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, […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
With the final battle over TV channel pricing drawing close, Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Jio has decided to side with cable operators and consumer organizations, instead of going with broadcasters and channel owners, despite the Reliance Group’s stake in TV18 Broadcast. The final battle over TV channel pricing is all set to play out at India’s […]
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 […]
Reliance Jio has unveiled detailed prepaid tariff plans for its Jio Fiber broadband-cum-IPTV service. The plans start at Rs 699 per month (Rs 825 including 18% GST) for 100 GB and go and go all the way up to Rs 8,499. On the face of it, the plans are slightly more expensive than most people […]
When cellular telephony started in India, Bharti and Reliance took two divergent approaches towards launching cellular services — Airtel decided to focus on providing the services, leaving third party players to provide the hardware, while Reliance decided went with CDMA, a technology in which everything was more tightly controlled. Despite the obvious technological shortcomings of […]
Discovery Communications, India’s biggest provider of infotainment content, has taken broadcasting regulator TRAI to the Delhi High Court for the second time in three years for trying to bring down prices of individual TV channels. TRAI had earlier this month announced a move to force channel owners to bring the prices of their individual channels […]
Media regulator TRAI has shot off letters to most of the top cable TV feed providers in India, asking them to allow users to change their packs, and ensure that their business partners provide itemized billing to customers and pay tax to the government. It, however, remains to be seen how cable feed providers are […]
Arasu Cable, the government-owned cable feed provider in Tamil Nadu, has become the first big player to drastically reduce the monthly network charge under TRAI’s new tariff order, throwing a challenge to the likes of Tata Sky, Dish TV, Hathway and Sun Direct. Arasu Cable’s new base plan of Rs 130 contains six broadcaster packs […]
Flipkart, Amazon’s biggest competitor in India, has started rolling out a video streaming service on its mobile app similar to Amazon Prime Video and Netflix. The service is very similar to other streaming apps, and offers videos classified into different sections based on genres and languages. Both movie and non-movie content are available. Non-movie content, […]
