Videocon d2h teams up with GreenPeak Technologies

Videocon d2h, the fastest growing satellite operator in India, has teamed with GreenPeak silicon to deploy a large volume of ZigBee in India. ZigBee, which is a set of wireless protocols used for data transfer, will now be part of STBs offered by Videocon d2h.

Anil Khera, CEO of Videocon d2h, said, “We have selected GreenPeak for their experience in ZigBee and their highly supportive approach. GreenPeak has guided our design team during the complete integration project for introducing ZigBee and their engineers have supported us during all stages of the project: from RF training through integration, design, layout and optimization to mass volume production. And finally, GreenPeak’s FTS (functional test system) guarantees high quality in production readiness. Their silicon offers superior technology advantages and their support is outstanding.”

The new Videocon d2h STBs that will be deploying GreenPeak’s ZigBee will reportedly be much faster than the ones that are already in the market. Only in November Videocon d2h had decreased the prices of its HD STB offerings. The company is also reportedly in talks with other DTH players, Dish TV and Airtel Digital to enter into a joint venture.

TRAI releases paper on monopoly in cable

Even as LCOs are voicing their concerns over their future role in the television landscape in India, the broadcasting regulatory, Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), has released its recommendations on the ‘Monopoly/Market dominance in Cable TV services. The authority has addressed the power wielded by the MSOs in the country.

In the statement TRAI has mentioned, “Currently there are no restrictions on the area of operation and accumulation of interest in terms of market share in a city, district, state or country by MSOs. It has been observed in some states that a single entity has, over a period of time, acquired ‘control’ of several MSOs and LCOs, virtually monopolising cable TV distribution in that market. Cases of market dominance by MSOs have been reported at various forums.”

According to TRAI, it has recommended putting a cap of 50% on MSO stake in any state in the country. The regulator has gone onto mentioning that increasing monopoly is not in the best interests of the consumers at the end of the day. It has also raised the issue of how such monopolies could affect the quality of services provided as well as the pricing levied on the customers and also the growth of channel distribution market.

MTG denies Raduga TV sale

Modern Times Group (MTG) has issued a categorical denial that it is in talks to sell its 50% stake in the Russian DTH platform Raduga TV.

In a statement provided to Broadband TV News, Per Lorentz, group head of PR, MTG, said: “We are fully committed to Raduga and we are in no discussions about selling the asset”.

Earlier this week, Roskomnadzor announced that Raduga TV is operating without a licence and there are “substantial grounds” for initiating criminal proceedings against it.

Since then, the Russian media has carried reports that MTG is in talks with both Tricolor TV and Orion Express, the country’s two leading DTH platforms, about a possible sale.

Raduga TV was launched in 2009 and is jointly owned by MTG and Continental Media S.A.

MTG has had a strong involvement in Russia for many years.

Besides its 50% stake in Raduga TV, it is the largest shareholder in the national commercial broadcaster CTC Media.

A broad range of Viasat pay-TV channels are also distributed in the country.

Hungary revamps DTT service

The Hungarian pay-DTT platform MinDig TV Extra will see a number of important changes to its offer in the next few weeks.

The first of these, on December 1, will be the addition of the channel D1 to its Basic package, and the second, on December 20, M3 to its family package.

Then, on January 1, 2014, Super TV2 will replace PRO4 in the Family package, and Dorcel will move from the Family to Basic package and Private Spice will be discontinued.

M3 will be available without a subscription fee for all MinDig TV (FTA DTT) and MinDig TV Extra users between December 20 and January 5 next year.

Antenna Hungária, the operator of MinDig TV and MinDig TV Extra, says it will add more channels and more services to both platforms next spring.

Roadmap established for CI Plus 1.4

Plans to define operator use-cases and integration with TVs for the latest iteration of CI Plus are to be set out in the next few months.

At a meeting in Amsterdam SmarDTV’s Erik Gazzoni indicated the first operator trials are expected to get underway in the second half of 2014 and early 2015.

It is expected that new television sets supporting the new specification will appear on the market around 2015/16.

The announcement follows the ratification of the DVB-CI Plus specification in September.

Version 1.4 includes support for dual stream operation with a single module, intended for where there is a dual tuner PVR host, and support for DRM protected DRM delivered content.

Other new features include CI Plus browser extensions, additional URIs (Uniform Resource Identifiers), signaling and extensions and clarifications for module applications running on host middleware.

MTG platform faces legal action

Modern Times Group (MTG)-backed Russian DTH platform Raduga TV is facing the prospect of criminal proceedings initiated by the federal executive authority Roskomanadzor.

In a statement, Roskomnadzor says that Raduga TV is operating without a licence and there are “substantial grounds for a criminal case under Article 171 of the Criminal Code”.

It adds that this summer its territorial administration, during an audit of DalGeoKom, found a violation of Art 31 of the Russian media law, dated December 27, 1991.

The company had no broadcast licence to distribute satellite TV channels using limited radio frequency resources.

DalGeoKom was then given a month to eliminate violations but failed to comply. It was then fined R40,000 (€ ) after a ruling by the Moscow Arbitration Court on October 25.

Roskomanadzor now says that in accordance with the federal mass media law DalGeoKom should issue its own licence or enter into contracts with broadcasters.

At the same, it can only have a licence for satellite broadcasting using limited radio frequencies by winning a competition for such frequencies organized by the Federal Tender Broadcasting Commission.

Raduga TV was launched in 2009 and ended last year with 421,000 subscribers.

It is jointly owned and controlled by MTG and Continental Media S.A.

Triple-play revenues to reach $144 billion

Telcos and cable operators are investing heavily in their networks to upgrade their subscribers to bundles (triple-play or double-play).

These operators will reap the rewards of this investment as total subscription revenues (pay TV (including on-demand), broadband and fixed-line telephony) will increase by 65% from $124 billion in 2012 to $205 billion in 2018, according to the Triple-Play Forecasts report from Digital TV Research.

