M7 Group to build up new DTH platform in Austria

Luxembourg-based media company M7 Group is launching a standalone HDTV platform for DTH satellite households in Austria on Astra (19.2 degrees East) in November 2015.

The offering will be based on M7’s current platform HD Austria, but can be received through its own smart card. HD Austriahas so far only been accessible through the smart cards of Austrian public broadcaster ORF and pay-TV operator Sky Österreich.

Following “tough negotiations” with ORF that have lasted over a year, an agreement has finally been reached through mediation of media regulator KommAustria, according to HD Austria. The move will enable Austrian viewers to receive both ORF’s channels and the Austrian commercial channels in HD quality via satellite without having to use the ORF Digital smart card.

With the new platform, HD Austria wants to provide the around 2 million Austrian DTH satellite households with a more comprehensive HD lineup and new interactive functions. This would create a “real alternative” to the former “ORF smart card monopoly” for consumers, retailers and TV set manufacturers, underlines HD Austria.

“The launch of the new HD Austria platform will lead to better offerings and more variety for consumers,” said Martijn van Hout, M7 Country Manager for Germany and Austria. “That’s because our own platform will enable M7 Group to provide new services and hybrid products complementing satellite television with streaming content from the internet. In a few weeks, these offerings will be available in Austria.”

The HD Austria platform is marketed through an advertising campaign (pictured with Martijn van Hout) encouraging viewers to leave the old, stone age period of television (“Raus aus der Fernseh-Steinzeit!”) and join the HD world.

M7 Group operates TV platforms across Europe reaching a total of more than 3.5 million customers.

Xcrypt completes CAS installation at TNTSAT AFRICA

Xcrypt and TNTSAT Africa, in the person of its CEO, Ismaila SIDIBE, inked their agreement in principle during IBC 2014.

Less than one year later, after having had to build an entire DTH uplink from scratch, after training 3,000 installers to the art of not only setting-up dishes but also reselling their TV package, TNTSAT Africa was live. Transmitted from a brand new head-end facility on the hills outside Bamako, Mali’s capital city, the bouquet is the first commercial DTH/DTT combo offering in West Africa.

TNTSAT Africa started off with a Free-To-View package of 53 channels from Mali and neighboring countries. Selecting Xcrypt’s CQRCAS solution was a critical decision for the team and the entire project. Xcrypt’s boutique approach to Conditional Access, whereby each customer’s solution is specifically tailored to meet their exact need, associated with our advanced security/chipset pairing offering, were the determining factors in TNTSAT decision making process.

The business model calls for a quick roll out of the Free-To- View boxes to reach every corner of the SES 4 satellite footprint, with agencies in over 10 countries. The competitive advantage of the offer will be its reliance on both the French language but also ethnic languages such as Bambara and Peul. Combining this cultural element to the fact that, by using satellite, TNTSAT covers the entire region, gives the business a huge competitive advantage.

Xcrypt’s full range of solutions will also enable TNTSAT to soon offer Pay-TV premium services, A La Carte TV, Push- VoD and DVB2IP, the multi-device solution that does not rely on an internet infrastructure.

Canal Digital Kabel to merge with Telenor Norway

Telenor’s Norwegian cable interests are to merge with those of telecommunications business Telenor Norway from the New Year.

The decision, taken at board level last week, will effect around 150 employees on the Canal Digital  payroll.

“All customers and partners will be notified of the changes. All products, services and prices are as previous and all customer-contact points are as today, but the invoice that customers receive will come from Telenor Norway instead of Canal Digital Kabel TV. This is a purely administrative change”, said Berit Svendsen, CEO of Telenor Norway.

In recent years the two companies have already been moving closer together. Around half a million customers are effected, running on various technical platfotms.

Telenor Norway will take on all existing agreements and supplier obligations held by Canal Digital.

Services will continue to be supplied under the brand Canal Digital Kabel TV.

Netflix to reach 100 million subs by 2018

Netflix is set to reach 100 million subscribers by 2018, according to new analysis released by IHS. Meanwhile. traditional broadcasters are launching services reaching their viewers direcltly.

This is due to the fact that the traditional TV channels business is entering a period of flux. “The core concept of the channel is fragmenting, as audience behavior is changing and broadcasters are adapting to meet evolving viewer needs” said Ted Hall, research director at IHS Technology.

“The traditional linear channel will be around for a long time to come, but it will become increasingly marginalised by a plethora of online services, from catch-up TV to TV Everywhere, pay TV channels’ streaming offerings and YouTube multi-channel networks.”

Direct to Consumer (D2C) offerings are emerging as key new services for traditional channels. “HBO Now, Discovery DPlay and DisneyLife are leading the way and employing a strategy that not only gives them more power in carriage-fee negotiations, but also allows them to grab their piece of the growing online-subscription revenue pie,” Hall said.

The growing popularity of Netflix is a major factor spurring channels’ D2C launches. “Excluding spend on sports, in 2013 and 2014, Netflix outspent almost everyone on original and acquired content. In 2014, Netflix’s content spend was about double that of ITV and Amazon,” Hall said.

