Television audiences in India may soon find themselves at the receiving end of the battle brewing between broadcasters and advertisers over selling inventory on the high-definition (HD) feeds of their existing channels, bringing to an end the almost ad-free viewing experience they currently enjoy.

The fracas between broadcasters asking to be paid separately for the HD feeds and advertisers who are reluctant to do so has escalated with the Indian Society of Advertisers (ISA) writing to its members not to agree to the demands of broadcasters.

Broadcasters are to soon begin showing commercials on HD channels, according to ISA.

“From the advertisers’ perspective, this is a positive development as we were unable to reach these audiences who had moved from SD (standard definition) feeds to HD feed,” ISA said. “However, we have also got to know that the channels are planning to book ads at different rate for their HD feed versus SD feed.”

ISA regards the HD feed as another distribution channel similar to direct-to-home (DTH) or cable without any difference in programming or show timings.

The association has told its members and their buying agencies not to pay more money for HD channels, said Bharat Patel, chairman of ISA, which has 200 advertisers as members.

“An advertiser is already buying commercial time on the same programme at the same time on standard definition,” he said. “Besides, in most developed markets, broadcasters do not book ads separately for standard and high definition feeds.”

Although broadcasters agree that most of them carry the same content on two feeds, they say that the channels are distributed separately and hence need to be treated thus.

“Star Plus is a separate channel from Star Plus HD and it makes business sense to monetize the two separately,” said Sanjay Gupta, chief operating officer, Star India. “Advertisers also negotiate ad rates on the basis of a channel’s gross rating points in cable and satellite homes without taking the additional digital homes into consideration. So why shouldn’t we leverage the HD platform separately?”

The dispute isn’t bringing much comfort to consumers who are already complaining that ads are not restricted just to the free-to-air standard-definition channels and also carried by those that are pay. HD subscribers are further irked by the prospect of commercials because they currently pay twice the normal rate for the privilege of watching higher-resolution pictures. The HD set-top box costs double the SD box and subscriptions are costlier as well. “If HD channels start airing commercials, then I want a reduction in my channel subscription,” said Ashish Tiwari, a Mumbai resident. Ankul Barar, who lives in Delhi, said, “If broadcasters are going to air ads then, since we pay a premium on these channels, we may as well have just one ad break in one hour —like when we go to watch a film in a cinema hall.”

Shailaja Bajpai in Bangalore is angry at the thought of ads interrupting her viewing on channels she pays more for. Still, she spends most of her time on Discovery HD, which plans to remain ad free. “Discovery HD content is entirely different from programming on Discovery in standard definition. The HD feed is not meant to carry ads,” said Rajiv Bakshi, vice-president, marketing, Discovery Networks Asia-Pacific.

Other channels aren’t planning to keep ads away from HD.

“It was never said that it (HD channel) will be ad free. We were trying to gauge the platform since it was a nascent viewing experience. In fact, it gives marketers a niche, more focused segment to advertise to,” said a senior executive from a leading media house who did not wish to be named.

A cable industry expert and a member of the MSO (multi-sytem operator) Alliance said that pay television follows a mixed model worldwide. It generates revenue from subscription as well as advertising. “In markets where HD has a deeper penetration, channel owners accept advertising,” he added.

Broadcasters don’t charge separately for ads on HD in overseas markets, according to the World Federation of Advertisers lobby group, which said this finding is based on feedback from countries such as the UK, Belgium, Canada, Finland among others. The report followed a query from advertisers in India. Although HD offers access to the right audience, “the reach is not impressive yet,” said Samaresh Parida, director, corporate strategy, at Vodafone Essar, a big spender on television. “And the absence of a measuring system makes it less value for money for us advertisers at this point in time.”

Media experts said broadcasters are also trying to recover their investments in setting up HD feeds, which cost more to transmit as they occupy greater bandwidth. Besides that, HD programming is also more costly to make. It should be up to the channel to decide whether it wants to charge advertisers separately or not, said Ashish Sehgal, network sales head at Zee Entertainment Enterprise Ltd.

“It’s the network’s call if we want to leverage our HD channels. It is a business decision of an individual broadcaster,” he said. “We did not increase our ad rates when direct-to-home viewership grew.”