Covering 97 countries, triple-play subscription revenues will reach $144 billion in 2018, up by $80 billion on the 2012 total. Triple-play revenues will command 70% of total subscription revenues by 2018, up from 52% in 2012 and 36% in 2008.

The US ($60 billion – double the 2012 total) will account for 42% of the world’s triple-play revenues by 2018, although this is down from a 59% share in 2008.

Simon Murray, Principal Analyst at Digital TV Research, said: “Triple-play revenues overtook standalone TV revenues in 2009. Standalone TV revenues will start falling from 2013 as subscribers defect to bundles and as cable and DSL/fiber operators offer lower-priced packages due to greater competition from other platforms.”

Triple-play subscriptions will reach 333 million by 2018; up by more than 300 million since 2008 and up by 239 million on the 2012 total. China will have 115 million triple-play subscribers by 2018 (with only 9 million recorded at end-2012) – or 34% of the global total.

The number of triple-play households will overtake the standalone TV total in 2016. The standalone TV total will begin to decline from 2016 as more and more homes convert to bundles.
About 21% of the world’s TV households (covering 97 countries) will subscribe to triple-play services by 2018. This is up from just 7% penetration at end-2012 and only 2% at end-2008.

Despite rapid growth in IPTV subscriptions, cable will contribute nearly two-thirds of triple-play subscribers by 2018. Triple-play penetration will remain a lot higher in DSL and fiber homes (71% by 2018) than in cable homes (42%). However, the DSL and fiber proportion will not grow by too much, whereas the cable proportion will double from 18% in 2012.

ONO teams up with NTT Communications

Spain’s leading cable operator ONO has entered into a strategic partnership with NTT Communications. Through it, ONO will benefit from the performance and quality of service of the global IP network operated by NTT Communications and increase the range of internet services it offers to large customers and operators.

NTT Communications will meanwhile become one of the leading providers of IP transit in Spain and expand its global IP Tier 1 network with two new points of presence (PoPs) in Valencia and Seville.

They will join the ones it already has in Barcelona and Madrid, along with 14 others in the rest of Europe.

NTT Communications is part of NTT Group, the largest telco provider in the world, according to the Global Fortune List 500.

ONO is the leading provider of quad play communications and entertainment in Spain, providing services to over 7 million customers throughout the country.

Freedish to offer new STB package

Public broadcaster, Doordarshan has not only plans for revamping its free-to-air DTH service, DD Direct +, rechristened as Freedish, it will also be launching a new package offering 120 channels. This package has to be activated through a new range of STBs which will also be introduced soon.

A DD official has been quoted in online portal, IndianTelevision.com as saying that they intend to add more subscribers through this initiative. The official said, “We currently have 17 million active subscribers and expect to add a million subscribers per month once we start the 120 channel STB service. We are now working towards offering 120 channels free of cost for a lifetime to DTH consumers. We were unhappy with the way we were functioning. While earlier we were unorganised, the whole idea of introducing the service is to streamline the whole process.”

However if existing customers who already have the broadcaster’s current STB which offers 59 channels, then they will have to replace them and buy new ones supporting 120 channels. The broadcaster is also looking at adding new importers to bring in the STBs.

Phase I and Phase II digitisation under review

Despite the fact more and more cities in India are switching from analogue to digital signals, the government of India is concerned over the several setbacks areas falling under Phase I and Phase II digitisation are still facing despite the fact the deadline was nearly a year ago. To gauge the problems, Manish Tewari, the minister of Information and Broadcasting in India has asked for an external audit.

On top of that, several representatives from the industry including Roop Sharma, President, Cable Operators Federation of India have already given their take on the digitisation process so far on November 21, in front of Parliamentary Standing Committee on IT which is also conducting its own investigation into the matter. Roop Sharma said, “We have demanded that the government should first sort out the Phase I and II of digitisation before moving ahead with Phase III and IV.”

The group also told the committee that India has lost USD 10 billion in importing STBs from China and should focus on domestic vendors for Phase III and Phase IV. However that might be a problem as Phase III is already under way and the government is not putting the brakes on digitisation any time soon. It expects to complete the process

NBTC legal unit says Thaicom does not need more satellite licences to launch satellites

The legal unit of Thailand’s broadcast regulator, National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission has noted that Thaicom, the Thai satellite operator will not be needing licensing to launch future satellites. However the sub-committee at NBTC does not agree with the legal unit’s reasoning.

Thaicom had gotten a satellite licence for Thaicom 7, which is due to launch sometime in the middle of 2014. It had gotten the licence last year from NBTC. According to NBTC’s legal unit, the company can function within that licence in order to launch any further satellites in the future. Thaneerat Siripachana, chairman of the NBTC’s subcommittee on satellites has however come out and noted that some members of the subcommittee believe that NBTC ought to apply for fresh licenses every time it wants to launch a new satellite.

Thaicom currently has two satellites in operation, Thaicom 4 (IPSTAR) and Thaicom 5. Thaicom 6 is expected to be launched by later this year into 78.5 degrees East orbital slot. The question now lies on whether Thaicom 8, which is another satellite proposed by Thaicom, will be launching under Thaicom 7’s licence or a new one.

New Zealand’s regional stations make the digital switch

According to New Zealand’s Broadcasting Minister, Craig Foss, not only will regional television stations not suffer from the switch from analogue to digital, but nine regional stations in the country have already made the transition with very little problems.

The final region in New Zealand, North Island, would be switching to digital on December 1st after which the country will have made the transition entirely. While certain agencies have noted that smaller TV stations may not survive the move, Foss has confirmed that USD 70,000 was provided to local stations to change equipment that support analogue to equipment that will allow for digital broadcasting.

In the meantime, the citizens of the country have been active getting their old television sets recycled as part of an initiative called the TV TakeBack programme. So far in upper North Island alone, a total of 12,757 TVs have been collected and a total of 155,640 TVs have been collected together with the Lower North Island.

