Broadcasting Digital Media Industry in India - Full Report.pdf

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Broadcasting & Digital Media Industry in India March 2014 EMISPDF in-gtindia01 from 180.151.80.91 on 2015-07-20 10:10:52 BST. DownloadPDF. Downloaded by in-gtindia01 from 180.151.80.91 at 2015-07-20 10:10:52 BST. EMIS. Unauthorized Distribution Prohibited.

Transcript of Broadcasting Digital Media Industry in India - Full Report.pdf

Page 1: Broadcasting Digital Media Industry in India - Full Report.pdf

Broadcasting & Digital Media Industry in India

March 2014

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Digital Media Industry in India

FRPT Research 1

Table of Contents

Broadcasting Industry................................................................................................................... 2

Overview .................................................................................................................................... 2

Digital media ............................................................................................................................. 4

Market statistics ........................................................................................................................ 7

Regulatory issues ..................................................................................................................... 10

Digital Media Industry ................................................................................................................ 19

Overview .................................................................................................................................. 19

Internet Protocol TV (IPTV) ...................................................................................................... 20

Operational development .................................................................................................. 20

IPTV broadcasters ............................................................................................................... 23

Pay TV ...................................................................................................................................... 30

Cable TV ................................................................................................................................... 33

Market overview ................................................................................................................ 33

Cable TV regulatory environment ...................................................................................... 34

Digitalisation of Cable TV ................................................................................................... 37

Satellite TV............................................................................................................................... 40

Direct-to-Home (DTH) TV .................................................................................................... 40

Major cable and pay TV operators .......................................................................................... 51

Free-to-Air TV .......................................................................................................................... 58

Disclaimer ................................................................................................................................. 59

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Broadcasting Industry

Overview

India has emerged as one of the largest TV markets in the world, after the

introduction of television to India back in 1959. At the same time with the

emergence of new technologies and broadcasting platforms the local industry has

been totally transformed. With the roll out of extensive networks for cable TV

services, the infrastructure available provides a real opportunity to operate

telephony and Internet services over these networks. Change flowing from new

technology has not been raid, however. Indian telecom operators seeking to

increase revenue and stimulate demand by offering Internet Protocol Television

(IPTV) services, for example, have faced hurdles of high costs, low broadband

usage and slow speeds.

In the meantime, the television programming landscape had been totally

transformed over the last decade. India has been producing the highest number of

feature films in the world in the shortest time and had become one of the largest

producers of TV programming outside Hollywood. At the same time sport has been

a major driver of the Indian cable and satellite TV market. Cricket, as the country’s

national game, has been a particularly strong impetus to the sector. All this has

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means that there are opportunities for greater commercial gains and this in turns

feeds into the question of how best to exploit technology.

When revised legislation governing telecommunications came into effect back in

1999, this provided the basis for the more effective and efficient use of

infrastructure. The New Telecom Policy 1999 (NTP-99) included policies for:

opening up basic telephony to all;

allowing fibre optic cable operators to enter into basic services;

freeing up of domestic long-distance services.

Critically, the changes also helped the government to move on to its primary

objective of allowing the convergence of telecommunications and broadcasting

technologies. The initiative to permit cable operators into basic telephony was

considered radical. Cable operators were already providing TV services and were

also permitted to provide internet services. The provision of basic telephony

services could add value to their package and give them a more significant role in

the telecom market. Clearly the market was being presented with a range of

opportunities to make commercial use of the available range of technologies. Two

companies, InCableNet and SitiCable, had launched internet services over cable as

early as 1999. The scene was set for more change in the sector.

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Digital media

India has more than 1,000 TV transmitters covering over 90% of the country’s

population and serving more than 140 million TV households by terrestrial mode,

with more than 100 million homes accessed by satellite and cable. Television has

reached more than 60% of all people (urban and rural) in India.

Cable TV remained the dominant media platform. Estimated cable TV households

had risen to 85 million by 2010, up from 28 million in 1999. (An accurate figure

was difficult to find because of the large number of ‘unreported’ cable TV services

in the country.) The figures were expected to rise further as sales of TV sets

remained strong.

Following extensive testing, India chose Digital Video Broadcasting-Terrestrial

(DVB-T) for its digital terrestrial broadcasting standard. Doordarshan, the state-

owned national Free-to-Air (FTA) TV broadcaster, indicated that it intended to

implement digital services on a phased basis. Services were being proposed as a

multiplex of four services to provide coverage for the metropolitan areas of Delhi,

Calcutta, Mumbai and Chennai.

Media development in India has continued to be fraught with problems arising

from battles between broadcasters and cable operators over rates. As well as that,

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the under reporting of subscriber numbers remained a serious problem for the

industry as franchisees failed to declare 20% of their actual subscriber base.

NewsCorp subsidiary STAR TV, for example, had been demanding both higher

monthly subscription rates and higher reported numbers. The broadcaster won a

major court victory with InCableNet being forced to pay STAR for an extra 25,000

subscriber homes.

South Korea and India signed an agreement in 2006 to work together in the mobile

broadcasting sector, paving the way for South Korea to export its Digital

Multimedia Broadcasting (DMB) technology to India. DMB was a method of

multicasting multimedia content to mobile and portable devices, such as mobile

phones, by satellite or terrestrial services, or a combination of the two. South

Korea’s Ministry of Information and Communication (MIC) said it had signed the

deal with the TRAI and India’s Tata Group. The MIC noted that the Tata Group was

interested in introducing the DMB service. South Korea has been leading the world

in the DMB industry, having launched two world firsts - a satellite mobile

broadcasting service and a terrestrial mobile broadcasting service – both in 2005.

To help raise awareness of its DMB technologies, the South Korean ministry said it

was holding a number of demonstrations in India with local government officials

and business leaders in attendance.

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The Government has notified for implementation of Digital Addressable Cable TV

Systems (DAS) in India, in four phases, starting from November, 2012 and

completing by December 2014. The final schedule notified by the Government for

migration to DAS is given below

Schedule for migration to Digital Addressable Cable TV System (DAS) – 2012 - 2014

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Market statistics

Broadcasting market overview – 2012

Broadcasting Standard and major broadcasters

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Cable and TV households – 1995 – 2012

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Total TV industry revenue – 2000 – 2011

Cable and TV households and TV industry revenue: 2000 - 2011

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Regulatory issues

Background

The government introduced the Broadcast Bill, the Prasar Bharati Act and an open

sky policy in 1997, with the aim of opening up the market to licences for terrestrial

radio, terrestrial TV broadcasting, satellite radio, domestic satellite TV

broadcasting, DTH and the cable market. However, India’s legislation guiding cable

and satellite broadcasting had been confusing and sometimes contradictory.

