Reliance Big TV

Showing posts with label Big TV Tie-ups. Show all posts

Digital TV to Showcase Big Magic Channel

Posted by Bhavika Wednesday, May 23, 2012 at Wednesday, May 23, 2012

Digital TV to Showcase Big Magic Hindi 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.

This also marks the beginning of a slew of digital alliances that Big Magic is in the process of closing. The partnership with Reliance Digital TV will be promoted aggressively on BIG MAGIC as well as on 92.7 BIG FM. It will also be featured on BIG MAGIC’s recent campaign - ‘100% UP Wale/100% MP Wale’.

Speaking on this occasion, Ashutosh Srivastava, Business Head, Reliance Digital TV, said, "By adding BIG MAGIC to our bouquet, we now offer the unique regional variety entertainment content like movies and daily soaps for our subscribers from the Hindi speaking states of UP, MP, Bihar and Jharkhand directly in the comfort of their homes."

Big Magic is currently being distributed across all cable operators like DEN, Digicable, WWIL, Hathway, Darsh and Maurya amongst others in the states of UP, MP and Bihar, reaching approximately 10 million households in the heartland.

Reliance Digital TV & BIG RTL Crack Distribution Deal

Posted by Sagar Juneja Friday, March 16, 2012 at Friday, March 16, 2012

Reliance Digital TV and 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.

The tie-up will provide BIG RTL the reach it needs to provide world-class programming to maximum audiences in the country, while Reliance Digital TV can provide its 30 lakh subscribers with top-rated international TV shows.

Reliance Broadcast Network currently offers a bouquet of 7 channels, and its joint venture with RTL and subsequent tie-up with Reliance Digital TV is all set to bring them one step closer to bridging the apparent gap in entertainment programming in India.

Big RTL also recently launched the 'Choose Your Set-Top-Box Wisely' campaign designed to raise awareness among consumers to choose the right set top boxes and enabling operators to build their brand equity.

Digital TV to Sell 49% Stake to Foreign Investors

Posted by Bhavika Monday, September 12, 2011 at Monday, September 12, 2011

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. According to reports, if the deal goes through, it will raise Rs 2,000-2,500 crore.

Prospective buyers include overseas private equity investors, broadcast and cable companies like Comcast Corporation, the largest cable operator, home Internet service provider and the fourth largest home telephone service provider in the US.

Digital TV is the only DTH provider that doesn't have a foreign stake, and is now looking for funds to more than double its subscriber base from around 4 million in the next 12 to 18 months.

Tata Sky has STAR Group and Singapore-based PE firm Temasek as foreign investors. Sun Direct has partnered with Malaysia's Astro while Dish TV and Airtel Digital TV too have overseas partners.

Sanjay Behl, CEO, Reliance DTH and IPTV, said, "DTH is a capital-intensive industry that requires substantial investment. Our four-screen strategy is to dominate mobile, computers, television and cinema, in which we already have significant presence. Reliance Digital TV has among the best ARPU in the industry and higher percentage of active subscriber base which will only become better going forward."

Reliance Digital TV's Special Offer for Kerala

Posted by Bhavika Sunday, August 28, 2011 at Sunday, August 28, 2011

Reliance Digital TV special discount offer for Kerala

Reliance Digital TV has announced a special offer on the festive season of Onam for its customers in Kerala. Through its 'Moonu Varangal' offer, new subscribers on the lookout for a DTH connection can purchase Reliance Digital TV's special entry pack starting at Rs 1,590 with free installation and 6 months free viewing of Value Sports Pack.

The customers also get free unlimited viewing of Malayalam blockbusters till September 30th, 2011 and earn loyalty points for every rupee spent. Even the existing subscribers of Kerala can avail of the loyalty program.

With this program, subscribers can accumulate points for every rupee spent with Digital TV and redeem their points to choose from a wide range of channel packages and value-added services.

For new TV buyers, Reliance Digital TV has tied up with MIRC Electronics, makers of the Onida consumer durables, to offer a new connection for just Rs 899 with any Onida HD ready LCD TV model with 1 month free viewing of 'Silver Plus' pack.