Star’s Gupta said the company already has clients on board for the HD channel. “Clearly, interested clients are aware of the viewership segment we reach out to through HD.”

Media buyers, who have been advised not to speak to the media on the issue, privately admit that HD channels offer access to viewers with high spending power. “Advertisers cannot choose to ignore HD channels since they reach out to a specific consumer group,” said an executive at a media buying agency requesting anonymity.

Source: Livemint.com

NEW DELHI: Stiff challenge from digital cable operators has forced India’s biggest direct to home (DTH) television company, Dish TV, to tie up with neighbourhood cable operators, opening up a new front in the war between the DTH and cable industries.

India’s top four metros-Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and Kolkata-will replace all analog television networks with digital transmission from July 1, 2012. This has led to a scramble between multi system operators (companies which create and distribute a bouquet of channels through cable networks) and DTH operators who transmit their own bouquet of channels via satellites.

Their fight could end up giving a fresh lease of life to the local cable operators who were until now providing the last mile connectivity for the MSOs, but were faced with the threat of extinction with the launch of digital set top boxes.

Dish TV chief executive RC Venkateish said the company has launched a pilot project in Delhi and he expects to grab 1-1.5 million subscribers across cities in the short term through tie-ups with the cable operators.

These operators have been given the option to take up distribution and installation of Dish TV connections to customers and push Dish TV set-top boxes in cable households with the first phase of cable digitalisation.

Currently, the company has agreements with about thirty cable operators, but expects to roll out this scheme in the country and rope in about 3,000 local cable operators in the next two months.

“This scheme helps us open a new distribution channel and establish a personal contact with our customers. Our last-mile operators will install these boxes, service the connections as well as collect bills,” Venkateish said.

These last mile operators will be paid commissions on the installation of set top boxes as well as a 15-20% commission every time the customer serviced by them recharges his subscription.

North-Delhi based cable operator Rajan Sidana, who owns Chaitanya Cable Network, said that aligning with large DTH players like Dish TV would be a profitable deal for last-mile operators. “As it is, we are facing competition from DTH service providers and losing consumers to them. This is a way to retain our customer base and be able to offer them DTH as well as high-definition set-top-boxes on a commission basis,” he said. He services about 700-800 households and can offer feeds of several MSOs to consumers.

Other DTH companies may also join the fray soon. A senior executive from another DTH company who did not wish to be named, said that this is innovative way to grab more subscribers but warned that this could be an expensive way of grabbing consumers at a time when the DTH industry is making losses.

Vikram Mehra chief marketing officer Tata Sky said, “We have beefed up our service and installation teams and our customer care centres that will help us acquire new subscribers.”

Cable companies still dominate in the big metros and roping in the last-mile cable operators will help them increase their subscriber base in the metros. Currently several local cable operators have access to television feed from several multi system operators besides being an exclusive last-mile operator for at least one MSO.

Another South Delhi cable operator RS Bedi, who owns Skywaves, said, “This is an opportunity for existing cable operators who are being squeezed by MSOs to open up an alternative revenue stream. It will also help Dish TV reduce its downtime to cater to consumer’s service requests.”

He added that the margins being offered by Dish TV is attractive and the cable operator will not have to bother about laying cables and will not have to set control rooms. “This will help us grab new consumers as digitalisation kicks in,” said Venkateish. Dish TV currently has 12.5 million gross subscribers and 9.5 million net subscribers in the country as of December 31, 2011.

Source: The Economic Times

With the official deadline for phasing out analog cable TV services fast approaching, digital cable and direct-to-home (DTH) companies are worried because customers are not adequately aware about the mandatory need to switch over to digital services, which will lead to a last minute scramble for settop boxes.

Senior industry executives told Mail Today that although digital customers have been growing, there seems to be lack of awareness about the government’s decision to phase out cable TV networks from Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai by June 31, 2012. Noida and Gurgaon are next in line and compulsory digitisation will be enforced by March 31, 2013.

“There should have been a surge in numbers for the digital services after the government decision in November, 2011, but this has not happened,” a senior executive said.

These companies fear that consumers will probably rush for the change in the last month, when it would become difficult for them to install such a large number of connections in a short time-frame.

