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 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.
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.
Bogged down by regulatory issues and lack of earning opportunities in smaller towns, the 30-odd private FM radio companies may not participate in the third-phase expansion of private FM radio mooted by the government. In the third phase, government will issue licences for 680 FM radio stations across 237 cities in the country, mostly very small towns like Achalpur, Bettiah and Churu.
I&B ministry has called off the auctioning of vacant FM radio stations and postponed it indefinitely. This move has left 27 bidders in a lurch.
If India's Australia tour gets cancelled, advertisers will ask the broadcasters for a refund.
DTH is still growing month-on-month, while the figures of CAS subscribers have begun to stagnate.
The I&B ministry has intimated January 14 and 24 as the new dates for the auction instead of December 29 and January 10.
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