Videocon d2h launches connected set-top box

Videocon d2h launching Wi-Fi “SMART HD SET TOP BOX”

• Now convert your existing LED TV into a SMART TV with Videocon d2h

MUMBAI, India — Videocon d2h (NASDAQ, USA: VDTH) India’s fastest growing DTH service is launching HD SMART Set top Box (Connected Set top box) which converts your existing LED TV into a Smart TV besides showing you more than 500 Channels & services in High Definition and Standard Definition. While the DTH tech in it brings television channels in Standard Definition, High Definition, the Connected set top box allows one to browse content from Twitter, Facebook, Daily Motion, video on demand sites, ott apps, news, weather etc through applications residing on STB. HD Smart Set Top Box will work as a tool for personalization, engagement and new customer experiences and with internet connectivity, one can convert one’s TV into a smart TV using it.

With this new launch, Videocon d2h has scaled new technological heights and demonstrated its ability by providing a high end advanced product that delivers next generation solutions as part of the idea of Internet of Things (IoT).

The feature of unlimited external recording is also available, by plugging in your own external storage device for recording your favourite programs, for e.g.: if one plugs in his own external hard drive of 1000GB, they can record up to 1900 hrs of content of a standard definition channel.

Connect your HD Smart Set Top Box to your home network of mobile internet, wifi or cable broadband connection to enable data streaming. Select the smart connect feature and on pressing ok from your remote, one can connect to the world of exciting apps like Twitter, Facebook, Daily Motion, Video on demand, movies etc and watch as per convenience. One can watch the latest videos trending through daily motion app. Users can also connect with their respective social media page to tweet & post updates. With the additional feature of USB recording, one can also record their favourite programs while they are away and watch them later.

Mr. Saurabh Dhoot, Executive Chairman, Videocon d2h said, “We are proud to announce the launch of this breakthrough technology in the DTH space. This launch of gen-next HD Smart Set Top Box demonstrates our unrivalled expertise and innovation in creation, delivery and execution of technologically advanced products. This product promises to make your existing TV into a smart TV and ensure connectivity with the world. We are enabling convergence of TV, DTH & internet all in one place.”

Mr. Anil Khera, CEO Videocon d2h says, “We aim to empower people with our connected set top boxes. Our HD Smart Set Top Box offers exceptional features like internet based apps, USB recording, HD quality viewing and reverse path which enable customers to create a unique viewing experience and also stay connected. The customer benefits from an enriched viewing experience through a new user interface allowing seamless navigation”

In the battle for the entertainment space, connected set-top boxes from Videocon d2h will set the benchmark. In their evolution from merely providing entertainment, the gen-next connected STBs, HD Smart Set Top Box will be connecting the TV to web-based content and finally to home control and monitoring features.

Videocon d2h has prided itself in presenting its subscribers with a robust line-up of 525 channels and services, including a host of regional channels. It offers a wide range of active services like smart services including Smart English, Smart Games. The other active services include d2h Hollywood HD, d2h music, d2h spice, d2h cinema in both Standard Definition and HD, etc.

STB shipments to SAARC region grew 52% in 2015

BANGALORE — Set-Top-Box shipments into the SAARC region has witnessed robust year on year growth of 52% during 2015, according to a new report by Dataxis. In 2015, 22.3 million STBs were shipped in the SAARC region with an estimated value of USD494 million, compared to a 14 million STBs worth USD349 million in 2014.

Shipments of set-top boxes (STBs) to the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) countries hit 11.3 million in Q4-2015.

India leads the quarter ending 31 December, accounting for about 97% of the total shipments to region – comprising Bangladesh, Nepal, India, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka. In Q4-2015, India saw the highest shipments of over 6 million cable STBs, due to cable TV digitisation in India.

Technicolor shipped close to 2.38 million STBs to India in Q4-2015, followed by Skyworth with 2.19 million shipments. Majority of Technicolor STBs were shipped to DTH operators.

“With a mere three HD pay TV channels in 2010, this number has boomed to greater than 60 channels in 2015. As demand for HD content continues to grow in India, the average selling price of HD STB has dropped to USD 34 in 2015, compared to USD 40 in 2014”. says Anusha S, research analyst at Dataxis.

The demand for HD services are higher amongst DTH subscribers, which in turn has boosted the operators ARPU. HD STB shipments was 32% of total STB shipments in 2015, up from 14% in 2014. Uptake of HD services amongst cable subscribers is yet to make a mark as cable TV operators are focusing on meeting the digitization mandate by installing SD STB.

Vendors analysed in the research are Indigenous Manufacturers like Trend Technologies, Hero -My Box Technologies, Logic Eastern, Indieon, Riddsys, Simmtronics, One-Eight Technologies, Spectra Innovations, Willet Communications, Modern Communication and Broadcast Systems.

International vendors: Changhong, Huawei Technologies, Skyworth, EchoStar, Pace, Technicolor, Cisco Systems, Humax Electronics and Homecast.

Kazakhstan's Alma TV to launch IPTV in the first half of 2016

Kazakhstan cable TV operator, Alma TV, has released a review of the activities of the company in 2015. During the year, the company added five major cities to its digital television network – Taraz, Taldykorgan, Ekibastuz, Aksu and Kokshetau.

In late December, the operator launched in beta an interactive TV service called TV BOX, using OTT technology.

In addition, the company has been developing its broadband access business with DOCSIS 3 technology, and said that it will launch an IPTV service in the first half of 2016.

FCC approves proposal to unlock the set-top box

FCC Moves to “Unlock the Box” to Spur Competition, Choice, & Innovation in Set-Top Box and App Marketplace

• Proposal will protect copyright agreements, channel-lineups while giving consumers options

WASHINGTON — The Federal Communications Commission today approved a proposal that would tear down anti-competitive barriers and pave the way for software, devices, and other innovative solutions to compete with the set-top boxes that a majority of consumers lease from pay-TV providers today. The Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) will create a framework for providing innovators, device manufacturers, and app developers the information they need to develop new technologies, reflecting the many ways consumers access their subscription video programming today.