State controls on satellite broadcasting were eased during 1999, allowing private

domestic companies to uplink programs. The new rules, which encouraged foreign

broadcasters to seek Indian partners or launch domestic ventures, ended

mandatory requirements for TV companies to uplink broadcast signals through

Videsh Sanchar Nigam Ltd (VSNL). Amendments to legislation also made it

mandatory for cable networks to carry two Doordarshan channels and regulate

pay TV channels.

The government permitted Indian private companies to set up uplinking hubs in

2000 for hiring out to other broadcasters. The new policy also allowed uplinking of

any television channel from India. Indian news agencies were allowed their own

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uplinking facilities for news gathering and distribution. The DTH broadcasting

segment was finally opened up in late 2000.

The Telecommunications Regulatory Authority of India, (TRAI) issued a Tariff

Order in 2005 which was to see new pay channels as well as FTA channels

converted into pay channels. The regulator had issued a Tariff Order in 2004

which, inter alia, provided that if any new pay channels were introduced after 26

December 2003 or any channels that were FTA channels on 26 December 2003

were converted to pay channels subsequently, then the ceiling of charges,

excluding taxes payable by Cable Subscribers to Cable Operators; by Cable

Operators to Multi System Operators/Broadcasters and Multi System Operators to

Broadcasters prevailing on 26 December 2003, could be exceeded under the

condition that new channels be provided on a standalone basis, either individually

or as part of new separate ‘bouquets’ and the new channels were not included in

the bouquet being provided as on 26 December 2003. In terms of paragraph 4 of

the Tariff Order, the broadcasters of such new pay channel(s) that had been

introduced after 26 December 2003 or of any channel(s) that as a FTA channel on

26 December 2003 was converted to a pay channel subsequently, shall furnish to

the Authority information in prescribed format within a specified period.

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A suggestion was received to the effect that the prices charged by the broadcasters

should be widely published in print and electronic media and put on TRAI’s

website so that the consumers were made aware of the pay channel rates in an

appropriate manner. This suggestion was examined by the TRAI in consultation

with major broadcasters and the Alliance representing prominent Multiple

Systems Operators (MSO) particularly in the context of transparency; of

information value of publishing wholesale prices to the end consumers; and, of the

requirements of the need to maintain confidentiality of trade information. On the

basis of the examination and keeping in view the divergent opinion of

stakeholders, TRAI decided to publish on its website, for the present, only the

information as to the channels that existed and which were FTA on 26 December

2003 that have turned Pay subsequently and which were the new pay channels

introduced after 26 December 2003. This information was being published on the

basis of reports furnished by broadcasters in terms of paragraph 4 of the Tariff

Order of 2004.

In 2006 the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB) was drafting the

Broadcasting Services Regulation Bill with the aim of achieving the following basic

objectives:

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To promote, facilitate and develop in an orderly manner the carriage and

content of broadcasting. (Broadcasting had been defined as including not

merely traditional broadcasting but also Internet broadcasting and mobile

broadcasting);

To make provisions for regulation of broadcasting services in India in a fair,

objective and competitive manner;

The government shall be authorised to prescribe eligibility conditions and

restrictions with regard to accumulation of interest in the print and

broadcast segments of the media to prevent monopolies across different

segments of the media including the broadcast segment, to ensure diversity

of news and views;

To provide for the establishment of an independent authority - the

Broadcast Regulatory Authority of India (BRAI) for the purpose of

regulating and facilitating development of broadcasting services in India.

Cable Television Networks (Amendment) Bill

India’s lower house of parliament passed the Cable Television Networks

(Amendment) Bill in 2002, paving the way for the introduction of a Conditional

Access System (CAS) in India. The bill sought to regulate the operation of Cable TV

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networks through the mandatory installation of an addressable system for

accessing pay channels. This was set to see the introduction of Set-top Boxes (STB)

at the customer’s premises. Consumers who view FTA channels would not need to

use a STB. The proposal was heading for full adoption, despite the concerns about

the cost to the community. The cost of the STBs, which would only be required for

pay-TV channels and not for FTA channels, was to be borne by the consumer.

Convergence Bill 2001

The Communications Convergence Bill 2001 was adopted in early 2001, paving the

way for the establishment of the Communications Commission of India (CCI), an

authority designed to work along the lines of the Federal Communication

Commission (FCC) in the US. Encompassing all aspects of convergence

(communications, information and broadcasting) the CCI would be designed to

operate as a unified regulatory authority for issuing multiple licences for basic

telephony, mobile telephony, broadcasting and web-casting. It would also manage

spectrum, resolve disputes and determine the conditions for ‘fair, equitable and

non-discriminatory access to network facility and services.’

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Furthermore the CCI would monitor program content on all TV channels, both FTA

and encrypted pay channels. Content regulation may come through earlier than

renting out Doordarshan facilities to private parties as the latter had to be

approved by the Prasar Bharati board. This would treat FTA and pay channels on

an equal footing as far as the programming code was concerned. In the Act as it

existed, there was very little content regulation of FTA channels, while pay

channels were subjected to close scrutiny.

Foreign investment

The MIB policy on foreign investments issued for the sector at the start of 2000 set

out the following guidelines:

Foreign investment proposals directly linked to broadcasting would be kept

pending until the Broadcasting Law comes into effect. Companies with 80%

Indian equity may be allowed to uplink for satellite channels;

The proposals related to production of software and marketing of TV rights,

airtime, advertisements, etc may be recommended with the condition that:

all future laws on broadcasting would be applicable to them and they would

not claim any privilege or protection by virtue of this approval;

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mentioned above, would observe the Program Law and Advertisement

Codes of Doordarshan.

Proposals having an Indian equity of at least 25% would be encouraged,

however, in genuine cases, even 100% foreign equity can be allowed;

There is no foreign equity allowed in private FM broadcasting.

By 2007 the MIB was confirming its position on foreign investment: ‘Foreign

investment proposals involving up-linking from Indian soil may be allowed to

Indian Companies, who were broadcasters having minimum 80% of Indian

shareholding and Indian management control. There was no restriction on foreign

equity in proposals related to production of software, marketing of TV rights, air

times, advertisements, etc. No foreign equity was allowed in private FM

broadcasting. For a cable network company, not less than 51% of the paid -up

share capital should be held by Indian citizens.’

