TV channels warned against fake advertisements
THANE: As many as 48 TV channels have been issued warning letters by the Thane unit of the Food and Drugs Administration (FDA) for airing advertisements of products that make false claims of curing various ailments.
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"Most ads aired during prime time attempt to convey an impression that the product on offer can rid one of diseases such as diabetes, pneumonia and asthma, among others . Some falsely proclaim that their tablets can enhance sexual pleasure, increase the height of growing children etc," said assistant commissioner S S Mohite.
Thursday, March 29, 2012
Can digitisation heal TV news industry?
Insearchindia.com Team
(29 March 2012 4:40 pm)
NEW DELHI: Crippled by high carriage payouts to cable networks, low subscription revenues, muted ad growth and rise in personnel costs, television news broadcasters are looking at digitisation to play the rescue act as they struggle to stay profitable.
“The success of digitisation is critical for all of us. We will have fatter revenues, better content and investments will go up,” said NDTV Group executive vice chairman KVL Narayan Rao.
Calling it the “new dawn for the TV news industry,” Rao said digitisation would throw open a huge opportunity for growth as carriage fees reduce and subscription revenues go up. India will have 100 million new viewers in the next five years and with digitisation consumers will have better access to content.
“Digitisation is the gamechanger. But there needs to be close co-operation among the stakeholders for making it a success,” said Rao, while speaking at the 5th News Television Summit here Wednesday.
News broadcasters have themselves to blame for the terrible financial mess they are in. Fierce competition, an oversupply of channels, lack of unity and audience fragmentation within the genre have kept advertising prices low.
“News as a genre is terribly under-priced. There is a lot of scope for us to take it forward if we stand united. We also need to develop new selling techniques and go beyond TAM (the currency for measuring TV audiences) ratings if we are to get the right value for a genre that is so impactful,” said TV Today Network chief executive officer Joy Chakravorthy.
The international market is also getting spoilt by the new entrants as they launch price wars to grab market share.
“The industry has suffered because we have not worked together. Considering the current revenue position, the news industry also can’t afford to be lavish,” averred Chakravorthy.
News broadcasters had committed several mistakes in the past and there is a pressing need to take a U-turn now. “We have converted a potential revenue earner to a huge cost head. The monster called ‘carriage’ is created by us. While it will be too naïve to believe that digitisation is not going to be a panacea to the industry, we must also realise that there is a huge opportunity to grow under a DAS (digital addressable systems) regime,” said Zee News Ltd chief executive officer Barun Das.
Media Network Distribution (India) Ltd MD & CEO Yogesh Radhakrishnan agrees that DAS could prove to be the turning point. “The news business needs to turn a new leaf. We can’t blame the multi-sytem operators (MSOs) for looking at news channels as a cash cow. News channels, after all, started the carriage system in the TV business.”
With digitisation set to kick off in the four metros of Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai, broadcasters believe there will be a substantial reduction in carriage costs. “Some of that money that we manage to save will go to the shareholders, some will be used to pay debt and most of it will go towards content. When people have choice, news channels that have build brands will stand at an advantage,” said Rao.
Den Networks chief executive officer SN Sharma does not believe that carriage costs will evaporate. “The distribution cost has to be attached to the business model in a digital environment. The problem with the news genre is that there is no clear leader and there is no big differentiated content. There is so much of competition in the genre that the last entrant drives up the carriage prices and derails everybody’s business.”
MCCS chief executive officer Ashok Venkatramani does not share the bullish sentiments echoed by the other speakers. “News channels spend one-third of their costs on carriage. Even if that drops by half, what do we do with the savings? The big question that we need to ask ourselves is whether we are in the right industry.”
Venkatramani does not think that the time is ripe for launching more regional news channels. “What is the value that we are going to create by launching more channels? Going regional is not the answer. Is there any business in TV news? There is no light at the end of the tunnel. We are all fishing in troubled waters.”
Das does not agree that there is no room for expansion. “News has a tremendous advantage over general entertainment channels when it comes to regional markets. GECs can’t expand due to language constraints. News channels on the other hand can come up with local content. News proliferation will happen in regional markets.”
Alternate sources of revenue like mobile TV and 4G have tremendous potential. However, they are too thin to make any significant impact in the near future and TV will stay as the main revenue stream for long.
Insearchindia.com Team
(29 March 2012 4:40 pm)
NEW DELHI: Crippled by high carriage payouts to cable networks, low subscription revenues, muted ad growth and rise in personnel costs, television news broadcasters are looking at digitisation to play the rescue act as they struggle to stay profitable.
“The success of digitisation is critical for all of us. We will have fatter revenues, better content and investments will go up,” said NDTV Group executive vice chairman KVL Narayan Rao.
Calling it the “new dawn for the TV news industry,” Rao said digitisation would throw open a huge opportunity for growth as carriage fees reduce and subscription revenues go up. India will have 100 million new viewers in the next five years and with digitisation consumers will have better access to content.