Moscow broadband competition intensifies

The Moscow City Telephone Network (MGTS) has increased the maximum internet access speed it offers residential customers from 200 Mbps to 350 Mbps.

Vedomosti reports that by doing so the company is aiming to attract active and highly profitable customers as this is now the fastest internet service available to users in the Russian capital.

MGTS currently claims a 26% share of the Moscow broadband market and would like to double this to 50% by the end of 2016.

Meanwhile, in the corporate sector, where it is now offering customers up to 500 Mbps, MGTS wants to increase its share from 5% to 30% within four years.

At least one of MGTS’ competitors – the cable operator – is also likely to significantly increase its internet access speeds in the near future.

This will be from a current maximum of 110 Mbps to 400Mbps following a network upgrade.

ONO teams up with Sony

Spain’s leading cable operator ONO has signed what it terms a unique agreement with Sony Computer Entertainment Spain (SCE Spain) ahead of the launch of PlayStation 4 (PS4) in the country.

Under it, ONO subscribers using PS4 with a 100Mbps internet connection will have the connected speed doubled to 200Mbps with no increase in their monthly fee.

Furthermore, as part of a special introductory offer, these customers be provided will be provided with a free year’s subscription to PlayStation Plus.

ONO has it own, 45,000km+ fibre optic next generation network, providing advanced services to over seven million homes throughout Spain.

PS4 will launch in Spain on November 29 and cost an estimated €399.

Rules announced for digital auction in Thailand

As the upcoming digital auction looms closer, Thailand’s broadcasting regulator National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC) has announced that all bidders would be notified of the auction at least five days before it’s supposed to take place so as to give them sufficient time to prepare.

There are currently 24 commercial broadcast licences that will be up for grabs. Col Natee Sukonrat, chairman of the NBTC’s broadcasting committee, has noted that each bidder will be allowed to send only five representatives for the auctions for each category (HD, SD, children’s channels, news channels). The bidder should also send NBTC the list of the representatives it’s planning to send five days in advance. Representatives, once they arrive inside the auction room will not be allowed to leave but if they do, they will not be allowed to enter.

Bidders also cannot carry their mobile phones, laptops or voice recorders. If bidders left the room when the auction is still taking place, they would be immediately disqualified from the process. According to Sukonrat, the auctions are likely to take place either in the end of December or mid-January. 15 days after the auction has taken place, the auction committee would formally announce the winners.

104,000 Sydney households yet to switch to digital TV

With the final regions in Sydney, Australia adapting the digital switch-over on December 3rd of this year, nearly 104,000 households in Sydney still have not made the total switch to digital TV. However 94% of the households have already adapted to the change, according to the government.

Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull urged citizens to make the switch within the next three weeks in order to avoid cable TV blackout. He said, “To watch free-to-air television after this date, you need to be digital ready. Already, over 94 per cent of households have converted to digital TV since it became available across Sydney in 2001. If you haven’t yet switched from analog to digital TV, please don’t put it off any longer.”

There are a total of 1,738,200 television households in Sydney. In order to make the digital switch, the citizens would have to install an STB in place. Apart from Sydney, the neighbouring areas like Gosford, Katoomba and Picton will also be switching to digital signals starting 9am on December 3rd.

Nashik cable operators warned

The district administration of Nashik, India have warned 44 cable operators in that region who have yet to submit the affidavit on the number of subscribers they have. The administration has told them that if they don’t file the affidavits on time, their connections will be snapped.

There are a total of 345 LCOs in the city of Nashik out of which 89 of them went to court as they did not want to file the affidavits and pay the corresponding entertainment duty accordingly. The additional district collector, BH Pave said, “”Out of 89 LCOs that had gone to court, 45 have filed their affidavits but the remaining 44 were yet to file it. This is the final warning for such LCOs and we have issued notices to them seeking their response within five days. Their inaction would lead to snapping of transmission of data to the LCOs, which will further mean that the customers will be affected.”

According to Pave, if all the LCOs paid their entertainment duty dues, then the district would have collected a sum of USD 319678. As of a month ago, the district administration had gotten USD 250,947 from the city’s LCOs. But this isn’t the only battle that Nashik LCOs are fighting lately. In October they filed a petition with the Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal (TDSAT) to allow them to bill their customers independent of their MSOs.

MTS loses TV subs

Russia’s MTS ended the third quarter with 2,678,000 pay-TV subscribers, or 274,000 less than a year earlier.

On the other hand, its fixed broadband subscriber total rose by 166,000 to 2,385,000 over the same period.

ARPU for residential subscribers to fixed line services in Q3 amounted to R309 (€7), compared to R286 a year earlier, while for corporate clients the figure was R8,661 (R8,051).

The company notes that the residential growth was attributable to the migration of pay-TV subscribers to the digital TV platform, as well as the upselling of broadband subscribers through the modernization of fixed networks in the regions.

MTS as a whole had revenues of R103.4 billion in Q3, up from R99.4 billion a year earlier, thanks to growth in consumption of data and voice services.

OIBDA was R46.3 billion (R44.3 billon) and net income R18.1 billion (R21.0 billion).

Viacom to take over Czech/Slovak MTV

Viacom International Media Networks (VIMN) is to assume control of MTV in the Czech Republic and Slovakia from the beginning of 2014.

Parabola reports that this will be following the expiry of contracts that have allowed CET 21, the licence holder of CME stations in the two countries, to distribute the channel.

Significantly, it adds that Bartosz Witak, VIMN’s MD for CEE and Israel, said that the company is open to future cooperation with CET 21, if such a collaboration opportunity arises.

Speculation is now mounting that financially-troubled CME may start disposing of some of its assets, with the Czech film distributor Bontonfilm being possibly put up for sale.

It is certainly reducing its activities, with TV Markiza in Slovakia recently confirming the closure of Fooor, a thematic channel it launched in only February this year.

Globecast brings CCTV to Africa

Globecast has signed a new contract with longtime customer China Central Television (CCTV), the state broadcaster of China.