The distribution companies had stepped up imports of set-top boxes since they are not manufactured in India but are now seeing the inventory piling up.

The government is keen on the switch over as there is largescale under-invoicing by the local cable operators, who provide the last-mile connection to households and this leads to an erosions in service tax revenues.

According to industry estimates, these neighbourhood cable operators report only 20 per cent of the total subscribers from whom they actually collect money each month.

As a result the government ends up losing around Rs.5,000 crore each year in service tax.

The large digital distributors, such as Hathway, DEN and Digicable, also end up losing big money as they get a revenue share from a meager 18 to 25 per cent of the actual number of subscribers.

According to an industry estimate, the local cable operators retain 80 per cent or Rs.13,600 crore of the entire collection of Rs.17,000 crore collected from viewers as subscription.

The television broadcasters, who invest heavily to provide entertainment and news content, are also getting shortchanged because of this under reporting of subscribers. The digital switch will ensure that the actual number of subscribers get recorded through the set top boxes, which contain cash card with the details of the accounts of the user.

The technology ensures that the broadcasters, distributors and the government get a fix on the actual number of subscribers, plugging the revenue leak. Most advanced countries have phase out analog cable TV. While the US completes the digitisation of its cable sector in 2009, other countries like China are also following suit.

Tata Sky chief marketing officer Vikram Mehra told Mail Today that the company had geared up to provide set-top boxes in the four metros keeping in mind the June 30 deadline. “However, consumer awareness is still low and we plan to launch an advertising campaign to apprise potential customers,” he added.

Mehra said it was important for consumers to choose the right kind of set-top box as this would affect the quality of viewing.

Industry officials are of the view that apart from the number of set-top boxes, the problem of installing the connections had to be tackled.

Installation requires technical expertise and skilled manpower have to be made available in adequate numbers. Thus, any last minute surge in volumes would also make it difficult for company’s engineers to cater to the customers within a deadline.

Mehra said Tata Sky was also putting its billing systems in place to cater to wider customer base as with the entry of set-top boxes consumers would be choosing channels on a la carte basis, which would require different bills for diverse viewers.

A digital platform offers a wider choice of TV channels, better quality of transmission and allows consumers to pay for what they view. For the industry, it will bring in greater consolidation, reduced dependence on viewership ratings and drop in carriage fees.

Source: India Today

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 venture company and expect to seed 200,000-300,000 boxes there,” said Hathway Cable & Datacom MD and CEO K Jayaraman in an interview with Indiantelevision.com.

Hathway has already seeded 250,000 STBs on a voluntary basis in Delhi and Mumbai.

The STBs will be subsidised and sold to customers at a price of Rs 750-790 (including taxes). “We will not sell below this even if there is a price war. We, however, feel that no player is in a position to indulge in a price war. DTH will fight for market share on the basis of perception and brand. All the Santa Clauses are broke,” said
Jayaraman.

Hathway will do fixed fee deals with broadcasters and content cost in a digital environment is expected to fall in the region of 35 per cent. The local cable operators (LCOs) will get a revenue share of 30-35 per cent and the distributors five per cent. Distributors are to also get a 30 per cent share in carriage revenues. “In Mumbai, we are comfortable with the distributors. There may be some issues in Delhi but we will manage to strike a smooth bond with them,” said Jayaraman.

Carriage income is expected to shrink by 30 per cent in the digital environment. “This can even go up to 50 per cent. But we will be somewhat compensated by a reduction in content cost,” averred Jayaraman.

Hathway has a cash pile of Rs 2 billion and does not feel the need to raise capital in the first phase of digitisation. “We will manage with bank debt, vendor and buyer’s credit,” said Jayaraman.

For the first time, Hathway will splurge on marketing. The MSO has earmarked a spend of Rs 250 million towards advertising and the first campaign will break on 6 January.

Hathway expects to stay Ebitda positive while net losses will drag on till at least 2016. “We will regain good valuations if we manage to seed the boxes. Investors are bothered about that and not about net profitability at this stage. We expect our Ebitda to be at least in the 20-25 per cent range. We know it will be difficult at the early stage of digitisation but our endeavour will be towards achieving that range from the start,” said Jayaraman.