“Digitisation is the gamechanger. But there needs to be close co-operation among the stakeholders for making it a success,” said Rao, while speaking at the 5th News Television Summit here Wednesday.
News broadcasters have themselves to blame for the terrible financial mess they are in. Fierce competition, an oversupply of channels, lack of unity and audience fragmentation within the genre have kept advertising prices low.
“News as a genre is terribly under-priced. There is a lot of scope for us to take it forward if we stand united. We also need to develop new selling techniques and go beyond TAM (the currency for measuring TV audiences) ratings if we are to get the right value for a genre that is so impactful,” said TV Today Network chief executive officer Joy Chakravorthy.
The international market is also getting spoilt by the new entrants as they launch price wars to grab market share.
“The industry has suffered because we have not worked together. Considering the current revenue position, the news industry also can’t afford to be lavish,” averred Chakravorthy.
News broadcasters had committed several mistakes in the past and there is a pressing need to take a U-turn now. “We have converted a potential revenue earner to a huge cost head. The monster called ‘carriage’ is created by us. While it will be too naïve to believe that digitisation is not going to be a panacea to the industry, we must also realise that there is a huge opportunity to grow under a DAS (digital addressable systems) regime,” said Zee News Ltd chief executive officer Barun Das.
Media Network Distribution (India) Ltd MD & CEO Yogesh Radhakrishnan agrees that DAS could prove to be the turning point. “The news business needs to turn a new leaf. We can’t blame the multi-sytem operators (MSOs) for looking at news channels as a cash cow. News channels, after all, started the carriage system in the TV business.”
With digitisation set to kick off in the four metros of Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai, broadcasters believe there will be a substantial reduction in carriage costs. “Some of that money that we manage to save will go to the shareholders, some will be used to pay debt and most of it will go towards content. When people have choice, news channels that have build brands will stand at an advantage,” said Rao.
Den Networks chief executive officer SN Sharma does not believe that carriage costs will evaporate. “The distribution cost has to be attached to the business model in a digital environment. The problem with the news genre is that there is no clear leader and there is no big differentiated content. There is so much of competition in the genre that the last entrant drives up the carriage prices and derails everybody’s business.”
MCCS chief executive officer Ashok Venkatramani does not share the bullish sentiments echoed by the other speakers. “News channels spend one-third of their costs on carriage. Even if that drops by half, what do we do with the savings? The big question that we need to ask ourselves is whether we are in the right industry.”
Venkatramani does not think that the time is ripe for launching more regional news channels. “What is the value that we are going to create by launching more channels? Going regional is not the answer. Is there any business in TV news? There is no light at the end of the tunnel. We are all fishing in troubled waters.”
Das does not agree that there is no room for expansion. “News has a tremendous advantage over general entertainment channels when it comes to regional markets. GECs can’t expand due to language constraints. News channels on the other hand can come up with local content. News proliferation will happen in regional markets.”
Alternate sources of revenue like mobile TV and 4G have tremendous potential. However, they are too thin to make any significant impact in the near future and TV will stay as the main revenue stream for long.
Sunday, March 18, 2012
MSM president network sales, licensing & telephony Rohit Gupta
'IPL is our biggest property and we can't afford to undersell'
Posted on 18 March 2012
Multi Screen Media (formerly Sony Entertainment Television India) is beginning to enjoy a remarkable turnaround story. The Indian Premier League (IPL) has surfaced as cricket's most lucrative property, Sony Entertainment Television has climbed to the No. 2 position in the Hindi GEC (general entertainment channel) space and Sab has grown beyond its flanking channel status.
The other channels have also moved up the hierarchy. English movie channel Pix has raced past HBO and AXN has protected its turf quite strongly. Mix, the pure music channel, has had a good start. Being the only channel in that space that has network strength, it has taken up the challenge to grow the market and ramp up revenues.
In an interview with MSM president network sales, licensing & telephony Rohit Gupta talks about how the company is going to end this fiscal with a 40 per cent ad revenue growth and a 25 per cent growth in FY'13.
Excerpts:
MSM raked in Rs 9 billion in ad revenue from the IPL last year. But is growth slowing down for the property due to a fall in ratings in the previous edition of the T20 tournament?
I won't comment on how much ad revenue the IPL earned last year. But, yes, there is a little bit of anxiety on how IPL will do this year as advertisers have to set aside a large outlay for advertising on it. The ratings were down last time but we are sure that with marketing buzz starting, the IPL will come back on track. There was high intensity cricket with the World Cup preceding the IPL and India going on to win the championship. This year it is a clean slate and we have already stitched a few big sponsorship deals.
Are we looking at a below double-digit growth as is evident from the deals that you have locked in so far?
We have got marginal increase in rates but I can't comment on whether we will post double-digit growth or not. Also, don't forget that the base is already high.
So has IPL as a property matured?
We grew 30 per cent last year and so the IPL has matured to a certain extent. But if ratings start climbing, we will again see high growth.
Hasn't it been a tough sell so far as by this time normally you manage to close almost 80 per cent of your ad inventory?