Ninety-nine percent of pay-TV subscribers have limited choices today and lease set-top boxes from their cable and satellite operators. Lack of competition has meant few choices and high prices for consumers – on average, $231 in rental fees annually for the average American household. Altogether, U.S. consumers spend $20 billion a year to lease these devices. Since 1994, according to a recent analysis, the cost of cable set-top boxes has risen 185 percent while the cost of computers, televisions, and mobile phones has dropped by 90 percent. Congress recognized the importance of a competitive marketplace and directed the Commission to adopt rules that will ensure consumers will be able to use the device they prefer for accessing programming they’ve paid for.

Today’s NPRM provides the framework to “unlock the box” for innovators to create competitive solutions – either hardware or software-based apps — that give consumers freedom of choice. Specifically, it recommends that pay-TV providers be required to deliver three core information streams:

• Service discovery: Information about what programming is available to the consumer, such as the channel listing and video-on-demand lineup, and what is on those channels.
• Entitlements: Information about what a device is allowed to do with content, such as recording.
• Content delivery: The video programming itself.

Instead of mandating a government-specific standard that might impede innovation, the Commission recommends that these three streams be available to the creators of competitive solutions using any published, transparent format that conforms to specifications set by an independent, open standards body. Consumers who enjoy their current set-up through their pay-TV provider do not have to take any action. The proposal would instead provide an option for consumers looking for a competitive device or app to access the pay-TV content to which they currently subscribe.

The Notice of Proposed Rulemaking also recommends content protection rules that provide MVPDs flexibility. The proposed rules do not mandate a single security system but simply require MVPDs to offer at least one content protection system that is openly licensed on reasonable and non-discriminatory terms. This gives MVPDs the ability to create their own content protection system to prevent theft and misuse, while ensuring that manufacturers will be able to build devices that can access protected content from a variety of MVPDs.

The proposal seeks to maintain programmers’ existing agreements with MVPDs and full copyright protections and remedies. The proposal tentatively concludes that new device or app developers should certify compliance with similar privacy protections to those that MVPDs comply with today.

Additionally, the NPRM proposes to:

• Ensure that children’s programming advertising limits and emergency alerts apply regardless of whether the consumer leases the MVPD’s set-top box or uses a competitive solution to access video programming;
• Include a billing transparency rule to ensure that consumers understand their monthly charges for both programming services and equipment lease fees in accordance with section 629; and
• Retain the Commission’s rules adopted in a 2010 Report and Order to improve support for consumer-owned CableCARD devices.
• It also includes a Memorandum Opinion and Order removing the so-called “integration ban” language from the Code of Federal Regulations, as required under Section 106 of the STELA Reauthorization Act of 2014.

Action by the Commission February 18, 2016, by Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (FCC 16-18). Chairman Wheeler, Commissioners Clyburn and Rosenworcel approving with Commissioners Pai and O’Rielly dissenting. Chairman Wheeler, Commissioners Clyburn, Rosenworcel, Pai and O’Rielly issuing statements.

>50% Smart TV penetration in major TV markets by 2019

More Than Half of All Households in Japan, US and Europe Will Have Smart TVs by 2019

• Japan leads the United States and Western Europe, followed by China

TOKYO, Japan — Smart TV adoption has improved in many developed regions, along with China, as consumers increasingly seek streaming content from online video services. By 2019, more than 50 percent of TV households in Japan, the United States, the United Kingdom, France and Germany will have smart TVs, according to IHS Inc. (NYSE: IHS), the leading global source of critical information and insight.

According to the latest information from the IHS TV Sets Intelligence Service, smart TV household penetration in Japan has already reached 50 percent and will rise to 63 percent in 2019, followed by the United States at 57 percent. Among Western European countries, Germany and the United Kingdom are expected to reach 53 percent penetration for smart TVs in 2019, followed closely by France at 50 percent.

“Increasing demand for 4K resolution, the debut of high dynamic range (HDR) for both hardware and content, and access to streaming content that supports these features will accelerate smart TV demand globally,” said Hisakazu Torii, senior director of consumer device research for IHS Technology. “Growing availability of 4K content from online video providers will also support this trend, as will the introduction of ultra-high-definition Blu-ray in 2016.”

Although China is considered to be an emerging TV market, smart TV household penetration is expected to reach 46 percent by 2019, which is higher than other emerging regions. Smart TV is an essential feature on TVs sold in China, because many Chinese consumers seek out online content services. “With content providers and smart-device manufacturers, such as Alibaba, LeTV, Xiaomi, now entering the TV set market, Chinese consumers have more smart TV choices than ever before,” Torii said. “Increased sales of 4K TVs will accelerate these trends in the Chinese market.”

Unlike the high adoption expected in most developed countries and China, smart TV household penetration in other emerging countries will remain low, due to a lack of online video content and insufficient infrastructure to deliver the required broadband Internet content to the home. For those reasons, smart TV household penetration in Brazil and Russia will only reach 36 percent in 2019 and just 3 percent in India.

The IHS TV Sets Intelligence Service includes shipment and revenue data, average prices, average screen sizes and shipment area across 80 countries. All metrics in the database are further split by manufacturer, display type and resolution.

Sky Deutschland loses pace, but adds Sky Q

Sky Deutschland only acquired 120,000 new subscribers in the last three months of 2015, considerably less than the 214,000 new customers the German pay-TV broadcaster reported in the important Christmas quarter 2014.

The strong increase in 2014 was based on special effects, according to a Sky Deutschland spokesman, mainly the takeover of former Telekom Entertain Bundesliga subscribers and less 24 month contracts up for renewal than in 2015.

In total, Sky Deutschland had 4.49 million subscribers on December 31, 2015. One year ago, the figure amounted to 4.12 million.

While turnover rose by 10% to €963 million, Sky Deutschland didn’t manage to improve its operating profit in the second half of 2015. The loss increased from €19.5 million to €47.3 million which the broadcaster mainly attributes to increasing programming costs of €23.6 million relating to the Bundesliga rights.

Later this year, Sky Deutschland wants to launch a new Sky+ HD box offering updated features and technology. The box will be compatible with the functionality of the Sky Q box to be introduced in the UK in February 2016, giving customers the ability to access Sky Q featuresat a later date.

Vodafone eyes Spanish TV expansion

Vodafone is preparing to launch a new TV service in Spain.

Neeo reports that it will make its debut on March 7 and be delivered via ADSL, xDSL and VDSL.

Although it is as yet unknown if the number of channels the service will offer will be the same as Vodafone TV Fibra, its cost is expected to be similar.

