MxMIndia

Tag: Atul Phadnis

  • Founder, CEO Atul Phadnis to stay on to helm operations as with this acquisition of Asia’s leading TV listings and search provider bolsters Tribune’s reach to 600 million TV subscribers globally

    Achche Din… Atul Phadnis’ What’s-ON is acquired by Los Angeles Times owner, Tribune Digital Ventures

    By A Correspondent

     

    Tribune Digital Ventures, the technology and innovation arm of Tribune Company has announced it has acquired What’s-ON, the leading television search and Electronic Program Guide (EPG) data provider for India and the Middle East. This move expands Tribune’s TV listings and video metadata footprint to more than 50 countries in 30+ languages, reaching more than 600 million pay TV subscribers.  Tribune has interests in multiple media as it runs 42 stations across the US and daily newspapers like Los Angeles Times and Chicago Tribune.

     

    Atul Phadnis

    What’s-ON provides EPG data and TV search products for 16 countries, including India, United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Egypt, Qatar, Bahrain, Indonesia, Kenya and Sri Lanka. What’s-ON delivers data for more than 1,600 TV channels and helps power more than 50 million set-top boxes through the region’s top cable and IPTV services.

     

    What’s-ON customers include some of the biggest TV networks, service providers and consumer electronics manufacturers, such as STAR TV, Discovery Networks, Hathway Cable, Qatar Telecom, Samsung and Sony.

     

    Earlier this year, Tribune acquired music and video technology and metadata leader Gracenote. The company’s sizable presence in EPG data in Europe, combined with Tribune Media Services’ (TMS) presence in North America, immediately positioned Tribune as a leading provider of TV data, as well as music, around the globe. The addition of What’s-ON further extends this reach and strengthens Tribune’s position internationally.

     

    “The acquisition of What’s-ON fits with our broad strategy of diversifying revenue and scaling our metadata business to meet increasing client demand,” said Peter Liguori, CEO of Tribune Company. “The strategic investments we made over the last year expand Tribune’s presence internationally and enable us to offer a trusted solution to cable, Internet and consumer electronics clients globally. I’m pleased that with What’s-ON we will have a new presence in markets with significant opportunity and What’s-ON’s founder and CEO Atul Phadnis and his team will work together with Rich Cusick and Tribune’s existing TV metadata team to grow this area of our business.”

     

    India is the world’s third largest TV market, after the U.S. and China, with an estimated 175 million homes and a growing base of digital cable subscribers, according to ABI Research. The expansion of digital TV in Asia, featuring popular shows and movies, will enable Tribune to develop new technologies and services on top of its entertainment data that fuel discovery and recommendations on cable, satellite and over-the-top services.

     

    “We felt it was important to find a company that shares our vision for the business and understands the growth potential for TV data and services in Asia. And we believe we have found that with the Tribune team,” said Atul Phadnis, founder and CEO of What’s-ON. “Tribune’s portfolio of entertainment technology and metadata will provide us a solid foundation to grow the business and expand our services throughout the region.”

     

    “Electronic programme guides remain the primary vehicle for the discovery of TV shows and movies around the world,” said Rich Cusick, who oversees the TV metadata business for Tribune. “While data remains the foundation of what we do, our evolution will be centered on data-driven services and features to help define new TV platforms and experiences for viewers around the world.”

     

    What’s-ON will continue to operate out of its headquarters in Mumbai. Its leadership team, including Atul Phadnis, will remain with the company. Tribune’s Asian subsidiaries, including Tribune Digital Ventures Singapore Pte Ltd, are purchasing all of the shares of What’s-ON for $27 million subject to standard adjustments.  Edelweiss Capital served as the investment advisor for What’s-ON.

     

  • Leading television search and EPG company What's-On-India has expanded its operations into the Middle East under the name – 'What's-On-Arabia'

    What’s-On-India acquires Middle East co, sets up What’s-On-Arabia in Dubai & Jordan

    By A Correspondent

     

    Leading television search and EPG company What’s-On-India has expanded its operations into the Middle East under the name ‘What’s-On-Arabia’. The Middle East TV industry has seen a firm and rapid movement into digitization, paving the way for increase in channels and content as well as proliferation of digital TV technologies. “These factors are ideal catalysts for a very specialist TVSearch offering that What’s-On-India can bring in given its expertise in this arena”, said Ajit Joshi, CFO of the company.

     

    What’s-On-India has now set up a What’s-On-Arabia office in Amman, Jordan by acquiring a local EPG company and is in the process of setting another in Dubai. With four large Middle East contracts spanning across nine countries already under its belt, What’s-On-Arabia has started in right earnest.

