MxMIndia

Tag: DAS

  • TRAI notifies amendments to the interconnection regulations applicable for Digital Addressable Cable TV Systems (DAS) and tariff order applicable for addressable systems

    TRAI notifies amendments to DAS interconnection regulations

    By A Correspondent

     

    The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has today notified amendments to the interconnection regulations applicable for digital addressable cable TV systems (DAS) and tariff order applicable for addressable systems.

     

    The amendments in the tariff order modify the ‘twin conditions’ that regulate the a la carte rate of channels vis-à-vis the bouquet rates at retail level, protecting the interests of the subscribers. It also clarifies the position that subscribers can either opt for channels on a-la-caret basis or bouquet or combination of both, as per their choice.

     

    Considering that adequate provisions/safeguards are already available in the Interconnection Regulations applicable for DAS, certain provisions have been omitted from these regulations. These pertain to prescription of a minimum channel carrying capacity of 500 channels for MSOs and prohibition regarding charging of placement fee by the MSOs. A proviso has been added to specifically bring in clarity that the MSOs cannot seek a channel from the broadcaster and seek carriage fee at the same time.

     

    The full text of the amendments is available on the TRAI website – www.trai.gov.in.

     

  • The system will be able to detect those MSOs which do not carry the mandated encrypted signals

    MIB to launch Centralised Monitoring System for encrypted signals

    By A Correspondent

     

    In a major initiative to monitor the progress of digitization and to ensure the mandatory adherence of transmitting digital encrypted signals by Multi System Operators (MSOs), the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting is in the process of installing a Centralised Monitoring System to keep a tab on the encryption of channels by MSOs. The Centralised Monitoring System will be able to detect those MSOs which do not carry the mandated encrypted signals. MSOs are required to carry encrypted signals of TV channels in areas where digitization has been implemented as mandated by Section 4A of Cable Television Networks (Regulation) Act, 1995. Transmission or re-transmission of unencrypted signals would amount to violation of the terms and conditions.

     

    For the above purpose, a web based pilot project for the DAS monitoring system installed at Bangalore is undergoing field trials. Once implemented, it will enable the ministry to keep a watch on the implementation of DAS by all the MSO licensees through this system. To start with, this system will help the users to centrally acquire, log, analyze and prepare reports on the status of DAS parameters like total number/name of channels, encryption status etc of cable TV signals of head end of each registered MSO across the country in real time. This system can be augmented in future for content monitoring of the cable TV channels at local levels. It is expected that the system will also evolve as an alternative indicator of television viewing by consumers.

     

  • TRAI has directed all the registered MSOs and their linked LCOs to ensure, in accordance with their mutually agreed roles, that the Subscriber Management System is made fully operational.

    TRAI directive: MSOs, LCOs to implement Subscriber Management Systems

    By A Correspondent

     

    TRAI has issued directions to multi system operators (MSOs) and their linked local cable operators (LCOs), providing cable TV services in the notified Digital Addressable Cable TV Systems (DAS) areas, covered under the first phase of implementation of DAS to implement the Subscriber Management Systems.

     

    As per the Quality of Service (QoS) Regulations of TRAI, applicable for DAS areas, MSOs are required to establish a Subscriber Management System wherein all the details of the subscribers alongwith their choice of services (i.e. channels, bouquets etc.) are required to be maintained. This would bring in addressability and consequently, complete transparency in the whole system. This system enables the subscribers to exercise their choice of services and budget their bills accordingly and also facilitates the MSOs to effectively manage their accounting and billing of the services rendered.

     

    DAS is being implemented across the country in a phased manner, with the first phase from Nov 1, 2012 and the fourth and final phase completing by Dec 31, 2014.

     

    TRAI was of the view that this feature has not been implemented effectively by many MSOs. Also in many of the cases LCOs have not provided the completed subscriber application forms to their linked MSOs. Thus, the real benefits of digitization are not reaching to the subscribers.

     

    TRAI has directed all the registered MSOs and their linked LCOs to ensure, in accordance with their mutually agreed roles, that the Subscriber Management System is made fully operational, as envisaged in the QoS regulations of TRAI.

     

  • The I&B Ministry has sought the recommendations of the TRAI regarding transmission of local channels or ground based channels operated by LCOs and MSOs

    MIB seeks TRAI recommendations on local channels

    By A Correspondent

     

    The Ministry of I&B has sought the recommendations of TRAI regarding issues relating to transmission of local channels or ground based channels operated at the level of cable TV operator/MSOs. In its reference to TRAI, the ministry has sought to know whether there was a need to put in place a comprehensive set of provisions for local channels to cover issues related to registration mechanism, including eligibility requirements, fee, terms and conditions to be provided for such channels, including the definition of local or ground based channels and their area of operation.

