MxMIndia

Tag: Joydip Kapadia

  • The quantum increase by TV Street Maps in coverage, from 700 head-ends last year to 2,200 already so far, translates into more robust and widespread distribution data collection

    TV Street Maps increases reach by over 300%

    By A Correspondent

     

    TV channel distribution and connectivity monitoring system TV Street Maps (TSM) has announced an increased coverage in its geographical coverage. TSM’s footprint now stands at 2,200 cable head-ends and control rooms across more than 1,700 towns across the country. This is a massive increase from the 250-odd towns that TSM covered till last year.

     

    Given the continuous ground level changes that happen at the cable operator’s end in terms of channel availability and lineup, TSM delivers day-to-day TV channel monitoring by head-ends and towns to the TV industry. TSM also monitors Cable & DTH Channel Packs, Pack prices and EPG quality – all of which are mission critical for the TV industry in view of digitization.

     

    The quantum increase by TV Street Maps in coverage, from 700 head-ends last year to 2,200 already so far, translates into more robust and widespread distribution data collection. TSM Business Head Joydip Kapadia says, “We’ve seen tremendous support from broadcasters for our initiatives. They understand that in the fast evolving digital landscape, distribution, reach and quality play key roles. The consumer is spoilt for choice and the onus is on the broadcasters to ensure that their channel is readily available to viewers in the best possible quality. Last year, TSM promised the industry a huge expansion and we have delivered it.”

     

  • The success of BARC lies in building consensus among all the stakeholders, comments Joydip Kapadia, Business Head, TV Street Maps

    By Invitation | Joydip Kapadia: BARC takes its first step

    By Joydip Kapadia

     

    As they say “A journey of a thousand steps starts with a single step…“

     

    BARC has issued a Request For Information (RFI). The RFI seeks ideas and capabilities from varied solution vendors (perhaps Research cos as well as Tech cos) to give their inputs on how they would approach TV Measurement. This presumably sets the ball rolling for precisely why it came into existence. This is but one step in the several layers that need to be laid before the final system is set up.

     

    The Three Fundamental Questions

    In the design of a system as complicated and consensus-based as TV Measurement, there are always multiple facets to look at and analyze. The three critical areas to address for any joint industry initiative at this stage are:-

     

    1. Industry Leadership Vision (awaited)

    2. User Requirements, Feedback (awaited)

    3. Vendor Capabilities  (this is the current RFI issued by BARC)

     

    Awaiting BARC’s Vision

    One is also hoping for a vision statement that puts clearly on the table BARCs ambitions. What will be the expanse of coverage in terms of geography, target groups, pop-strata and many more. Is the vision also to capture TV viewing on ‘other screens’? With consumption of TV having changed and changing fast how will this dynamism be captured and with what accuracy – meaning how much would the emphasis be on R&D?

     

    Industry leaders represented on the BARC Board should typically build a consensus on the contours of the new system. Not defining the perimeters in this case could lead to angst and confusion among some of the stakeholders.

     

    Consultation on User Requirements

    The current RFI has been asked from organisations who could possibly provide data or technology or both. However, one hopes that what will also come in soon is to ask Users of the data and other stakeholders, their requirements and concerns as part of a consultative approach. The stakeholders could be asked to present their consultative papers on what they feel should be the construct of the new system. There are clearly a lot of diverse users utilizing TV Measurement and some of these folks have had all sorts of angst on sample sizes, geographical coverage, representation of certain pop-strata, analysis variables in the system, sampling methodology/ criteria, etc etc.

     

    A compilation and understanding of these papers would help BARC look for a option that can provide more or less what the stakeholder are looking for. Very much in line with what TRAI did before implementing digitisation. The success of BARC lies in building consensus among all the stakeholders.

     

    Vendor Capabilities (The Current RFI)

    BARC has issued the RFI wherein they have asked varied companies to provide their capabilities. This is critical but will be only be a partial solving of the Measurement conundrum. The other pieces mentioned in this piece are also critical to capture. One hopes to see more action in this space in days to come.

     

    Joydip Kapadia is Business Head, Television Street Maps. He has worked with TAM Media Research as VP Operations from October 1998 to July 2008. Earlier, he had a 14-year stint with market research firms ORG-MARG and Mode (1984-1998).

     

  • It will be a month of mandatory digitization in the three metros of Mumbai, Delhi and Kolkata. MxMIndia spoke to Joydip Kapadia, Business Head, Television Street Maps on the progress made so far

    Jaldi 5 with Joydip Kapadia: As we approach a month of digitization, Mum, Del nearly 95%, Cal: 80%

    It will be a month of mandatory digitization in the three metros of Mumbai, Delhi and Kolkata. MxMIndia spoke to Joydip Kapadia, Business Head, Television Street Maps on the progress made so far

     

    01. According to Television Street Maps estimates, how much digitization has actually been achieved in Mumbai, Delhi and Kolkata?