Yes, it has taken us a longer time as we usually keep aside 20-75 per cent of the ad inventory time for spot sells. We have sold around 65 per cent of our inventory. But we will not be dropping rates as it will set a benchmark for next year. We have worked hard to scale up the value and won't undersell.
The IPL TV rights are with us for another five years and it is our biggest property; we can't afford to discount its current value. T20 continues to grow in popularity; the formats that are not doing so well are the Tests and the ODIs.
"There is an entry barrier for new players as the cost of running a Hindi GEC is as high as Rs 5-6 billion. Which new player has that appetite after a few of them have severely burnt their fingers? This has helped us scale up revenues even as our own channels have grown"
So the new BCCI tender for international cricket played in India will not be as valuable as it was when Nimbus held the TV rights a few years back? Will that be the calculation when Sony bids this time?
Perhaps, Nimbus was not able to exploit the revenues as well as it could have. We have a strong ad sales team. We are a network and our distribution (as a JV with Discovery) has muscle.
When Sony launches a sports channel, it will have to acquire other cricket rights than just the IPL and New Zealand board. Can ad rates be driven further up to support aggressive bids at higher acquisition costs for cricketing properties than their current value?
We are not going to make irrational bids but evaluate properties from a profit perspective. We feel that some of the boards are overvalued and there will be some price rationalisation. Cricket seems to have plateaued off to a certain extent. A few years back, broadcasters could get massive rate increases . That led to steep rise in acquisition costs. We are not in that market situation today. Don't forget that some people have lost a lot of money on cricket.
Are we seeing some categories of advertisers retrenching from the sport due to the current tough economic environment?
Handset manufacturers are finding it difficult today. The auto sector has taken some hit. But though telecom service providers are under profit margin pressures, the intense competition in the sector will spur them to advertise.
When will MSM's ad revenues touch the Rs 20 billion mark?
I can't talk on financials. But as a network, we will post a 40 per cent ad revenue growth this fiscal. Between Sony Entertainment Television, Sab and Max we are the No. 1 network in the Hindi heartland. And in the Hindi GEC space, we have two among the top five channels. The best part is that each of them is commanding a different kind of target audience and not cannibalizing each other. We are looking at a 25 per cent ad revenue growth in FY'13.
How far has SET contributed to this growth?
Our flagship channel has grown this fiscal and is today the second-ranked in the space. The rise of SET has increased our negotiating power. Kaun Banega Crorepati (KBC) is an impact property and is a strong revenue driver for us.
Fiction is what we had missed out for the last 3-4 years. But it has started doing well. We have an upscale, urban skew; our male viewership is also very strong. Advertisers chase this segment and our fitment is the best.
Will SET launch an afternoon band to create a new revenue stream or still have a primetime overhang?
We have no such plans; it doesn't make a big difference to your ratings and, hence, advertisers have little interest for it. Hindi GECs have preferred to expand their primetime and it now fills up the early evening from 6 pm right up to 12 in the night; there is a lot of viewership in that time band. The market exists in the evening-to-night slot and not in the afternoon.
Does Sab still play the role of a flanking channel or it has grown beyond?
It is not anymore just a flanking channel; it is a proper GEC, has a strong viewership and, as a family comedy channel, is uniquely positioned. Sab has helped our network revenues to grow.
Has the Hindi GEC ad revenue market expanded this fiscal and will we see more channel launches in this space?
It (Hindi GEC space) has now become a game for the big boys. There is an entry barrier for new players as the cost of running a Hindi GEC is as high as Rs 5-6 billion. Which new player has that appetite after a few of them have severely burnt their fingers? This has helped us even as our own channels have grown. Even in a digital environment, it will be tough for a new player. Segmentation is not possible because GECs have to be mass and can't be niche due to the huge costs involved to run it.
Is Max under pressure due to steep acquisition costs for Hindi movies?
The Hindi movie genre, pegged at Rs 9 billion, is under pressure from revenue as well as high acquisition costs. Viewership for the genre in terms of GRPs (GRPs) is not growing. Though Max will post ad revenue growth of 15 per cent this fiscal, costs have gone up. We did intelligent buying.
There is bound to be a price correction in movie buying. Though Star went overboard last year, that strategy won't work every year. Some broadcasters are looking at launching action movie channels keeping digitalisation in mind. We have no such plans, at least not this year. We will wait to see how digitalisation evolves. Like GECs, the consumption of Hindi movies is more mass.
Why did MSM decide to launch a music channel when the market is too crowded?
Though the ad size is around Rs 2 billion at this stage, it is a good genre to be in. Mix's positioning of capturing the various moods during the day has got accepted and we believe that we will be the leader. As a pure music channel, we are here to grow the market. MTV and Channel [V] have taken a different route and focus on reality shows as their growth drivers. While other players in this pure music space have a standalone presence, we are the only one to have the network strength and will be able to ramp up revenues.
Isn't the English entertainment space getting spoilt with new launches?