Hathway expects the ride in the second phase to be even smoother as it has already got a large population of digital subscribers on a voluntary basis in some of these major cities like Bangalore and Hyderabad. “The second phase is looking even more promising for us,” said Jayaraman.

Source: Indiantelevision.com

Chennai, Nov 22 (IANS) The state-owned Tamil Nadu Arasu Cable TV Corporation (TNACTV) is exploring the feasibility of starting its services in the state capital and has sought details from multi-system operators (MSO) and Local Cable Operators (LCO).

In a statement issued here Tuesday, the firm asked the MSOs and LCOs to furnish details such as equipment owned by them.

The company said the information is sought so as to ‘enable this Corporation to examine the possibility of expanding the cable TV services in Chennai’.

Breaking the monopoly enjoyed by Sun TV group in the cable TV services in the state, the AIADMK, soon after coming to power, revived the defunct TNACTV, which started its operations across Tamil Nadu, barring Chennai.

The decision to start operations in Chennai will hit Sun TV group’s cable TV arm Sun Cable Vision (SCV) that has a monopoly in the business.

Source: MSN.com

MUMBAI: Hathway Cable & Datacom has posted a standalone net loss of Rs 103.18 million for the second quarter of this fiscal ended 30 September.

The multi-system operator (MSO) had posted a profit of Rs 40.39 million in the same quarter of the previous year.

Hathway’s total income stood at Rs 1.28 billion, a marginal dip over the year-ago period (Rs 1.3 billion).

Total expense, however, rose to Rs 1.07 billion (from Rs 943.96 million in corresponding quarter of the previous fiscal).

The payout to pay channels during the three-month period stood at Rs 345.6 million, compared to Rs 280.33 million in the year-ago quarter.

Hathway’s net loss can be attributed to depreciation/ amortization/ impairment which stood at Rs 252.70 million. The company also lost Rs 10.53 billion due to fluctuation of exchanges.

The MSO reported profit from operations (before other income, interest, depreciation and exceptional items) of Rs 218.28 million for the quarter under review.

Hathway said that as per management estimates, its economic interest in the Ebitda of its several subsidiaries/JVs/associate companies for the quarter under review, would aggregate to approximately Rs 210 million based on the unaudited accounts of such entities.

The MSO disclosed that out of Rs 4.8 billion IPO money, it has utilised Rs 3.91 billion as on 30 September.

Hathway said that in anticipation of the Government’s digitisation mandate, it has modernised its head ends in Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore and Hyderabad by installing state-of-the-art technologies from Ericsson, UK. This implementation provides the company with enhanced capacities to carry additional channels at higher levels of quality.

Source: Indiantelevision.com

Mumbai: Television cable service provider Den Networks plans to invest Rs1,000 crore over 3-4 years for rolling out digital cable networks in India, a senior official told Reuters on Monday.

Last week, India approved an ordinance on digitization of cable network, in a move that boosted the prospects for cable television service providers and broadcasters.

India had been working to amend broadcasting rules with a view to fast track complete digitization of cable broadcasting in the country. The ordinance was to mandate complete cable digitization in the top metro cities by 2012 and pan-India by 2014.

Out of its total investment, Den plans to invest Rs400 crore on the first phase of cable digitization.

Cable TV operators like Den who have been facing competition from direct-to-home operators in India are confident of achieving a significant jump in subscriptions in the coming years post digitization.

“We are hoping to add 2.5 million subscribers in the first phase. If all goes well, we plan to finish the first phase by April 2012,” S.N. Sharma, president said in an interview.

The company, which has a total subscriber base of 10.5 million, has been adding 0.7 million subscribers annually on their cable networks.

Den also said it plans to fund the first phase investment via an equal mix of internal accruals and debt.

Rival Hathway Cable had said it will invest Rs500-600 crore on cable digitization by 2014 and is planning to invest Rs700-800 million on the first phase.

Analysts have viewed this ordinance as a positive for direct-to-home (DTH) and cable service providers such as Den, Hathway, Dish TV, Videocon DTH and Bharti Airtel.

Brokerage IDFC expects gains for nationalized multi-system operators (MSO) such as Den and Hathway to be “far sharper.”