Furthermore, reception will be through a new device with very similar functionality to TiVo but with a completely different interface.

Neeo adds that Vodafone has been working on the new system for months and completely changed what was Ono TV Online to launch Vodafone TV Online. The latter is an app that gives access to over 43 live channels on smartphones, tablets and iPads.

Spain’s Vodafone TV ended 2015 with over one million subscribers, adding 100,000 in the last quarter. In its results, published earlier this month, the company noted that take-up had been helped by the addition of Netflix last October.

TRAI TO INTRODUCE ON INTEROPERABILITY OF STBS

The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) will soon allow interoperability between cable service and DTH (direct-to-home) service providers, allowing users to change their cable operators, similar to the telecom sector. The regulator will consult the MSOs and DTH operators on the matter.

Till now, cable operators and DTH service providers offer their services bundled with a set-top box which cost between INR 1500-2000(US$ 21.88- US$ 29.17). However, if a consumer is not satisfied with his service provider, he is forced to buy a new set-top box from the other operator because of technical issues. Even the amount paid for the box is non-refundable.

In this context, TRAI is framing its views on the issue and the final guidelines will be out within a couple of months, said sources. A consultation paper on draft tariff order, prescribing framework for commercial interoperability of customer premises equipment – set top box – in DTH services was floated in February last year. However, the final recommendations are pending. TRAI will now float a new concept paper on the same issue asking for ways to implement interoperability.

“The idea is to allow operability between cable operators and DTH service providers just like we can use our mobile phones. This will help consumers immensely and will promote competition while improving quality of services,” said a senior TRAI official. In telecom segment, mobile number portability is allowed, enabling users to change service providers while retaining their mobile numbers.

This proposed TRAI move is also likely to bring down the cost of set-top box. The concept paper will seek inputs from the industry and consumers. TRAI will work with all stakeholders to come out with standards and specifications for the set-top boxes to make portability a success in the cable broadcasting space. The smart card, which has a device similar to mobile SIM, will work on any set-top box, regardless of the operator.

Spain's Pay TV subscribers down 44,000 in 2Q 2015

Spain’s Markets and Competition Commission (Comisión Nacional de los Mercados y la Competencia – CNMC) has published telecommunications and audiovisual statistics for the country for the second quarter of 2015.

In the quarter, total pay TV subscribers fell by 44,000 to 5.35 million, driven by a 150,000 reduction in satellite TV subscribers. Year-on-year, the market grew by over 1 million subscribers, almost entirely on account of growth in Telefónica’s Movistar IPTV service. Telefónica completed its acquisition of Prisa’s 56% stake in Canal+ España during the period, giving it a dominant market share in Spain with over 70% of pay TV subscribers.

Pay TV subscribers by technology

                 I/2014    II/2014   III/2014    IV/2014     I/2015    II/2015    Δ Q-o-Q    Δ Y-o-Y  Δ Y-o-Y
              ---------  ---------  ---------  ---------  ---------  ---------  ---------  ---------  -------
IPTV            947,748  1,296,592  1,665,765  1,990,972  2,268,318  2,366,186     97,868  1,069,594    82.5%
Satellite     1,631,607  1,597,311  1,580,313  1,553,010  1,549,511  1,399,532   -149,979   -197,779   -12.4%
Cable         1,128,605  1,141,636  1,131,062  1,141,008  1,161,639  1,197,118     35,479     55,482     4.9%
DTT             232,084    247,153    237,900    231,406    225,177    198,411    -26,766    -48,742   -19.7%
Others           29,779     26,664     94,532    143,575    192,809    191,744     -1,065    165,080   619.1%
              ---------  ---------  ---------  ---------  ---------  ---------  ---------  ---------  -------
TOTAL         3,969,823  4,309,356  4,709,572  5,059,971  5,397,454  5,352,991    -44,463  1,043,635    24.2%

Pay TV subscribers by provider

                           II/2014   III/2014    IV/2014     I/2015    II/2015  Δ Q-o-Q    Δ Y-o-Y  Δ Y-o-Y
                         ---------  ---------  ---------  ---------  ---------  -------  ---------  -------
Telefónica (Movistar+)           -          -          -          -  3,817,243  -61,363    987,471    34.9%
 Telefónica (Movistar)   1,205,797  1,576,779  1,881,457  2,136,286          -        -          -        -
 DTS (Canal+)            1,623,975  1,674,845  1,696,585  1,742,320          -        -          -        -
Ono -> Vodafone            777,667    775,144    783,887    791,460    815,784   24,324     38,117     4.9%
GolTV                      247,153    237,900    231,406    225,177    198,411  -26,766    -48,742   -19.7%
Orange                      90,795     88,986    109,515    132,032    140,079    8,047     49,284    54.3%
TeleCable                  128,109    128,910    129,891    129,951    129,951        0      1,842     1.4%
Euskaltel                  120,970    113,222    110,399    112,651    114,977    2,326     -5,993    -5.0%
R                           93,086     91,944     94,608    105,023    113,884    8,861     20,798    22.3%
Others                      21,804     21,842     22,223     22,554     22,662      108        858     3.9%
                         ---------  ---------  ---------  ---------  ---------  -------  ---------  -------
Total                    4,309,356  4,709,572  5,059,971  5,397,454  5,352,991  -44,463  1,043,635    24.2%

Netflix on pay-TV benefits operator business

Integrating Netflix into traditional pay-TV services, such as Virgin Media and BT TV, has had a net positive impact on these operators’ performance, according to research by IHS.

These partnerships are not appropriate for all, though – operators investing in their own movies and entertainment content, such as Sky, typically remain wary of working with Netflix. In the longer-term, there is a risk that Netflix will put pressure on some of operators’ core services, including premium movie packages and video-on-demand (VOD) offerings.

These conclusions are from a new report from IHS, Netflix on Pay-TV: A Marriage of Convenience, which was compiled from interviews with executives from companies across the pay-TV value chain, including operators and their technology partners. The data underlying the analysis is sourced from company reports and from IHS market intelligence and forecasts.

Netflix has partnerships in place with 25 pay-TV providers, IHS says, with many more likely to follow after the over-the-top (OTT) video giant expanded to 130 new territories last month.