Under the latest agreement, Globecast will deliver CCTV-français, the network’s French-language channel, on the SES-4 platform to West African viewers as part of Canalsat, a package of more than 130 channels, radio stations, and services.

Canalsat is operated by Canal+ Afrique, the leading pay-TV bouquet for the region. Globecast is providing a complete solution to bring the CCTV channels to the point of uplink, including contribution, encryption, and encoding.

“SES-4 and the Canalsat bouquet are the ideal vehicles for CCTV to reach a large new audience of African viewers in more than 20 countries,” said Philippe Fort, CCO, Globecast. “The new contract builds on our strong and ongoing relationship with CCTV to offer French-speaking viewers in Africa the best in high-quality international content.”

With a global reach of more than a billion viewers, CCTV currently delivers seven of its 30 channels throughout Europe and Africa via Globecast platforms. In addition to CCTV-français, CCTV recently moved four free-to-air channels for the African market to Globecast’s SES-5 platform.

Viaccess-Orca names Chem Assayag EVP, sales

Viaccess-Orca has announced that Chem Assayag has joined the company as its new EVP, sales.

Assayag takes up responsibility for global sales strategy and business development, driving business in new markets, managing the expansion of the sales force, and feeding into the product development process.

“With the introduction of our latest comprehensive range of products, the company is poised to rapidly expand its client base throughout the world,” said François Moreau de Saint Martin, CEO at Viaccess-Orca.

“Chem’s combination of expertise and experience in helping companies grow in the digital space, especially with his knowledge of multiscreen and cross-platform content distribution, makes him the perfect person to help us achieve our goals.”

Assayag has strong experience in the world of digital television and content services. During his tenure at OpenTV he managed operations in Europe and the Middle East, growing revenues to 60 million Euros in the company’s largest business region.

He also led the worldwide sales, marketing, and business development functions for the MediaHighway product line at NDS (now part of Cisco Systems). In the late 2000s he was also a key figure in Europe’s developing mobile TV and mobile broadcast industry, leading Qualcomm’s MediaFLO division in the region.

Aside from his corporate sales and business experience, Assayag is an entrepreneur who founded, managed, and sold his own company, and has also driven a number of business startups.

Assayag graduated in management from EM Lyon, and holds a postgraduate degree in media management from ESCP Europe. He will be based in Paris and will report to Saint Martin.

Ukraine’s Volia adds more interactivity

Ukraine’s Volia is introducing new interactive functions of its Volia Smart HD STB with new features as time-shift, catch-up, multiscreen and premium VOD.

At the same time, Volia will make these services available with the launch of a plug and play Volia Smart HD box in the largest retail networks and opening access to Volia TV on Samsung Smart TVs, creating a nationwide OTT service.

The launch of the Samsung app makes the service available without a STB, which the operator claims is a first for a cable operator to launch an OTT solution directly to the TV set. Samsung viewers can access the basic Volia Smart Channels bouquet consisting of 50 national TV channels and two HD-channels, starting with 2012 year models.

Volia has also increased functionality of its Smart HD set-top-box for current and new subscribers. Viewers have access to more than 130 digital SD and HD linear TV channels, YouTube, VOD services of a number of partners and an EPG. Volia is now adding additional features, such as Time-shift, Catch-up and Multiscreen, which allows viewers to access premium content on mobile devices such as tablets and smartphones, all over Ukraine.

Dune is the supplier of the Volia Smart HD STB for OTT viewing across the nation.

Volia is also launching its Volia Cinema VOD service with thousands of hours of selected blockbuster movies.

The new Volia Smart Touch service allows subscribers of Volia Smart HD OTT service to view more than 130 linear TV channels and watch all the movies from online library on their mobile devices, including smartphones and tablets, running iOS and Android.

Priced at 10 UAH per month the service gives access to the great content on devices, drag and drop video from mobile devices to big screens and allows to control it on TV-sets from mobile gadgets. Until the end of the year the service will be free of charge.

“Delivering our promises made to Volia customers and to market in March 2013 –we are pleased to introduce a new set of functionalities available in our powerful Volia Smart HD set-top-box, as well as in new devices and areas where you can take advantage of Volia interactive TV, said Volia CEO Gyorgy Zsembery.

“In addition to these exciting steps of feature extensions, we are delighted to expand our services in cooperation with such recognized worldwide brand as Samsung.”

“This is a seminal moment for Cable Industry. Volia is the first cable operator to have launched all its services off-net over OTT and also over Samsung Smart TVs which makes it very easy for potential subscribers to receive the service,” added Azdio CEO Arjang Zadeh.

“Azdio has been delighted to be able to support Volia as the prime system integrator for these exciting deliveries. With the combination of On-net and Off-net OTT linear TV and on demand TV services, together with multi-screen, Volia TV over Smart TV (TVOTV), and plug and play retail TV STBs, Volia is showing the future of TV for the cable industry.”

Volia presented the news at a press conference on Wednesday, November 20. An English language version of the company’s presentation can be found here.

Broadband TV Views. For the past few months, there has been much talk about STB-less solutions to access IPTV and OTT services directly on the TV set. This is particularly interesting for content owners and broadcasters, who will now have direct access to their consumers.

Ukraine’s Viola is the first platform to embrace this solution to offer its services across the whole of the country, as an OTT solution expanding its traditional footprint. At the same time, the operator is offering the same OTT service with a dedicated STB.

Ziggo of the Netherlands has already introduced its STB-less interactive cable TV solution, but Volia is the first in the world to take its services outside its network. This signals a significant development.

Hathway reports significant losses

India’s MSO, Hathway, has reported a net loss of USD 7.1 million for the most recent quarter. This is would make it a whopping 35.26 times higher than the loss reported for the same quarter from a year ago, which stood at USD USD 200,000.

The MSO has reported net income to be USD 35.3 million approximately. That is 68% higher than the net income reported for the same quarter in the previous year which was USD 21 million. However it trails 5.4% behind the previous quarter where the net income was reported to be USD 37.2 million.