The genre is growing and is still undersold. It is an important space to be in and is sold not on ratings but on perception. AXN stands out in this genre. As digitisation grows, we will see more launches.
MSM doesn't have a footprint in regional-language broadcasting that is growing the fastest. Was letting TV18 Group acquire ETV a missed opportunity?
The acquisition has to come at the right price. We are not desperate to launch channels. We do not believe in width that does not give us profits.
Posted on 18 March 2012
Multi Screen Media (formerly Sony Entertainment Television India) is beginning to enjoy a remarkable turnaround story. The Indian Premier League (IPL) has surfaced as cricket's most lucrative property, Sony Entertainment Television has climbed to the No. 2 position in the Hindi GEC (general entertainment channel) space and Sab has grown beyond its flanking channel status.
The other channels have also moved up the hierarchy. English movie channel Pix has raced past HBO and AXN has protected its turf quite strongly. Mix, the pure music channel, has had a good start. Being the only channel in that space that has network strength, it has taken up the challenge to grow the market and ramp up revenues.
In an interview with MSM president network sales, licensing & telephony Rohit Gupta talks about how the company is going to end this fiscal with a 40 per cent ad revenue growth and a 25 per cent growth in FY'13.
Excerpts:
MSM raked in Rs 9 billion in ad revenue from the IPL last year. But is growth slowing down for the property due to a fall in ratings in the previous edition of the T20 tournament?
I won't comment on how much ad revenue the IPL earned last year. But, yes, there is a little bit of anxiety on how IPL will do this year as advertisers have to set aside a large outlay for advertising on it. The ratings were down last time but we are sure that with marketing buzz starting, the IPL will come back on track. There was high intensity cricket with the World Cup preceding the IPL and India going on to win the championship. This year it is a clean slate and we have already stitched a few big sponsorship deals.
Are we looking at a below double-digit growth as is evident from the deals that you have locked in so far?
We have got marginal increase in rates but I can't comment on whether we will post double-digit growth or not. Also, don't forget that the base is already high.
So has IPL as a property matured?
We grew 30 per cent last year and so the IPL has matured to a certain extent. But if ratings start climbing, we will again see high growth.
Hasn't it been a tough sell so far as by this time normally you manage to close almost 80 per cent of your ad inventory?
Yes, it has taken us a longer time as we usually keep aside 20-75 per cent of the ad inventory time for spot sells. We have sold around 65 per cent of our inventory. But we will not be dropping rates as it will set a benchmark for next year. We have worked hard to scale up the value and won't undersell.
The IPL TV rights are with us for another five years and it is our biggest property; we can't afford to discount its current value. T20 continues to grow in popularity; the formats that are not doing so well are the Tests and the ODIs.
"There is an entry barrier for new players as the cost of running a Hindi GEC is as high as Rs 5-6 billion. Which new player has that appetite after a few of them have severely burnt their fingers? This has helped us scale up revenues even as our own channels have grown"
So the new BCCI tender for international cricket played in India will not be as valuable as it was when Nimbus held the TV rights a few years back? Will that be the calculation when Sony bids this time?
Perhaps, Nimbus was not able to exploit the revenues as well as it could have. We have a strong ad sales team. We are a network and our distribution (as a JV with Discovery) has muscle.
When Sony launches a sports channel, it will have to acquire other cricket rights than just the IPL and New Zealand board. Can ad rates be driven further up to support aggressive bids at higher acquisition costs for cricketing properties than their current value?
We are not going to make irrational bids but evaluate properties from a profit perspective. We feel that some of the boards are overvalued and there will be some price rationalisation. Cricket seems to have plateaued off to a certain extent. A few years back, broadcasters could get massive rate increases . That led to steep rise in acquisition costs. We are not in that market situation today. Don't forget that some people have lost a lot of money on cricket.
Are we seeing some categories of advertisers retrenching from the sport due to the current tough economic environment?
Handset manufacturers are finding it difficult today. The auto sector has taken some hit. But though telecom service providers are under profit margin pressures, the intense competition in the sector will spur them to advertise.
When will MSM's ad revenues touch the Rs 20 billion mark?
I can't talk on financials. But as a network, we will post a 40 per cent ad revenue growth this fiscal. Between Sony Entertainment Television, Sab and Max we are the No. 1 network in the Hindi heartland. And in the Hindi GEC space, we have two among the top five channels. The best part is that each of them is commanding a different kind of target audience and not cannibalizing each other. We are looking at a 25 per cent ad revenue growth in FY'13.
How far has SET contributed to this growth?
Our flagship channel has grown this fiscal and is today the second-ranked in the space. The rise of SET has increased our negotiating power. Kaun Banega Crorepati (KBC) is an impact property and is a strong revenue driver for us.
Fiction is what we had missed out for the last 3-4 years. But it has started doing well. We have an upscale, urban skew; our male viewership is also very strong. Advertisers chase this segment and our fitment is the best.
Will SET launch an afternoon band to create a new revenue stream or still have a primetime overhang?