“Many of the operators working with Netflix have seen customer satisfaction ratings improve under the partnerships, which have helped foster positive operational performances,” said Ted Hall, research director at IHS Technology.

Revenue-wise, however, operators typically receive a share of the ongoing subscription fees only for customers that sign up via that operator’s set-top box, the IHS report says. This is insignificant, as most Netflix users either already have an account or sign up via a more user-friendly device, such as a PC/laptop or tablet.

“Netflix is a both less lucrative and more dangerous content partner to work with than the other premium networks pay TV providers traditionally partner with, such as HBO”, Hall said. “But collaborating with the ever-popular streaming service is necessary for many operators positioning their platforms as one-stop-shop ecosystems for TV and video content.”

The results from the IHS survey generally support the view that third-party video-steaming services positively impact operators’ performance and complement traditional channels and VoD offerings. However, caution remains over how this dynamic could change as Netflix becomes more popular, with some operators wary that it has the potential to negatively impact core pay-TV services and, in turn, average revenue per user and revenues overall.

“Netflix plays at least some – likely small – role as an upsell driver for some operators, whose customers can only access the app via their most advanced set-top boxes,” Hall said. “This is the case for 10 of Netflix’s 25 operator partners, primarily those using TiVo as their technology partner, in addition to Orange, Bouygues and Elisa.”

However, concerns were also expressed that some of operators’ core channel packages and VOD services could be at risk in the longer term, as growing numbers of pay-TV subscribers access Netflix.

Videocon d2h adds 0.43 million net subscribers in 4Q 2015

• Gross and net subscribers increased by 0.67 million and 0.43 million subscribers during the quarter, respectively;
• Closing gross subscribers at 14.95 million and net subscribers base at 11.27 million; and
• Churn came in at 0.73% per month

MUMBAI, India — Videocon d2h Limited (NASDAQ: VDTH), India’s fastest growing pay TV company (“Videocon d2h” or the “Company”) announced its financial results for the quarter ended December 31, 2015.

The Company added 0.67 million gross subscribers and 0.43 million net subscribers during the quarter. Gross subscribers totaled 14.95 million and net subscribers totaled 11.27 million as of December 31, 2015. Monthly churn came in at 0.73% for the quarter and 0.80% for the nine months ending December 31, 2015, which is marginally ahead of the company guidance.

Key operating metrics

                            Q3FY15  Q3FY16  % growth
                            ------  ------  --------
Gross subscribers(million)   12.47   14.95     19.8%
Net subscribers (million)     9.82   11.27     14.8%
ARPU (Rs)                      195     211      7.3%
Churn (%)                    1.02%   0.73%

Speaking on the Phase III digitization implementation, Mr. Anil Khera, CEO of Videocon d2h, said, “Phase III digitalization has begun. The Ministry of Information & Broadcasting maintained their deadline and instructed broadcasters to switch off analog signals in Phase III digitization areas. In the first few days of January 2016, we saw strong pick up in subscriber additions in cities that come under Phase III digitization. Recently, a few state high courts issued a stay order on implementation of Phase III digitization for 1-3 months. This was in line with our expectations of the digitization being a staggered process.

We estimate around 50 million television homes come under Phase III digitization, of which 24-25 million television homes are already on the digital platform. Thus, the target market under Phase III digitization is the remaining 25-26 million television homes that are currently on analog cable.”

BROADBAND SUBSCRIBERS IN INDIA GREW BY 3.83% IN DECEMBER 2015

According to the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India(TRAI), the number of broadband subscribers increased 3.83% to arrive at 136.53 million at the end of December 2015 from 131.49 million at the end of November 2015. The data was compiled by TRAI following the reception of reports from service providers.

The top five service providers constituted 83.41% market share of total broadband subscribers at the end of December 2015. These service providers were Bharti Airtel (31.49 million), Vodafone (25.91 million), Idea Cellular (21.21 million), BSNL (19.85 million) and Reliance Communications Group (15.41 million).

On the other hand, the top five Wired Broadband Service providers were BSNL (9.92 million), Bharti Airtel (1.67 million), MTNL (1.12 million), Atria Convergence Technologies (0.86 million) and You Broadband (0.51 million). The top five Wireless Broadband Service providers were Bharti Airtel (29.82 million), Vodafone (25.91 million), Idea Cellular (21.21 million), Reliance Communications Group (15.30 million) and BSNL (9.93 million).

450m CI+ devices deployed

The number of CI Plus compatible devices now in the market has exceeded 450 million, licensing authority CI Plus LLP has confirmed.

For the large part this means IDTVs and the accompanying CI Plus modules.

“The success of CI Plus has exceeded even our wildest expectations”, said a spokesman for CI Plus LLP “Due to the wide backing of the CE industry, pay-TV operators and also the film studios we have established a cross-industry collaboration that is hugely beneficial to all participants but most importantly to consumers”.

It’s anticipated CI Plus will now develop IP-delivered content, following the recent endorsement of DVB ETSI TS 103 205: Extensions to the CI Plus Specification by CI Plus LLP (CIPlus v1.4), with first products likely to reach retail on the first half of 2017.

The next phase of work for CI Plus LLP is to address Enhanced Copy Protection (ECP) as requested by the Movielabs affiliated studios to protect Premium Ultra high-definition (UHD) content.

Kazakhstan's Caspio HD selects Irdeto security

Caspio HD Selects Irdeto Security for New Pay TV Platform Built on Premium Sports and HD Content

• Irdeto offers Kazakhstan’s first premium satellite pay TV service the ability to broadcast content securely and cost-effectively

MOSCOW — CSTB — Irdeto, a world leader in digital platform security, today announced that it will be providing security solutions and services to Caspio HD, a new private DTH satellite operator in Kazakhstan. Irdeto Cloaked CA provides Caspio HD with a highly secure and cost-effective solution to launch its new TV service, featuring premium movies and sports content in HD.

In launching the first DTH platform to offer premium HD content in Kazakhstan, it was particularly important to Caspio HD to ensure their valuable entertainment and sports content was effectively protected from increasingly sophisticated piracy threats. Caspio HD required a partner that could bring them cost efficiency in a price-sensitive market, as well as demonstrate a deep level of security expertise and local market knowledge to ensure a smooth deployment.

