DTH Market Zooming Ahead in India

There have been a lot of recent developments in the DTH segment in India. TRAI (Telecom Regulatory Authority of India) supported the Government’s decision to reduce the licence fee for DTH operators from 10 per cent to 6 per cent of gross revenues.

The current and future DTH operators such as Tata Sky, Reliance Big TV, Dish TV etc. welcomed the move, stating that this will help them lessen their losses due to a highly competitive market. Although the operators choose not to pass on any of these benefits to the consumers.

Apart from reduction in the license fee, TRAI has recommended a hike in foreign direct investment (FDI) from 49% to 74% which will help operators to raise capital for equipment and infrastructure.

TRAI also stated that the rates of bouquets and a la carte (standalone) pay channels, on any DTH platform, should not exceed 50% of the rates charged in the non-CAS or non-addressable TV homes.

Resources:

A larger bouquet for DTH subscribers

TRAI supports reduction in licence fee on DTH

Trai for 74% FDI cap in key broadcast services

TRAI for raising I&B foreign fund cap

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DTH Market in India

Big TV Aims 3 Million, DTH Sector to Rise

With the DTH subscribers in India expected to more than double from the current 16 million to over 32 million in two years, Reliance Big TV has set its sights firm on capturing a bigger share of the growth.

Big TV's major marketing initiative with allocation of over Rs 100 crore to improve brand visibility, special incentive programmes for the retail channel partners and improved ARPU (average revenue per user) is aimed at crossing three million subscribers by March 2010 from the current two million.

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DTH Market to See Growth, Profits Uncertain

The DTH market is expected to grow 57% by December this year as opposed to the same period last year, according to the latest projections made by Media Partners Asia (MPA), the international media research agency.

The five DTH operators, Big TV, Airtel Digital, Dish TV, Tata Sky and Sun Direct are expected to add six million new subscribers by the end of December, to take the overall subscriber base to over 17 million. But the report also pointed out that the DTH operators will face rising economic challenges.

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Big TV Pulls a Spoof on Airtel Digital TV

Even before Bharti Airtel's Digital TV was launched in the market last year, Big TV went one up in this DTH rivalry. Airtel Digital TV was running a teaser ad campaign prior to its launch.

The 12-second commercial shows animated characters dancing around and suddenly a sofa appears and the characters end with the punchline, "See you at home." It doesn't say anything else or indicate that its Airtel Digital TV ad. But Big TV guessed it right, and spoofed the ad.

Reliance ADAG used the same set up and punchline "See you at home," the only difference being that the ad showed Big TV logo and its features of 32 cinemas and 200+ channels.

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The DTH Price Wars have Begun

The increasing amount of DTH providers in the country and with new ones coming in, each one of them is trying to woo a customer data base, what better way to win over a customer by providing a cheap service.

Low price services are the mantra with Dish TV, Big TV and Tata Sky, lets take a look at what value these DTH players are offering you for your money. But are these offers good enough to lure you from your local cable operators lets take a look and see.

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A Comparison of India's DTH Providers

The DTH war is heating up with the launch of Big TV and several new entrants. Let's take a look at how each one of them - Dish TV, Tata Sky and Big TV are placed. Here's a comparison chart...

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Videocon's DTH Bigger than BIG TV?

Videocon, that plans on launching its DTH service by the end of October, will be the only Direct to Home provider that will manufacture their own set-top boxes and apart from that it will the next provider to offer MPEG-4 technology to its customers.

But what makes Videocon's service so great that it would compete with Big. They have taken six Ku-band transponders on SingTel's ST-1 satellite and are investing Rs 10 billion over two years.

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Reliance Complains over DTH Set-top Boxes

In its attempt to gain an edge over its competitors, Reliance Big TV has accused existing DTH operators - Tata Sky and Dish TV - of not complying with the latest set-top box technology and trying to block out from bringing the revised norms.

For instance - if you have Tata Sky and want to switch to Dish TV or vice versa, you would have to throw away your old set-top box and get a new one. This is because the STBs provided by these operators aren't interoperable.

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Dish TV to Provide MPEG 4 STBs, Not Service

Dish TV had announced that it will begin providing MPEG-4 set-top boxes soon after Reliance Big TV accused other DTH operators like Tata Sky and Dish TV of not complying with the latest set-top box technology and trying to block out from bringing the revised norms.

While Jawahar Goel, managing director, Dish TV, said, "MPEG 4 boxes are much more expensive and may put extra burden on the subscriber. Moreover, the MPEG 4 format is not in accordance with BIS (Bureau of Indian Standard) and the government’s regulations and, hence, is not interoperable with MPEG 2 boxes."

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Dish TV's Free STB Might Trigger Price War

Dish TV has broken their silence, after Reliance Big TV launched its underground marketing ploys to multiply its customer base. Dish TV decided to stop waiting for the official launch of Big TV to begin their aggressive marketing techniques.