Conditional Access System (CAS)

After the TRAI had outlined its Conditional Access System (CAS), in late 2006 cable

operators throughout India were campaigning against the regulations that limited

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their ability to control individual channel costs. The CAS, which was scheduled to

go into effect at the start of 2007 in Kolkata, Mumbai and New Delhi, was drawing

protests from the country’s cable distributors for its imposed financial limitations.

Under the TRAI regulations, the cost of the country’s 22 FTA basic cable channels

would be set at US$15.40. Cable channel costs had previously ranged from News

Corp’s US$13.47 eight-pack of channels to the ESPN-Star Sports channel, which

was offered for US$1.

Viacom – Network18 joint venture

Viacom and Network18 completed the formation of their 50/50 Indian-based joint

venture called Viacom 18 Media Private Limited in late 2008. The companies had

originally announced their plans for the joint venture in 2007. Viacom 18 was set

to include television, film and digital media content across numerous brands as

well as consumer products to build a multi-platform entertainment company. The

joint venture was preparing to launch a new Hindi general entertainment channel

in India early in 2008. The service would consist of original, locally produced

programming, acquisitions and content from MTV Networks. The joint venture

would operate the local networks, MTV, VH1 and Nickelodeon India, of MTV

Networks (MTVN), a unit of Viacom. In the future, Viacom 18 was also planning to

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launch a suite of niche channels from the MTV Networks portfolio, as well as new

brands. Digital media content across all the television brands was to be developed

and distributed to Indian consumers. The joint venture would also syndicate MTVN

programming and newly-produced content.

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Digital Media Industry

Overview

Transitioning India’s mass TV broadcasting market to digital is a major challenge.

Whilst there are already rapidly expanding and inherently digital segments in the

TV market, notably IPTV/Broadband TV, the digitalisation of the traditional

platforms needs ongoing attention by the operators and regulatory oversight.

Following extensive testing, India chose Digital Video Broadcasting-Terrestrial

(DVB-T) for its digital terrestrial broadcasting standard. The TRAI has also

recommended (in a report submitted to government in 2010) that all cable TV

operators should have changed from the analogue system to the digital platform by

2013. As India’s Direct-to-Home (DTH) TV operators work to attract customers

away from cable TV operators, they have been helped by their being able to offer

digital-quality transmissions while the cable operators struggle to upgrade their

analogue systems.

In February 2011 there were moves to postpone the deadline for cutover to digital.

The Information and Broadcasting Minister said the ministry may look at

extending the timeline for digitising television distribution networks across the

country by a year. In the meantime, the regulator said it was proposing the

deadline be postponed to June 2014.

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Internet Protocol TV (IPTV)

Operational development

Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited (MTNL) and Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited

(BSNL) were initially the only companies offering limited IPTV services. Bharti

Airtel and Reliance Communications subsequently joined the two state-run

operators with their own IPTV offerings. Operators needed to overcome a series of

challenges if they were succeed in their IPTV ventures. India Online (IOL) Netcom

and Aksh Optifibre were reported to be battling high costs as TV broadcasters

were charging telecom companies much more than cable operators for program

feeds. Broadcasters were also looking for minimum subscriber guarantees. Any

shortfall in subscribers has to be made good by the service provider, adding to

costs. Broadcasters ‘need to be assured of revenues before offering our content,’

one content distributer said. Another major obstacle to popularising IPTV in India

is the country’s low broadband penetration.

It was estimated that there were 20,000 subscribers to Digital Subscriber Line

(DSL)-based IPTV services in India by 2005. In an important ruling in late 2007,

the TRAI said that telecom service providers and cable operators could provide

IPTV services without any further clearances. The regulator said providers with

unified access services licences and mobile telephony service licences, as well as

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cable TV operators registered under the Cable Television Network Act were

included in its decision. According to the draft guidelines, telecom service

providers were permitted to provide triple play services. Prior to the

announcement the TRAI had been soliciting comments from stakeholders on a set

of draft regulations. On the issue of content, the regulator said only channels

approved by the MIB were allowed on the IPTV platform. For content other than

TV channels, the licensee would have to adhere to the programming and

advertising code provided under the Cable Television Network (Regulation) Act.

The TRAI announced in 2007 that telecom operators wishing to provide television

over Internet would be required to pay between 6-10% of their adjusted gross

revenue as licence fees, depending on the telecom zone they operated in. Telecoms

companies, cable operators and some Internet Service Providers (ISPs) had

already been authorised by the TRAI to provide IPTV in India, with telecom market

leaders like Bharti Airtel and Reliance Communications moving to deliver such

services. The regulator said that broadcasters should be permitted to provide

television signals to all distributors of the channels.

The authority further noted that regulations said broadcasters could only provide

equipment to decode the signals to cable operators or operators of multiple cable

television systems. Under the recommendations telecom operators would be

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restricted to transmitting those news television channels that have been approved

by the ministry for broadcasting. They must transmit television channels in the

same form as allowed by the government for up-linking or down-linking. The

companies must adhere to the country’s programming and advertising codes if

they transmit content other than provided by the television channels.

In 2008 the TRAI recommended that the government auction licences granting the

broadcasting of mobile phone-based television services, either via terrestrial or

satellite systems. Up to that time fixed line telecom operators that already had

bandwidth did not need a licence to offer mobile TV services. However, the

regulator said that those companies would be required to take part in the bidding

process if they wanted to offer mobile TV services via the broadcasting route.

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IPTV broadcasters

BSNL

BSNL said in 2006 that it would launch a pilot IPTV service in the city of Pune. It

would then expand IPTV to other regions, including Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata,

Chennai and Bangalore, depending on the commercial success of the service. After

the launch of its pilot IPTV service in Pune later that year, BSNL launched a

commercial IPTV service in 2007. The service was initially made available to

broadband subscribers in Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai and Bangalore as

planned.

MTNL

In 2006 MTNL was preparing to be the first to market with IPTV in India. A

commercial launch of its Tri-band service had been set for October of that year.