Customers purchasing any of Onida’s Full HD LCD/LED TV model can now enjoy over 250 High Definition channels with Reliance Digital TV's HD box for Rs 1,199 with free subscription for one month of 'Diamond Pack+2 HD channels'. This special deal is valid only in the state of Kerala till September 15th, 2011.

Big TV to Offer Live Music Concerts in High Definition

Posted by Bhavika Friday, November 12, 2010 at Friday, November 12, 2010

big tv introduces live music service, iconcerts in high definition format

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 (Santana, Dire Straits, Usher, Lady Gaga etc.) and live performances from variety of genres in standard and high definition format.

This makes Big TV the only operator to introduce this music service in India.

Sanjay Behl, CEO, Reliance Big TV said, "Big TV subscribers will now be able to enjoy high-quality international concerts at the click of a button. Introduction of iConcerts is yet another step in enriching our bouquet of offerings for the Indian market."

Big TV Offers Free HD DVR with Samsung LED TVs

Posted by Bhavika Sunday, August 29, 2010 at Sunday, August 29, 2010

big tv offers free dvr with samsung led tv

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. The offer is available across India till September 15, 2010.

While recently Big TV also slashed the price of the HD DVR offering to Rs 4990 from the earlier launch price of Rs 7490 in May.

Speaking on the new offer, Umesh Rao, senior vice president, Reliance BIG TV said, "Our partnership with Samsung will take the television viewing experience to its next level. With HD transmission and digital video recording capability from Reliance BIG TV set top box, Samsung LED TV customers are set for a veritable treat in their living rooms."

Big CBS Networks to Hit India

Posted by Clyde Friday, August 20, 2010 at Friday, August 20, 2010

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, that will be branded BIG CBS Prime that falls under the premium English general entertainment, while the next BIG CBS Spark, will be the countries first English youth channel and last but not the least BIG CBS Love, India's first English entertainment channel dedicated to the fairer sex.

The channels will begin to premier in the fourth quarter of 2010 with most of the content from the CBS catalogue. The Indian audience can expect to see programs like, Hawaii Five-0, the NCIS franchises, America’s Next Top Model, Survivor, 90210, Star Trek: The Next Generation, Frasier and Entertainment Tonight.

Tarun Katial, chief executive officer, Reliance Broadcast Network, said, "This is truly a landmark moment not just for us but the entire Reliance ADA Group. We are confident that our deep understanding of the Indian consumer's entertainment requirement and advertiser needs, coupled with CBS' reputation for creating superior content, will offer unmatched and pioneering entertainment to audiences in India."

Big TV Integrated under New Firm, Reliance Digicom

Posted by Bhavika Monday, July 5, 2010 at Monday, July 05, 2010

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.

Speaking on this occasion, Anil Ambani, Reliance Communications, chairman said, "The Digital TV and broadband space is poised for similar explosive growth in the years ahead. With this game-changing move, we hope to lead the next revolution in digital home entertainment in India by offering a world-class TV experience and ultra high-speed broadband capability to a billion people."

This acquisition will offer a wider reach to Big TV that is aiming to add five million new customers every year, along with access to ground digital cable distribution network to compliment Big TV's satellite distribution.

LG TVs Bundled with Free Big TV Connection

Posted by Bhavika Saturday, June 5, 2010 at Saturday, June 05, 2010

big tv connection with lg television offer

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 Karnataka, Rajasthan, Punjab, Bihar, Jammu and Kashmir, Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, Uttaranchal, Himachal Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Haryana, and is valid till June 30, 2010.

Umesh Rao, senior vice president, Reliance BIG TV, said, "We are excited about this partnership that brings in a dramatic scaling of reach and unprecedented value proposition for LG customers. We will aggressively pursue cross-category alliances to reach out to a broader spectrum of end users."

Also in line with the launch of its high-definition set-top box (STB) with digital video recorder (DVR), Big TV is conducting in-shop display campaign in retail outlets across 100 cities. This includes demonstration units, array of merchandising aids and trained in-shop promoters who will communicate the features and benefits of its high-definition STB and DVR.

Big TV Joins Hands with Ezeego1 to Offer Travel Discounts

Posted by Bhavika Tuesday, March 2, 2010 at Tuesday, March 02, 2010

ezeego1 ties up with big tv to offer discounts on holiday packages

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. Similarly, travelers booking an international or domestic package on the travel portal get Rs 1000 off on BIG TV connection or if they book an international air ticket they can avail a discount of Rs 600 on the same.