Anjali Malhotra Nanda, vice president, marketing, Dish TV, said, "We have designed a high decibel campaign, starring brand ambassador Shahrukh Khan, to support the company’s new marketing initiative. Under the offer, a 12-month maxi package, for example, will now cost Dish’s consumers Rs 3,990 which is inclusive of subscription and 67 movies."

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DTH Market Zooming Ahead in India

TRAI (Telecom Regulatory Authority of India) supported the Government’s decision to reduce the licence fee for DTH operators from 10 per cent to 6 per cent of gross revenues.

The current and future DTH operators such as Tata Sky, Reliance Big TV, Dish TV etc. welcomed the move, stating that this will help them lessen their losses due to a highly competitive market. Although the operators choose not to pass on any of these benefits to the consumers.

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What is DTH?

DTH stands for Direct-To-Home, its a system that allows you to have a personal dish antenna how cable operators do, except its much smaller in size, the antenna can be seen on the top left corner of the blog.

This antenna can be fixed on your terrace and receives transmissions directly from a satellite, hence it is called as a direct to home service.

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Big TV Tie-ups

Digital TV to Showcase Big Magic Entertainment Channel

In a bid to expand its presence in the Hindi-speaking belt of the country - UP, MP, Bihar and Jharkhand - Reliance Digital TV has formed an alliance with the entertainment channel, Big Magic, part of the Reliance Broadcast Network. The new channel will replace Imagine TV, channel No 213, on Reliance Digital TV - thereby increasing its reach to an additional 4.5 mn digital homes.

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Reliance Digital TV & BIG RTL Crack Distribution Deal

In a first of its kind tie-up for the company, Reliance Digital TV announced their association with BIG RTL, the joint venture between Reliance Broadcast Network and the RTL Group, as the distributors of Big RTL's latest offerings - a reality channel and an action entertainment channel.

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Digital TV to Sell 49% Stake to Foreign Investors

Following the imminent hike in foreign direct investment (FDI) cap in DTH to 74 per cent, Reliance Digital TV (formerly known as Big TV) is looking to forge an oversees alliance by selling up to 49 per cent stake in its DTH venture.

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Reliance Digital TV Looking to Partner with Indian Railways

No longer will Reliance Digital TV be only part of your house, soon you may find Big Tv embedded in your train seat or in your SUV. Reliance Digital TV has capability to provide services in cars, buses and trains. The company is keen to evaluate all tenders in this regard, including that of the Indian Railways.

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Digital TV to offer Star India's Asli HD Channels

Reliance Digital TV (formerly known as Big TV) has tied up with Star India to show its bouquet of 5 Asli HD channels like Star Plus, Star Movies HD, Movies Now HD, Nat Geo HD and iConcerts HD. This is an addition to its existing bouquet of 250 channels available in full high-definition quality.

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Big TV to Offer Live Music Concerts in High Definition

Reliance Big TV is set to introduce a new live music service at the click of a button on its Subscriber Video on Demand (SVoD) platform.

The DTH operator in association with Transmedia is bringing iConcerts, featuring over 1000 premium concerts and live performances from variety of genres in standard and high definition format.

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Big TV Offers Free HD DVR with Samsung LED TVs

In its bid to promote the new high-definition digital video recorder (HD DVR), Reliance Big TV has joined hands with Samsung India, to provide this new service free on purchase of Samsung LED TV range.

Customers can also avail of two months of free silver pack subscription along with one HD channel without any installation or activation fee.

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Big CBS Networks to Hit India

Reliance Big Tv and Cbs Networks, have joined hands to provide an equally owned joint venture, christened, Big CBS Networks. Big CSB Network is all set to launch a series of English entertainment channels that are customized for the Indian Audience.

The newly formed venture will launch three new English channels.

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Big TV Integrated under New Firm, Reliance Digicom

Reliance recently acquired Digicable, the cable television service provider, in an all stock deal, to form a new firm - Reliance Digicom. Big TV, IPTV and Reliance broadband services will be merged with Digicable.

The new entity, claimed to be the world's fifth largest cable television operator, will start with a subscriber base of 11 million homes.

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LG TVs Bundled with Free Big TV Connection

Reliance Big TV has inked a deal with LG Electronics to provide customers with Big TV connection bundled with a 1-month free silver pack on purchase of select LG colour televisions.

However, the customers will have to pay Rs 399 as installation charges. This offer is launched across various states and is valid till June 30, 2010.

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Big TV Joins Hands with Ezeego1 to Offer Travel Discounts

In its bid to gain visibility, Big TV is targeting newer markets with its aggressive approach. The company tied up with Ezeego1.com to offer its customers discounts on holiday packages, international air tickets and DTH connections.

Big TV subscribers will get an additional 10% discount on domestic and international hotels and holiday packages from Ezeego1.

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Big TV, Indiagames Tie-up Launches iGames

Taking a step ahead on the DTH platform, Reliance Big TV has tied up with Indiagames, a subsidiary of UTV, to provide popular games available on PC, web and other gaming platforms to its DTH subscribers.

