Consumers can expect to see a sharp fall in channel prices in days ahead, going by the trend revealed by Discovery Communications, one of the first broadcasters to publish channel prices under TRAI’s new tariff order. TRAI has mandated a new tariff structure for cable and DTH sectors in India under which they have to […]
The National Company Law Tribunal has admitted a petition filed by Sony Pictures Networks India Ltd against cable and broadband operator Ortel Communications. The petition, under Section 9 of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code of India, was for initiating insolvency proceedings against the cash-strapped cable and broadband operator. The NCLT also appointed an interim resolution […]
Reliance Jio has pulled its enormously popular Jio Music app and replaced it with JioSaavn, a new app based largely on Saavn, a competitor that the company had acquired in March. Users who have enabled auto-updating of their apps will be upgraded to the new application automatically. With over 100 mln (10 cr) downloads, Jio […]
Hathway, one of India’s top cable feed providers, said it will launch its Smart Hub, a smart set-top-box that will run Google’s Android operating system, in the market next month. This will make it the second big player to come on-board the Android TV platform, a special version of Android OS that is customized to […]
Hathway Cable & Datacom, one of India’s largest cable feed providers, said the implementation of a new TRAI tariff scheme for television from next month will empower consumers, even as it will be ‘not so good’ for broadcasting groups that make heavy use of bundling. Bundling refers to the practice by broadcasting companies of making […]
Zee Keralam, the Malayalam channel from India’s second biggest TV broadcasting company, will launch in exactly ten days on Nov 26, the company has revealed. Zee will compete with Malayalam offerings from Star India, Sun Network and local channels like Flowers and Amrita. The group, which entered the adjoining Telugu and Tamil markets over the […]
Zee5, the content app from the Zee Group, has joined the NetRange, an app store found on televisions manufactured by global TV makers such as Philips, Grundig, HiSense, Thomson, Skyworth, Sharp and TCL. With this, the Zee5 app will become instantly available on lakhs of smart TVs across the world. “The ZEE5 app will be […]
Dish TV, India’s largest direct-to-home satellite television service, said it will send out software upgrades to over 4 mln (40 lakh) of its users that will enable them to install apps to watch Internet content on their TV by December. “There are almost 4 million boxes that we have which we can convert into connected […]
Sun Direct, the satellite TV service from Sun TV group, has started offering the cheapest high-definition channel packages in India. The DTH service, which used to offer HD channels only as part of ‘base packs’ that came with a large number of standard-definition channels, has now started offering smaller packs comprising only HD channels. The […]
HT Media, which publishes English newspaper Hindustan Times and Hindi newspaper Hindustan, blamed poor advertiser sentiment for its second quarter results. The company’s July-September revenue had fallen by 6% even as costs rose, pushing it to a rare loss of Rs 19 cr before non-cash, non-operating items (operating profit or EBITDA). The company had seen […]
CNBC TV18, controlled by Reliance Industries, reported that the diversified company is likely to announce its acquisition of two of India’s top cable companies, Den Networks and Hathway Cable and Datacom, tomorrow. The TV channel, controlled by Reliance via a trust, said the acquisition is likely to be announced along with RIL’s second-quarter results on […]
SPI Cinemas, a part of India’s largest multiplex chain PVR, has launched at Park Square Mall in Whitefield in Bengaluru. The four-screen cinema is set on the third and fourth floors and can seat 696 people in total. With the launch, PVR’s network now stands at 715 screens at 154 properties in 60 cities. On […]
Delhi High Court has set apart a lower court decision that imposed a stay on the publication of a video by website Cobrapost that allegedly showed political bias among employees of Dainik Bhaskar group. DB Corp, the publisher of Dainik Bhaskar daily, won the injunction after arguing that the video was malafide and based on […]
Star India has agreed to share the feed of cricket matches involving India with Reliance Jio’s live TV app JioTV. Till now, JioTV users had to install Star’s Hotstar app to watch any of the network’s sports channels. The sharing agreement is valid for five years, said Reliance Jio, without divulging the financial details behind […]
The upcoming new system of selling television channels in India will de-risk the business model of distribution companies such as cable and DTH providers, the country’s largest cable feed provider said. Starting in 2019, television channel operators will no longer be allowed to enter into ‘fixed payment’ deals with distribution providers like cable and DTH […]
Airtel and Netflix announced an expansion of their partnership in India through which the telecom operator will sell and promote Netflix content to its customers. Airtel TV, the video app from the operator, will have a dedicated row of Netflix content. It is not clear how much of the content will be made available on […]
PVR, India’s largest multiplex operator by far, said it will acquire 72% of SPI Cinemas, which operates 17 multiplex theaters in South India including Chennai’s Sathyam, for around Rs 633 cr in cash, and the remaining 28% by issuing its own shares. SPI Cinemas is a leading cinema player in South India with 17 multiplexes, […]
PVR Cinemas said it has opened its 137th multiplex at Phoenix United Mall in Bareilly, Uttar Pradesh. With this, said India’s largest cinema exhibitor, it now has 13 multiplexes in Uttar Pradesh. The company has also increased the total multiplexes in North India to 49. The latest property will have four screens, taking the total screens […]
Reliance Jio’s delays in ‘going pay’ with its content suite seems to be giving rivals like Bharti Airtel pause for thought as far as their content plans are concerned. Jio unveiled a large suite of content applications when it launched its telecom service two years ago, prompting rivals like Airtel and Idea Cellular to draw […]
Eros International Media, one of India’s leading content producers, said it has formed a joint venture company with V Vijayendra Prasad, the writer of popular movies like Baahubali, Magadheera and Bajrangi Bhaijaan. Eros International said Prasad has already penned down 10 stories that will be converted into films by the new company. “To bring these […]