In 2018, Netflix will pass 100 million subscribers worldwide according to IHS Technology. “Between now and 2019, we forecast subscriptions will grow by 22 percent, with 10 million new subscribers to be added in the US,” said Dan Cryan, senior director Media & Content at IHS Technology.

“International subscribers are key for Netflix,” Hall said. “As Netflix invests more in international content, we expect to see huge growth in Western Europe over the next three years, with 10 million new subscribers to be added to its already burgeoning international base.”

The UK will be the number one market in Europe for Netflix, with 7.1 million paying subscribers by 2018.

OTT in Russia: a glimpse into the future

Nearly two-thirds (65%) of all video views in Russia will be on mobile, STB and smart TV devices in three years time, according to Egor Yakovlev, founder and board member, Tvigle Media.

Yakovlev added that the overall audience of OTT video would have reached 100 million in Russia only, with the monthly view time being 80 hours.
Meanwhile, the ad-sponsored OTT market will be worth $800 million.

Furthermore, 70% of video content will be local/Russian language productions and up to 25% of this specifically produced for OTT/second screen.

Yakovlev said that smart TV sales are growing strongly in Russia and will account for over half (53%) of the total this year, rising to 70% in 2017.

In 2013, Russia became the number one market of smart TV sales for LG.

Dish TV India adds 338,000 net subscribers in 3Q 2015

338 Thousand Net Subscriber Additions

NOIDA, India — Dish TV India Limited (Dishtv) (BSE: 532839, NSE: DISHTV) today reported second quarter fiscal 2016 consolidated operating revenues of Rs. 7,524 million, up 15.8% Y-o-Y and subscription revenues of Rs. 6,926 million, up 16.5% Y-o-Y.

The company during the second quarter launched India’s first push video-on-demand service, DishFlix. The new service is a unique offering for Indian DTH subscribers and enables them to watch advertisement free movies and TV shows at the click of a button. At an incremental monthly subscription of just Rs. 100, Dish TV subscribers can now flip through an offering of more than 50 movies and shows with an ability to pause, play, fast forward and rewind the content of their choice. Unlike the current trend of using data for downloading and streaming movies from the internet, DishFlix does not require internet bandwidth to play movies.

The product has had an encouraging response so far and is on track to carve out a niche market for itself.

Mr. Jawahar Goel, Managing Director, Dish TV, said, “Dish TV continued to actively contribute to the ‘Digital India’ movement by digitizing analog TV homes in DAS phase 3 & 4 markets. A unique product mix and a strong brand recall enabled us to add a healthy 338 thousand net subscribers in a seasonally weak quarter. Our regional offering ‘Zing’ is now available across 8 states and continues to be in high demand in its target markets.”

Dish TV high-definition (HD) remained a star performer during the quarter. Its channel count stood out distinctly compared to other HD products in the market. Dish TV added 6 new HD channels during the quarter taking the total HD channel count on its platform to 48, the highest in the industry.

M7 Group to build up new DTH platform in Austria

Luxembourg-based media company M7 Group is launching a standalone HDTV platform for DTH satellite households in Austria on Astra (19.2 degrees East) in November 2015.

The offering will be based on M7’s current platform HD Austria, but can be received through its own smart card. HD Austriahas so far only been accessible through the smart cards of Austrian public broadcaster ORF and pay-TV operator Sky Österreich.

Following “tough negotiations” with ORF that have lasted over a year, an agreement has finally been reached through mediation of media regulator KommAustria, according to HD Austria. The move will enable Austrian viewers to receive both ORF’s channels and the Austrian commercial channels in HD quality via satellite without having to use the ORF Digital smart card.

With the new platform, HD Austria wants to provide the around 2 million Austrian DTH satellite households with a more comprehensive HD lineup and new interactive functions. This would create a “real alternative” to the former “ORF smart card monopoly” for consumers, retailers and TV set manufacturers, underlines HD Austria.

“The launch of the new HD Austria platform will lead to better offerings and more variety for consumers,” said Martijn van Hout, M7 Country Manager for Germany and Austria. “That’s because our own platform will enable M7 Group to provide new services and hybrid products complementing satellite television with streaming content from the internet. In a few weeks, these offerings will be available in Austria.”

The HD Austria platform is marketed through an advertising campaign (pictured with Martijn van Hout) encouraging viewers to leave the old, stone age period of television (“Raus aus der Fernseh-Steinzeit!”) and join the HD world.

M7 Group operates TV platforms across Europe reaching a total of more than 3.5 million customers.

Airtel Digital TV Q2’ FY16 operating profits at INR2.34 billion

Airtel Digital TV, Bharti Airtel’s direct-to-home service branch, has reported operating profit of INR2.34 billion for the second quarter ended September, 2015.

Revenue for the Q2 FY’ 2016 was at INR7.07 billion while the monthly churn was 1.3%. The company reported average revenue per user at INR224 and added around 164,000 net subscribers.