In addition to these discounts BIG TV is also offering a three months silver pack subscription free. This offer is valid up till March 20th, 2010.

Apart from the travel segment, Big TV is also targeting regional content viewers in Maharashtra. Recently Big TV announced a new Marathi package consisting four Marathi channels - ETV Marathi, Zee Marathi, Star Pravah and Zee Talkies - for a monthly subscription of Rs 5 only if selected as a first language. Also added to the base packs are host of Marathi channels like IBN Lokmat, Star Majha, DD Sahayadri and Mi Marathi.

Big TV has bagged rights of late Marathi playwright, Pu la Deshpande’s stage plays, and also acquired rights of Marathi films such as Samantar, Paandhar, Housefull, Zapatlela, Aaplee Mansaa. The films will be priced at Rs 50 for a 24-hour view pass.

The company is investing nearly Rs 5 crore in its Marathi content showcase, considering that Maharashtra comprises nearly 20% of its overall customer base.

Big TV, Indiagames Tie-up Launches iGames

Posted by Bhavika Thursday, January 28, 2010 at Thursday, January 28, 2010

big tv indiagames tie up to launch interactive games or 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 (with 4 different versions including Classic, FreeCell, Pyramid and Towers), MOODiES, Space MOODiES, Air Hockey, Darts and various licensed third-party games.

Sanjay Behl, CEO, Reliance Big TV said, "Our strategic tie-up with Indiagames signifies our focus to further enhance and monetize our VAS (value-added services) capabilities towards a profitable growth in the DTH business."

Currently, Big TV has range of free interactive services like iCooking, iAstro, iStock, iCricket, iNews and the introduction of iGames will further boost their VAS offerings. There are also plans to introduce local games like T20 cricket and Bollywood games like Chance Pe Dance, Kaminey, Jodhaa Akbar etc.

Big TV generates less than 5% of its overall revenue from VAS, and with iGames it aims to double the VAS contribution to 10%. According to company it will contribute over Rs 1 billion in the next 5 years.

Apart from this, Big TV has also joined hands with real estate developers to market its service in residential building projects. The company has signed multi-dwelling units (MDU) agreement worth Rs 20 crore with developers like Kalpataru, Super Tech Limited, Arihant Builders and Elysium Builders. This will expand Big TV's reach to commercial areas, new townships and residential complexes where a single antenna will provide connection to multiple households.

Big TV to Monetise its Interactive Services

Posted by Bhavika Monday, December 28, 2009 at Monday, December 28, 2009

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.

Sanjay Behl, CEO, Reliance Big TV, said, "With the robust technological back end of Reliance ADAG and measurable digital TV viewing experience in over two million homes, Reliance BIG TV now has a platform for advertisers to latch onto, especially when they are looking for their brand communication to reach the right audience in the most cost-effective manner."

While for the interactive services, there are plans to offer advertising spots including static and dynamic banner ads, branded skins and sponsorships of entire interactive sections or channels.

The deal further implies that Networkplay will also create landing pages for the ads, so if a user clicks on a banner ad by pressing a red button available on the remote control, it will redirect users to a landing page, where more information about the advertised brand will be offered.

With competition increasing among DTH operators, each one is opting for new technology and ways to monetise its offerings. Many DTH players are also studying viewing habits of subscribers and they may ask for a higher premium from advertisers to share that information.

Audience Measurement and Analytics (aMap), a ratings agency, is close to inking a deal with Big TV. aMap will employ a proprietary format independent content identification technology which measures all types of interaction of a DTH subscriber with the television, be it digital broadcast, use of interactive service or time-shifted viewing.

Big TV Announces Year End Dhamaka

Posted by Bhavika Sunday, December 20, 2009 at Sunday, December 20, 2009

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. The tie-up allows Big TV to showcase exclusive interviews with Cameron and the stars of Avatar as well as videos of behind the scenes of the film.

Speaking on the launch of this offer and the recent development, Umesh Rao, senior vice-president, BIG TV said, "This limited period offer is to spread the festive cheer during Christmas and New Year. We plan to introduce a host of new content, offerings during this season and the tie-up with Avatar is one of our larger initiatives towards our goal."