     

    The ministry has also sought views on the issue of transmission of local channels at LCO level in the DAS regime. TRAI in its recommendations dated July 25 2008 had recommended that LCOs shall be permitted to transmit their ground based channels. However, in the current DAS regime only digital addressable signals can be carried out on the cable network, which is generated at the MSO head-end. MIB has also requested the TRAI to state whether there was a case for putting a cap on the total number of ground based channels operated by a single MSO/cable operator.

     

    The TRAI has also been asked to examine whether there is a need to prescribe separate eligibility criteria for cable operators transmitting local news and current affairs channels at their level. Specific recommendations have been sought with regard to eligibility criteria, terms and conditions including foreign investment levels, net-worth criteria and requirement of security clearance etc. for such channels.

     

    The need for putting in place a regulatory framework for local channels being operated at the level of cable TV operators, which has been engaging the attention of the MIB for some time, has assumed greater significance in view of the digitization of cable TV being implemented in the entire country in a phased time-bound manner. At present, cable TV operators/MSOs are transmitting local news, videos and other locally developed content as separate televisions channels in addition to broadcaster-owned satellite channels. These local channels are currently not subject to a regulatory framework unlike private satellite TV channels permitted under the uplinking/downlinking guidelines of the ministry. As a result, local channels continue to mushroom all over the country without having registration /license.

     

    Since the area/jurisdiction within which the programme generated at the level of the cable operators can be transmitted has not been defined in the Cable Television Networks (Regulation) Act, 1995, it is possible for LCOs and MSOs operating at the local levels to broadcast local channels over a larger geographical area, ie at Regional/State/National level, by transmitting the same content over their entire network. Instances have been brought to the notice of the ministry that some cable operators are also venturing into transmission of local channels over a wider geographical area which includes inter-state and intra state transmission by sharing the same content with others on their network. In such a scenario, local channels are basically operating as State/Regional/National channels like permitted private satellite TV channels, without getting any permission. The intent of allowing cable operators to generate and transmit local programmes is to keep the local people informed of relevant local issues. According to the MIB, this intent is not fulfilled when LCOs and MSOs start networking of the content to cover a larger geographical area. Given the present state of technological advancement, the tendency to network content in a larger geographical area has gained strength.

     

  • The successful implementation of DAS in the key metros has resulted in a strong upsurge in the viewership and market share for the Big CBS Network, consolidating its position as the premier English entertainment network amongst viewers across metros

    Big CBS network at No 1 in English GECs post DAS

    By A Correspondent

     

    The successful implementation of DAS in the key metros has resulted in a strong upsurge in the viewership and market share for the Big CBS Network, Reliance Broadcast Network Limited’s joint venture with CBS Studios International, consolidating its position as the premier English Entertainment Network amongst viewers across metros. A release from the company said that according to the latest TAM reports of week 51 (Source: Dec  16-22 Dec, Digital 4+ AA Sec A, Top 7 metros), Big CBS channels – Prime and Love – have topped the charts, registering a cumulative relative share of 28 percent among all other competing English GECs.

     

    For the same week, Big CBS Love has surpassed Star World and AXN with 3.33 GRPs compared to 3.04 (Star World) and 2.58 (AXN). (Top 7 Metros, CS SEC A 4+). The channel also garnered all 3 Top Positions in the Top Rated Programmes Charts, with Sex & The City, Excused & Life Unexpected among CS Females SEC A 4+, 7 Metros.

     

    According to latest TAM reports, the data also highlights the huge increase in the Relative Share, Reach and TSV of the Big CBS channels post DAS (Digital Addressability System) ie during weeks 48-51 (Market: Mumbai, Delhi and Calcutta. TG: CS 4+ Sec A) compared to the pre-DAS figures. The Relative Share of Big CBS Prime and Love increased by 93 percent and 192 percent respectively while the channels’ Reach increased by 86 percent and 124 percent. The TSV of both channels also registered impressive jumps with Big CBS Prime and Love logging 33 percent and 78 percent growth respectively.

     

    Anand Chakravarthy

    Anand Chakravarthy, Business Head, Big CBS Networks said, “The post DAS environment has demonstrated the power and impact of the Big CBS Network. With digitization any existing distribution advantages, legacy competitive channels had, is now nullified with the Big CBS channels available across every headend in the DAS markets. This combined with exclusive and the latest seasons of leading shows from the US, has delivered proven performance.”

     

  • The industry awaits the first post-digitization numbers from TAM Media. An MxMIndia report

    Let the (ratings) games re-begin!

     

    By A Correspondent

     

    After a brief two-month hiatus, the broadcast industry will be waiting with bated breath to lay their hands on the viewership data that will be released by TAM tomorrow – that is, December 19 2012. The day will be of utmost importance in the broadcasting fraternity as it marks the release of data post the digitization drive that transpired across four major metros and also for the fact that the industry expects new trends to emerge, something that was amiss when the analog world was largely in operation until October 31, 2012.