Hathway, which currently ranks as one of the top MSOs in India has been riddled with debts and is trying to keep up with the ongoing digitisation drive. In effect back in October, the MSO allotted 3.5 million of its own shares to various entities in a bid to raise USD 16.1 million to counter its debts.

Brazil adds 432,000 pay TV subscribers in 3Q 2013

According to Brazil’s Agência Nacional de Telecomunicações (Anatel), the country’s pay TV subscriber base ended September 2013 at 17.4 million, with more than 2 million new subscribers being added over the preceding 12 months – an annual growth rate of 13%. Satellite accounted for 1.68 million of the net additions.

In the third quarter, 432 thousand new subscribers were added, with satellite adding 336 thousand. In the equivalent quarter of 2012, Brazil added 864 thousand subscribers to its total.

Pay TV subscribers by technology:

                          2012                                2013      Change      Change  
        ----------------------  ----------------------------------     3Q 2013     3Q 2013
                3Q          4Q          1Q          2Q          3Q  v, 2Q 2013  v, 3Q 2012
        ----------  ----------  ----------  ----------  ----------  ----------  ----------
MMDS       163,895     142,113     101,289      33,758      15,907     -17,851    -147,988
Cable    6,074,535   6,199,159   6,337,134   6,438,784   6,549,439     110,655     474,904
DTH      9,157,412   9,844,090  10,367,271  10,501,430  10,837,878     336,448   1,680,466
Others       3,593       3,595       3,580          66       3,541       3,475         -52
        ----------  ----------  ----------  ----------  ----------  ----------  ----------
Total   15,399,435  16,188,957  16,974,038  16,960,993  17,406,765     432,727   2,007,330

Pay TV subscribers by operator (end-September 2013):

Company        Subscribers    Share
-------------  -----------  -------
Net/Embratel     9,227,154   53.01%
Sky/DIRECTV      5,255,154   30.19%
Oi                 911,566    5.24%
GVT                586,862    3.37%
Telefônica         552,785    3.18%
Viacabo            157,215    0.90%
Algar              128,177    0.74%
NossaTV             97,894    0.56%
TV Cidade           65,773    0.38%
Jangadeiro          54,732    0.31%
Cabo Serviços       49,006    0.28%
Others             320,447    1.84%
-------------  -----------  -------
TOTAL           17,406,765  100.00%

M7 Group eyes Hungarian platform

Luxembourg-based M7 Group is evaluating the potential acquisition of the Hungarian DTH platform Hello HD.

Speaking to Broadband TV News, Jaromir Glisnik, a member of the board of the Group, said that any deal would likely to be completed in 2014 rather than this year.

He also said it is already working with Hello HD; Broadband TV News understands this to be through the integration of the Irdeto CA encryption system into the platform alongside Conax. At the moment, the channels Cool, Nickelodeon, SportKlub Hungary and TV Paprika have simulcrypt.

Glisnik also told Broadband TV News that the possible acquisition of Hello HD is not directly related to Skylink’s recent decision to start offering its subscribers Hungarian language channels.

He added that from a practical perspective, it should be borne in mind that Skylink employs the 23.5 degrees East position on Astra, while Hello HD uses 9 degrees East on Eutelsat.

Hello HD was launched in Hungary in May 2008 and initially had plans to expand to other CEE markets.

However, it has failed to make a strong impact on a Hungarian DTH sector dominated by Digi, T-Home and UPC Direct.

M7 Group already has a presence in the CEE region through the ownership of Skylink and CS Link in the Czech Republic and Slovakia. The company is also very active in the German language market through its subsidiaries HDAustria and AustriaSat.

UPC Cablecom starts replay function

UPC Cablecom customers can now use the replay function free of charge for 77 channels (30 of those in HD).

These include the HD versions of ProSieben, Sat.1, kabel eins and 3+ – which are available in Switzerland exclusively through the cabler. All UPC customers with the Classic and Comfort TV packages can enjoy the service straight away.

Viewers can watch programmes they have missed with up to 30 hours’ delay. Thanks to upc cablecom’s new replay function, all programmes can be paused, watched in slow motion, fast forwarded and rewound.

The replay function includes 77 channels – 30 of those in HD – which are available in all regions of Switzerland.

UPC Cablecom is not the only platform providing a replay service, also Swisscom’s IPTV servie and the OTT platform Zattoo are offering replay, but the operator said it is the only provider in Switzerland to offer the ProSieben, Sat.1, kabel eins and 3+ channels in HD quality.

If subtitles are available for programmes or films, these are also available in the replay version. The same goes for the different languages of the broadcast version and the audiovisual quality.

The replay function is a free service. Horizon customers with the Classic or Comfort TV packages can benefit from it, as well as customers who use an HD Mediabox Receiver or Recorder and who have subscribed to the Classic or Comfort channel packages. Before they can use the replay function, customers must first activate the relevant function in their My UPC account once. The service will then be available for use 30 hours after activation.

Samart launches STBs in Thailand

In order to keep up with the competition as well as keep with the market demands, Thailand’s Samart Corporation has launched its own brand of STBs for terrestrial digital TV. Currently 24 digital broadcast licences are up for auction in Thailand and the country’s transition to digital terrestrial television is one of the top priorities of the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC).

Samart’s Strong high-definition (HD) STB will comply with the general broadcasting standards and will cost USD 36 approximately.  President Watchai Vilailuck said, “We intend to sell 1 million digital set-top boxes next year, increasing to 5 million units or 20% of the total market by 2016.” He also elaborated that the company intends to sell as much as 200,000 STBs in the next two months.

There are 22 million television households in Thailand. Samart also intends on launching two other types of STBs by May of next year to suit all needs – one high end and the other a cheaper version. The auction itself is set to take place as soon as next month or early January 2014. And the channels will start broadcasting in the first quarter of 2014.