This marketing alliance also provides a scratch card opportunity where customers can win a visit to the movie sets in New Zealand, trips to Malaysia, Goa and Avatar merchandise. Currently Big TV is running a 30-sec commercial promoting the film across leading channels.

Big TV, Oxigen Tie-up for More Recharge Options

Posted by Bhavika Wednesday, July 1, 2009 at Wednesday, July 01, 2009

Big TV and 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.

Big TV customers availing these easy recharge options will get an electronic 12-digit pin number from the retailer, that has to be punched in either through SMS or by calling the toll free number and following the IVR instructions. This will credit the value of the recharge voucher into their Reliance Big TV account.

Mahesh Prasad, President, Reliance Communications, said, "We have partnered with Oxigen, a premium recharge service provider, to enable our customers to enjoy uninterrupted television viewing."

Big TV has adopted the strategy similar to the telecom sector, in fact many of the DTH players, of providing recharge vouchers at various retail outlets. Oxigen also provides recharge vouchers of Tata Sky, Dish TV, Airtel and Sun Direct. Big TV has over 100,000 outlets spread across 10,000 towns including local grocery stores, gift stores, and utility stores.

Big TV in Talks with Carlyle & Providence for Funds

Posted by Bhavika Monday, June 29, 2009 at Monday, June 29, 2009

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.

While Government norms allow 49% foreign investment in DTH, it restricts FDI in a DTH operator at 20%, so Big TV is most likely to dilute its equity in stages.

Big TV is on an expansion spree. The company is also in talks with general entertainment channels such as Colors, Star Plus, Sony and Zee TV to acquire broadcast rights for some of their popular television shows.

Also in the offing is an aggressive ad campaign across TV, print, online and radio stations. Currently, Big TV has around 1.8 million subscribers, and is the third biggest player in the DTH market, after Dish TV and Tata Sky.

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

Posted by Bhavika Thursday, May 7, 2009 at Thursday, May 07, 2009

Big TV ties up with Warner Bros, Fox and Korean Broadcasting

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.

KBS is Korea's flagship public service broadcaster with two domestic terrestrial networks that provides over 15 hours of programmes a day with English subtitles.

In April Reliance announced its decision to divest up to 49% stake to private equity companies and global DTH players. According to company official, "The company has commenced the process of identifying a partner and is likely to complete the exercise by end-June. The enterprise value of Big TV is pegged around $3 billion. A 49% stake dilution can get fresh infusion of over $1.6 billion."

Big TV to Sell 49% Stake to Private Firms

Posted by Bhavika Thursday, April 30, 2009 at Thursday, April 30, 2009

Big TV to sell stake to private equity 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.

Government norms allow 49% foreign investment in DTH, with a rider that the foreign direct investment (FDI) cannot exceed 20% within the overall 49% foreign investment cap.

Currently Big TV has around 1.8 million subscribers out of 12.5 million DTH customers in India, making them the second smallest DTH player in India. Dish TV and Tata Sky are leading at present with 5 million and 4 million subscribers respectively.

Big TV Launches iNews with CNN-IBN

Posted by Bhavika Tuesday, April 14, 2009 at Tuesday, April 14, 2009

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. Some of their other interactive services include iCooking (cuisine), iAstro (astrology) and iGames.

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. The user screen includes dedicated news and highlight feeds as well an access to sub genre-based text news stories, news headlines and tickers. Viewers can choose from eight windows including live feeds of CNN-IBN and IBN 7, top headlines, Lok Sabha 09 (dedicated feed for news and views on General Elections 2009), sports and weather.

Mahesh Prasad, president, Reliance Communications, "Reliance BIG TV has always been at the forefront of enhancing customer value through relevant and easy-to-use innovative product features. We are delighted on our partnership with CNN-IBN, with such topically relevant Election Special with interactivity through a 8-window mosaic framework. This will define a new paradigm of customer experience with quality content."

The launch of this new interactive service is way to attract new subscribers as TV sales go up during elections. Big TV aims to capture 40% market share in the next one year.

Big TV Tie-ups

Posted by Bhavika Wednesday, April 23, 2008 at Wednesday, April 23, 2008

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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