The operator had been testing the service in Delhi for more than a year and in

Mumbai since mid-2006. The service was designed to support a range of FTA and

pay-TV channels, as well as Video-on-Demand (VoD). Tariffs had not been decided

but were expected to be similar to the then prevailing charges of cable TV

operators. In the meantime MTNL needed to seek regulatory approval to launch its

IPTV offering. Neither its basic telephony or mobile licences gave it the right to

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operate IPTV services, but the company said it was confident of launching by year-

end at the latest. For its part, the TRAI had not yet formulated regulations for IPTV.

However, the government was allowing companies holding Unified Access Service

Licences (UASLs) to provide services in the interim. Because MTNL did not hold a

UASL it was required to gain special permission to roll out services.

MTNL signed a three-year deal with UTStarcom and its local partner Aksh

Optifibre in early 2007 that would enable the operator to roll out an IPTV service.

The service, which UTStarcom claimed was to be India’s first IPTV offering, was to

be delivered over MTNL’s broadband network and included traditional broadcast

TV, video and music-on-demand services, time-shift TV and videoconferencing.

MTNL claimed a presence in more than four million homes in New Delhi and

Mumbai through its broadband service providing a strong base for its IPTV service.

The service had been soft launched late in 2006. The entry-level package was set to

cost INR125, a price MTNL believed would attract a large number of subscribers.

The IPTV service was based on UTStarcom’s RollingStream end-to-end solution.

In the meantime, the TRAI declared that the launch of IPTV services by MTNL was

in fact illegal. The regulator said that IPTV was not covered by the country’s Cable

Televisions Networks (Regulations) Act and the service could only be launched by

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companies holding a USAL. MTNL held a cable TV operating concession, but no

Unified Access Service Licence.

Bharti Airtel

In 2007 Bharti Airtel was working with supplier UTStarcom to launch an IPTV

service. Bharti was already testing IPTV services in limited areas of Delhi, having

commenced these tests in 2005. The two companies said they would aim to launch

the service in Delhi by the end of 2007; they planned to provide around 150

television channels by the commercial launch.

IBM was contracted by Bharti Airtel in 2008 to help boost its service offerings.

Under the deal IBM would deliver services worth US$150 million to Bharti over a

six-year period that would strengthen the telecommunications company’s

networks and develop expertise in providing television content over the Internet.

Bharti Airtel launched its IPTV service under the brand name of Airtel Digital

Television at the start of 2009. Offering services of voice, broadband, TV and video

entertainment, the service included up to 135 TV channels.

In March 2011 Bharti Airtel announced the launch of its ‘Airtel Broadband TV’

IPTV service, offering 28 live TV channels to subscribers via computers and

laptops. Three different tariff options were being offered, with prices starting at

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INR49 (US$1) per month. The most expensive option was offering all live TV

channels in addition to 19 Video-on-Demand (VoD) channels for INR99 per month.

Reliance Communications

Microsoft and Reliance Communications announced a partnership in 2007 that

was designed to deliver Internet-based television services to homes in India.

Reliance agreed to pay Microsoft about US$500 million in licence fees to use its

software for IPTV services. Reliance Communications said in May 2010 that it had

launched IPTV services in Delhi and Mumbai, to be followed by launches in six

other cities.

Aksh Optifibre

Aksh Optifibre was one of the first movers into the IPTV market. The company has

been providing television and telephony services over the Internet on a revenue-

sharing basis with MTNL and BSNL. The company claimed about 30,000 IPTV

customers by 2010; it also reported a monthly Average Revenue per User (ARPU)

of around INR200 at the time. The forecast growth was expected to see 100,000

IPTV customers and an ARPU of INR300 by mid-2011.

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Other services

India Broadcast Live (IBL), a division of Archer Entertainment Media

Communications, added five channels to its portfolio in 2006, bringing the total to

10 live streaming channels on its platform. India Broadcast Live had earlier

debuted what was claimed to be the first Indian IPTV platform India TV Live with

five channels in August 2006. The service carried these channels directly from

India, in real time, and delivered them worldwide, via broadband, to any web-

enabled device – PCs, Laptops, PDAs and mobile phones. The company claimed

that India TV Live did not directly compete with broadcast, satellite and cable

television offerings, but was expected to become an additional platform to provide

‘on-the-go’ news, information relating to business and investment, and

entertainment. In 2007 IOL Broadband launched what it also claimed was India’s

first IP-based on-demand television service to more than 250,000 subscribers

using software, servers and middleware from Seachange International. Leveraging

off the networks of MTNL, IOL Broadband was set to offer an on-demand line-up of

film and music videos to its customers in Mumbai. Other IOL Broadband IPTV

services included interactive gaming, video conferencing, an e-education channel,

and live financial data from the Bombay Stock Exchange. The system also

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incorporated an electronic program guide and content browser, and included

capabilities such as delivering complete DVDs in a single on-demand stream.

IOL Broadband acquired Magnaquest’s convergent Customer Management and

Billing (CMB) solution MQSubscribe in 2007. The contract encompassed IOL’s

service deployments on its own network and deployment of a Content Delivery

Network (CDN) for MTNL and BSNL.

RRsat Global Communications Network, provider of content management and

global distribution services to the television and radio broadcasting industries,

signed an agreement in 2008 with WatchIndia TV, a video platform that enabled

live and on-demand broadcasting of Indian TV stations worldwide. WatchIndia TV

has been a subscription-based service enabling the global Indian diaspora to watch

Indian channels and programming through the Internet. It was a subsidiary of Live

Asia TV. According to the agreement, RRsat was to provide WatchIndia TV with

various transmission services including downlinking, turnaround, playout and

Internet connectivity. Using RRsat’s transmission services, WatchIndia TV was

planning to extend its platform and offer additional live and on-demand channels

broadcasting from India.

Reliance Big Entertainment acquired a majority stake in US based Willow TV in

2008 thereby acquiring a portal for live Internet streaming of all major cricket

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events from across the world. Willow TV, headquartered in Sunnyvale, California,

reportedly had more than a million registered users worldwide, predominantly in

the US, Canada, Australia and Europe. In 2007/08, Willow TV streamed all major

cricket events live, including all Indian cricket including the Indian Premier

League, all Australian, South African and English international cricket.

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Pay TV

Although pay channels existed, in reality consumers could not buy them

individually. They had to be purchased by cable operators. This made it difficult to

assess the viewer’s willingness to pay for individual channels. It was reported that

India’s pay TV market was likely to generate a turnover of US$10 billion over the

three-year period 2008-2010, according to Media Partners Asia; this compared

with US$4.2 billion in the 2007 year. Pay TV services had reached about 84% of the

cable and satellite households by 2011, up from 61% in 2007.