We have no such plans; it doesn't make a big difference to your ratings and, hence, advertisers have little interest for it. Hindi GECs have preferred to expand their primetime and it now fills up the early evening from 6 pm right up to 12 in the night; there is a lot of viewership in that time band. The market exists in the evening-to-night slot and not in the afternoon.
Does Sab still play the role of a flanking channel or it has grown beyond?
It is not anymore just a flanking channel; it is a proper GEC, has a strong viewership and, as a family comedy channel, is uniquely positioned. Sab has helped our network revenues to grow.
Has the Hindi GEC ad revenue market expanded this fiscal and will we see more channel launches in this space?
It (Hindi GEC space) has now become a game for the big boys. There is an entry barrier for new players as the cost of running a Hindi GEC is as high as Rs 5-6 billion. Which new player has that appetite after a few of them have severely burnt their fingers? This has helped us even as our own channels have grown. Even in a digital environment, it will be tough for a new player. Segmentation is not possible because GECs have to be mass and can't be niche due to the huge costs involved to run it.
Is Max under pressure due to steep acquisition costs for Hindi movies?
The Hindi movie genre, pegged at Rs 9 billion, is under pressure from revenue as well as high acquisition costs. Viewership for the genre in terms of GRPs (GRPs) is not growing. Though Max will post ad revenue growth of 15 per cent this fiscal, costs have gone up. We did intelligent buying.
There is bound to be a price correction in movie buying. Though Star went overboard last year, that strategy won't work every year. Some broadcasters are looking at launching action movie channels keeping digitalisation in mind. We have no such plans, at least not this year. We will wait to see how digitalisation evolves. Like GECs, the consumption of Hindi movies is more mass.
Why did MSM decide to launch a music channel when the market is too crowded?
Though the ad size is around Rs 2 billion at this stage, it is a good genre to be in. Mix's positioning of capturing the various moods during the day has got accepted and we believe that we will be the leader. As a pure music channel, we are here to grow the market. MTV and Channel [V] have taken a different route and focus on reality shows as their growth drivers. While other players in this pure music space have a standalone presence, we are the only one to have the network strength and will be able to ramp up revenues.
Isn't the English entertainment space getting spoilt with new launches?
The genre is growing and is still undersold. It is an important space to be in and is sold not on ratings but on perception. AXN stands out in this genre. As digitisation grows, we will see more launches.
MSM doesn't have a footprint in regional-language broadcasting that is growing the fastest. Was letting TV18 Group acquire ETV a missed opportunity?
The acquisition has to come at the right price. We are not desperate to launch channels. We do not believe in width that does not give us profits.
Tuesday, March 13, 2012
News Corp exits from Hathway Cable, sells 17.3% stake for Rs 3.58 bn
Insearchindia.com Team
(12 March 2012 11:16 pm)
MUMBAI: News Corp. has offloaded its entire stake in cable firm Hathway Cable & Datacom, allowing it to focus on its direct-to-home (DTH) and broadcasting businesses in India.
The Rupert Murdoch-led media conglomerate sold its 17.3 per cent stake to private-equity firm Providence and Macquarie Bank for Rs 3.58 billion.
Providence is the buyer and Macquarie Bank has acted on its behalf, it is learnt.
News Corp, the second largest shareholder in Hathway, held the stake through Asian Cable Systems.
"We have exited from Hathway. We were a minority partner. We didn't feel the need for investing into so many businesses and do not have the management bandwidth. We will continue to have presence in DTH (through Tata Sky) on the distribution side of the business," Star India CEO Uday Shankar told Insearchindia.com.
Asian Cable Systems sold its entire holding of 24,715,500 shares through open market transactions for Rs 145 per share, according to filings with the National Stock Exchange.
Around 14.1 million shares were purchased by Providence Equity Advisors Mauritius for Rs 2.05 billion, while remaining 10.5 million shares were acquired by Macquarie Bank for Rs 1.53 billion.
The shares were sold through separate bulk deals at the NSE.
As of 31 December 2011, other promoter entities include Akshay Rajan Raheja (17 per cent), Viren Rajan Raheja (16.74 per cent), Hathway Investments (10.47 per cent) and Spur Cable & Datacom Pvt Ltd (5.36 per cent).
Other major non-promoter shareholders of the company include Infrastructure India Holding Fund, Reliance Capital Trustee Co Ltd, Government Pension Fund Global, UTI Mutual Fund and SBI Mutual Fund.
News Corp. had acquired 26 per cent in Hathway way back in 2000, after it exited from Subhash Chandra-promoted Siticable.
Hathway scrip closed at Rs 179.55 on BSE, up 1.3 per cent.
Insearchindia.com Team
(12 March 2012 11:16 pm)
MUMBAI: News Corp. has offloaded its entire stake in cable firm Hathway Cable & Datacom, allowing it to focus on its direct-to-home (DTH) and broadcasting businesses in India.
The Rupert Murdoch-led media conglomerate sold its 17.3 per cent stake to private-equity firm Providence and Macquarie Bank for Rs 3.58 billion.