Sizeable advances in US OTT TV viewing

Consumers Report Sizeable Advances in OTT TV Viewing

• TDG Finds that More than Half of Adult Broadband Users have Increased Their Consumption of Online Video Sources on their TV, 24% Significantly So

PLANO, TX — If there is one thing certain about the future of TV, it is that an increasing amount of television viewing time will be spent watching online sources. According to research from TDG, more than half of consumers with a net-connected TV have increased their use of over-the-top broadband TV sources in the last year, with 24% reporting a sizeable increase.

Only 8% of net-connected TV users report a decline in OTT TV viewership during the last year, meaning net-connected TV users are six times more likely to have increased their use of the medium than to have decreased it.

“That consumers are watching more over-the-top video is not itself surprising,” notes Michael Greeson, co-founder of TDG. “But to see such a widespread increase in OTT TV viewing is dramatic, especially as pay-TV subscriptions in the US are experiencing their greatest 12-month losses to date.”

The data is drawn from TDG’s Video Behavior in the Age of Quantum Media primary research study from Q3 2013. The study analyzes a variety of video behaviors, including use of traditional television and new viewing platforms including tablets and smartphones. As well, the study examines trends in the use of smart TVs and various net-to-TV platforms to access online video on one’s television, including game consoles, Internet set-top boxes, Blu-ray players, and other devices. For more information about this unique study, please contact Laura Allen Phillips, Research Service Manager.

Spanish DTT conflict escalates

The Spanish government has said that it will take away the licences of nine DTT channels. Another eight channels are in danger of losing their digital terrestrial distribution.

The broadcasters are victim of the ‘digial divided’ as the available spectrum will be made available to mobile operators.

The announcement by José Manuel Soria, minister of industry, has sparked protest from all broadcasters involved who are about to lose nationwide distribution of their FTA channels on the digital terrestrial network, which is known by the acronym TDT in Spain.

The decision stems from a ruling by the Spanish High Court, which deemed the issuing of the licences in 2010 illegal.

The broadcasters involved are the group Atresmedia, that stands to lose three of its seven DTT channels, Mediaset (who will lose Nueve and LaSiete), while Net TV (Vocento) and Veo TV (Unedisa) will each lose two channels. The channels will have to give up terrestrial distribution, but can continue broadcasting on other platforms, including DTH, cable and IPTV.

Behind closed doors, the government and broadcasters have been talking about a possible solution during the past few months, but no agreement was reached. Talks have now ended and the minister is now moving ahead to make the spectrum available to the mobile operators.

With the public announcement by Soria the issue has now come out into the open. Meanwhile, the debate is heating up, with some of the parties claiming the decision is politically motivated and that the government led by Mariano Rajoy Brey of the People’s Party is eliminating broadcasters that support the opposition.

Worldwide pay TV subscriber base surpasses 886.5 million in 3Q 2013

Worldwide pay-TV Subscriber Base Surpasses 886.5 Million in 3Q 2013 Thanks to BRIC Markets

SINGAPORE — Worldwide pay-TV subscriber base surpassed 886.5 million at the end of 3Q 2013; a 6% YoY increase, generating US$ 62.6 billion service revenue in the third quarter. “Emerging markets are key drivers of global growth in pay-TV subscribers as developed markets are experiencing flat growth rates,” comments Jake Saunders, VP and practice director.

Pay-TV subscriber base in Western Europe grew less than 2% in 3Q 2013 from 3Q 2012. Notably, the number of subscribers in Spain and Italy has been declining for a number of consecutive quarters. Respectively, pay-TV service providers in Spain and Italy lost over 7% and 2% of their total subscriber base compared to a year ago. Operators blame the weak economic environment for declining subscriber counts, but it is not all doom and gloom in Europe as other markets, such as France, Germany and UK, contributed to regional market growth. Net additions in IPTV subscribers are the prime driver of pay-TV regional growth; other pay-TV platforms saw only marginal increases. ABI Research estimates the IPTV subscriber base in Western Europe increased 1.9 million in 3Q 2013 from 3Q 2012.

In North America, pay-TV subscribers dropped slightly (<1%) from 3Q 2012, mainly due to contracting subscriber counts in the cable TV sector. It is estimated that Cable TV operators in North America lost around 1.7 million subscribers in the last year. In terms of pay-TV service revenue, North America grew nearly 3% from 3Q 2012. “Despite the declining subscriber base, pay-TV service revenue in North America grew due to increased average revenue per user which is driven by an increasing proportion of HD and advanced DVR subscribers,” notes Khin Sandi Lynn, Industry Analyst.

ABI Research forecasts the global pay-TV subscriber base will eclipse 1 billion by 2018, generating service revenue of US$ 229.6 billion. BRIC countries will account for 68% of total net additional subscribers by 2018.

ABI Research’s new “Pay TV ARPU and Revenues” Market Data is updated quarterly and profiles global pay-TV subscription information. Detailed market trends and market forecast information for key regions and countries around the world are provided where available. The study is a part of the company’s Pay TV Research Service.

Raduga TV revamps service

The Russian DTH platform Raduga TV has added a new, 60-channel package to its offer.

Known as ‘Otlichinij’, it consists of 14 federal, eight Viasat and all DTT and Kluba100 channels and costs R876 (€19.9) a year or R1,752 for two years to receive, depending on the length of contract taken out.

According to Raduga TV, it will launch five more thematic packages next month and introduce a new system under which customers who subscribe to Otlichinij will also be able to subscribe from one to five of the new packages, at either monthly or annual rates.

Raduga TV is backed by MTG and made its debut in 2009.

It had 421,000 subscribers as of the end of last year.

New landmark for global DTH industry

Total revenues of the 150 platforms with TV revenues derived primarily from DTH broadcasting are likely to exceed $100 billion this year.

However, according to a new executive report from Euroconsult entitled DTH Platforms: Key Economics sand Prospects, there are three market profiles with different growth patterns that can be identified in the 100 countries, with a total of over 202 million DTH subscribers.