“As a DTH operator whose business is built on providing subscribers with premium entertainment, we are very focused on guaranteeing the best protection for our investments,” said Talgat Shakenov, Managing Director at Caspio HD. “We greatly appreciate how Irdeto’s cardless conditional access solution offered us greater flexibility to deploy a variety of TV services. Irdeto ensured our go-to market was as fast and seamless as possible without the logistical complexity of smart cards.”

“Market research suggests that the number of premium pay TV subscribers in Kazakhstan will reach half a million people within the next three years. To ensure that Caspio HD’s investment in this burgeoning market was fully realized, they understood the importance of a flexible and secure solution for their new pay TV service,” explained Andrey Silanchev, Sales Director in Russia and CIS, Irdeto. “It’s Caspio HD’s goal to further develop its multi-screen proposition and Irdeto is proud to enable Caspio HD to reach new customers while ensuring that premium services – such as live sports – remain protected from piracy.”

Irdeto’s Media Access and Management suite of solutions provide fully robust and effective security for both broadcast networks and connected IP environments. Offering excellent flexibility and the ability to rapidly respond to changing threats, Irdeto will ensure that Caspio HD can update the market with new services and continue to provide premium content to its customers in a secure fashion.

GS Group releases first Russian 4K Ultra HD set-top box

GS Group unlocks the Ultra HD television to viewers

In January 2016, the GS Group investment and industry holding company presented the first Russian digital TV set-top box to support the Ultra HD (4K) broadcasting called the GS A230. This new model under the General Satellite brand means that 4K video content can now be viewed on modern Ultra HD TV-sets. The GS A230 STB is equipped with a Wi-Fi modem for wireless connection to the home network and features an internal 1TB hard disk. The first Ultra HD television channels in Russian are already available to subscribers of the leading digital television provider in Russia, Tricolor TV.

The first Russian television set-top box supporting 4K TV, the GS A230, was first displayed to the public on January 26th, 2016 at the CSTB Telecom & Media international exhibition and forum. The device has two integrated DVBS/DVB-S2 tuners to receive satellite signal and broadcast the ultra-high definition TV content to modern Ultra HD TV-sets. The STB is powered by a new STMicroelectronics microprocessor and co-processor designed by GS Group, which is used for the first time in consumer electronics. The quad-core single-chip ARM Cortex-A9 system from STMicroelectronics has an output of 12,000 DMIPS for super high-speed data processing. The integrated ARM Mali400-MP4 graphics processor works at 400 MHz to ensure processing at 1,600 Mpix/s.

The GS A230 UHD set-top box is aimed at the premium market in Russia. The device supports all the modern Ultra HDTV standards, including HEVC (High Efficiency Video Coding). The GS A230 is equipped with an internal 802.11ac Wi-Fi modem with a data speed of up to 1.75 Gb/s to ensure a wireless connection of the STB to the home network as a server for independent and “mirror” transmission of video content to client devices, whether it is a smartphone, tablet or the GS Gamekit game console. The receiver also has the new standard HDMI 2.0 multimedia interface that is necessary to watch ultra-high definition TV using a wired connection to a UHD TV-set. The GS A230 users can choose a wired connection to the GS C5911 client STB for independent streaming onto a second TV screen.

The GS A230 has an internal 1TB hard disk (HDD) and is equipped with two USB connectors for playback of media content from external data sources, 3RCA connectors and an optical S/PDIF connector. The updated Stingray TV software program has a user-friendly graphic interface and supports smart functions such as PVR (content recording to HDD) and TimeShift (“pause and record”). The use of functions is determined by the copyright holder of the content. The GS A230 also provides an access to interactive services and apps such as “Tricolor TV.Kinozaly” and smart electronic programme guide (EPG). The new GS A230 server has a modern and sleek casing and an elegant design.

“As the flagship of the Russian telecommunications industry and the leader in the development and production of consumer electronics in our country, the GS Group holding company provides consumers with the latest TV viewing standards. The launch of such a complex and advanced product as the GS A230 UHD set-top box, completely developed and produced in Russia, demonstrates how competitive Russian producers are in the global market. It’s the next major step towards the GS Group holding company seizing technological leadership in the telecommunications field,” Andrew Bezrukov, Director for Strategic Marketing, GS Group.

The GS A230 set-top box will be available for sale through official dealers of the General Satellite consumer electronics at the end of the first quarter of 2016.

Magyar Telekom converts analogue cable customers to DVB-C

Telekom switches for digital tv in further settlements

BUDAPEST — Magyar Telekom (Reuters: MTEL.BU and Bloomberg: MTELEKOM HB) has reached another important stage of modernising its telecommunication network. Starting from March 1, the company – resulting from the continuous development in the past months – introduces excellent quality, non-encrypted digital cable television service to subscribers of analogue cable television service, available in certain settlements for instance in Budapest and Marcali.

The gradually implemented conversion – not effecting the local TV channels – does not impact the monthly fee or channel assortment of the existing services, in other words subscribers can enjoy TV services at the same price and in substantially better quality. Beside enabling a spectacular improvement in image and audio quality, digital TV also offers electronic programme guide and parental lock. Subscribers therefore can browse through the programme guide, while also securing the TV content for young children.

Customers using TV sets with EUROscart or RCA connectors (CRT TV models) need appropriate signal converters, media converters – attachable to the TV without professional help – which Telekom forwards to the relevant analogue customers free of charge. If somebody wants to watch the non-encrypted digital cable television programme on multiple TV sets having no DVB-C digital signal converter tuner, then further media converters can be purchased from Telekom at the customer service or on the web. Naturally, instead of purchasing a signal converter, one can also replace the old TV set with a modern TV (with DVB-C tuner).

The quality upgrade – implemented at different times depending on the regions – also impacts customers using the analogue service additional to the IPTV service on multiple TV sets, without further monthly fees. Using the appropriate TV sets (the majority of ‘flat’ TV sets sold in Hungary is equipped with DVB-C tuner), they are advised to tune their sets to the new digital channels at the earliest, before March – following the owners manual instructions supplied with their sets.

One can also order further set top boxes from Telekom, additional to the existing IPTV subscription, enabling perfect enjoyment of the channel assortment included in the tariff package, on multiple TV sets.

Sky releases 4Q 2015 results

SKY plc has released unaudited results for the six months ended 31 December 2015.