“Against a backdrop of extremely poor execution and muted subscriber addition of less than 0.5 million subscribers annually, we now foresee a near 3x jump in digital subscriber addition for these MSOs in the next 12-18 months,” it said.

Consolidation

Den Networks which expects consolidation in the cable industry post the ordinance is open to acquiring or considering the merger of smaller multi system operators with itself.

“Consolidation will happen automatically. And there will most definitely be some consolidation by way of merger, acquisition or by some operators getting locked out in the next 3 years,” Sharma said.

“We have been in the process of consolidation of LCO’s (local cable operators) and are open to and considering MSO consolidation opportunities,” Sharma said.

The company also plans to rollout broadband services in the areas where it completes its first phase of digitization.

“We are doing the trail run and are in the process of making our plans and we will unfold them in the next 3-4 months,” Sharma said.

Shares of the company, which the market values at $241.6 million, have fallen 50% from the start of the year compared to a 17% fall in the main index.

Source: Livemint.com

MUMBAI: The Indian pay TV market, which at present stands at Rs 240 billion, has huge growth potential as it is underpenetrated and the ARPU (average revenue per user) is very low. However, there are challenges like fragmentation in the cable industry, outdated technology and high capex requirements which are hindrance in the growth path.

These were the thoughts expressed by Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd (Zeel) MD and CEO Punit Goenka while delivering the keynote address at the India Digital Pay-TV Summit (IDPS) 2011, organised here by Indiantelevision.com and MPA.

Goenka warned that if the issues are not tackled in time, India could skip cable and evolve to a wireless delivery of TV market, like in the case of telecom sector.

He first started his presentation with the ground realities of today’s pay TV scenario, saying that the market is under penetrated and the ARPUs are very low compared to the global markets. Also, the cable industry is fragmented and the there is no serious investment in the technology. He also pointed out that there is inequitable distribution of pay TV revenues.

However, on a positive note, Goenka added that these are the opportunities as the pay TV market is growing with robust pace and with increasing digitisation, transparency is now improving. “The pay TV market has evolved uniquely. Though initially all the channels were free to air, they were gradually converted to pay, albeit at a very low price. However, due to non-addressable pay TV model, transparency remained low but now with increasing digitisation, transparency is now improving,” he said.

He noted that with digitisation, new business models will emerge. “With dependence on ad revenues going down, newer avenues will open up for content players. You will also see that niche and sports channels, which are currently unprofitable ventures, will start becoming viable businesses,” he said.

Goenka added that while 3G, 4G and wireless broadband will evolve as new platforms for distribution of content, smart devices will drive consumption of content on-the-go.

He asserted that India will emerge as one of the largest pay TV markets in the world by the sheer number of subscribers and the ever-increasing number of personal/smart handheld devices will only add to this.

However, while talking about the challenges, he pointed five main roadblocks. Firstly, the fragmented industry. There are over 60,000 local cable operators, he voiced, saying dealing with 50 MSOs would make life for everyone easier. He opined that the cable TV infrastructure needs upgradation. “The current analogue infrastructure has various issues- it deteriorates the quality of broadcast, it is non-addressable in nature and it is not capable of triple-play. Even the broadband infrastructure is very primitive and always-on high speed internet connection is still a distinct dream. Customer service is of sub-optimal level,” Goenka highlighted.

Quoting the FICCI-KPMG report, he said the industry has a capex requirement of Rs 80-100 billion on infrastructure (excluding subsidised customer premise equipments) in order to convert existing infrastructure to an addressable digital system. Moreover, there are regulatory issues of pricing and the customer mindset.

“The Indian consumer is not used to paying for premium content. So the challenge is to convince the consumer that better value is available at higher ARPU,” Goenka said. He added that today’s consumer is willing to pay for better value.

He ended on the note that the industry needs to adapt to the change in order to create value.

Source: Indiantelevision.com

NEW DELHI: The information and broadcasting ministry has proposed to increase foreign direct investment limit across media platforms — in direct-to home, internet protocol TV (IPTV), multi-system operators and FM radio — to bring in consistency, according to sources.

The FDI in DTH, IPTV and MSO is likely to be raised from 49% to 74%, while the investment in FM radio will be increased from 20% to 26%. The proposal based on broadcast regulator Trai’s recommendations has been sent to the department of industrial policy and promotion (DIPP) under the ministry of commerce.