The first, seen in advanced markets such as the US, UK, France and Japan, has high pay-TV maturity and fierce competition resulting from telecom and media convergence and online entertainment.

The second, in transitional markets, sees pay-TV penetration reach over 50% and consolidation take place among pay-TV providers in order to reach critical size and solid operating margins.

The third, in emerging and fast-growing DTH markets, had 126 million subscribers and 20% growth last year.

Strong competition exists among platforms, with up to six or seven services in countries like India and Indonesia.

The standard offering, expect for new platforms, stands at 100-150 channels, with around 25% of the total offering more than 150 channels.

Programming usually accounts for over 40% of operating costs and 30-40% of revenues.

Over two-thirds of platforms now offer HD services and the number of platforms offering 20 or more channels in the format has more than doubled in the last year.

Significantly, SKY Perfect JSAT in Japan should become the first HD-only platform in 2015. ARPUs range from $10 or less to $40-50 in more advanced markets.

Vertical integration and converging service ecosystems is a major trend for DTH platforms and includes three pillars.

The rollout of new generation DVRs with up to 1 TB storage capability and more flexibility in home networking is a first component.

The second is the rollout of non-linear services with VoD (online and push-VoD) by already more than two thirds of DTH platforms, TV everywhere/on the go and OTT services.

The need to offer triple play services leads to different strategies, ranging from the ownership of DTH services by telecom operators (more than 60% of platforms in Latin America), to direct investments in telecom operations (Sky Digital in the UK or Bulsatcom in Bulgaria) and partnership oriented strategies (DirecTV in the US and Canal+ in France).

Churn rates are between 10% and 20%, with the best performing platforms being Astro in Malaysia, Cyfrowy Polsat in Poland and Sky Deutschland in Germany.

DTH subscriptions should reach close to 350 million in 2022 worldwide including around 270 million in fast growing economies. Asia, led by India and Indonesia, and Latin America, led by Brazil and Mexico, are expected to be the fastest-growing markets.

TV Everywhere users good for pay TV

“TV Everywhere users are ‘super buyers’, said Brett Sappington, director research, Parks Associates.

“They spend more of their discretionary income on video as average TV users, they are the Best customers for pay TV.”

There is a monthly ARPU difference between six and ten dollars. They spend 1.7x times as much on DVDs, 1.9x on cinema tickets, 4x on downlands and 2x as much on OTT services such as Netflix.

According to Parks research, TV Everywhere users are slightly younger (38 years vs. 44), and are more likely to have kids, but are similar in terms of gender, education and income.

“Income levels are the same between TV everywhere and average TV users.”

Demand for Home Media Gateways grows

Home Media Gateway unit shipments continue to be relatively modest, but MRG is projecting demand to increase significantly over the next few years.

A new type of set-top box is appearing in homes of a select number of pay-TV subscribers. This box, which is often called a home media gateway, offers features that permit pay-TV service providers to better meet the needs of today’s connected consumer.

Some key features supported by the home media gateway products are multi-room personal video recording, streaming IP video, and support for multi-screen video (commonly called TV Everywhere).

Home media gateway products integrate traditional set-top box functions, like support for conditional access and TV tuning, with enhanced connectivity capabilities. These enhanced capabilities include support for home networking and OTT video.

Key findings in this research include: in 2013, global unit shipments of home media gateway products are on track to reach nearly 10 million, a solid increase from the 7.7 million units that shipped in 2012.

Revenues of home media gateway products are projected to reach nearly $3 billion in 2013, up from $2.3 billion in 2012.

Home media gateway products have high average sales prices (ASPs), which make them attractive to set-top box manufacturers.

Currently, ASPs for home media gateway products are around $300 per box, which generally limit the penetration of home media gateways to the high-income household regions of the world.

Through 2015, we are projecting that virtually all home media gateway product deployments will be confined to North America and Europe.

Headed gateways currently account for the lion’s share of home media gateway unit shipments. In 2013, only 2% of global unit shipments are projected to be “headless” home media gateways.

Senior analyst Mike Paxton adds “Unit shipments of home media gateway products are on track to grow rapidly. However, the product segment is currently just a small portion of the worldwide set-top box market. For example, in 2013 home media gateway product shipments are projected to account for just 4% of total set-top box unit shipments.”

65,000 homes possibly face cable TV blackout in New Zealand

Starting from December 1, 2013, North Island, in New Zealand will be the last area in the country to completely adopt digital broadcasts. However according to Going Digital National Manager, Greg Harford, as many as 65,000 television homes in the region might face cable TV blackouts if they do not act immediately.

Greg Harford said that while most have made the switch to digital TV, there is still a massive chunk that has not migrated yet. He said, “Nearly everyone in the upper North Island switchover region is now watching digital television, but there are still more than 65,000 households that need to act or face the prospect of no TV from December 1.

The Going Digital campaign according to Harford has been working closely with other communities in the area and have delivered more than 29,000 free installations as of date to help with the transition. The digital switchover in New Zealand began in September of 2012 and North Island is the only area yet to digitised.

Sony, ABC partner with EzyFlix.tv

EzyFlix.tv a digital entertainment service available in both Australia and New Zealand has inked a new content deal between Sony Pictures Home Entertainment and its parent company Access Digital Entertainment (ADE). ADE has also partnered with Australia’s Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC).

ADE’s CEO Craig White said, “EzyFlix.tv has more than 2000 titles on offer and is the only service in the country offering users digital television content to buy. We are thrilled that Sony Pictures Home Entertainment and the ABC have chosen to partner with us to provide New Zealanders with better access to the programs and films they love.” Subscribers can buy and download movie titles for as much as USD 2.99.

EzyFlix is a VOD service that allows subscribers to either download or stream television and movie content and view that content through android phones, iOS devices, PCs etc. It has no monthly charges and was launched in Australia as recently as August of this year.

Den Networks posts profits

Den Networks, a cable distribution firm based in India has posted a revenue of USD 42.7 million for the most recent quarter. That would be an increase of 32.4% higher than what was posted for the same quarter ending in the previous year which was reported at USD 32.2 million.