UK and Ireland

We added a further 146,000 TV customers in the quarter, while churn was down 30 basis points year on year to 10.2%, the lowest Q2 level for four years.

Germany and Austria

In Germany and Austria we added 120,000 customers in Q2, bringing total customer growth for the past 12 months to over 370,000 and making Germany one of Europe’s fastest-growing pay TV markets. This was a good performance against the backdrop of churn rising to the more normalised level of 9.8% due to the expected impact of customers reaching the end of 24-month contracts. Paid-for product growth was strong at 345,000 with HD growth up 8% year on year to 161,000.

Italy

In Italy we increased our customers by 12,000 in the quarter and added 23,000 paid-for products as customers continue to respond to our broad content offering and the roll out of our connected home strategy. We delivered an excellent performance on churn – down 10 basis points year on year to 9.9%, supported by very good uptake of our new customer loyalty programme.

Plans for 2016: Innovation

Later in the year, we will launch a new Sky+HD box in Germany and Italy, giving customers updated features and technology. The box will be compatible with Sky Q functionality, giving our customers the ability to access Sky Q features, as detailed below, at a later date.

Later in the year we will be launching a brand new NOW TV box, offering seamless access to over 60 free-to-air channels alongside the pay content. This will be our most advanced NOW TV product to date and will offer a streaming service to customers who want to access live free-to-air television alongside some pay content, all in one integrated offering.

Next month we bring our ground-breaking Sky Q product to market in the UK. Not only will Sky Q redefine how we watch TV, but it makes it easier than ever for customers to access the best of the web and their own personal content along with their favourite TV shows, on the big screen and on their devices.

The Sky Q suite of products connects wirelessly, making TV viewing seamless, and enables customers to access a whole range of fantastic features. These include pausing viewing on one TV screen and picking up in another room, saving recordings onto a tablet to watch anywhere, and watching different programmes on up to five screens simultaneously whilst also recording four other channels.

In 2016, Sky Q will evolve with the addition of the UK’s most comprehensive Ultra HD service, powerful voice search and its own app for mobile devices, plus more partnerships and content.

Telekom Austria A1 TV subscribers up 7% in 2015

VIENNA — Today, the Telekom Austria Group (VSE: TKA, OTC US: TKAGY) announces its results for the full year and fourth quarter 2015, ending 31 December 2015.

Segment Austria

In the fixed-line business, total access lines increased slightly by 3,500 versus Q4 2014 and by 6,400 versus Q3 2015. Fixed broadband lines and TV subscribers continued to show strong growth and rose by 4.4% and 7.0% year-on-year respectively in Q4 2015.

Segment Bulgaria

Operationally, total access lines rose by 34.0% year-on-year, mostly driven by the strong growth in TV subscriber numbers following the launch of satellite TV at the end of 2014.

Segment Croatia

Trends in the fixed-line business remained encouraging on the back of the strong sales focus on broadband and TV services. The fixed-line business was further strengthened by the acquisition of Amis Croatia on 1 September 2015.

TV Subscribers

                                                                                                    Y-o-Y   Y-o-Y                                        
                   Q1 2014  Q2 2014  Q3 2014  Q4 2014  Q1 2015  Q2 2015  Q3 2015  Q4 2015  Q4 Adds   Adds  Growth
                   -------  -------  -------  -------  -------  -------  -------  -------  -------  -----  ------
Austria (A1 TV)      240.0    241.6    243.9    251.8    255.7    259.1    263.0    269.4      6.4   17.6    7.0%
Bulgaria*             77.3     78.8     80.7     84.3     97.3    111.8    124.1    462.8    338.7  378.5    n.m.
Croatia**            159.8    162.9    163.4    167.7    171.5    174.4    187.2    188.7      1.5   21.0   12.5%
                   -------  -------  -------  -------  -------  -------  -------  -------  -------  -----  ------
Total                477.1    483.3    488.0    503.8    524.5    545.3    574.3    920.9    346.6  417.1    n.m.

* Consolidation of Blizoo Bulgaria as of Q4 2015
** Consolidation of Amis Croatia as of Q3 2015

América Móvil adds 158,000 Pay TV units in 2015

MEXICO CITY — América Móvil, S.A.B. de C.V. (“América Móvil”) [BMV: AMX] [NYSE: AMX] [NASDAQ: AMOV] [LATIBEX: XAMXL], announced today its financial and operating results for the fourth quarter of 2015.

Fourth quarter revenues were up 0.6% from the prior year to 231 billion pesos. Service revenues declined 0.6% year-on year at constant exchange rates, in line with the preceding two quarters. Wireless data revenues expanded 10.3%, fixed data 7.9% and PayTV revenues 6.6%.

We ended the year with 367 million access lines. This figure—0.3% lower than last year’s on account of mobile disconnections—comprises 286 million wireless subscribers, 35 million landlines, 24 million broadband accesses and 22 million PayTV units.

At the end of the year we had 80.8 million RGUs, 3.1% more than a year before, after adding 2.8 million net RGUs including 669 thousand broadband accesses, 571 thousand landlines and 158 thousand PayTV units.

The total number of PayTV units was up 1.0% in spite of Brazil’s disconnections of 240 thousand units.

América Móvil’s consolidated wireline subsidiaries as of December 2015:

• Telmex – Mexico, Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador
• Claro – Brazil, Dominicana, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Puerto Rico, Uruguay
• Telekom Austria

Mexico adds 437,000 pay TV subscribers in 3Q 2015

DISTRITO FEDERAL, Mexico — According to Mexico’s Instituto Federal de Telecomunicaciones (IFT), in the third quarter of 2015, pay TV subscriptions in the country were up 11.6% versus the the same point one year before.

Satellite registered the faster subscriber growth at 11.8% to finish with 9.6 million subscribers, with Dish exhibiting a much faster growth rate than Sky. The cable TV segment also registered a similar growth rate of 11.4% to end with 7.8 million subscribers.

Overall, Mexico added 437 thousand pay TV subscribers in the third quarter, to reach a total of 17.4 million. From the end of 2014 to the end of the third quarter of 2015, Mexico added 1.37 million pay TV subscribers.

