All Entries in the "Cable TV" Category
SITI Cable Business partners geared up for digitization
SITI Cable organized business partners meets to set the pace of cable TV digitization, with the Government recently passing the Cable Television Networks (Regulation) Amendment Bill requiring the four metros Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai to shift to digital cable by June 2012 and the rest of the country to be digitized in phased wise manner by December 2014. With this bill, the onus shifts now on cable service providers to gear up for shifting to digital cable TV infrastructure from analogue. To speed up this transition, SITI cable organized the series of meets for Delhi Cable Operator in »»»
Cable operators facing set-top box shortage as digitisation deadline approaches near
NEW DELHI/MUMBAI: Five months before time runs out for homes across India’s top four metros to switch to digital transmission to continue watching cable television, operators are battling short supply of set-top boxes as well as ignorance among consumers. More than 60,000 set-top boxes need to be installed every day to enable an estimated 10 million homes across Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and Kolkata to meet the deadline mandated by the government. But with India going digital at the same time as Brazil, Russia, China and South Korea, among other countries, set-top box makers are finding it difficult »»»
Is this the end of cable mafia?
Since the cable TV industry’s stunningly chaotic beginning in India in the mid-90s, those in this vast and unregulated trade have had a free run. In the absence of government regulation and its accessory, red-tape — the Indian cable industry has managed to climb to number three position in the world. But the coming summer, things are in for a shake-up. The centre has approved the Cable TV Networks (Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2011, which proposes to make it mandatory for every household in the metro cities (in phase one) — Mumbai, Chennai, Delhi and Kolkata — to have a set-top »»»
Amagi brings new VAS revenues to MSOs
With digitisation of the cable TV industry in India soon reaching its sunset date, MSOs are making large capital expenditures to provide STBs (set top boxes) to their subscribers. However, with few significant revenue opportunities, VAS is becoming an important strategy by which operators increase their revenues and profits. VAS brings in multiple opportunities, some of them in the form of video-on-demand, video conferencing, local classifieds listing, TV-commerce, games, viewership measurement, and advertising. To begin with, approximately 50 MSOs across India have partnered with local television »»»
Reliance Industries plans to pick 26% stake in leading cable operators
Talks under way for partnership model to provide last-mile connectivity to 4G users. Reliance Industries (RIL) is planning to pick up a minimum 26 per cent stake in leading cable operators, including multi-system operators. The move is a part of the group’s strategy to rope in cable operators as well as multi-system operators (MSOs) as partners to provide last-mile connectivity to consumer homes for 4G broadband services, which would include data, voice and television. According to two independent sources, RIL has approached Den Networks, Digicable Networks, Hathway Cable, the Hinduja–promoted »»»
Digicable to spend Rs 225cr on settop boxes in Kolkata
Kolkata, Jan 13 (PTI) Leading Multi System Operator (MSO) Digicable today said they will invest Rs 225 crore to supply 1.5 million settop boxes to its subscribers in the city. “All cable operators have to mandatorily switch to digital technology or to send cable television signals through settop boxes (STB) from July in city. We are trying to offer a cheap solution to subscribers under our network,” Digicable VP Amit Nag said. Digicable managing director Jagjit S Kohli said the company was planning to offer STB at Rs 500 though the minimum price of a box is Rs 1700. “We have to »»»
Hathway Cable plans to invest Rs 1.75 bn in first phase of digitisation
MUMBAI: India’s leading multi-system operator (MSO) Hathway Cable & Datacom plans to invest Rs 1.75 billion in the first phase of digitisation even as it expects DTH to take away 10-15 per cent of its cable TV subscribers in the two lucrative markets of Delhi and Mumbai. Hathway has ordered 1.3 million digital set-top boxes (STBs) and signed a letter of intent for another 0.5 million STBs. “We estimate our subscriber universe to be 1.5 million (including 2nd TV) in Mumbai and Delhi. About 20 per cent of this will be second TV sets. We have a presence in Kolkata through our joint »»»
