materializes, would suggest that the two groups are trying to avoid a confusion in the name and branding.

Secondly, and more importantly, the rebranding suggests that the Anil group is now gearing up to make more investments into the venture, either by itself or in conjunction with a new partner.

The DTH business offers synergies with JioTV, an app-based TV broadcasting venture operated by the Mukesh Ambani group. However, for now, there are not clues as to whether any synergy between the two will be explored or not.

The Anil Ambani group’s telecom operations have “practically merged” (in the words of its chairman) with Reliance Jio, the telecom venture of the elder brother. The two companies share spectrum, radio infrastructure, passive intrastructure and fiber.

Resource:  http://rtn.asia/t-t/24509/rcom-rebrand-reliance-digital-tv-chois-hd