Sources said that foreign investment up to 26% was allowed through the automatic route earlier but now any FDI above 26% will be allowed after it is approved by the foreign investment promotion board (FIPB). Investment cap of general entertainment channels (100%) and news and current affairs channels (26%) will remain the same. The I&B ministry has rejected Trai’s proposal to reduce FDI in GEC and in local cable operators.

Sources in the ministry said that DTH, IPTV, Mobile TV and HITS require substantial infrastructure augmentation, which needs huge investment. There was also need for convergence of technologies in the broadcast and telecom sector where 74% foreign investment is allowed.

Source: Business Standard

NEW DELHI, INDIA – OCTOBER 1, 2010 – NDS, the leading provider of technology solutions for digital pay-TV, today announced that it is now powering one million digital TV connections for Hathway, India’s leading Multi System Operator (MSO). Hathway, the fastest growing MSO in India, has become the first to reach the digital subscriber milestone. The achievement also highlights the role of NDS in providing a technology framework that enables Hathway to continue to grow its subscriber base through innovative digital TV services and solutions.

Hathway has established a reputation for being at the forefront of new technology adoption and has a history of several firsts in the Indian cable TV market. Hathway were the first cable TV operator to go digital, the first to implement a middleware solution and customised Electronic Programme Guide (EPG), and the first to launch a Digital Video Recorder (DVR) solution.

Mr. K. Jayaraman, Managing Director & CEO, Hathway Cable & Datacom Ltd. said: “It gives us immense pleasure to be the first Indian MSO to reach the one million milestone. Our implementation of NDS technology has already allowed us to scale quickly and we expect to double our digital subscriber base by this time next year. NDS’ global expertise in managing end-to-end delivery of digital pay-TV solutions will help us to offer new services and advanced features for a superior viewing experience which in turn will satisfy our subscribers and encourage more growth.”

Congratulating Hathway on its achievement Sue Taylor, Senior Vice President and General Manager Asia Pacific, NDS said: “Reinforcing Hathway’s position at the forefront of the Digital Cable market in India, reaching one million digital subscribers is a fantastic achievement and the result of the operator’s constant endeavour to deliver something extra to its subscribers, underpinned by NDS technologies. We wish Hathway every success in their future growth and look forward to our ongoing collaboration to enable them to deliver on the promise of digital pay-TV.”

Hathway’s digital cable TV services are protected and powered by an end-to-end NDS solution including VideoGuard® conditional access system (CAS), MediaHighway® middleware, an advanced electronic programme guide (EPG). Market-leading XTV™ Digital Video Recorder (DVR) technology also allows subscribers to pause, record, play back, re-wind and fast forward their TV programmes for viewing when they choose.

In addition, the wide range of multi-level interactive games provided by NDS has proven popular with subscribers. NDS continue to work closely with Hathway to deliver a raft of world-leading, affordable and innovative solutions and services to Hathway’s growing subscriber base.

About NDS
NDS Group Ltd. creates the technologies and applications that enable pay-TV operators to securely deliver digital content to TV STBs (set-top boxes), DVRs (digital video recorders), PCs, mobiles and other multimedia devices. Over 70 of the world’s leading pay-TV platforms rely on NDS solutions to protect and enhance their businesses. VideoGuard® is the world’s market-leading conditional access (CA) and digital rights management (DRM) technology, currently deployed on 133 million active devices, and safeguarding pay-TV service revenues exceeding $40 billion. NDS middleware, including MediaHighway® which enables a host of advanced services for subscribers, has been deployed on 152 million devices. NDS DVR technology, centred around XTV™, leads the global industry with 30 million units deployed. (Deployment figures as of 30th June 2010).

Headquartered in the UK, NDS remains committed to investing in R&D with over 75% of its employees dedicated to pioneering work at development centres in China, Denmark, France, India, Israel, Korea, UK and US. NDS has also implemented a host of initiatives aimed at reducing its carbon footprint and helping digital TV subscribers reduce energy consumption.

NDS Group Ltd. is a private company owned by the Permira Funds and News Corporation. See www.nds.com for more information. Read about the latest developments at NDS and in the pay-TV industry in World Vision.