Trai has announced that it may fix prices of pay channels on the direct-to-home (DTH) platform in line with the Rs 5 per channel cap on conditional access system (CAS) services in Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata. This move will lower the fees but hit the income of broadcasters from DTH companies. However, new DTH entrants will benefit from the move as their cost of content will decrease. For the 2 existing DTH companies, Dish TV & Tata Sky, the current rates are likely to continue.
In a sharp mid-course correction, Karan Bilimoria, the NRI beer maker, is in talks for a distribution tie-up in the US with Anheuser-Busch, whose Budweiser lords it over half the beer market in that country. While Cobra managed to hold its own in the SABMiller-dominated South African beer market, it managed only flat results with Krait Prestige, which was marketed as the world's first Champagne Lager.
According to sources in the Bureau of Indian Standards, the onus of providing the transcoders will be on new DTH players. The BIS has also been asked to submit a detailed report on interoperability of DTH set-top boxes to the I &B ministry. The set-top boxes being used to receive services from the existing players, Dish TV and Tata Sky, are not compatible with the new-technology services that will be provided by DTH firms.
Sony's Set Max - the host broadcaster of the Indian Premier League (IPL) has its eyes on the ad revenues that the Twenty20 format cricket tournament is likely to produce. The 7 pm-10 pm TV slot attracts ad revenue worth over Rs 2,000 cr between various entertainment channels. On Set Max, the advertisers will have about 35 hours of advertising spots for the first IPL tournament with fixed on-air sponsors. Set Max has three associate sponsors in Nokia, Hero Honda and Coca Cola.
As the CAS technology gives the consumers a choice in watching television channels with assured quality of service and affordable pricing, a nationwide CAS roll-out will bring down the average monthly cable bills of the consumers by almost half to about Rs 150-Rs 200.
To rationalise the entertainment tax levied on the direct-to-home (DTH) companies and the cable operators by the state governments and also to encourage the cable industry to switch to the use of advanced optical fibre cable instead of the copper wire cables, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting has set up two sub-committees.
With the addition of 2 lakh subscribers every month, private direct-to-home (DTH) service operators Dish TV and Tata Sky may cross Rs 650 crore (Rs 6.5 billion) in revenues for financial year 2007-08, a three-fold increase from 2006-07. The revenues of private DTH operators may cross the Rs 1,000-crore (Rs 10 billion) mark in 2008-09 with a total subscriber-base of 8 million. Private DTH operators have to pay 10% of their revenues as the licence fees to operate the services.
WorldSpace was first launched in Bangalore and therefore, is headquartered in New Delhi. Hence, the awareness levels and adoption is highest in this market and other southern markets. Metro markets like Delhi and Mumbai have also shown a high level of traction. Going forward, eastern and central India presents an opportunity for WorldSpace. WorldSpace does not manufacture its own radio sets. They are manufactured by contract manufacturers.
The rankings on the value are set to change. A role reversal is silently taking place in the Indian consumer durable business landscape. LG, which has built a huge reputation and amassed a significant market share on the back of affordable pricing, is consciously promoting higher end products. The Korean company has undertaken a strategic initiative to position itself as a maker of premium consumer electronics.
Camera makers are getting bullish on Indian markets as the consumer base here is increasing. Major camera brands are banking on retail sales in India. For this, Nikon has tied up with consumer electronics retail chains such as Croma, while Sony India has exclusive retail store network. Samsung has tie-ups with Reliance Digital, Croma, and other multi brand outlets. But all the brands face stiff competition from grey markets that are canabalising the brands' share in retail.
The central government is likely to announce a restructuring-cum-revival package for Hindustan Shipyard Ltd (HSL), the largest public sector shipyard, at a cost of around Rs 830 crore (Rs 8.3 billion) in the coming Budget.
For the first four days of its running, Jodhaa Akbar -- a UTV Motion Picture release -- has collected Rs 38.53 crore from the box office (domestic and international), a close second to last year's Shah Rukh Khan starrer Om Shanti Om -- that grossed about Rs 42 crore for the entire week. And there is three days of collections to be added.
Mumbai rail service may get a facelift as the Union Railway Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav announces the Phase II of developmental plans this Budget.
A DVR is a device that allows consumers to pause, record, play back, rewind and fast forward their favourite television shows. DTH companies are expected to slash DVRs box prices by nearly half to Rs 7,000-Rs 8,000 per unit. DVRs for cable channels would soon be available for between Rs 3,000 and Rs 4,000, industry sources said.
News channels may now be able to telecast footage of international cricket matches for longer durations, following the Delhi High Court's dismissal of a petition by sports broadcaster ESPN Star Sports in this matter.
Railway Minister Lalu Prasad is expected to announce a slew of initiatives for select Shatabdi and Rajdhani trains in the coming rail budget, including access to on-board free Internet and Direct-to-Home (DTH) services.
With the wine market in India poised for heady growth, liquor companies are ready to uncork their best wines. Currently, the Indian wine market is estimated at 1.2 million cases (one case has 12 bottles of 750 ml each), with imported wines accounting for a mere 200,000 cases.
Dish TV and Tata Sky, the two major DTH companies, have sought compensation from the government for the upgrade of the existing DTH set-top boxes due to the mandatory upgrade proposed by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India.
At present, the FDI limit for FM radio companies is 20 per cent. A senior Trai official has indicated that it could recommend an increase between 26 and 74 per cent.
Delhi HC has stayed CLB order against Essel group's bid on UNI. The tranfer of shares too has been termed null and void.
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