Parent company Bharti Airtel, meanwhile, reported a drop of 2% in the second quarter of current fiscal compared to the last quarter. “Airtel’s revenue growth in India has accelerated to 13.3% in Q2 on an underlying basis, the highest in the last 12 quarters. Our smaller businesses – home broadband, DTH and our business segment all continue to perform strongly. Mobile data revenues has grown by 60%,” said Gopal Vittal, MD and CEO, India & South Asia, according to Business Standard.

Airtel Digital TV adds 164,000 subscribers in 3Q 2015

NEW DELHI, India — Bharti Airtel Limited (“Bharti Airtel” or “the Company”) today announced its audited consolidated IFRS results for the second quarter ended September 30, 2015.

Digital TV Services

As on September 30, 2015, the Company had its Digital TV operations in 639 districts. DTH had 10.6 Mn customers at the end of the quarter, which represents an increase of 10.9% as compared to the corresponding quarter last year. Net customer additions for Digital TV during the quarter were 164K.

Customer Base (000’s)

                                           Q-o-Q             Y-o-Y
                      Sep 2015  Jun 2015  Growth  Sep 2014  Growth
                      --------  --------  ------  --------  ------
Digital TV Services     10,576    10,412      2%     9,540     11%

Operational Performance – India – Digital TV

                                       Sep 30,  Jun 30,  Mar 31,  Dec 31,  Sep 30,
Parameter                        Unit     2015     2015     2015     2014     2014
-------------------------------  ----  -------  -------  -------  -------  -------
Customers                        000s   10,576   10,412   10,073    9,810    9,540
Net additions                    000s      164      339      263      270      151
Average Revenue Per User (ARPU)    Rs      224      222      214      214      220
Average Revenue Per User (ARPU)    US      3.5      3.5      3.4      3.5      3.6

Monthly Churn                       %     1.3%     0.8%     1.0%     1.0%     1.1%

Polish cable: 10 key facts

The Polish cable industry is helping to develop the country’s economy in 10 key ways, according to the findings of a new report produced by PwC in cooperation with PIKE.

• The first is that 2.4 million people now access the internet via cable, or over double the number in 2009.
• The second is that cable now accounts for over 30% of fixed line connections. This is much higher than the European average of 18% and puts Poland in the 10th place in the EU.
• The third is that 96% of the technology used by cable operators fulfills the criteria of NGAs. Over 65% of cable subscribers in Poland can access internet services at speeds of over 30 Mbps.
• The fourth is that between 2009 and 2014 the percentage of cable subscribers opting for their internet offers increased from 31% to 43%.
  The fifth is that it can be concluded that cable operators have accounted for 4-5% of growth in Poland’s economy in recent years.
• The sixth is that the actual internet speeds offered by cable operators are 87% (download) and 103.6% (upload) of those on average available in Poland.
• The seventh is that cable operators is that invest intensively – typically 20% of their revenues, compared to an industry and ICT average of around 5%. Between 2009-2014 their investment amounted to around PLN5.3 billion (€1.25 billion).
• The eighth is that of cable operators’ revenues of PLN3.9 billion in 2014, added value accounted for PLN1.76 billion of the total.
• The ninth is that there are currently around 10,000 people employed in Poland’s cable industry, or 23% more than five years ago.
• Finally, it is estimated that public finances benefited to the tune of around PLN480 million thanks to the cable industry.

Bulgaria's Blizoo launches OTT service with ANEVIA

Blizoo Chooses ANEVIA To Launch Its New Multiscreen Service

PARIS, France — ANEVIA announces that Blizoo, the largest cable company in Bulgaria, has selected ViaMotion technology for the launch of Live Blizoo, its new OTT multi-screen service.

Available to over 350,000 subscribers, Live Blizoo offers close to thirty SD and HD channels on its dedicated portal, which can be viewed live on smartphones, laptops, or tablets. At the heart of the OTT infrastructure deployed by STI networks, the ViaMotion Plus solution prepares and delivers video streams to all subscribers. The user experience also benefits from Adaptive Streaming technologies that adjust the image quality of videos to the available bandwidth, no matter what device is used.

For Blizoo, it was important to deploy agnostic technologies that could interact with its entire ecosystem, with the ability to integrate with the middleware, rights management system, and Advanced Digital Broadcast (ADB) decoders, as well as Vector encoders. And as storage is an important element in such deployment, the ability to integrate Anevia OTT solution with the most common storage solutions on the market was a critical factor in the final selection.

“Not only our own subscribers, but all Bulgarian mobile customers can now access a new way to watch television. Just by subscribing, they can now easily access our video content portal whenever and wherever they want in Bulgaria,” explained Blizoo’s CTO, Shteryo Stefanov Badalov. “With ViaMotion, we have a solid base that will leave us leeway to plan out the development of our OTT and multi-screen strategies.”

“We are proud that our technology and expertise have been put to use for an innovative project,” explained Laurent Lafarge, CEO of Anevia. The telecommunications market, and the OTT market in particular, are very dynamic in Eastern Europe. ViaMotion is unquestionably fit to provide useful technological solutions to operators that want to diversify their product lines and develop innovative multi-screen services.”