Providence is the buyer and Macquarie Bank has acted on its behalf, it is learnt.
News Corp, the second largest shareholder in Hathway, held the stake through Asian Cable Systems.
"We have exited from Hathway. We were a minority partner. We didn't feel the need for investing into so many businesses and do not have the management bandwidth. We will continue to have presence in DTH (through Tata Sky) on the distribution side of the business," Star India CEO Uday Shankar told Insearchindia.com.
Asian Cable Systems sold its entire holding of 24,715,500 shares through open market transactions for Rs 145 per share, according to filings with the National Stock Exchange.
Around 14.1 million shares were purchased by Providence Equity Advisors Mauritius for Rs 2.05 billion, while remaining 10.5 million shares were acquired by Macquarie Bank for Rs 1.53 billion.
The shares were sold through separate bulk deals at the NSE.
As of 31 December 2011, other promoter entities include Akshay Rajan Raheja (17 per cent), Viren Rajan Raheja (16.74 per cent), Hathway Investments (10.47 per cent) and Spur Cable & Datacom Pvt Ltd (5.36 per cent).
Other major non-promoter shareholders of the company include Infrastructure India Holding Fund, Reliance Capital Trustee Co Ltd, Government Pension Fund Global, UTI Mutual Fund and SBI Mutual Fund.
News Corp. had acquired 26 per cent in Hathway way back in 2000, after it exited from Subhash Chandra-promoted Siticable.
Hathway scrip closed at Rs 179.55 on BSE, up 1.3 per cent.
Thursday, March 8, 2012
BCCI fixes floor price, signals no softening of rates for India cricket
Insearchindia.com Team
(7 March 2012 8:28 pm)
MUMBAI: India's cricket board has fixed the floor price of its most lucrative property at a higher value than what its earlier TV rights holder Nimbus Sport paid, signalling there is no softening of rates for the most-watched sport in the country amid an economic slowdown and a weak performance of the Indian team in its most recent tour in Australia.
Clubbing the digital with the TV broadcast rights, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has set Rs 322.5 million (Rs 312.5 million plus Rs 10 million for new media rights) as the base price per international game for category A and Rs 340 million (Rs 330 million plus 10 million for new media rights) per game for category B.
Nimbus was paying at the average rate of Rs 312.5 million a match before BCCI scrapped the deal due to default on payments. However, that deal did not include Internet and mobile rights.
"The 'A' category is for two years to complete the broadcast cycle of Nimbus after their contract was abruptly terminated last year, while the 'B' category is for the new period from 2015-2018," according to a BCCI source who attended the meeting.
The BCCI's marketing committee, which met here today to find a new broadcaster, decided to invite tenders for the media rights (covering Television, Internet and Mobile) for global territories, for the period July 2012 – March 2018.
"Nimbus will not be allowed to bid for the rights since they defaulted on payments," the source added. A Nimbus official said they wouldn't have bid in any case.
In the past, the BCCI's tender was for a shorter period of four years. The rights have also now been split into two cycles - Category 'A' and Category 'B'.
The fresh tender is for 34 Test matches, 50 ODIs and 11 Twenty 20 matches.
Interested parties can bid either for the whole rights (broadcast plus others like Internet ) or in parts. "This will enable people to come in larger numbers. We expect to generate more interest. It will be a global tender for six years," said BCCI marketing committee chairman Farooq Abdullah.
BCCI said in a statement that the base price will be declared in the tender, for which ads are to be given on 10 March. The ITT was approved, and will be available at the Cricket Centre from 10- 26 March. The Marketing Committee will meet in Chennai to receive the bids on 2 April.
India's FTP at home for the period is as follows:
Year
Team
No of Match
2012 New Zealand 3 Tests
2012-2013 England 4 Tests, 1T20, 7 ODIs
2013 Australia 4 Tests, 7ODIs, 1 T20
2014 West Indies 3 Tests, 5 ODIs, 1 T20
2015 South Africa 3 Tests, 7 ODIs, 2 T20s
2015 Sri Lanka 3 Tests
2016 New Zealand 3 Tests, 5 ODIs, 1 T20
2016 England 4 Tests, 7 ODIs, 1 T20
2017 Australia 4 Tests, 7 ODIs, 2 T20s
2018 Sri Lanka 3 Tests, 5 ODIs, 2 T20s
Insearchindia.com Team
(7 March 2012 8:28 pm)
MUMBAI: India's cricket board has fixed the floor price of its most lucrative property at a higher value than what its earlier TV rights holder Nimbus Sport paid, signalling there is no softening of rates for the most-watched sport in the country amid an economic slowdown and a weak performance of the Indian team in its most recent tour in Australia.
Clubbing the digital with the TV broadcast rights, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has set Rs 322.5 million (Rs 312.5 million plus Rs 10 million for new media rights) as the base price per international game for category A and Rs 340 million (Rs 330 million plus 10 million for new media rights) per game for category B.