     

    Just to recap, TAM had stopped issuing ratings to the industry citing deferment. In wake of the phase-wise DAS implementation that was scheduled to take place across the four metros, the custodians of TAM Media Research – Advertisers (ISA), Media Agencies (AAAI) and TV Broadcasters (IBF) – had arrived at a joint consensus on the need to temporarily defer TAM TV Viewing data release for the All India market for a period of 9 Weeks starting Week 41 (October 7, 2012, Sunday) and ending Week 49 (December 8, 2012). This deferred data will now be released on December 19, 2012 along with data for Week 50 (December 9-15, 2012).

     

    LV Krishnan

    At a press conference last week, LV Krishnan, CEO, TAM Media, highlighted the progress that had been made so far post the switch to digitization by the four metros and what were the immediate trends that were showing up in the new universe. What was heartening to note was that most analog homes in Mumbai and Delhi had made the imperative switch to digital with Mumbai recording a 93 per cent conversion rate compared to Delhi that recorded an impressive 97 per cent. On the other hand, Kolkata witnessed only 70 per cent conversion from C&S homes to digital while Chennai recorded more abysmal figure of just 26 per cent homes that had moved on to digital.

     

    Emphasising on the new rating mechanism, Krishnan said that as per the advice of the CIC committee, TAM will not report homes in the DAS area that are not digital. This will lead to the universe also shrinking correspondingly. Thus while analogue data from Mumbai, Delhi and Kolkata will not be released, an exception will be made for Chennai where it will continue to report analogue data given the low conversion rate observed there. Krishnan added here that the Urban Agglomeration or non-municipal corporation areas in Mumbai that consist of Navi Mumbai, Thane, Dombivli, Kalyan etc will continue to release analog data as they would be liable for conversion when the second phase kicks in. Thus, going forward, the data that would be released will be reported at breaks of C&S 4+, NCS (Terrestrial), C&S Digital 4+ and C&S Analogue 4+ (for non-DAS areas).

     

    Among the few trends that were observed as a result of the digitization drive, Krishnan pointed out the move had been a boon for niche genres like English and kids entertainment that witnessed a spike in viewership (time spent) during this phase. He noted that about 60 percent of channels with a pre-DAS share between 0 and 0.5% gain in share had witnessed a 4 percent net share gain post digitization. This was not the case for larger market share channels that witnessed a slight reduction in the net share gain.

     

    In order to facilitate the ever-expanding universe size, TAM has said that it would be increasing its sample size by about 400 peoplemeter boxes in the Mumbai and Delhi markets starting from the first quarter of 2013. It has also decided to add another 250 peoplemeter boxes to centres such as Chennai, Hyderabad, Bangalore and Kolkata.

     

    While all systems are set for the December 19, 2012 release Krishnan stated that with digitization having set in it was important to be cautious when analysing data in this phase like for example taking averages, looking at trends, not cutting data too fine such as a particular half hour on a particular day, ensuring that sample sizes are sufficient etc. Asserting his gameplan for the future, Krishnan said that for Phase 2, TAM seeks to carry-forward the learnings and continue working with the committee to make it conducive and resourceful for the broadcast environment.

     

    MxMIndia spoke to a few members from the broadcast fraternity to see if not having data for two months made any difference to their survival and what would be their expectations from the new ratings that get released from December 19, 2012.

     

    Ajay Bhalwankar, Head- Content – Hindi GECs, ZEE

    “There is a myth about every Wednesday morning being a scary one….You won’t find us running helter-skelter every Wednesday. Ratings tell you what has been liked and what has not been liked but not what has to be done! So they are just a reference point. We have an internal meter which we follow to check whether our shows are creating magic or not. Initiatives on digital and social media brought us closer to our audiences. This internal judgement is important. I started my career in the ’90s and we had no ratings then for nearly eight years. So, ratings do not bother me.”

     

    Anand Chakravarthy, Business Head, BIG CBS Networks

    “Our issue with TAM has always been that the English entertainment genre has never been well represented. The fact is that the English entertainment speaking audiences are never fairly represented in the sample, due to which the data released is not quite comprehensive. As a network, we have never depended on numbers to sell; we’ve always talked about the quality of content and the quality of our offering which has been our strength. In fact we have always maintained that TAM data is not a yardstick for niche channels like the English entertainment channels because the sample size of TAM does not represent this audience well.

     

    Even with digitization happening, the question, is how well will the new sample represent households that watch English entertainment channels? There could be some amount of movement of market shares between genres as we know that some parts of metros are still not disconnected completely. Therefore the universe size may reduce in some markets that will lead to change in ratings from the larger genres to possibly the smaller genres. But the fundamental issue, does the TAM ratings represent the English entertainment genre well enough and does it have the right sample size and profile of people, the answer to that is no. It will continue to be a problem unless it is addressed very clearly and head-on. That’s an issue that needs to be addressed very quickly. We are working with TAM to see how we can better evolve the system so that the English entertainment space is represented well enough.”