Noted for its performance and flexibility, ViaMotion is a full line of multi-screen OTT solutions designed to enable operators, broadcasters, and content owners worldwide to deploy cloud DVR services and multi-screen services.

Number of UK quad-play households to double in 2016

Exclusive Programming to Boost Adoption of Multiplay Bundles in the UK

• Number of Households Taking Four Services from a Single Provider to Double in 2016

By the end of 2019, almost 85% of UK households will have signed up to bundles of at least two telecom and media services from the same provider. According to a new multiplay services forecast by global analyst house CCS Insight, multiplay services will continue to disrupt the market. Telecom and media companies will be forced to make new alliances and acquisitions in an effort to compete with market leaders Sky and Virgin Media.

Demand for services such as pay-TV, fixed line, broadband and mobile is clearly demonstrated in CCS Insight’s market forecast. In 2015, more than 12 million UK households will commit to a bundle of three services from the same provider. A further 1.5 million will take a bundle of four services by the end of the year, with value, convenience and fewer bills the main reasons for signing up. CCS Insight expects the number of households purchasing bundles of four services to double in 2016, and to grow steadily in the near future, helped by consolidation of the telecom market, such as BT’s proposed acquisition of EE.

CCS Insight believes there will be substantial growth in the uptake of pay-TV services, driven by promotional activities, the roll out of new services, the emergence of new providers and a proliferation of no-contract options like Now TV. Paolo Pescatore, Director of Multiplay and Media at CCS Insight, comments: “Over 40% of UK households currently do not subscribe to pay-TV services: this is a huge opportunity. BT has shown the way with the success of BT Sport. It’s now using its sport channels to drive up subscriptions to BT TV among its existing customers. It’s also targeting Sky TV customers who enjoy watching sports, while others like Virgin Media are positioning themselves as aggregators.”

“We will see similar battles in other types of programming beyond sport, fuelling further competition. We believe programmes, especially exclusive material, will be a key weapon in providers’ quest to secure customers. Those that offer a vast array of programmes will be better placed to succeed”, Pescatore continues.

Furthermore, unique approaches like Lebara Play will provide further disruption and force established providers to continue innovating. Adoption of fibre broadband will help online video-on-demand services like Netflix and Amazon Prime Instant. Pescatore comments: “These on-demand services pose a serious threat to telecom providers’ aspirations in video; the latter must react quickly and be able to move at Web speed to counter this challenge”.

The data in this release is taken from CCS Insight’s recently published Telecom Operator Multiplay Forecast, UK, 2015-2019.

UPC DTH surpasses 800,000 customers

Liberty Global’s Direct-to-home unit reaches 800,000 customers

• Satellite TV provider announces competition to mark milestone

LUXEMBOURG — Liberty Global’s satellite TV unit (“UPC DTH”), a leading satellite television provider in Central and Eastern Europe operating under the brand names freeSAT in the Czech Republic and Slovakia, UPC Direct in Hungary and Focus Sat in Romania, announced today that it has surpassed 800,000 customers – an increase of more than 60% since the formation of UPC DTH in 2010.

UPC DTH continues to expand its channel portfolio. Over the past 12 months, it has brought to its customers 18 new international and local channels many in HD. The line-up of channels continues to expand in all programming genres including: sports, news, business, lifestyle, movie, cartoon and music. Some of the major recent additions are Fine Living Network, Food Network, TV Šlágr, Duna HD, and Markiza HD.

UPC DTH’s initiatives are not limited to expanding its range of programming. In order to provide a full HD experience to all customers, the satellite provider is now offering more advanced receivers such as the Humax (UD-FOX) HD and the Kaon (3600) HD. Both of these boxes support full HD image quality and deliver a DVR experience, for those customer who opt for the DVR Ready product. These devices let customers record and watch programmes at their convenience and also pause live TV so they do not miss any of the action.

UPC DTH is also proud of its award-winning customer care (such as the Gold Stevie award received for the best Customer Service CEE) that allows customers to reach a representative when they want and how they want, including via platforms such as Skype.

To mark the milestone of surpassing 800,000 customers, UPC DTH awarded its 800,000th customer, Elena D. from Bucharest a Focus Sat customer with one year free service. In addition, UPC DTH has announced a competition starting Wednesday, October 21st, with a year’s free service available to a total of five winners across the four operating countries. Other prizes will include 6 months and 3 months of free service. The contest will be available by visiting the UPC DTH Facebook page for the appropriate country.

45% of Western European broadband homes have a smart TV

Parks Associates research finds 45% of European broadband households own a smart TV, with the highest percentage in Germany, where over 50% of broadband households have this Internet-connected CE device. The research firm will address the changing CE business models and opportunities for OTT video services in the EU connected home at the tenth-annual CONNECTIONS™ Europe – IoT: Connected Entertainment and the Smart Home, 10-11 November, at the NH Grand Hotel Krasnapolsky in Amsterdam.

“Europe has served as an early market for new online video services,” said Brett Sappington, Director, Research, Parks Associates. “As the wave of OTT video breaks across European markets, new opportunities for partnerships are opening up among OTT services, CE manufacturers, and pay-TV providers. At CONNECTIONS™ Europe, we will explore the unique value of the user interface, the role of devices such as smart TVs and streaming media devices, and future opportunities that will shape the progression of OTT video services.”