Pay TV Subscribers

                                                                                                           Y-o-Y   Y-o-Y
Operator             2014-I    2014-II   2014-III    2014-IV     2015-I    2015-II   2015-III  Q3 Adds      Adds  Growth
---------------- ---------- ---------- ---------- ---------- ---------- ---------- ----------  ------- ---------  ------
Satellite         8,056,080  8,340,321  8,595,697  8,790,915  9,038,242  9,298,138  9,605,792  307,654 1,010,095   11.8%
 Sky              5,787,350  5,991,512  6,156,962  6,275,632  6,401,782  6,524,054  6,692,116  168,062   535,154    8.7%
 Dish             2,268,730  2,348,809  2,438,735  2,515,283  2,636,460  2,774,084  2,913,676  139,592   474,941   19.5%
                    
Cable             6,967,014  7,105,147  6,999,247  7,248,371  7,527,251  7,670,997  7,800,550  129,553   801,303   11.4%
 Megacable        2,189,917  2,258,810  2,308,891  2,416,109  2,499,573  2,570,691  2,647,204   76,513   338,313   14.7%
 Cablemás         1,195,801  1,212,790  1,204,486  1,231,722  1,257,422  1,259,397  1,214,103  -45,294     9,617    0.8%
 Cablevisión
  (Izzi)            863,641    883,478    883,164    890,323    904,066    921,482    932,870   11,388    49,706    5.6%
 Cablecom           768,013    769,232    696,260    754,816    768,834    776,711    775,888     -823    79,628   11.4%
 Televisión
  Internacional     425,145    420,501    424,756    434,784    445,366    456,464    513,371   56,907    88,615   20.9%
 Cablevisión
  Red               428,966    435,627    434,488    443,086    452,622    461,436    470,529    9,093    36,041    8.3%
 Total Play          75,302     93,236     27,720     34,112    141,337    153,262    168,571   15,309   140,851  508.1%
 Axtel               70,499     79,719     87,161     93,837     98,522     99,697    103,502    3,805    16,341   18.7%
 Maxcom              70,566     69,602     69,086     68,892     65,276     60,891     56,578   -4,313   -12,508  -18.1%
 Ultravisión         40,530     39,076     35,595     33,284     27,490     27,431     25,065   -2,366   -10,530  -29.6%
 Aire Cable          14,632     14,753     15,092     15,467     15,931     16,281     16,355       74     1,263    8.4%
 TV Rey de
  Occidente          26,430     26,572     26,172     26,697     26,311     23,888     14,283   -9,605   -11,889  -45.4%
 MVS Multivisión     34,502     30,079          3          0        391        388        388        0       385     N/A
 Others             763,070    771,672    786,373    805,242    824,110    842,978    861,843   18,865    75,470    9.6%
---------------- ---------- ---------- ---------- ---------- ---------- ---------- ----------  ------- ---------  ------
Total            15,023,094 15,445,468 15,594,944 16,039,286 16,565,493 16,969,135 17,406,342  437,207 1,811,398   11.6%

More: Q3 2015 Statistics [es]

Russia's NTV-Plus to move completely to MPEG-4

Russian satellite TV operator NTV-Plus has announced that it plans to convert all of its remaining MPEG-2 channels to MPEG-4. The transition will occur between the 3rd of March and the 25th of June this year.

Less than 20% of NTV Plus customers have MPEG-2-only equipment. The company has prepared a special offer for those customers whose equipment needs to be replaced.

DEN Networks adds 1.7 million digital cable subscribers in 2015

Deployed ~1 million STBs in 3Q at an avg. rate of approx. Rs 900; DAS 3 digital subscribers ~3.5 million

NEW DELHI — DEN Networks, one of India’s largest cable MSOs with around 13 million subscribers, has announced results for the third quarter of its 2015-16 financial year. The company ended the quarter with 8.5 million digital subscribers, up 945,000 in the quarter and up by 1.67 million year-on-year.

Subscribers (Millions)

                             3Q'15  4Q'15  1Q'16  2Q'16  3Q'16
                             -----  -----  -----  -----  -----
Digital                        6.8    7.0    7.2    7.6    8.5

STBs (Millions)

                             3Q'15  4Q'15  1Q'16  2Q'16  3Q'16
                             -----  -----  -----  -----  -----
Total DAS 1 and 2 Markets      4.9    4.9    4.9    5.0    5.0
 DAS Phase 1 Markets          2.09   2.10   2.12   2.15   2.15
 DAS Phase 2 Markets          2.81   2.84   2.84   2.84   2.84

DAS 3 Markets                 1.94   2.09   2.25   2.58   3.52

JADOO DIGITAL IN BANGLADESH CHOOSE CUBIWARE’S ADVANCED STB

Jadoo Digital, a cable operator in Bangladesh has selected Cubiware for its advanced linear TV set-top boxes, that support over the top and video on demand. Cubiware’s CubiTV will power Jadoo Digital efforts to bring high-definition, premium TV services to more customers.

CubiTV features a highly intuitive interface that makes it easy for subscribers to navigate advanced TV functionality. It also includes a revolutionary graphics-rendering engine that delivers fast, sleek menus and program guides with high-quality animation, transitions, and effects. Designed to run on low-power, small footprint DTV and IPTV processors from all major silicon vendors, the STB versions of CubiTV may be deployed on both modern and legacy devices, thereby minimizing the need for hardware replacement.

“Cubiware has helped us introduce interactive cable TV and OTT services to one of the largest cable TV markets in the world. We are the first operator in Bangladesh to offer multiscreen services to cable TV subscribers,” said Navidul Huq, Director of Jadoo Digital.

“Further, Cubiware continues to impress us with their technology that enables us to remain competitive in a highly price sensitive market and lead the TV pay market in Bangladesh,” he added.

“Cubiware has become the leading choice for rapid delivery of advanced set-top box solutions across South Asia which is one of the fastest growing markets in the pay-TV industry. Cubiware is thrilled to support Jadoo Digital’s roll out of pay-TV services for the linear and OTT services they need to stay competitive,” stated Jakub Gorski, Cubiware co-founder.

Kazakhstan's Caspio HD selects Irdeto security

Caspio HD Selects Irdeto Security for New Pay TV Platform Built on Premium Sports and HD Content

• Irdeto offers Kazakhstan’s first premium satellite pay TV service the ability to broadcast content securely and cost-effectively

MOSCOW — CSTB — Irdeto, a world leader in digital platform security, today announced that it will be providing security solutions and services to Caspio HD, a new private DTH satellite operator in Kazakhstan. Irdeto Cloaked CA provides Caspio HD with a highly secure and cost-effective solution to launch its new TV service, featuring premium movies and sports content in HD.

