Verdict expected next week in Star India vs TRAI bundling case

The verdict in the crucial case filed by Star India against the sector regulator’s move to control a-la-carte pricing of television channels in India is expected to be delivered next week, a key industry official said. “The judgment has been reserved by the Madras High Court. There has been a representation by the Government, TRAI […]

Pantel Technologies buys Reliance Digital TV DTH

Reliance Communications announced that Pantel Technologies, which sells the Penta brand of tablets in India, has purchased its Big TV DTH service. The agreement was signed with Pantel Technologies Pvt Limited and Veecon Media & Television Limited, the Anil Ambani group company said. The move will reduce RCom’s debt to unsecured creditors as the new […]

Tata Sky users may lose Star channels in three weeks

Star India, India’s biggest broadcasting company, has threatened to pull out its channels from Tata Sky, India’s biggest distributor of television content. Tata Sky is a joint venture between Tata Group and Rupert Murdoch’s 21st Century Fox, which also owns Star India. Unlike in case of Star, Fox owns only a minority stake of around […]

RCom likely to shut down Reliance Digital TV next month

Reliance Digital TV, the DTH arm of the Anil Ambani Group, is scheduled to shut down next month, according to the photo of an advertisement that allegedly appeared in a regional newspaper. The DTH service has around 5 mln (50 lakh) subscribers. “This is a notice to all subscribers of Reliance Digital TV,” the advertisement […]

Sun Direct becomes first DTH in India to start HEVC transmission

Sun Direct, a unit of Sun TV, has become the first DTH or cable operator to start transmission using next-generation HEVC compression technology in India. The company has introduced two HEVC — short for high-efficiency video codec — channels on its GSAT-15 beams. HEVC, also known as H.265, requires only 55%-60% of the bandwidth compared […]

Sun TV could benefit from RCom’s financial troubles

Sun Direct, the DTH arm of Sun TV, could end up benefiting from the financial troubles faced by Anil Ambani Group’s Reliance Communications. Speaking to media yesterday, Reliance Communications top honchos said the company was looking at various ways to reduce debt, including a sale of its DTH business. However, DTH services are notoriously difficult […]

Tata Sky to add five more HD channels to take total to 86

Tata Sky, the Indian DTH operator with the highest amount of spectrum and channels, will add five more HD channels to take the total high-definition offerings on the platform to 86. The new channels being added tomorrow are DSports, MTV HD+, Surya (Malayalam), Udaya (Kannada) and Gemini Movies (Telugu). With 86 HD channels, the operator […]

Zee Entertainment slashes channel prices ahead of TRAI regulation

Zee Entertainment, one of the four big broadcasting groups of India, has become the first player to bring its channel prices in line with an upcoming regulation issued by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India. Zee’s new tariff card prices its channels a fraction of what they are being sold for in the market at […]

Airtel Digital increases HD channels to take on Tata Sky

Airtel Digital has bounced back into reckoning in fast growing high-definition DTH market by adding capacity from the newly launched SES-9 satellite and could emerge a strong challenger to Tata Sky in coming days. The SES-9 satellite was launched last year and new transponders were made available to Airtel earlier this year. Over the last several […]

Tata Sky starts testing Arnab Goswami’s Republic TV, launch tomorrow?

Arnab Goswami’s Republic TV’s is reported to be readying for its launch next week, with DTH operator Tata Sky starting test transmission of the channel. The channel is expected to carry the number 616, and be officially available from 10 PM on Friday, May 5. UPDATE: The channel will be launched this weekend. Separately, the channel […]

Working Reliance Jio ‘DTH’ video uploaded by Gujarat-based test user

A video of a working Reliance Jio ‘DTH’ TV has been leaked by a Gujarat-based Youtube user, even as Airtel unveiled its own ‘Internet TV’ today. The Youtube user demonstrates a working set-top-box, complete with HD channels and various other features. Even though the uploader calls it Jio DTH, there is nothing in the video […]

Airtel Digital launches first-of-its-kind Android set-top-box with advanced features

Airtel Digital TV launched what it called India’s first hybrid set-top-box with built-in Android and a host of advanced gaming and Internet functions at a price of Rs 4999. Customers can also get one year of free subscription by paying Rs 3,000 extra. It will be available online exclusively on Amazon India starting April 12, […]

Govt moves to block ABS Free Dish DTH service

Government of India has moved to block the signals of ABS Free Dish, a free DTH service in India, but questions remain as to how practical the move is. “Ministry of Home Affairs mentioned that the transmission of DTH service by ABS is without any application to the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting and not […]

With new tech, Sun Direct launches India’s cheapest HD packs

Sun Direct, the DTH service from Sun Network, has unveiled three new HD subscription plans that make it the cheapest provider of HD TV services in India. The plans are priced at Rs 51, 101 and 150, including taxes. The cheapest pack provides 23 HD channels — with the exact composition depending on the language […]

Dish TV slashes basic pack rate to Rs 33/month to take on DD Free Dish

Dish TV, India’s oldest DTH operator, has unveiled an offer that is by the far the cheapest from any private operator in India. Under the new ‘DishTV Non-Stop Offer’, the company is offering a clutch of free-to-air channels to its subscribers for three years in return for a one-time payment of Rs 1,149. To compare, […]

New TRAI rules to hit Zee Entertaiment, Star, Sony and Sun TV

The regulator’s new rules on the pricing of television channels in India, which will come into effect in six months, will reduce the clout of big broadcasting companies such as Zee Entertainment Enterprises, Sony, Star India and Sun TV, while encouraging smaller media owners. So far, bigger groups enjoyed a key advantage — they could […]