Sappington will discuss the connected entertainment research from Parks Associates’ Connected Consumer in Europe during two sessions at CONNECTIONS™ Europe.

HDR TV shipments to exceed 32 million in 2019

Global High Dynamic Range TV Shipments to Exceed 32 Million in 2019, IHS Says

SANTA CLARA, Calif — High dynamic range (HDR) TV sets, offering enhanced brightness for a broader palette of light outputs and sparkling highlights, will soon be commonplace in the global ultra-high-definition (UHD) TV market. According to IHS Inc. (NYSE: IHS), the leading global source of critical information and insight, unit shipments of HDR TVs are expected to grow dramatically from 2.9 million in 2016 to 32.6 million in 2019. The forecast covers only sets that meet the UHD Alliance’s acceptance criteria.

“Numerous consumer trials by broadcasters, content producers and research labs have demonstrated that HDR has a huge impact on viewers,” said Paul Gray, principal analyst for IHS. “Not only do images look more realistic, but coverage of sports and other outdoor events in HDR also ensures that none of the action is lost in shadow. It is also worth remembering that HDR images are recognizable and effective regardless of the screen size or viewing distance.”

According to the Quarterly TV Design and Features Report from IHS Technology, HDR will start to gain a toehold in the market beginning in 2016, but the start of rapid growth won’t occur until 2017 when 12.5 million HDR TV are expected to ship. “As with other new technologies, we expect that the Chinese consumer will be in the forefront of adoption,” Gray said. “While HDR is expected to make up the largest share of UHD TV sets in the Japanese market, due to that country’s lead in broadcast UHD services.”

The IHS Quarterly TV Design and Features Report tracks all 4K UHD TV product ranges, forecasts, video processing, and broadcasting; plus, detailed information on other aspects of TV design such as smart TV, backlighting technology, organic light-emitting diode (OLED) and 3D.

DTH drives Russian pay-TV market

The DTH platform Orion Express was the fastest growing pay-TV service in Russia in the first nine months of this year.

Research published by Telecom Daily show that it ended the third quarter with 2,748,000 subscribers, or 6.5% more than at the end of 2014.

It was closely followed by the market leader Tricolor TV, its 11,600,000 subscribers total being 6.4% higher than at the end of 2014.

Rostelecom grew its subscriber base by 3.6% to 8,270,000, ER Telecom by 2.7% to 2,690,000 and MTS by 2.4% to 2,825,000 over the same period.

The research notes that DTH still remains the most popular method of receiving pay-TV services in Russia.

The total number of pay-TV subscribers in the country stood at 39.1 million as of the end of Q3, up from 36.9 million in the corresponding period in 2014.

Astro Malaysia launches VoD service

Astro Malaysia Holdings launches a video-on-demand service, ‘On Demand (OD)’. The service can be accessed on internet connected personal video recorder and on Astro-on-the-go. Through this service, Astro targets 500,000 connected PVRs by year end from its current 181,000 connected boxes. It also aims to increase total Astro-on-the-go downloads from 1.8 million currently to reach 2.5 million by year end, and more importantly increasing viewership of active users from 140 minutes weekly to more than 180 minutes by year-end.

OD allows users to personalise TV viewing – from the content selection to how and when they want to watch shows. Its content offering includes latest and biggest box office movies and complete seasons of TV series, said the firm in a press note.

“Malaysians are sophisticated consumers, increasingly online and connected, increasingly plugged into the digital grid, increasingly watching content outside the home, online and offline. Today we see a rising demand for Video on Demand services. OD is our new complementary way of consuming content, at home or on the go,” said Dato’ Rohana Rozhan, Chief Executive Officer of Astro Malaysia.

The OD offers three options:

OD Free:  Users who are connected to PVRs on home Wi-Fi will be able to enjoy content for free. It provides latest episodes and season of popular TV series like Empire, Scandal, The Walking Dead, Heroes Reborn, Quantico, The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, Game of Thrones, The Blacklist, The Voice and many others – all on the same day as the US premiere. Also catch up on the latest episodes of local content like Akademi Fantasia, Classic Golden Melody etc.

OD Plus: This option is subscription based and it is priced at MYR15.90 per month. Astro provides on demand access to a premium local and international movies, blockbusters, complete box-sets of TV series and kids content. It offers all episodes of your various series such as Grey’s Anatomy, The Flash, Arrow, Gotham, How To Get Away With Murder, Agent Carter, Big Bang Theory and Hollywood blockbusters like the Harry Potter complete collection and The Lord of the Rings trilogy.

OD Store: This is transaction based VoD, customers can pick and pay for the latest cinema releases – from Hollywood to local and Asian blockbusters across a wide range of vernacular and international languages, including Malay, Chinese and Indian. Fast & Furious 7, The Avengers: Age of Ultron, and Inside Out as well as Kapsul, Bravo 5, Jejak Warriors, Heart Attack and The Killer are all available on OD Store.