The number of registered pay TV channels totalled 184 by end-2012; this figure

was based on channels reported by 25 broadcasters and their distributors.

Pay TV subscribers by technology – 2003- 2012

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Pay TV subscribers by technology 2003-2012

Broadcasters continue to see some hope for the market in the corporatisation of

cable operators that began through the efforts of SitiCable and InCableNet. The aim

was to bring fragmented cable operators together under one network umbrella.

SitiCable, which was established in 1995, had built a presence in over 50 cities and

provided 40 channels to its operators (from whom it levied 25% of their

subscriptions), while InCableNet provided transmission to more than 2 million

homes. Both had city-specific channels (SitiCable and CVO, respectively), which

were providing localised programming and also served as media vehicles for local

advertising.

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Pay TV piracy has been a serious issue in India. While it has generally been a

problem throughout Asia, Indian operators were by far the worst offenders. It had

been estimated that India accounted for about 72% of total piracy losses in the

region. The biggest revenue drain has been operators under-reporting subscriber

counts and thereby under-paying on royalties. Other problems were unlicensed

operators and illegal descramblers.

According to forecasts published by Media Partners Asia in 2008, India’s digital

pay TV market will lead the Asia Pacific region in revenue generation by 2015. The

major factors promoting market development were government regulation, high

GDP growth, increasing demand for quality content and delivery and new market

entrants offering both satellite and cable services.

NDS, a provider of technology solutions for digital pay TV, was increasing its

presence in India with the opening of a sales and support office in New Delhi in

2008. The company said it was optimistic about the growth of the Indian pay TV

market.

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Cable TV

Market overview

It has been very difficult to get a clear picture of India’s cable TV market.

According to one estimate, the country had an estimated 22,000 Local Cable

Operators (LCOs) in 2000, down from 30,000 a year earlier. Another source

estimated 60,000 operators in 2002. The Cable Association of India, which

represented the smaller operators, admitted that as the market fragments it was

becoming increasingly difficult to survive in the changing Indian cable market with

advertising revenues only. New players created fierce competition as they

scrambled to roll out the most sophisticated cable equipment within the shortest

amount of time. By 2010, it was estimated that there were over 85 million cable TV

subscribers, up from 55 million in 2004 and 28 million in 1999.

Cable subscription revenues grew rapidly from US$77 million in 1996 to around

US$1 billion in 2001.

As already noted, the cable TV industry in India remains very fragmented.

Although distribution continued to be dominated by a few major players, they

were competing with a large number of LCOs. These LCOs were controlling the

bulk of the ‘last mile’ connection to households. It was noted that cable operators

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who upgraded to digital were in a better position to also offer their customers

broadband Internet access and Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) services.

A further challenge to the cable TV sector is infrastructure. The cable TV

infrastructure available in India has generally been unreliable, with MSOs having

little control over the state of the fibre reaching into consumer homes. The coax

fibre had not been installed with a view to providing two-way connectivity and it

has not been of consistent quality all over the cable service area. It was said that

for every cable TV home receiving a good signal there were at least another twenty

homes receiving a bad signal.

Number of channels carried by cable operators – 2010 - 2012

Cable TV regulatory environment

The MIB issued a Cable Ordinance in 1994. It set out several directives that were

designed to stabilise the chaotic cable market. The bill stipulated that:

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all operators of cable TV must be registered and must do so within 90 days;

programs transmitted or re-transmitted must conform with the prescribed

advertising code;

every operator would maintain a register of programs carried on the

network for one year after the transmission or re-transmission of the

program;

all operators must have at least 51% Indian ownership;

programming and advertising codes for all channels except those received

encrypted from a satellite;

a cable operator should transmit at least two Doordarshan channels of their

choice on the network without deletion or alteration;

the channels should be carried concurrently.

The bill also set conformation standards for all cable equipment.

Strict guidelines on cable and broadcasting content were set down, with specific

rules for programming and moral decency. However, there was still inadequate

regulation for cable distribution, no regulation on content and no technical and

service quality standards. There were no guidelines for programs and

advertisements applying to the foreign satellite channels which can be received.

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In 2004 the TRAI met with the State Governments of Delhi, Maharashtra, West

Bengal and Tamil Nadu where subscriptions to pay channels through CAS was

mandatory. Following the meeting, TRAI committed to establishing a special

committee comprising representatives of these state governments and TRAI to

work on various issues relating to cable TV and provide input to the authority to

finalise regulations in this regard.

Digital Entertainment Networks (DEN), a newcomer to the Indian digital cable

market, selected a suite of NDS digital broadcasting solutions to launch its digital

cable service in 2008. NDS, a provider of technology solutions for digital pay TV,

was contracted to provide DEN with the Videoguard Conditional Access System

(CAS), Mediahighway middleware and an electronic programme guide. DEN said it

wanted to drive digitisation in the cable distribution system and the NDS solutions

were expected to provide DEN with the flexibility to introduce future

enhancements including interactive applications and additional advanced services

for viewers. The TRAI in its draft recommendations to restructure cable television

services issued in 2008 proposed a separate licensing framework for local cable

operators and multi system operators. India’s cable television industry, which

covered an estimated 72 million households at the end of 2007, was facing

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challenges of technology, resources and fragmented distribution, leading the

regulator to examine possibilities of restructuring.

The draft recommendations included an entry fee for different areas of operations,

a five-year licence fee and encouragement of advanced transmission technology.

There has also been fierce competition with conventional cable TV operators from

those service providers using advanced distribution technologies like DTH, Head

end in the sky (HITS) and IPTV. Dish TV India and Tata Sky have both been

competing in India’s DTH market, with mobile phone operators Bharti Airtel and

Reliance Communications also planning to enter the market. The TRAI, which said

that the absence of a licensing and regulation framework could slow future

development, was also encouraging a voluntary CAS which would allow viewers to

select pay channels.

Digitalisation of Cable TV

The TRAI released a set of recommendations on digitalisation of cable TV in 2005.

The recommendations were issued after a detailed process of consultation with

stakeholders. The recommendations provided for a national plan for digitalisation

whose first phase was set to commence in 2006 and end in 2010 to coincide with

the Commonwealth Games. The expansion of digital services in the country was to

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be adopted to help to provide the public with better quality pictures as well as the

ability to watch more channels. With digitalisation of cable television having

already started in the country in a limited way, the policies proposed were

expected to give momentum to the process as well as providing a framework for

regulation.