In terms of its cable revenue on a year-on-year basis, it boasted an increase of 35%. It currently stands at USD 40.6 million. For the same quarter ending in the previous year, the cable firm reported USD 30.2 million.

Den Network currently has approximately 5 million digital subscribers using its STB connections and accounts for accounts for 26% of all cable STBs in the Phase II market. It was announced in September that Goldman and Sachs, the global investment company was investing USD 110 million and is acquiring 18% stake of Den Networks.

Indian digitisation going according to plan

Sandeep Arora, Regional Manager Service Provider Cisco India and SAARC has come out and said that the digitisation drive being conducted by the government of India is going completely according to the set deadlines with the first two phases having been completed and by Phase IV which will be implemented in December of 2014.

Arora in an interview noted, ”We have already seen successful completion of first two phases, the second phase, according to data given by I&B ministry was set to digitise 16 million that ended on March 31st 2013, in 38 cities across 15 states. A total of 13 milion STBs have been installed in cable television homes, while the rest are DTH households. The process of switching over to digital service from analogue is going well across the country. The third phase of digitization is being implemented in all other urban areas (municipal corporations/ municipalities), cities, towns or areas not included in the first and second phases, by September 30, 2014. The rest of the country will be covered by December 2014, under fourth phase.”

Arora also spoke about the benefits Indian households will be able to enjoy post digitisation. He said that the consumers will not only be able to enjoy more content and choice but also have access to services like VoD, OTT and high speed internet services. And that will allow MSOs, DTH players and LCOs to monetise better.

Russian telco for sale--Transtelekom

Russian Railways plans to sell a 50% minus two shares stake in its subsidiary Transtelekom (TTC) by 2015.

According to Kommersant, the proposed sale is discussed in the company’s investment and financial plan for 2014-2016. TTK had 1.05 million subscribers at the end of 2012, or 144% more than a year earlier.

Its revenues amounted to R27.1 billion (+9% year-on-year) and its net loss was R0.7 billion (-30% year-on-year).

The 50% minus two shares stake is expected to be valued at R37.5 billion, with the Russian Direct Investment Fund a likely buyer.

Strong Q2 for Kabel Deutschland

Kabel Deutschland has seen a second quarter recovery in its premium TV subscriptions, adding a further 55,000 units in its second financial quarter.

The Vodafone-owned cablenet had previously announced the addition of 84,000 new subscribers to its Internet and Phone services, resulting in its strongest second financial quarter for several years.

KDG said revenues had returned to a quarterly growth track, increasing by €7 million in Q2. Year on year, revenues rose by 4.0% to €471 million

However, the company posted a net loss of €129 million or minus €1.46 per share due to a negative net income effect of €206 million from the Vodafone transaction.

In the first quarter KDG added just 24,000 premium TV units after a decision by Germany’s private channels reduced the opportunity to upsell.

Kabel Deutschland’s direct subscriber base expanded to 7.6 million (plus 35 thousand net adds year on year) out of a total of 8.4 million unique subscribers.

Quickflix partners with Hybrid Television

Australia’s online movie company, Quickflix has announced a new partnership with Hybrid Television. Through this partnership, Quickflix will be able to stream content to those who have TiVo media devices in both Australia and New Zealand.

Stephen Langsford Quickflix Founder and CEO of Quickflix said, ‘‘We are delighted to be working with Hybrid to bring Quickflix to owners of TiVo in Australia and New Zealand. This represents a significant new opportunity to extend our reach.’’

Those who have TiVo devices in both the countries can now not only stream content through their TiVos but also other registered digital devices like mobile phones, Tablets and smarTVs.  TiVo itself is a digital media device and a video recorder. This means Quickflix will discontinue its existing CASPA video on demand service from this December. Quickflix has more than 100,000 subscribers to its name.

India’s last mile owners are in crises, says cable TV heavyweight

The president of Maharashtra Cable Operators Federation (MCOF) and one of the most influential players in the cable TV landscape in Mumbai, India, Arvind Prabhoo has come out and declared that there seems to be a crisis between the relationships of MSOs and the last mile owners (LMOs).

Prabhoo said, ”There is a crisis in DAS I and II areas regarding LMO-MSO relationship. There needs to be more interaction between LMO, MSO, broadcaster and TRAI if we need a proactive solution to address all our concerns. It is important to address these problems immediately.” According to Prabhoo MSOs in India suffer from a sense of thinking that subscribers actually belong to them while that’s not the case were it not for the LMOs who collect the money from the subscribers and in turn give it to the MSOs.

India is currently in the midst of an aggressive campaign by the government to digitise the country by end of 2014. Currently while the digitisation has been split into four phases and being implemented by the deadlines, many of the cities are struggling to complete digitisation themselves. Hyderabad, Kolkata and Howrah are some of the cities which are still struggling with the problems.

Everywhere TV to get 100,000 subscriptions

India’s DTH player, Tata Sky may have launched its most recent innovation Everywhere TV, which is part of its Tata Sky Mobile platform only a week ago but it has already been able to get nearly 100,000 subscribers in the days since its launch and it likely to reach that milestone soon.

Chief Commercial Officer, Tata Sky, Vikram Mehra said, “The response to this new product, offering live TV on mobile phones, has surpassed all our expectations. It has grown at a much faster pace than we imagined. We hope to touch 100,000 for Everywhere TV within the next few days. One of our biggest subscribers base is in (small towns like) Kota where many students staying away from home for coaching in the city’s famous institutions have adopted this service for their free time. People who travel a lot, businessmen, shopkeepers, migrant workers all kinds of people have subscribed to the service bridging the urban rural divide.”

Everywhere TV is likely to be made available for laptop viewing by February of next year and will be available on android phones by end of November. Interestingly enough DishOnline part of DTH player’s Dish TV, which is similar to Everywhere TV has also hit 100,000 downloads in the past week.