Astro provides free access to OD Plus service for three months to those who sign up before 31 January, 2016 in order to captivate customers.

Airtel Digital TV launches 4K channel

Airtel Digital TV has launched a 4K-Ultra HD (UHD) channel. The direct-to-home TV service provider rolled-out the channel with a special 4K screening of Salman Khan-starrer, Bajrangi Bhaijaan.

The 4K channel is available free-of-cost for Samsung Smart Direct TV users. Airtel Digital Tv will be beaming special content for the channel such as Overhalin’ (from Discovery) and movies such as Kick and Jai Ho.

According to Airtel, the IDTV will change the way users consume 4K content. The technology involves a small set-top box into a small card that is placed inside the television set.

“The elegant solution offers a smart TV viewing experience with minimal signal loss and maximum audio and video clarity while also ensuring maximum power savings,” the DTH provider said, according to Television Post.

Pay-TV operators grapple with enhanced security

Operators are struggling to balance new enhanced security requirements for Ultra HD services, while trying to avoid running multiple security systems.

A new White Paper produced by security firm Nagra Kudelski says uncertainty remains as to what the standards will be for Enhanced Content Protection services, including the extent to which High Dynamic Range (HDR) technologies will become part of the equation.

Adding to the mix a higher than anticipated penetration of Ultra HD sets has led to Ultra HD launches by streaming services Netflix and Amazon, and the occasional broadcast venture, such as that launched in August by BT Sport.

Measures put forward by MovieLabs for next generation content protection has become a top priority for multi-network service providers across broadcast, multicast and OTT content. “Having to ensure that multiple content protection schemes comply to new requirements can represent a significant overhead to new ECP-related projects,” says the report, Unifying Content Security on Network Devices.

The report points out that content owner security priorities might not always be the same as service provider security priorities, who want to ensure the entire service is protected, and not just individual elements.

Major change at Russian cableco

Dmitry Dronov, the president of the Moscow-based cable operator Akado, has resigned after only four months in the post.

Quoting unnamed sources at the company,Comnews reports that his departure was a mutual decision with Akado’s shareholders. However, no reasons were given.

The sources also confirmed that Nikolay Kuzmenko has been appointed the acting president and general director of the Akado Telekom group of companies.

Dronov succeeded Viktor Koresh, who did not have his contract renewed, while Kuzmenko has only been at Akado since August.

There have also been a number of other changes at senior managerial level at Akado in the last few months.

Akado claimed over 1 million pay-TV subscribers, equivalent to a 19% share of the total market (cable, DTH and IPTV), in Moscow last year.

However, its share in St Petersburg was less than 1%.

Google announces new Android TV partners

Google has added Hisense, TCL, and several other smart TV manufacturers to the Android TV family.

In addition Android TV will also come to set-top boxes from Pace, Sagemcom, Technicolor, and pay TV operators KDDI (Japan) and Telecom Italia. Existing Android TV partners include Nexus Player, Philips/TPVision, Sony, Sharp, Razer Forge TV, and Nvidia Shield.

Last week, Magine announced the release of its app for Android TV to bring the streaming service to connected TVs in Germany and Sweden.

In the US, Google has added a number of apps from broadcasters, including Showtime, HBO Now, CBS All Access, Disney Movies Anywhere, Epix, WWE and UFC. A full list of available apps for Android TV is available from the Google Play website, but offers are dependent on the country.

Current US apps include Fox News, The Weather Network, FXNOW, Fox Sports Go, Epix, Sling TV, Crackle, HGTV, Travel Channel, Food Network, Hulu, Netflix, AOL On, MLB.tv, PBS Kids, and Pluto TV.

Telenor to sell VimpelCom stake

Telenor Group has decided to sell its 33% economic interest in the Russian telco VimpelCom.

Commenting on the move, Svein Aaser, chairman of the board of directors of Telenor Group, said: “The VimpelCom asset, where Telenor holds a minority position without the possibility to fully control the company, has been challenging. Based on a strategic review by the Board and the CEO, and after due considerations, Telenor Group has decided to divest its shares in VimpelCom Ltd. The disposal of our shares is in the best interest of our shareholders, and in accordance with Telenor Group’s long-term strategic focus”.

Telenor Group has invested NOK15 billion (€1.59 billion) in VimpelCom. The company has received NOK20 billion in dividends and the current market value of its ownership stake is approximately NOK20 billion.

The market value of VimpelCom shares represents around 8% of Telenor’s capitalisation value.

Sigve Brekke, president and CEO of Telenor Group, added: “We have maintained growth through solid performance from our controlled operations and will continue to focus on value creation in our core operations. Our ambition is to drive profitable growth in the telecom business, where Telenor will continue to monetize on the exponential data usage taking place across our footprint”.

Although no timetable for the divestment has been set, Telenor acknowledges it could take some time.

VimpelCom currently lists Mikhail Fridman’s L1 Technology, previously known as Altimo, as the largest shareholder, with a 48% stake in the telco.