Nimbus was paying at the average rate of Rs 312.5 million a match before BCCI scrapped the deal due to default on payments. However, that deal did not include Internet and mobile rights.
"The 'A' category is for two years to complete the broadcast cycle of Nimbus after their contract was abruptly terminated last year, while the 'B' category is for the new period from 2015-2018," according to a BCCI source who attended the meeting.
The BCCI's marketing committee, which met here today to find a new broadcaster, decided to invite tenders for the media rights (covering Television, Internet and Mobile) for global territories, for the period July 2012 – March 2018.
"Nimbus will not be allowed to bid for the rights since they defaulted on payments," the source added. A Nimbus official said they wouldn't have bid in any case.
In the past, the BCCI's tender was for a shorter period of four years. The rights have also now been split into two cycles - Category 'A' and Category 'B'.
The fresh tender is for 34 Test matches, 50 ODIs and 11 Twenty 20 matches.
Interested parties can bid either for the whole rights (broadcast plus others like Internet ) or in parts. "This will enable people to come in larger numbers. We expect to generate more interest. It will be a global tender for six years," said BCCI marketing committee chairman Farooq Abdullah.
BCCI said in a statement that the base price will be declared in the tender, for which ads are to be given on 10 March. The ITT was approved, and will be available at the Cricket Centre from 10- 26 March. The Marketing Committee will meet in Chennai to receive the bids on 2 April.
India's FTP at home for the period is as follows:
Year
Team
No of Match
2012 New Zealand 3 Tests
2012-2013 England 4 Tests, 1T20, 7 ODIs
2013 Australia 4 Tests, 7ODIs, 1 T20
2014 West Indies 3 Tests, 5 ODIs, 1 T20
2015 South Africa 3 Tests, 7 ODIs, 2 T20s
2015 Sri Lanka 3 Tests
2016 New Zealand 3 Tests, 5 ODIs, 1 T20
2016 England 4 Tests, 7 ODIs, 1 T20
2017 Australia 4 Tests, 7 ODIs, 2 T20s
2018 Sri Lanka 3 Tests, 5 ODIs, 2 T20s
GEC battle: Sony, Colors, Zee heat up competition for 2nd spot
Insearchindia.com Team
(7 March 2012 9:11 pm)
MUMBAI: There is no business like Hindi GEC (general entertainment channel) business. Just when media pundits were expecting some stability in the Hindi GEC order, the battle has started brewing, again. But this time for the second spot.
While Star Plus continues to lead the genre, albeit losing a few GRPs (gross rating points) per week, the race for the second spot is up for grabs.
The last seven months has seen Sony Entertainment Television (Set) and Colors locked in a see-saw battle, with Zee TV watching on the sidelines. But for the week ended 25 February, Zee TV toppled Colors to regain the No. 3 spot.
Now though Colors is back to No. 3, the difference between Set, Colors and Zee is that of one and five GRPS respectively, as per TAM data for the week ended 3 March (C&S, 4+, HSM).
Set closed the week with 212 GRPs, after losing 15 GRPs from the previous week. Colors, after adding 11 GRPs, ended the week with 211 GRPs.
Zee TV, though, is back in the race, even if it has slipped to No. 4 again by losing 16 GRPs. It closed the week with 206 GRPs.
Star Plus remained on top with 259 GRPs, shedding 20 GRPs. In the prior week before that, it had lost 19 GRPs.
Sab, meanwhile, remained at No. 5 with 131 GRPS in its kitty (last week 134).
Life OK added 6 GRPs to end the week with 87 GRPs (last week 81).
Imagine TV closed with 65 GRPs (last week 63), while Sahara One lost 8 GRPs to end the week with 45 GRPs (last week 53), according to TAM data.
Insearchindia.com Team
(7 March 2012 9:11 pm)
MUMBAI: There is no business like Hindi GEC (general entertainment channel) business. Just when media pundits were expecting some stability in the Hindi GEC order, the battle has started brewing, again. But this time for the second spot.
While Star Plus continues to lead the genre, albeit losing a few GRPs (gross rating points) per week, the race for the second spot is up for grabs.
The last seven months has seen Sony Entertainment Television (Set) and Colors locked in a see-saw battle, with Zee TV watching on the sidelines. But for the week ended 25 February, Zee TV toppled Colors to regain the No. 3 spot.
Now though Colors is back to No. 3, the difference between Set, Colors and Zee is that of one and five GRPS respectively, as per TAM data for the week ended 3 March (C&S, 4+, HSM).
Set closed the week with 212 GRPs, after losing 15 GRPs from the previous week. Colors, after adding 11 GRPs, ended the week with 211 GRPs.
Zee TV, though, is back in the race, even if it has slipped to No. 4 again by losing 16 GRPs. It closed the week with 206 GRPs.
Star Plus remained on top with 259 GRPs, shedding 20 GRPs. In the prior week before that, it had lost 19 GRPs.
Sab, meanwhile, remained at No. 5 with 131 GRPS in its kitty (last week 134).
Life OK added 6 GRPs to end the week with 87 GRPs (last week 81).
