Major shakeup for RCS&RDS

Romania’s leading cable and DTH operator RCS&RDS will mark an important change today (Tuesday, April 14), when its chairman and CEO Alexandru Oprea leaves after 18 years with the company.

The news was first announced on April 10, an in an official statement Oprea said: “I am honoured that I was able to participate in the development and consolidation of a company which I consider exemplary for the private sector in Romania.

“I am sure that in telecommunications, RCS & RDS will continue to be a household name and remain at least as competitive. I wish also, that like the Digi Sport and Digi 24 projects, documentaries and film channels continue their rise and take the same steps toward civilisation and professional media, for which they were designed.

“I wish that in the future, whenever you hear of RCS&RDS and Digi trust, to be proud that I was part of this remarkable project”.

Oprea’s departure has taken the local industry by surprise, with many wondering as to the future direction of the company.

At one stage a leading player in the TV markets in several CEE countries, it has recently retrenched back to ones it considers core to its business, chiefly Romania and Hungary. More recently, it has also strengthened its position in Romania, including through acquisitions.

ZF notes that RCS&RDS’s turnover has increased 13-fold in the last 10 years and amounted to RON2.15 billion (€487.8 million) in 2014.

It currently has over 3.2 million TV customers and around 1.8 million opting for its fixed internet services, which generate the most income.

While RCS&RDS has in recent years increased its market share in cable, internet (fixed and mobile) and telephony (fixed and mobile), it has lost ground to competitors, such as UPC, Telekom and Orange, in the provision of DTH services.

Orion Express bucks the trend

The Russian DTH platform Orion Express ended the first quarter with 2,655,000 subscribers.

This, according toComnews, was 3% more than three months earlier and came against the backdrop of a general slowdown in the pay-TV market over the period.

Orion Express, which remains the fifth leading player in Russia’s pay-TV market, also had revenues R802 million (€14.32 million) in the first quarter.

Most cash flow was from subscription payments, with the total being 41% higher than in the same period last year.

Orion Express accounted for 7.1% of a pay-TV market in Russia numbering some 37.4 million subscribers in the first quarter.

Meanwhile, its share of income in the DTH sector in 2014 is believed to have been 20%.

Arris takes control of ActiveVideo

Arris Group is to take control of CloudTV developers ActiveVideo. Its established a joint venture company with US cablenet Charter that will acquire ActiveVideo for $135 million.

Arris will own 65% of the new venture.

ActiveVideo’s CloudTV software platform has been used by Liberty Global to expand the reach of user experiences of its Horizon TV platform in Europe and Latin America. The technology virtualises CPE technologies in the cloud. The client base also includes Cablevision, Liberty Global, Deutsche Telekom, Time Warner Cable, J:COM, Philips, and Roku.

ActiveVideo’s platform also powers Charter’s new fully featured, cloud-based Spectrum Guide.

“This joint venture signifies Arris’s continued investment in advanced software solutions that will create value across the entire video ecosystem,” said Bob Stanzione, Arris chairman and CEO. “We look forward to the untold opportunities our extended partnership with Charter will spawn as we march together into the future. Arris and Charter are paving the way for an all IP network migration and enabling the software-defined TV experience that will deliver the unified, next-gen content experiences that today’s consumers demand.”

ActiveVideo’s platform powers Charter’s new fully featured, cloud-based Spectrum Guide. Charter expects to launch Spectrum Guide on Worldbox, as well as on legacy boxes currently deployed within the Charter footprint. ActiveVideo’s global base of customers includes: Cablevision, Liberty Global, Deutsche Telekom, Time Warner Cable, J:COM, Philips, and Roku.

It’s been confirmed Jeff Miller will continue to lead ActiveVideo as CEO.

Siti Cable posts INR2.22bn revenue in Q3 FY 2015

Siti Cable Network has recorded a consolidated revenue of INR2.22 billion in third quarter FY2015 as compared to INR1.64 billion in Q3 FY 2014. It incurred a net loss of INR204 million in the quarter ended December 2014 as against INR 179 million in the quarter ended December 2013.

The MSO said that its direct point subscriber base stands at nearly 40,000 as of 31 December, 2014 - it commenced acquisition of direct customers from last mile operators during the second quarter of 2015.

The company’s EBITDA stood at INR500 million in the third quarter FY 2015 as compared to INR300 million in the third quarter FY 2014. EBITDA rose 9.4% quarter-on-quarter.

During the third quarter, it seeded over 250,000 set-top-boxes. It has a digital subscriber base of 4.85 million and 5.5 million analogue subscribers, at the end of this quarter. Recently, the multi-system operator upgraded its existing digital head-end at Bengaluru to Ericsson and Harmonic.

“Last-mile operators have realised that digitisation is a reality now. We see less resistance against digitisation from the LCOs in Phase III and IV towns. In fact, they see digital cable STB as an opportunity to offer more channels and better services to their consumers and realise better revenues from their existing customer base. It also helps them in retaining their customer, who would otherwise move to competing technology like DTH for better quality services,” said VD Wadhwa, ED and CEO of Siti Cable.

Serbia completes DVB-T2 rollout

Serbia’s national broadcasting agency ETV has completed the third and final phase of its transition to DVB-T2.

In the process, which began back in 2010, Rohde & Schwarz has supplied the agency with high and medium power transmitters, as well as gap fillers.

It also saw ETV chose a consortium consisting of Rohde & Schwarz Austria, Kathrein and Comutel to set up three new multiplexers.

Serbia’s transition to DVB-T2, reaching 98% of households, is due to be completed this June.

Hathway Cable, Den, IMCL asked to pay INR2 bn as entertainment tax

Delhi Government has asked three multi-system operators (MSOs); DEN Networks, Hathway Cable & Datacom and IndusInd Media & Communications Ltd (IMCL) to pay INR two billion as entertainment tax. The Arvind Kejriwal-led government had earlier directed Siti Cable to pay INR 331.2 million as penalty for tax fraud.

DEN has to pay 888.1 million, while Hathway needs to cough up 589.9 million INR and IMCL has been told to pay INR519.88 million. The amount includes interest rates as well as 100 % penalty for not paying the entertainment tax on time.

Jagdish Kumar, who is the MD and CEO of Hathway Cable & Datacom has confirmed that the company has received a notice from the government. “We have already challenged the matter in the Delhi High Court and it is currently sub judice,” Kumar told TelevisionPost.com.

Siti Cable, the MSO that was hit by a fine earlier this week, has denied allegations of tax fraud. In a statement to Bombay Stock Exchange, Siti Cable denied charges of entertainment tax evasion.  “It (Siti Cable) has already challenged the vires of the Delhi Entertainment and Betting Tax Act, 1996 vide its Writ Petition being No. 427 of 2014 which is subjudice before the Hon ble Delhi High Court,” the company told BSE.

Financial crisis hits Bosnian stations

Bosnia’s three public broadcasters face the prospect of going off the air from April 26 due to arguments over the way they are funded.

According to Balkan Insight, the method of financing for Radio Television of Bosnia & Herzegovina (BHRT), Radio Television of the Federation of B&H (RTVFBiH) and Radio Television of Republika Srpska (RTRS) – currently through landline phone bills – expires on that date.

The communications minister Slavko Matanovic and the broadcasters have asked parliament to pass a temporary law allowing this method of funding to continue for a further six months, during which a new broadcasting law can come into effect.

However, there has been strong opposition voiced to both pieces of legislation in parliament.

BHRT currently receives 80% of its income from radio and TV licence taxes.