Local production of STBs for ER-Telecom begins

The first batch of TV set-top boxes has rolled off the production line in Russia

In Perm, the Morion plant has started serial production of set-top boxes providing access to digital TV. By the end of the year, based on Dom.ru order, over 100 thousand STB Dom.ru TV Mini will be assembled at the Morion plant. 3-year production turnover will total about RUB 4 billion.

Assembly, software installation and testing are performed at a new specialized production line at the Morion plant. The line deploys modern equipment that meets the principles of lean technologies and utmost ergonomics. The assembly site has 25 new workplaces.

Previously, Dom.ru TV Mini were assembled by Korean KAON company, today the company supplies the parts and controls the quality of assembly. The localization of production in Russia is a part of Dom.ru strategy: “The launch in the market of the equipment produced locally will provide access to advanced technologies and will allow using them for further economic development”, notes Andrey Semerikov, General Director of the company.

Prior to the launch of production in Russia, ER-Telecom (Dom.ru brand), Morion and Kaonmedia Ltd. signed a trilateral cooperation agreement at the International Economic Forum in Saint-Petersburg.

In 2016, it is planned to assemble up to 1 million KAON set-top boxes at Morion, allowing the company to fully transfer to our country the production of hybrid set-top boxed for the operators in Russia and the CIS countries.

Dom.ru TV Mini allows watching digital and HD channels on any TV, including outdated models. The compact device is connected to the TV via HDMI connector (or a special adapter), it is easy to setup and managed by a special control panel. Also, Dom.ru Mini opens the access to certain additional functions of digital TV, including TV guide (e-program), programs recording to an external USB-drive and their pausing, choice of channel language, parental control (password to the channels), creating personal channel lists. By connecting Dom.ru TV Mini, a user can watch up to 187 digital channels with 62 of them – in HD format.

Viasat expands in Ukraine

The Ukrainian OTT service Divan.TV will offer its viewers all Viasat channels available in the country.

Mediasat reports this follows an agreement between the service and Viasat Ukraine and that the channels will be available on all devices as part of a new package named Viasat Premium.

The channels include the HD services TV1000 Premium HD and TV1000 Megahit HD.

Divan.TV is aimed at a Ukrainian and Russian speaking audience of 300 million in 200 countries worldwide.

As previously reported in Broadband TV News, it broke even in Q4 last year.

NXT Digital uses Nagra’s anyCAST and OpenTV solutions

NXT Digital, the Hinduja Group’s headend-in-the-sky (HITS) venture, is using Nagra’s anyCAST and OpenTV solutions.

Kudelski Group’s Nagra provides multiscreen as well as content protection solutions. NXT Digital was recently launched by Hinduja Group’s subsidiary Grant Investrade. The HITS platform is expected to help cable TV operators migrate from analogue to digital broadcasting.

NAGRA’s solutions: anyCAST, OpenTV are user interface platforms that enable NXT Digital manage backend operations to local and multi-system cable operators in India, reports Indian Television. According to NAGRA, its solutions are ready to deploy and support both entry-level and advanced DTV services. The solutions will also enable MSOs to provide services in different languages.

“This new platform makes it easy for local and regional cable operators to deploy new services without having to worry about the operational complexities that can come with installing their own system. And by leveraging Nagra’s deployed, market-leading solutions, they are ensuring a high quality user experience that is not only highly secure but offers pay-as-you-grow models adapted to their strategy,” said Nagra’s SVP sales for Asia-Pacific Jean-Luc Jezouin, reports Television Post.

Videocon d2h aims to strengthen DTH business

Videocon d2h- the direct-to-home TV service provider- is planning to invest as much as USD1 billion over the next five years to strengthen its position in the Indian TV market.

According to Videocon Group chairman Venugopal Dhoot, the company’s USD325 million offering received positive response in the US, leading to greater cash flow into India business, according to Television Post.

The DTH player says that it is expecting to end the current financial year with an EBITDA of INR8.2 to 8.6 billion. In FY2015, Videocon d2h posted an operating profit of INR6.10 billion.

Videocon currently has a net subscriber base of 10.64 million while Average Revenue per User stands at INR205.

The company recently said that the new wave of digitisation will help it make profits over the next three months.

“We hope to be PAT positive early next year or late this year (within the next three quarters),” Videocon D2H executive director Saurabh Dhoot told Deccan Herald. With 60-70 million analog homes planned to be digitised in the next 2-4 years as part of the the Phase 3 and Phase 4 digitisation, we hope to double our subscriber base in the next three to four years, Dhoot added, according to Deccan Herald.

Russian DVB-T2 coup for DataMiner

The Russian Television and Radio Broadcasting Network (RTRS) has chosen DataMiner to manage its DVB-T2 network.

The network, reaching over 120 million people, consists of more than 5,000 digital transmitter sites and 70 regional headends, and DataMiner is integrated with over 4,000 devices from almost 500 different vendors.

Commenting on the deployment, Victor Pinchuk, first deputy general director at RTRS, said “The multi-vendor DataMiner network management and operational support system has been instrumental to our procurement strategy, since we needed an end-to-end network management solution to manage and operate the network irrespective of vendor or device type in the network. DataMiner is the only solution on the market that does the job today and guarantees our freedom to deploy just about any technology in our network in the future”.