Imagine TV closed with 65 GRPs (last week 63), while Sahara One lost 8 GRPs to end the week with 45 GRPs (last week 53), according to TAM data.
Friday, March 2, 2012
Ten acquires Asian Tour rights from ESS, retains European Tour rights
Insearchindia.com Team
(2 March 2012 6:03 pm)
MUMBAI: Close on the heels of acquiring the PGTI and LPGA broadcast rights, Taj Television’s soon-to-be-launched golf channel Ten Golf has acquired the broadcast rights for Asian Tour while renewing European Tour rights both for the period of six years from 2013-18.
ESPN Star Sports earlier had the broadcast rights for the Asian Tour.
As part of the deal, Taj TV will have rights to air live and exclusive coverage of European Tour and Asian Tour events. Ten Golf will telecast around 20 live events of Asian Tour and 30 live events of the European Tour in 2013, which will add up to 200 days of live golf between these two tours.
Taj Television CEO Atul Pande said, “As we continue to expand our content, we’re delighted to add two of the most prestigious tours to our impressive line-up of golf properties. Our acquisition of the long term rights is an indication of our interest and commitment in bringing high quality golf to Indian audiences.”
From the Asian Tour, all tournaments from the Asian Tour including the tournaments which are co-sanctioned between the Asian Tour and the European Tour, the WGC-HSBC Championship, the Asian Tour Golf Show and event highlights will be televised.
Asian Tour Senior Director of Commercial and TV Eric Lynge said, “The Asian Tour is thrilled with this new partnership with Ten Sports. The appeal of the Asian Tour has grown tremendously in India especially with the success of Order of Merit winners Jeev Milkha Singh, Arjun Atwal and Jyoti Randhawa over the years and many other young and exciting Indian golfers such as Gaganjeet Bhullar, Himmat Rai and Anirban Lahiri have also won on the Asian Tour in recent times."
Ten will telecast all European Tour tournaments live besides the highlights. Additionally, it will also showcase “European Tour Weekly” a magazine show. Highlight programmes of the European Seniors Tour, European Challenge Tour events and “The Challenge” magazine show will be televised.
"With India's depth in the game and the Tour's cosmopolitan appeal where our membership ranges from over 30 countries, we are confident viewers of Ten Golf will be treated to the very best of Asian golf over the coming years,” European Tour Director of Broadcasting and New Media Mark Lichtenhein said.
“We’re delighted to extend our relationship with Ten Sports for a further 6 years and we are excited to be central to the development of Ten Golf, India’s first golf channel. We believe that there is enormous potential for golf in India particularly following its reintroduction as an Olympic sport in 2016.”
Insearchindia.com Team
(2 March 2012 6:03 pm)
MUMBAI: Close on the heels of acquiring the PGTI and LPGA broadcast rights, Taj Television’s soon-to-be-launched golf channel Ten Golf has acquired the broadcast rights for Asian Tour while renewing European Tour rights both for the period of six years from 2013-18.
ESPN Star Sports earlier had the broadcast rights for the Asian Tour.
As part of the deal, Taj TV will have rights to air live and exclusive coverage of European Tour and Asian Tour events. Ten Golf will telecast around 20 live events of Asian Tour and 30 live events of the European Tour in 2013, which will add up to 200 days of live golf between these two tours.
Taj Television CEO Atul Pande said, “As we continue to expand our content, we’re delighted to add two of the most prestigious tours to our impressive line-up of golf properties. Our acquisition of the long term rights is an indication of our interest and commitment in bringing high quality golf to Indian audiences.”
From the Asian Tour, all tournaments from the Asian Tour including the tournaments which are co-sanctioned between the Asian Tour and the European Tour, the WGC-HSBC Championship, the Asian Tour Golf Show and event highlights will be televised.
Asian Tour Senior Director of Commercial and TV Eric Lynge said, “The Asian Tour is thrilled with this new partnership with Ten Sports. The appeal of the Asian Tour has grown tremendously in India especially with the success of Order of Merit winners Jeev Milkha Singh, Arjun Atwal and Jyoti Randhawa over the years and many other young and exciting Indian golfers such as Gaganjeet Bhullar, Himmat Rai and Anirban Lahiri have also won on the Asian Tour in recent times."
Ten will telecast all European Tour tournaments live besides the highlights. Additionally, it will also showcase “European Tour Weekly” a magazine show. Highlight programmes of the European Seniors Tour, European Challenge Tour events and “The Challenge” magazine show will be televised.
"With India's depth in the game and the Tour's cosmopolitan appeal where our membership ranges from over 30 countries, we are confident viewers of Ten Golf will be treated to the very best of Asian golf over the coming years,” European Tour Director of Broadcasting and New Media Mark Lichtenhein said.
“We’re delighted to extend our relationship with Ten Sports for a further 6 years and we are excited to be central to the development of Ten Golf, India’s first golf channel. We believe that there is enormous potential for golf in India particularly following its reintroduction as an Olympic sport in 2016.”
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