All Entries Tagged With: "Tata Sky"
TV sector gears up for digital deadline
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 »»»
Comedy Central now available on Tata Sky
MUMBAI: Direct-to-home (DTH) services provider Tata Sky has added English comedy channel, Comedy Central, on its platform. Comedy Central, the latest channel from the Viacom18 stable, will be available on channel no 218 on Tata Sky platform in its English Entertainment pack. Priced at Rs 50 per month, the English Entertainment pack has nine more channels- AXN, BBC Entertainment, Discovery Turbo, Fox Crime, FX, NDTV Good Times, Star World, TLC and Zee Café. Comedy Central, has a mix of various comedy genres such as sitcoms, stand-up and gags, British comedy, sketch comedy, etc. The channel’s »»»
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 »»»
DTH industry showing signs of churn
India’s competitive DTH industry is moving towards more customised offerings such as video-on-demand, Catch UP TV and cheaper channel packs in regional languages. DTH players are realising that in future the “customer will be king” and “what you want to see and when you want to see” is the new mantra. “We feel that DTH needs to adjust according to preferences of viewer and not the other way round,” said Vikram Mehra, chief marketing officer, Tata Sky. While Tata Sky has introduced video-on-demand and “Catch Up TV” that allows a subscriber to »»»
Overdue tax from DTH cos in legal tangle
Indore: Commercial tax department is awaiting Supreme Court verdict on the petitions moved by Direct to Home (DTH) service providers and cable operators and expecting a favourable verdict so that it could recover a big amount owed by the companies to it as tax. The service providers including Reliance, Tata Sky and others started paying tax from last year following a Supreme Court order. But the department argues that since the companies had started operation since 2003, they should also pay tax for the seven years till 2010. On this issue, the service providers moved the Supreme Court. “These »»»
DTH industry continues to expand rapidly
Tata Sky has managed to surprise subscribers with technology innovations ever since its launch; the latest being Tata Sky Video on Demand which includes Catch Up TV and VoD Movie Library. Sanjeev Sinha caught up with Mr. Vikram Mehra, Chief Marketing Officer, Tata Sky, for his views on how Tata Sky is ready to change the way we see DTH in India. Excerpts: There have been many innovations in the DTH industry since its inception. Are there any more future technologies in the loop? Tata Sky has always been in the forefront of introducing future technologies and innovations in the Indian DTH industry. »»»
Indian DTH subscriber base crosses 41 Million
NEW DELHI: Pay direct-to-home (DTH) television platforms have a registered subscriber base of 41,044,463 as in September this year, showing a steady increase over the past four years. The registered subscriber base for pay DTH was 11,104,997 in December 2008, 19,148,848 in December 2009 and 32,054,073 in December 2010. There is no record of subscribers to the free-to-air Doordarshan’s DTH platform DD Direct Plus since it entails a one-time expenditure of purchase of dish antennae and there is no subscription base. Meanwhile, Information and Broadcasting Ministry sources said that no policy »»»