Most of the games will be provided by Indiagames' partner, Oberon Media, US-based casual games specialist. Branded 'iGames', this interactive gaming series will include Galapago, Solitaire, MOODiES, etc.

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Big TV to Monetise its Interactive Services

Reliance Big TV has partnered with NetworkPlay.in, multi-genre brand ad networks, to monetise all their interactive and video channel offerings. Big TV offers 23 pay-per view movie channels and a range of interactive zones like IAstro, IStock, ICooking, and ICare.

According to the company, advertisers will be roped in for video on-demand, electronic program guide (EPG) and interactive offerings of Big TV. Video on demand service will be monetised through TV commercials, similar to a commercial break on TV channels.

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Big TV Announces Year End Dhamaka

With the festive season around the corner, Reliance BIG TV has announced the year-end dhamaka for its customers. The scratch and win offer gives an opportunity to subscribers to win gifts like a free Big TV connection and discounts on installation of BIG TV. The offer is valid till December 31st, 2009.

Apart from this a major development that can give a boost to BIG TV's popularity was the strategic marketing alliance with Fox Star Studios for the India release of James Cameron’s Avatar.

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Big TV, Oxigen Tie-up for More Recharge Options

In a bid to enhance its customer service experience, Big TV has tied up with Oxigen, the single point recharge services in India, to offer its subscribers an option to recharge from Oxigen outlets across the country.

Subscribers can now make payments through credit cards, debit cards, internet banking, IVR, mobile mode payment (SMS) or by calling the toll free number 1800-200-9002.

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Big TV in Talks with Carlyle & Providence for Funds

Further to Big TV's talks to sell stakes to private equity firms, Carlyle Group and Providence Equity have emerged as the front runners to clinch the deal.

According to reports, Deutsche Bank has been authorised to facilitate the deal and Big TV is looking to divest about 20% of which 10% will be sold now for around US$ 50-75 million. A senior official from Reliance said that Big TV needed between Rs 1500 to Rs 2000 crore for its expansion purpose.

Big TV to Tie-up with Warner Bros, Fox Channels

Big TV is certainly going global. Reliance is slated to finalise deals with
Fox, Warner Brothers and Korean Broadcasting. This move is in line with Big TV's strategy to increase the number of channels from 200 to 400.

Once the agreement is inked, Big TV will introduce five global channels of Fox and one global channel each of Warner Brothers and Korean Broadcasting. The channels include are Fox Adventure, Fox Crime, Fox FX, Fox History, Nat Geo Music, Warners WB Movies and KBS World.

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Big TV to Sell 49% Stake to Private Firms

Following footsteps of other DTH players, Reliance Big TV is planning to divest up to 49% stake to private equity companies and global DTH players. According to a business daily, several private equity companies like the Carlyle Group, Sequoia Capital, KKR and US-based DTH firm Direct TV are in talks with Big TV.

Reliance expects to raise around Rs 8000 crore from this deal, because the DTH market is highly competitive in India and to increase subscriber base one needs to have better and affordable pricing. The deal is expected to close this quarter.

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Big TV Launches iNews with CNN-IBN

With the elections round the corner, Big TV has launched interactive election special called iNEWS as part of its interactive services. The iNews feature will allow viewers to access current news and information, short text-based stories, headlines and ticker in a user-friendly interface.

This service is launched in association with news channel CNN-IBN and would be available to all Big TV subscribers. Through iNEWS, the viewers can watch news and navigate through an 8-window PIP mosaic of video feed options.

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Reliance and Thomson Tie-up for 300 HD Channels

Reliance Big TV has tied up with Thomson, a provider of video solutions, to launch 300 high-definition (HD) and standard definition (SD) channels and 30 radio channels in India.

Big TV will use the complete head end system from Thomson to launch the HD service and manage a hybrid distribution network of satellite direct to home (DTH) and IPTV over broadband. With this, Reliance is expected to optimize its distribution network to launch a large number of channels, ensure excellent quality of service, and reach more viewers.

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Big TV in Talks with BBC Entertainment

Big TV is making silent but steady moves in the background to gain not only channel strength but to provide a massive amount of varied content to its users. The essence of a successful DTH launch for Big TV will be to boast a huge amount of channels that will draw a line, dividing itself from the other DTH players in the market.

To boost this effort Big TV chose a higher level of compression that's the Mpeg-4, what this means is, in the same amount of Bandwidth Big TV will be able to provide more channels as compared to the existing DTH players in the market.

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Big TV Reaches for the Sky with Jet

Reliance Big TV is now in talks with Jet Airways to offer live feed of channels to its passengers. According to industry sources, Reliance ADAG would be partnering with an Israel-based technology company for the same.

That will replace Jet's current in-flight entertainment system JetScreen, which offers video on demand on its domestic and international flights.

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Big Broadcasting Ties up with AsiaSat

Reliance ADAG tied up with AsiaSat to transmit its TV channels via their satellites. AsiaSat 3S is supposedly one of Asia's premium satellite broadcasting companies. Big TV DTH will be using the companies C-brand transponder to deliver its expanding range of channels to its subscribers.

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