In launching the first DTH platform to offer premium HD content in Kazakhstan, it was particularly important to Caspio HD to ensure their valuable entertainment and sports content was effectively protected from increasingly sophisticated piracy threats. Caspio HD required a partner that could bring them cost efficiency in a price-sensitive market, as well as demonstrate a deep level of security expertise and local market knowledge to ensure a smooth deployment.

“As a DTH operator whose business is built on providing subscribers with premium entertainment, we are very focused on guaranteeing the best protection for our investments,” said Talgat Shakenov, Managing Director at Caspio HD. “We greatly appreciate how Irdeto’s cardless conditional access solution offered us greater flexibility to deploy a variety of TV services. Irdeto ensured our go-to market was as fast and seamless as possible without the logistical complexity of smart cards.”

“Market research suggests that the number of premium pay TV subscribers in Kazakhstan will reach half a million people within the next three years. To ensure that Caspio HD’s investment in this burgeoning market was fully realized, they understood the importance of a flexible and secure solution for their new pay TV service,” explained Andrey Silanchev, Sales Director in Russia and CIS, Irdeto. “It’s Caspio HD’s goal to further develop its multi-screen proposition and Irdeto is proud to enable Caspio HD to reach new customers while ensuring that premium services – such as live sports – remain protected from piracy.”

Irdeto’s Media Access and Management suite of solutions provide fully robust and effective security for both broadcast networks and connected IP environments. Offering excellent flexibility and the ability to rapidly respond to changing threats, Irdeto will ensure that Caspio HD can update the market with new services and continue to provide premium content to its customers in a secure fashion.

STMicro to exit STB chip business

STMicroelectronics will discontinue the development of new platforms and standard products for set-top-box and home gateway.

As a result of this, the ST announced a global workforce review, including the redeployment of about 600 employees, currently associated with the set-top-box business, to support principally ST’s growth ambitions in digital automotive and microcontrollers.

A global workforce re-alignment that may affect approximately 1,400 employees worldwide, of which about 430 in France through a voluntary departure plan, about 670 in Asia and about 120 in the US. Deployment of the plan by country or site will be subject to applicable legislation and will depend on local negotiations. In 2016, the workforce re-alignment is anticipated to affect about 1,000 employees, out of which about 150 in France.

“This difficult decision is consistent with our strategy to only participate in sustainable businesses and is due to the significant losses posted by our set-top box business over the past years in an increasingly challenging market,” the company said in a statement.

The company is shifting its focus ““During 2015, we have increasingly focused our R&D and Sales & Marketing efforts on two areas: Smart Driving, enabled by digitalisation and electrification, and the Internet of Things, including portable and wearable systems as well as smart home, city, and industry applications. Our products, technologies and system applications competencies are optimized for these areas, which we address with our products for Automotive and Industrial, our microcontrollers and digital ASICs, our analog and power portfolio as well as MEMS and specialized image sensors. The growth recorded in 2015 by our microcontrollers, and the solid performance of our automotive business despite weaker macroeconomic conditions, have been mainly driven by our sharpened, market-driven investment focus.”

ST will discontinue the development of new platforms and standard products for set-top-box and home gateway. “The slower than expected market adoption of leading-edge products and increasing competition on low-end boxes, combined with the required high level of R&D investment, has led this business to generate significant losses in the course of the last years. Annualised savings are estimated at $170 million upon completion and restructuring costs at about $170 million.”

Kazakhstan's OTAU TV DTH service reaches 1 million subscribers

ALMATY — OTAU TV, the state-owned satellite TV operator in Kazakhstan, has announced that it now has more than one million subscribers. OTAU TV launched in 2011 with the objective of expanding television coverage to under-served areas of the country and consists of 40 television and 14 radio channels, broadcast in DVB-S2 MPEG-4 format.

At the end of 2015, the service had 1,047,552 subscribers representing 23% of TV households.

India adds 1.31 million active DTH subscribers in 3Q 2015

NEW DELHI — The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) today released the “Indian Telecom Services Performance Indicator Report” for the Quarter ending September, 2015. The Report provides a broad perspective of the Telecom Services and presents the key parameters and growth trends for the Telecom Services as well as Cable TV, DTH and Radio Broadcasting services in India for the period covering July to September, 2015 and is compiled on the basis of information from a variety of sources, but is mainly reliant on data obtained from Service Providers.

Cable TV Sector

The digitization, with addressability of cable TV sector is in progress, in a phased manner. It is planned to be completed in four phases. The cut-off date for migration to “Digital Addressable Cable TV Systems” for the first phase, covering four metropolitan cities, was 31.10.2012 and for second phase, covering 38 cities having population more than 1 million, was 30.03.2013. The cut-off date for third phase was 30.09.2014 and for the fourth and final phase was 31.12.2014. However, the cut-off date for third phase & fourth phase was further extended up to 31.12.2015 & 31.12.2016 respectively.

DTH Services

At present, apart from the free DTH service of Doordarshan, a public broadcaster, there are 6 private DTH Operators. All these private DTH Operators are offering pay DTH services.

As per the information submitted by the DTH operator through quarterly PMR for DTH services, total number of registered subscribers and active subscribers being served by these six private DTH operators, as reported to TRAI, are 81.47 million & 41.05, million respectively as on 30th September, 2015.

Comparison with the figures released for the end of June 2015, puts the number of active subscribers added during the quarter at 1.31 million.

DTH subscribers (millions)

                                                  2014
            ------------------------------------------
            End-March   End-June  End-Sept.   End-Dec.
            ---------  ---------  ---------  ---------
Registered      64.82      67.57      70.33      73.06
 Active         37.19      38.24      39.13      40.54
 Inactive       27.63      29.33      31.20      32.52

                                       2015
            -------------------------------
            End-March   End-June  End-Sept.  3Q Adds
            ---------  ---------  ---------  -------
Registered      76.05      78.74      81.47     2.73
 Active         41.15      39.74      41.05     1.31
 Inactive       34.90      39.00      40.42     1.42

More: Performance Indicators - 3Q 2015