     

    Spearheading the effort Mr Joshi said, “We are proud to announce the setting up of our Middle Eastern arm – What’s-On-Arabia in Jordan. We have appointed Ms Hiba Dajani as our Country Manager and she is aided by a very able, committed and growing team that promises to dramatically alter and enhance the TV Search and EPG experience for millions of viewers in that region.”

     

    Through this expansion, What’s-On-India now offers EPGs for India, Sri Lanka and the Middle East for more than a thousand TV channels making it one of the largest TV Search companies in this part of the world. The localization of TV Search is also undergoing an expansion with a multi-lingual offering of English as the base language but translated EPGs for Hindi, Arabic, Tamil, Telugu and Marathi!

    What’s-On-India Media Private Limited, founded by Mr Atul Phadnis and owned by Intel, Sequoia Capital and Nexus VP,  is Asia’s Premier TV Search and EPG Company. The company’s Technology vertical powers EPG Metadata content from 1000+ TV channels for set-top boxes and devices across cable, DTH, IPTV, MobileTV, Smart TVs and tablets.

     

  • The maps will be used to monitor TV channel distribution and connectivity

    What’s-On-India launchesTV streetmaps

    By A Correspondent

     

    What’s-On-India, India’s premier TV guidance company has launched a new business vertical – ‘television street maps’ – to monitor day-to-day changes to TV Channel availability and placement across Cable and Satellite households. The service has already gone live and has attracted a host of customers from the TV sector.

     

    The move to launchTV streetmaps by What’s-On-India is considered very strategic, especially in the context of dramatic changes expected in the distribution side of the TV business over the next couple of years due to digitalization being introduced by the government.

     

    What’s-On-India has already expanded this system nationwide to cover 700+ Analogue and Digital head ends across almost 300 towns and cities making it the largest ground coverage in the business.

     

    “Our plans are to expand the system to 1000+ head ends over the next 3 months, besides providing insightful value added services in this space to stakeholders,” said Joydip Kapadia, Executive Vice President, What’s-On-India.

     

    This new vertical has added a series of new customers which include One-Alliance, MSM Network, UTV Network, Viacom-18 among a host of others.

     

    Atul Phadnis, Chief Executive, What’s-On-India said: “We are very excited to enter this space. Over the next few quarters, What’s-On-India will be investing in this vertical to expand its scope across the country as well as to bring in newer technologies and automation for faster information from the ground. We are also integrating TV Street Maps with our EPG Systems for certain breakthrough solutions within the Indian market!”

     

    What’s-On-India Media Private Limited isIndia’s Premier TV Guidance and EPG Company. The company’s technology vertical powers EPG Metadata content from 500+ TV channels into more than 35 million Set-Top-Boxes and devices across Cable, Direct-To-Home, IPTV, mobile TV, Smart-TVs and Tablets.

     

  • Intel Capital invests in Atul Phadnis’s What’s-On-India, along with Sequoia Capital and Nexus VP

    First on MxM: What’s-On-India gets Intel inside

    By A Correspondent

    What’s-On-India, the Indian TV industry’s popular EPG company, has raised funding from a group of investors, including Intel Capital. What’s-On-India’s existing investors – Sequoia Capital and Nexus Venture Partners – also participated in the latest funding round. The investment is aimed at expanding the technology vertical into new and emerging technologies as well as strengthening the company’s owned media portfolio.
    Atul Phadnis, Founder & Chief Executive Officer, What’s-On-India said, “Over the last 3 years, What’s-On-India has made tremendous advances both on the Technology front as well as the Media businesses. We are delighted to have Intel Capital as an investor in this journey given Intel’s focus on smart TV and other technology areas.“
    “Smart TVs, digital set-top boxes and other IPTV devices are transforming the living room and changing the way people consume content. As these new gadgets get embraced, Whats-on-India is well positioned, through their technology and content, to create compelling user experiences,” said Sudheer Kuppam, MD, Asia Pacific, Intel Capital.
    What’s-On-India is India’s premier (and perhaps only) TV guidance company working with all major TV Networks and Operators. The company’s vision is to enable TV content search, discovery and guidance across varied platforms and technologies. What’s-On-India’s Technology vertical runs India’s largest multi-platform, multi-lingual, multi-device Electronic Program Guide (EPG) system that covers more than 550 TV Channels on the source side and powers EPGs into more than 20 million set-top-boxes and devices on the destination end.
    The media vertical of the company runs the “What’s-On-India” channel, that is currently available via cable, satellite and DTH other than on web portals and via widgets and apps on Tablets, Mobile and Smart-TVs.