Ben Vandenberghe, CEO at Skyline Communications, added: “The RTRS network really benefits from the DataMiner system architecture, as it can be scaled to manage and operate both small networks and the world’s largest network infrastructures. The multi-vendor nature of our system allows RTRS to deploy the best suited equipment today and in the future”.

AMT Group will be acting as a system integrator of the project. Its CEO Alexander Goltsov said that it would be using the latest product version, DataMiner 9.0, which will be installed for the first time in Russia.

As previously reported in Broadband TV News, Russia completed the transition to DVB-T2 in January this year.

CTH powers OTT platform with Magine

Cable Thai Holdings (CTH) has deployed a cloud-based system from Magine TV to power its over-the-top platform for delivering video content to mobile devices.     

CTH will provide live streaming and catch-up functionality across its range of sports and entertainment programming.

“This is a major step for Magine, and marks our first move into the Asian market. Live sports events such as Premier League football matches are integral to CTH’s offering, and create a huge demand on OTT platforms in terms of the number of users streaming concurrently,” said Ambuj Goyal, CEO, Magine TV.

“We are delighted to … move CTH into an area of offering which is becoming more and more relevant in Thailand. The significance of this alliance cannot be overstated because the demands of being a pay TV broadcaster requires a constant need to innovate our business, our offering, and who we are, to ensure that our subscribers are connected to the best there is. This relationship with Magine allows us to address these objectives,” said Arnath Sukhavanj, CEO of CTH.

Alma TV partners Gorsvyaz to upgrade network

Kazakhstani cable television operator, AlmaTV has selected a Russian outsourcing company, Gorsvyaz to upgrade its infrastructure at Almaty city.

Gorsvyaz facilitates the development and modernisation of the Alma TV network. This allows Alma TV to effectively utilise its existing infrastructure to quickly connect new subscribers and to implement projects for promoting new services, reported Cnews.ru.

“AlmaTV always sets itself high standards of rigor. In this connection, the decision to increase the level of service quality of the network was a logical step. To this end, we invited competent professionals who have proven their professionalism, working in a highly competitive market of Moscow,” said Alexander Parkhomenko, Deputy General Director of AlmaTV.

AlmaTV was established in 1995. It is available across 19 cities in Kazakhstan and provides over 100 channels. It also offers IPTV and OTT services.

Austria’s simpliTV launches internet service

Austrian DTT platform simpliTV has commenced offering internet access.

Customers receive a Wi-Fi modem with a SIM card setting up a hotspot through the mobile network of local mobile network operator Drei. The maximum download data rate amounts to 10Mbps, the maximum upload data rate is 4Mbps.

The internet service is a real flat-rate with unlimited data volume. The monthly subscription price starts at €18.00 in combination with simpliTV’s TV offering; it is not available as a stand-alone product.

From December 2015, simpliTV wants to offer the possibility to watch its TV channels in the customer’s household on smartphones, tablets, laptops and PCs through the Wi-Fi hotspot.

Top pay-TV operators to add 200 million subs

Pay-TV subscriptions for 338 operators across 89 countries will increase by 200 million from a collective 704 million in 2014 to 904 million by 2020, according to a new report from Digital TV Research.

The Global Pay TV Operator Forecasts report estimates that 29 operators had more than 5 million paying subs by end-2014.

China Radio & TV is the world’s largest pay-TV operator by a long,long way. Government policy to consolidate cable TV means that it quickly became the world’s largest pay-TV operator, with 198 million subs by end-2014. The operator will soon represent every cable TV home in China, with 252 million subscribers expected by 2020 – up by nearly 54 million on 2014.

Following China Radio & TV, IPTV operators China Telecom and BesTV will add 14.7 million and 13.2 million subs respectively. In fact, 12 operators from China and India will collectively add 130 million subscribers between 2014 and 2020.

Global subscriber growth is all the more impressive as 79 (23%) of the 338 operators will lose subscribers between 2014 and 2020. Korea’s CJ Hellovision will lose the most (827,000 subs), followed by Germany’s Unitymedia (down by 592,000) and Romania’s RCS-RDS (down 477,000). Very broadly, pay-TV operators in Asia Pacific’s emerging markets will see strong growth, with North America and Western Europe suffering.

Despite adding 200 million subscribers between 2014 and 2020, subscription and VOD revenues for the 338 operators will remain flat at $183 billion. From the total, 34 pay-TV operators earned more than $1 billion in subscription and VOD revenues in 2014.

The dominance of China and India is diminished when the operators are ranked in subscriptions and VOD revenue terms. Led by DirecTV (now owned by AT&T, which owned three of the top 10 operators by revenues in 2014), the US will take six of the top 10 positions in both 2014 and 2020.

China Radio & TV will add a massive $2.16 billion between 2014 and 2020. In fact, five operators will add more than $500 million in revenues. However, 97 operators (29%) will lose revenues, with Comcast (down by $4.6 billion) declining by the most – followed by Time Warner (down $2.3 billion) and DirecTV (down $1.8 billion).