The TRAI recommendations provided for a voluntary approach to digitalisation on

behalf of both the operators and the consumers. During the first phase (2006-

2010), it was proposed that digital services be made available in all cities/urban

areas with a population of one million plus. In all these cities the existing analogue

service would continue simultaneously. Digital services had already commenced in

the five cities of Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Pune and Bangalore. The authority had

suggested that the government should recommend to the states that the proceeds

of the entertainment tax should be used for an intensive consumer education

program during the 2006-2010 period.

The recommendations also provided for a framework for licensing. This was to

involve automatic licensing for existing operators and a non-exclusive automatic

licensing process for new operators subject to compliance with certain minimum

conditions. This licensing framework would help in future regulation as well as in

administering the incentives proposed in the recommendations. The

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recommendations also envisaged the development of digital decoders whose

adoption would, however, be voluntary and left to the operators and consumers to

decide upon.

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Satellite TV

Direct-to-Home (DTH) TV

DTH subscribers – 2008 – 2012

Apart from a free DTH service offered by Doordarshan, there were six private DTH

operators licensed to provide service to the market.

Operators issued DTH licences – March 2012

By 2011 the DTH operators had a combined subscriber base totalling 44.2 million.

The number of private satellite TV channels registered with the Ministry of

Information and Broadcasting (MIB) as of March 2012 was 831.

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Regulatory environment

DTH broadcasting from within India was banned in 1996. This was despite a court

ruling in the same year that ended decades of government control of the airwaves

in India. The rulings stated that airwaves were public property and that the free

flow of information was covered by a constitution guaranteeing the right to free

speech. In the past, operators had beamed directly to the home in an effort to avoid

the cable operators. As a result hundreds of satellite dishes had sprung up on

homes, but the 1996 ruling rendered these dishes illegal. In a 1996 DoT

notification, the possession of equipment to transmit and receive signals above

4800MHz (that included the Ku band used to transmit DTH signals) was made

illegal. This effectively thwarted attempts by companies such as Star TV, which was

set to launch a DTH service in 1997. No private company was allowed to operate a

DTH service until the Broadcast Bill was passed.

Throughout 2000 there was much debate on the government’s policy on

convergence and DTH broadcasting. The policy was ‘being reworked’ by the MIB.

When introduced, the bill was expected to outline a new telecom-IT convergence

legislative framework to replace the Indian Telegraph Act 1885, as well as

recommending whether there should be separate legislation for telecom,

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broadcasting, cable TV, Internet and satellite communication. The bill was also

expected to outline the broad parameters for DTH broadcasting.

The government gave its approval in 2000 for Ku-band DTH satellite TV

broadcasting. In early 2001, the government formally authorised DTH

broadcasting, setting down the conditions for its licensing.

The following eligibility criteria for applicants for DTH licences were to be applied:

the applicant company to be an Indian company registered under Indian

Company’s Act, 1956;

total foreign equity holding in the applicant company not to exceed 49%;

within the foreign equity, the Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) component

was not to exceed 20%;

the proportion of the paid up equity share capital to the total issued equity

capital of the Indian promoter Company, held or controlled by the foreign

investor, shall form part of the FDI limit of 20%;

the applicant company must have Indian Management Control with

majority representatives on the board as well as the Chief Executive of the

company being a resident Indian;

broadcasting companies and/or cable network companies shall not be

eligible to collectively own more than 20% of the total equity of the

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applicant company at any time during the licence period. Similarly, the

applicant company not to have more than 20% equity shares in a

broadcasting and/or cable network company;

the licensee shall be required to submit the equity distribution of the

company in the prescribed proforma once within one month of start of

every financial year.

There were to be no restrictions on the total number of DTH licences to be

awarded and licences were to be issued to any person who fulfilled the necessary

terms and conditions and subject also to security and technical clearances by the

government.

The DTH licence was to be valid for a period of 10 years from the date of issue.

However, the licence could be cancelled or suspended by the Licensor at any time

in the interest of the Union of India.

The licensee would be required to pay an annual fee equivalent to 10% of its gross

revenue as reflected in the audited accounts of the company for the particular

financial year, within one month of the end of that financial year. The licensee

would also pay the licence fee and royalty for the spectrum used as prescribed by

Wireless Planning & Coordination Authority (WPCA), under the DoT. The

Parliamentary Standing Committee on Information Technology said in 2002 that

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the government had been in an ‘unseemly and unnecessary hurry’ to allow DTH TV

services in India. It criticised the government for allowing DTH ‘without any in-

depth study’ and before establishing a regulatory framework, instead of leaving it

completely to the discretion of a service provider and market forces. The 10 year

DTH licence was questioned for being an ‘unusually long period’. The committee

said that monitoring needed to be increased and should not be restricted only to

the issues of security, morality and vertical monopoly given the fact that DTH

would be more powerful and more sensitive compared to cable TV. DTH was also

criticised for being expensive. The committee felt that before allowing DTH, the

government should have waited till the enactment of the Communications

Convergence Bill.

Bharti Airtel was set to launch its DTH satellite television broadcast operations in

2008 as it moved to strengthen its non-mobile operations. The company said it

was initially launching services in 62 cities in the first phase of its roll-out. It

believed that the DTH segment in India offered immense growth potential.

Analysts expected non-wireless operations such as DTH and Internet television to

sustain Bharti Airtel’s revenue levels as growth in the wireless segment slowed

down due to more competition, falling tariffs and higher mobile penetration.

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By 2008 the DTH market in India was still in the early stages of its development

with only 3% penetration and 7.5 million customers out of 225 million potential

customers (households), but it was expected to grow to four times that size over

the next five years. The growth rate in 2008 had been running at 80% per annum,

while five DTH players, including Reliance Communications Ltd, Dish TV India Ltd.

and privately owned Tata Sky, part of the Tata Group, competed for subscribers. By

end-2009 the TRAI was reporting 19.1 million DTH customers.

As already noted, the TRAI reported that there were 142 satellite-based pay TV

channels in operation by December 2009 and that they were being

broadcast/distributed by 23 broadcasters or their distributors.