     

    Nina Elavia Jaipuria, EVP & Biz Head – Sonic & Nickelodeon India

    “What happened was for the good of the industry because it was required that everybody come to a consensus and see that the data is sanitised thanks to the changing environment and that it would give us a better understanding of phase 2. So while life was disrupted for about 8 weeks, it was all for a good cause. But having said that, I also believe that TAM is the only currency that exists in this industry and therefore we did miss its release to some extent. But it was a minor hurdle and nothing major so as to change our lives drastically.

     

    As for the release of data once again from tomorrow, we have to see what the new TAM has in store for the industry. They must be having their hands full as of now but then there is a committee which is looking to sanitize data that gets released. With the digitization numbers already pouring in, we are eager to see the kind of trends that the kids entertainment genre has managed to throw up. I see content and marketing playing important roles as they will drive viewership to the genre. So I would wait to see what TAM has to offer and take that lesson to phase 2 of digitization. I am sure that TAM will keep themselves abreast of the sample size and formation based on the manner in which digitization gains acceptance. So the universe will also move accordingly and I am sure that TAM would have taken into account that factor. Whether it is SEC fragmentation or it is the universe movement, TAM surely would have taken all these things into account. Also, digitization will only help the industry in terms of it becoming more transparent and more measurable and the fact that the niche genres will have a better chance to survive.

     

    Also, it will become an environment where the reliance on ad-sales will witness a drop. It will not vanish completely but we will see more reliance on subscription, which will be a good thing. All this won’t happen overnight as only 4 metros have been included in phase 1, which will move to 38 other cities in phase 2 that will take another 4-6 months. But in the end the country will be digitized for good.

     

    From a qualitative perspective, we would like to see different slicing of data especially from a demographic and psychographic perspective in the kids’ genre. Traditionally we have been doing 4-14 yrs which is sliced 4-9 and 10-14 yrs and the more we look at kids today and the fact that they are becoming more dynamic today, there is a need to relook at the slicing by TAM.

     

    Ajay Trigunayat, CEO, English Entertainment Channels, Times Television Network

    We are of the view that it’s difficult to capture rapid macro-transitional changes:

     

    1. Analog >> Digital migration

    2. Panel Updation

    3. Change in SEC definition

     

    We certainly understand it’s a challenge to condense this transitional period but we are hopeful TAM will accurately reflect these changes soon.

     

  • A new rule, rule 10A – Obligation to furnish information – has been inserted making it mandatory for MSOs and cable operators to provide information as and when it is sought for by the government

    MIB amends law, asks cable trade to furnish correct DAS info or face cancellation/ suspension

    From the MxM Infodesk

     

    Although the news was flashed by the wires last week, it got official only on Saturday. The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting has decided to amend the Cable Television Network Rule, 1995 (Cable Rules) making it obligatory for every Multi-system Operator (MSO) and Local Cable Operator (LCO) to provide correct and timely information to the Ministry as and when it is sought for.

     

    The background: The I&B ministry has been closely monitoring the preparedness of various activities for the implementation of Distributed Antenna System (DAS). The success of DAS depends on timely seeding of STBs at the consumer premises. As such, availability and deployment of set-top boxes (STBs) by MSOs / LCOs are paramount important for the implementation of DAS. Timely availability of accurate data with regard to the seeding of STBs by service providers (MSOs/LCOs) is also critical for the Ministry to ensure digital switch over within the timeframe as well as for taking mid-course corrections if necessary. While assessing the preparedness of DAS in four metros, the Ministry has come across numerous inconsistencies of data provided by the service providers, particularly MSOs, in regard to inventory position of STB and its deployment.

     

    In the Cable Television Network Rule, 1995(Second Amendment) Rule, 2012, a new rule, namely, rule 10A – Obligation to furnish information – has been inserted making it mandatory for MSOs and cable operators to provide information as and when it is sought for by the Central government or state government or authorized officer or any agency of the Central government. The obligation to furnish information under the amended rule 10 A has been incorporated as one of the terms and conditions of registration of cable operator under Rule 5 A and MSOs under rule 11 D.

     

    As per sub-section (7) of section 4 of the Cable Television Networks (Regulation) Act, 1995, the Central government may suspend or revoke the registration of cable operators or MSOs if they violate one or more of the terms and conditions of registration. Incorporation of rule 10 A as one of the terms and conditions of registration of cable operators and MSOs will empower the Central government to cancel or suspend the registration of cable operators or MSO if the information sought for by it is not provided by them. This, MIB hopes, will ensure correct and timely submission of information by cable operators and MSOs.