    We cannot comment on the exact numbers as there is too much of flux in these markets between DAS, DTH, Analogue. Hence, we would prefer to give a range estimate as follows: Mumbai and Delhi together are tending towards the 95% mark. Kolkata is trailing with less than 80%.

     

    02. Evidently, a lot of the process is work in progress… how many of the set-top boxes have been installed in the month of November alone?

    Yes. The pace of seeding has been pretty impressive with just under 35 lakh boxes seeded in November. Delhi leads the pack with more than 15 lakhs seedings. Followed by Kolkata with more than 12 lakh boxes. Mumbai was earlier seeded well and has added another 4.5 lakhs boxes in November.

     

    03. Do you see many switchovers from cable to DTH given the confusion?

    In the early part of 2012, we had seen a far greater enthusiasm with DTH expecting a large gain from cable. In a few cases, that expectation was as high as 30% of the total analog base within these metros would switch to DTH. However, the reality has been a little different. Cable has not lost as many homes as many on the DTH side had expected.

     

    04. How has the roll-out of Channel Packs been by the cable MSOs?

    While all major players have now introduced their packs, we have a few observations:-

     

    1. The packs have been rolled out – but not so much to end consumers. Cable Pack sales in the truest sense, in our estimate, is still 8-9 months away.

    2. There are fewer packs per cable operator vis-a-vis their DTH counterparts. This is bound to increase in days to come.

    3. The first approach seems to be National packs even for operators who are expected eventually to move to Regional/ Local packs.

    4. The systems at the MSO end are still not fully/ seamlessly integrated. Hence we are finding strange discrepancies of channels available on packs even when those are not being relayed by the MSO’s headend. We expect some of these teething issues to be ironed out in days to come.

     

    05. Any broad lessons as we embark on Phase 2 of digitization?

    a. The two back-to-back deadlines for Mumbai-Delhi-Kolkata could be avoided in the second phase. If individual MSOs/ Cable operators are known to expedite box seeding closer to the deadline, we need a more effective push for all key players to start seeding in time rather than at the 11th hour.

    b. DTH cannot assume that it will gain automatically due to the flux. They cannot assume that just heavy advertising and price promos will do the trick. Extensive ground efforts/ initiatives will be needed.

    c. The seduction and mating rituals between distributor companies and MSOs should start much in advance. Waiting for the last minute will only mean signal disruption to consumers.

    d. Distributor Companies would have to insist on getting subscriber visibility from the SMS of Regional Operators within the 38 cities as part of their deals. Succumbing to quick wins of minimum guarantee/ fixed deals would again put broadcasters in the same spot where their fortunes remain disconnected from number of subscribers.

     

  • Jaldi 5 with Joydip Kapadia: Data based on ground-level info + professional & expert assumptions

    The government claimed an 87% achievement of digitization while the study conducted for MxMIndia by Television Street Maps showed this achievement to be only 59%. While this figure is for cable and DTH homes, that in cable homes alone is a low 38% as against the I&B ministry claim of 81%. MxMIndia spoke to Joydip Kapadia, Business Head, Television Street Maps on the issue:

     

    01. There is a huge variance between the TSM study figures of 59 per cent total digitization as against 87 per cent which the government is quoting. Why do you think do we have this huge difference between the two figures?

    I wouldn’t be in a position to comment on the numbers quoted in other studies. After all, whether its the authorities or TSM or other third parties releasing info about the ground, we all have to resort to diverse methodologies and assumptions. Sometimes the estimates of individual studies could vary due to the underlying assumptions considered. These assumptions work at multiple levels – each or all of these assumptions levels could influence the end result. For instance, differences in defining the areas within the city, definition of Digital TV (including or excluding DTH), total cable homes in a city extrapolated from census and other sources – are just some of the places where assumptions taken upstream within the analysis could produce variations in numbers coming out downstream – at the end of the analysis. All I can say is that our data is based on information obtained from the ground overlaid with our professional and expert assumptions.

     

    02. By your estimates how much do you see the 59 per cent grow to by October 31?

    It’s difficult to predict given the scale of the initiative and the number of players and variable involved. I wouldn’t like to hazard a guess.

     

    03. Would you see broadcasters lose out because of the delay (given more carriage fees, the delay in transparency, but then assured reach)

    We have actually not looked at these aspects so I wouldn’t like to say anything on that.

     

    04. Is there any one thing that you would like to see being done right if there’s a delay in the date and/or for the digitization for the rest of the country?

    We are not direct stakeholders in this and cannot offer any advice in this regard.

     

    05. 05. Do you think it would be prudent for the government to push the digitization date in the four metros by another three months?

    The math for all stakeholders comes down to what is the overall target to achieve vis-a-vis the seeding pace of the industry to reach that target. If that Math adds up then great, else the verdict would be to budget for greater time.

     

  • 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.