Market developments

The DoT and the Wireless Planning Commission (WPC) approved a proposal by a

Tata-Star partnership in 2005 to provide DTH digital television services. Prior to

this, Tata-Star had signed an agreement with the Indian Space Research

Organisation (ISRO) to lease all twelve Ku-band transponders on the INSAT-4A

satellite. The satellite deal would enable the transmission of around 150 digital

channels to homes across India, including those in the most remote regions. The

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planned DTH service was set to become the country’s largest digital TV platform,

offering consumers a wide array of programming choices and interactive features.

Prior to receiving clearance from the telecoms authorities, the INR16 billion

(US$347 million) project was approved by the MIB. Tata-Star was established in

2004 with the Tata Group holding 80% and the Star Group, News Corp’s Asian TV

subsidiary, holding 20%. The company structure conformed to the limits India has

placed on the amount of foreign investment permitted in broadcast and other

media sectors.

NDS, a provider of technology solutions for digital pay TV, announced that its end-

to-end solutions have been chosen by Tata Sky in 2006 for the launch of the

operator’s DTH pay TV service in India. The Tata Sky launch was scheduled for

mid-2006. The NDS Video Guard conditional access solution provided broadcast

security and was expected to enable Tata Sky to offer multiple programming and

pricing packages.

In early 2006, DTH service provider Dish TV announced its Dish Freedom Package.

The plan was to allow viewers to watch over 40 channels in digital quality without

having to incur monthly subscription fees. The company said that customers who

wished to access more channels have the option of upgrading their package to the

next entertainment level for a nominal subscription cost.

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Tata Sky was launched as a DTH satellite TV service in 300 cities across India in

2006. The project had been plagued by delays. First there was a long wait for

government approval and then legal wrangles over directives requiring rival TV

networks to carry each others’ channels on their respective platforms. The launch

was to see Tata Sky become the third player to enter the DTH market, following

Zee Telefilms’ Dish TV and Doordarshan’s DD Direct Plus. The latter offered

subscription-free viewing. By mid-2006 DD Direct Plus had an estimated two

million subscribers and Dish TV had 1.25 million.

Tata Sky said it had confidence in the enormous potential of the Indian market,

noting that cable and satellite had penetrated over 60 million of the country’s 110

million TV households and a further 110 million homes did not yet have

television. Industry analysts were predicting the number of DTH subscribers could

grow from around 3.5 million in mid-2006 to 10 million by 2010. As well as

competition between themselves, India’s DTH operators faced the challenge of

attracting customers away from cable TV operators. They held an initial advantage

in being able to offer digital-quality transmissions while many cable operators had

been struggling to upgrade their analogue systems. Cable operators would also be

faced with the costly requirement in major cities of delivering service via digital

STBs.

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It was reported in the meantime that a number of other players planned to enter

the DTH market. However, one of them, the Chennai-based Sun Network, suffered

a setback. It had leased seven transponders on an Indian satellite which crashed

soon after launch causing a major delay in the start of Sun’s DTH venture. In 2007

Irdeto, a provider of content security for digital TV, IPTV and mobile networks,

signed an agreement with Sun Direct TV to protect Sun TV’s DTH service. Sun TV

was already running direct-to-operator and cable TV systems in southern India

utilising Irdeto’s security technology. It had opted to employ Irdeto’s PIsys

conditional access solution to secure the launch of its DTH pay TV platform. Sun

Direct TV had been set to introduce its DTH pay TV network following the launch

of a new INSAT satellite by the Indian Space Research Organisation in late 2007.

Sun Direct TV was set to use Irdeto’s conditional access system to manage content

and revenues in its satellite broadcasting venture and had placed an initial order

for 500,000 Irdeto smart cards as part of that system.

Tandberg Television, part of the Ericsson Group, announced in 2007 that Bharti

Telemedia, a subsidiary of Bharti Airtel, had chosen its IP head-end for the launch

of a DTH satellite TV service. Bharti Telemedia’s DTH system was to use a range of

Tandberg Television solutions. The system was said to be one of the first satellite

DTH platforms in the world to benefit from the compression efficiencies of

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standard definition MPEG-4 AVC, increasing transponder capacity and potentially

doubling the number of available channels. The DTH service was to be launched

nationally across India and Bharti was setting up infrastructure near Gurgaon for

the purpose of up-linking and broadcast.

Bharti Airtel also signed up NDS in 2007 to deliver a suite of digital broadcasting

solutions for the launch of its DTH satellite service. Bharti Airtel had earlier

announced that the MIB had granted the company a Letter of Intent (LoI) licensing

the DTH platform. The solution NDS was set to provide Bharti Airtel included

VideoGuard conditional access, MediaHighway middleware and a customised

Electronic Program Guide (EPG).

Sun Direct TV contracted OpenTV in 2007 to provide an end-to-end solution for its

DTH television service. Sun Direct TV was also being provided with a collection of

applications including EPG and multi-angle interactive news. The broadcaster said

it expected to use programming from multiple broadcasters and deploy MPEG-4

based technology to provide a nationwide service with its main focus on Southern

India.

In 2008 Sun Direct TV deployed Harmonic’s digital video solutions for what it

called India’s first MPEG-4 AVC (H.264) DTH broadcast service in southern India.

The end-to-end solution included latest generation DiviCom Electra encoders,

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DiviTrackIP statistical multiplexing, the ProStream 8000 digital mosaic solution

and NMX Digital Service Manager. The Sun Direct TV service was launched in early

2008 with 120 standard definition (SD) channels, the operator announcing plans

to add high definition (HD) video to the service. The Electra encoders were used on

the system to provide better video quality. The ProStream 8000 digital mosaic

solution was being used by Sun Direct TV to add digital audio channels to its DTH

line-up.

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Major cable and pay TV operators

Doordarshan

Doordarshan (DD) has been positioning itself to counter the commercial threat of

foreign investors increasing their control over Indian media. The company

reorganised its six basic cable-channels into 10 regional networks dedicated to

different languages and simplified its transponder situation from 17 transponders

on three satellites, to relaying all signals from the INSAT-2B satellite. The PAS-4

satellite had also been commissioned to transmit DD’s domestic and regional

programs as well as the Doordarshan International (DDI) channel.

To enhance its programming line-up, DD teamed up with a number of western

media companies. It had also received approval to distribute CNN International

(CNNI). The news channel was distributing international news and current affairs

24 hours a day via the INSAT 2B satellite, including several hours daily of CNN. The

news network was previously only able to distribute to hotels with dishes that

could receive its signals. CNNI was the first non-Indian news channel to broadcast.

