PVR Cinemas, India’s largest cinema chain by far, has opened a mega, 12-screen luxury multiplex at Vegas Mall, Dwarka, Delhi. The property, termed as a company ‘flagship’, will take the total screens in Delhi to 62 from 50 and the total number of locations to 16. The Vegas Mall PVR contains one IMAX screen, one […]
DD Free Dish, the free direct-to-home service from Prasar Bharati, has bounced back from the impact of the boycott of the platform by major broadcasters like Star India, Zee Entertainment, Sony Pictures and Viacom18, according to industry sources. According to the CEO of a rival DTH agency, the number of subscribers of DD Free Dish […]
Dish TV India, the country’s largest DTH network by number of subscribers, reported a 4.1% decline in its subscription revenue for the July-September quarter as the company showed signs of stabilizing from the twin impacts of a new system of TV channel pricing and a merger with Videocon D2h. Dish TV completed the merger with […]
DTH operators, who offer various programs and services on their in-house channels, may soon be prevented from carrying popular serials, films and other licensed content, going by TRAI’s latest recommendations. TRAI also recommended that the ministry of information and broadcasting should stop the broadcasting of delayed feeds of existing channels, branded as +1 channels, on […]
Recent changes in how television channels are priced and distributed have given an advantage to large broadcasting companies, helping them push out smaller and regional channels, India’s biggest association of news broadcasters warned. If left unchecked, the current trends would result in a loss of plurality and the establishment of monopolistic market in the country, […]
Chennai-based Sun TV Network, which operates to the most widely watched pay channel in India, has inked a content licensing deal with Reliance Jio, India’s biggest telecom operator. Under the deal, Sun TV’s content — including those that it has purchased digital rights for — will be made available on Jio’s apps. With this, thousands […]
Sun Direct, the Chennai-based direct-to-home satellite TV service, has started giving free access to nearly all Sun Group channels to anyone who activates the base packs designed by the DTH company. The base packs designed by Sun Direct — called DPO packs — start at Rs 200 per month, including tax, for the Tamil market, […]
An average Airtel Digital customer spent 4.1% more money on their DTH service in July-September period compared to the previous three months, beating back the seasonal effect of the monsoons and indicating that customers may be gradually spending more on their cable and DTH bills. The monsoon season tends to see smaller recharges by prepaid […]
Westway Electronics, one of the oldest TV manufacturers in India dating back to the 80s, has announced discounts for its new RCA branded LED televisions in India. Under the Diwali discount scheme, the company is offering a 32 inch HD ready TV for Rs 8,999, a 43 inch FHD Smart TV at Rs 17,999, a […]
BARC India, India’s top TV viewership measurement company, said CEO Partho Dasgupta has resigned, and will be replaced by Sunil Lulla, who was with Eros International Media and Balaji Telefilms before. BARC said Dasgupta had “relinquished his position” and moved on, indicating that it was a voluntary move. The change in leadership comes at a […]
ZEE5, the video app from Zee Entertainment Enterprises, will introduce cheaper plans soon to take on rivals in the market, company CEO Punit Goenka said. “We are working on lighter packs which we will roll-out in the next couple of months,” the CEO said. ZEE5’s annual pack is currently priced at Rs 999. Goenka was […]
Media regulator TRAI will come up with a modified set of rules to increase transparency in the pricing of television channels in the next 20-25 days, Chairman RS Sharma said on the sidelines of the open house discussion on the subject in New Delhi. Sharma’s statement comes in the wake of widespread complaints about broadcasters […]
Zee Entertainment Enterprises CEO Punit Goenka reassured investors that the recent cut in the price of some of its popular TV channels, such as Zee TV, is short-term in nature, and won’t leave any long-term impact on the company. Zee Entertainment, Star India, Sony India and TV18 Broadcast have cut the a-la carte prices of […]
Hathway Cable and Datacom, one of India’s biggest cable feed providers, has again turned profitable, but it also reported an increase of Rs 87 mn in its pay channel costs while subscription revenue increased by only Rs 37 mn. Given that subscription revenue increased only 1% while pay channel costs increased 7%, it is likely […]
TV18 Broadcast, which operates channels like Colors and News18, has reported a dip of Rs 71 cr in its revenue after a shift from free to pay for some of its entertainment channels and a soft economy hurt advertising sales. “Macro-weakness and shift of channels from DD Freedish to Pay ecosystem continues to drag ad-revenues […]
Den Networks, one of India’s top cable feed providers, reported better profit margins for the three months ended September after it was able to keep a lid on payments made to broadcasters like Star, Zee and Sony. The company has been seeing a lot of volatility and uncertainty over its margins and financial performance after […]
Some of the popular television channels owned by major broadcasters like Star India, Zee Entertainment and TV18 have seen their prices reduced on a temporary basis as the broadcasting regulator puts the final touches on a new law aimed at bringing down individual channel prices and curbing anti-competitive practices. The cuts come barely a week […]
Zee Essel Group today said it has completed the sale of 8.7% of its crown jewel, Zee Entertainment Enterprises, to US-based Invesco Oppenheimer Developing Markets Fund as per a plan announced in July. The remaining 2.3% stake that is to be transferred to the fund will also be sold in the “next few days”, the […]
Discovery Communications, the country’s most popular provider of reality-based television programming, has come out strongly against TRAI’s current rule that requires channel owners to treat all cable and DTH operators equally. Media regulator TRAI had earlier this year implemented Tariff Order of 2017, under which broadcasters like Discovery, Zee and Star have to offer channels […]
Tata Sky, a premium satellite TV provider in India, has unveiled a scheme by which heavy customers can bring down their monthly network fee by up to Rs 300. However, to get the lower network charge — also known as network capacity fee or NCF — a subscriber must buy some television channels picked by […]
