Currency concerns for Russian pay-TV

The fall in the value of the ruble is forcing some Russian pay-TV operators to renegotiate contracts with foreign content providers.

As a result, report TDailyand AKTR, some do not exclude the possibility that they may have to increase their subscription fees.

However, two that have ruled out such a move are ER Telecom (Dom.ru) and MTS, with the latter saying that most of their contracts have been negotiated in local rather than foreign currency.

Beeline, on the other hand, concedes that it is currently in negotiations with partners and is looking for a compromise solution.

Tricolor TV, the country’s leading pay-TV company, meanwhile says that the most urgent issue regarding exchange rate fluctuations relates to the transponders it has leased on Eutelsat 36A and 36B.

NETBYNET also aims to reach a compromise with foreign partners, while Rostelecom says it will be able to make details of its discussions public at the beginning of 2015.

Ukrainians open to paid OTT

Over half (53%) of Ukrainians using the internet now receive OTT services.

What is more, according to the results of a study by Ericsson published byMediasat and AKTR, they are willing to pay up to 40% of their cost of their internet subscription to receive such services.

Interestingly, the more they pay for those subscriptions the higher the percentage.

However, it should be noted that the basic OTT services in Ukraine are free, with fees only been charged for additional features, such as paid subscriptions to YouTube channels.

In the case of Megogo, which is the largest video service in the CIS, its marketing director Ivan Shestakov says that it is used by around 2 million people daily and only 5% pay for content. Furthermore, two-thirds of payments are made via smartphones.

The majority of OTT viewers (57%) in Ukraine access services via iOS devices.

They also pay considerably more for those services than Android users.

China Digital TV posts USD 17mn revenue in Q3 2014

China Digital TV has reported a net revenue of USD 17 million in the third quarter of 2014, as compared to USD 23 million in the third quarter 2013. The company’s gross profit declined by 25% year-on-year to USD 12.8 million in the third quarter 2014.

Revenue from smart cards and other products stood at USD 15.9 million in the third quarter of 2014 as against USD 22.3 million in the same period in 2013. Revenue from services stood at USD 1.2 million in the third quarter of 2014, as compared to USD 1.1 million in the third quarter 2013.

China Digital TV has shipped over 3.35 million smart cards in the third quarter of 2014, compared to 4.76 million in the same period in 2013 and 3.55 million in the third quarter of 2014. In this quarter, the company has won deals – from Shanghai Oriental Cable Network firm to provide cloud service platform; Jishi Media company to provide new broadcast platforms and CANTV to supply 900,000 smart cards.

“During the third quarter of 2014, shipments of approximately 3.35 million smart cards came in slightly below our expectations as digital penetration increased,” said Dr Lu Zengxiang, acting Chief Executive Officer and acting Chief Financial Officer of China Digital TV. “Net revenues were still in line with guidance due to an unexpected delivery of surface mounted chips and system integrations overseas. In the domestic market, steady demand for smart cards was driven by our major customers, including those in Jiangxi, Shandong, Guangdong, Sichuan and Jiangsu provinces.”

Vectra grows digital TV base

The Polish cable operator Vectra ended Q3 with 911,300 subscribers, a 4.54% increase on a year earlier.

Results supplied to Wirtualne Media show that the vast majority (839,613, up from 815,898) received TV services, with 603,021 (514,604) opting for digital and 236,592 (301,294) analogue.

Its fixed and mobile internet customer totals were 482,224 and 24,887 respectively (426,323 and 27,468 a year earlier), while 176,179 (156,657) opted for telephony.

ER Telecom turns in strong performance

The Russian cable operator ER Telecom (Dom.ru) had revenues of R16,515 million (€280.8 million) in the first nine months of this year, or 19% more than in the same period in 2013.

At the same time, its EBITDA was up 52% to R6,651 million and EBITDA eight percentage points higher at 40%.

Net profit was meanwhile R2,018 million, up 279% of the first nine months of 2013.

In summarising its activities in the first nine months of this year, the company says they included launching a 200 Mbps service in the city of Ekaterinburg.

Chapters DTV wins DTH broadcasting licence in Nigeria

NBC licensed Chapters digital television

ABUJA — The National Broadcasting Commission has licensed Chapters Digital Television to carry out Direct-To-Home (DTH) broadcasting operation in Nigeria.

Presenting the Licence certificate to the Chairman, Chapters DTV, the NBC Director General, Mr. Emeka Mba, noted that the coming onboard of Chapters Digital TV was a demonstration of faith in the potential that Nigeria still holds.

“We are into exciting times for Television in Nigeria. We will ensure that digitization attracts and promotes investment and that those who are ready to play by the rules and are serious in the industry reap the full benefits of their investments.”

“We often find that once some operators get this licence, they often relax. But if you actively engage the Commission, in terms of any issue that you may face, you will find that we would be very helpful.”

The Director General congratulated Chapter DTV on behalf of the Board, Management and Staff of the Commission and wished them success in their operations.

Responding, the Chairman of the Company, Mr. Akpobire expressed his appreciation to the Director General and to the Commission for the professional manner with which the Commission handled the licensing process and expressed their commitment to working with the Commission towards success. He promised that Chapters DTV will effectively serve the public as the company launches its service in Nigeria.

The presentation came to an end with a group photograph.

Exset brings interactivity to sub $20 STBs

NOVEMBER 19, 2014 20.23 EUROPE/LONDON BY ROBERT BRIEL

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In developing countries, switching from analogue to digital is not always smooth sailing.

“People have free TV. Why should they now pay $100 for a set-top box?” asked Andrew Pons, Director of Global Sales and Marketing, Exset, during the recent GS Summit ’14 in St Petersburg.

“Who pays for it? A difficult story to tell, especially when elections come up. Managing the cost in emerging markets is difficult. Digitisation has it challenges, but we offer a digital TV starter model for operators.”

Exset, a technology company founded out of General Satellite, claims to have found the answer in providing operators means to generate additional income via the STB,
Indonesia 60% watches FTA.

The company is registered in the Netherlands, and has offices in Estonia, UK, Russia, and Asia, and offers products and project management for launch of services.

“It does take a new way of thinking in managing your platform. We can add services at no extra cost to infrastructure, services that can be sold to third parties, but are managed by the operator. This is an opportunity for operators to generate new income and new revenue streams.”

Using open standards (MHEG) the Exset DMS (Digital Monetisation System) will run on sub-$20 STBs. Examples are ad insertion, banners on EPGs, red button services, push-VOD, and connecting to smart phone with QR code.

“We advise operators to make one channel available for these new services. When people switch on the TV, the STB will automatically turn on this channel and show a welcome page, which can contain an ad, both billboard-type ads and videos are possible.”

With push-VOD, the operator can offer pay-per-view movies at, say, $0.50 per title. “In many countries piracy is still rampant and people buy illegal DVDs on the market for $1 a piece. So the operator can offer an attractive legal alternative.” At the moment a test is running with One TV in Cambodia.

Another application is to show a QR code on the screen, which can be scanned by a smartphone. “In a lot of countries a lot of people don’t have internet access, but mobile is everywhere.”

With regards to red button services, Exset is currently running tests with the Russian DTH platform Tricolor.