The agreement with Turner Broadcasting (which owns CNN) also meant DD

supplied 90 minutes of Indian news on CNNI. A new addition included The Family

Channel, from International Family Entertainment, launched on the INSAT satellite

system. DD also launched its first pay TV channel, Doordarshan Sports.

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Doordarshan had leased transponders on the following satellites:

INSAT-2E;

INSAT-2DT;

INSAT-2B;

INSAT-2C;

PAS-10;

ThaiCom.

Asianet Communications

Started in 1993, Asianet Satellite Communications Pvt Ltd was the largest cable

network services company in the state of Kerala. Operating from over 40 centres

throughout Kerala, the network reached over 3 million homes and establishments.

Carrying up to 70 channels, Asianet’s cable network included five exclusively-

owned channels that were only cable-cast over its network, namely Asianet Cable

Vision (ACV, a news, events and movie channel), Jukebox (interactive video music

channel), Medley (interactive video music channel), Swathi (audio music channel),

Info (network information channel) and Jyothi (education channel).

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Asianet also provided Internet services in Kerala and has set up its own

International Satellite Gateways at Trivandrum and Cochin. Asianet Internet

Service had been available in Trivandrum and Cochin since 2000 and was

expanded to other cities in 2001. The company also became involved in the

provision of broadband network services. Asianet’s ISP operations had helped

create a synergy with its Cable TV (CATV) services. Ongoing network upgrades to

Hybrid Fibre Coax (HFC) would enable the company to offer up to 500 channels in

the future and open up new prospects in the form of web TV and interactive

multimedia services.

Hinduja Group (InCableNet)

The Hinduja group’s subsidiary, IndusInd Media and Communications Ltd, had

been providing cable TV services in 15 cities in India, and reached around 4.5

million homes at end-2000 through its InCableNet service. Hinduja acquired 100

local cable franchises in the Mumbai area as part of a US$60 million plan to

consolidate and dominate the New Delhi and Mumbai markets and give the group a

32-channel cable TV system. Hindujas had also expanded and upgraded its cable

network to HFC cable.

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Star TV

Star TV deployed its own digital compression system and the first of its pay

channels by hooking up with about 1,000 regional Indian cable operators – 100 in

each of the five metropolitan areas and an additional 500 throughout the country.

Imported decoders were being sold to operators. The company had also built up its

software package through its 49% acquisition of United Televisions of Mumbai.

The Cable Operators Federation of India (COFI) had failed to endorse Star TV’s Star

Movies subscription channel, citing overpricing and other issues.

India was one of the most successful early markets for Star TV, with annual

revenues of US$600 million back in 2000. Star TV rose rapidly in prominence in

2000, on the back of very successful programming in the local Hindi language.

Game shows were popular, especially one – Kaun Banega Crorepati – which

rescued a struggling network and catapulted its host Amitabh Bachchan back to

superstar status.

Star gained approval to set up a wholly owned subsidiary in India, establishing a

cable TV company and programming base. It rapidly built up its customer base and

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by mid-2001 was seriously challenging Zee TV for market share. The company was

not however being allowed to uplink from India.

Star pulled out of its planned ISkyB DTH project in 1999, cancelling a 10-year

contract for seven Ku-band transponders on PanAmSat’s PAS-4 satellite, citing the

unfriendly regulatory environment for DTH services.

In 2002, Star TV announced that it was considering an Initial Public Offering (IPO)

of its Indian subsidiary in order to raise funds for expansion, including a proposed

new push into DTH. The company expected to offer about 10% of equity to the

public.

The Tata group and Star Group launched a DTH television venture in India in 2006.

Company officials advised that Tata Sky, which was set to offer a mix of Hindi,

English and regional language channels, was being launched simultaneously across

300 cities and towns. Subscribers were to pay a monthly subscription after a one-

off payment for a STB. Subscriber were to be offered 100 channels comprising a

mix of news, sports, movies, entertainment and children’s programs. The company

said that 10,000 Tata Sky dealers were about to begin marketing the digital

broadcasting service. Tata held an 80% stake in the joint venture while the

remaining 20% was held by Star. Unofficial reports claimed that the initial

combined investment was around US$86.9 million.

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Zee Telefilms Limited (SitiCable)

India’s top private broadcaster, content provider and cable distributor, Hindi pay

TV operator Zee Telefilms Limited (ZTL) had successfully expanded its cable

network around the country by buying up other networks as well as trialling new

technology in order to keep up with its competitors. Zee’s second channel Zee

Cinema went to air in 1996 on the AsiaSat 1 satellite along with a third channel EL

TV. SitiCable, India’s largest MSO had about 5 million subscribers in 50 cities by

end-2001.

SitiCable had progressively invested US$550 million over a three year period to

build a fibre optic backbone spanning 26 cities and also installing STBs in

subscriber homes to provide programming tiers. At the same time work on its HFC

network begun in New Delhi, Jabalpur and Calcutta.

Star TV merged its joint-venture assets Zee TV, Zee News, Zee Cinema and SitiCable

into ZTL in 1999. Following the merger and the buy-out of Star’s 50% shareholding

in ATL, Zee Telefilms began creating gateways and portals on the Internet, as well

as establishing new brands for its various businesses. ZTL launched three new

English language channels in 2001, including a news channel − Asian News

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Network – in competition with Star TV. Zee negotiated transponder space on

AsiaSat 3F for the new channels.

A subsidiary company, Zee Interactive Learning Systems, was launched in 1999,

offering university courses through iTV and pay channels, selling courses through

the Internet and offering videos, books and software to subscribers. By mid-2001,

Zee had started to lose its market share to STAR.

The Zee group had a reach of around 140 million people in more than 25 million

homes in India and another 70 million viewers in 15 million homes overseas.

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Free-to-Air TV

Doordarshan

Founded in 1959, Doordarshan, the Indian National Television Network, laid claim

to being one of the largest broadcasting organisations in the world. Doordarshan

has been operating 21 channels, together with a network of over 1,300

transmitters and broadcasts around 1,500 hours of programs weekly. The

operator also had 56 program production centres. Doordarshan’s terrestrial

signals could reach more than 88% of the country’s population.

The primary service, DD-1, reached the largest number of people (43% of the

population) while the Metro entertainment channel, DD-2, targeted urban viewers.

About 69% of urban population and 33% of the rural population watch DD-1.

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