• Cable association asks for subscriber end set top boxes

    Submitted by ITV Production on Nov 12, 2001

    The National Cable & Telecommunications Association has asked the central government to pass a legislation making it mandatory for conditional access set top boxes to be set up at the customer end to receive pay channels.
    In a memorandum to I & B minister Sushma Swaraj, the NCTA has maintained that currently encrypted channels are decoded at the cable TV headend and are then distributed as free to air channels in the basic service. Having a CAS at the customer end would be an effective anti-piracy measure, as all locally originating content will have to pass through the CAS filter. According to the NCTA, Swaraj had, in a meeting on 30 August this year, agreed to pass an order making it mandatory for all encrypted channels to reach the willing and subscribing end customers only through a conditional access set top box.

    The feature films screened through this mandatory CAS will generate huge revenues for the film industry, the NCTA has noted in its memorandum.

     

  • Cable association asks for subscriber end set top boxes

    The National Cable & Telecommunications Association has asked the central government to pass a legislation making

  • CASBAA conference kicks off on 27 November

    Submitted by ITV Production on Nov 12, 2001

    Innovation, focus, profit. These three keywords describe CASBAA‘s three day event in Hong Kong‘s Convention & Exhibition Centre, to be flagged off on 27 November.

    The Cable & Satellite Broadcasting Association of Asia Conference will start with a pre-conference super session on 27 November on Interactive Television and its relevance to Asian audiences. The four hour session will look at the experiences of the first iTV testbeds, pilots and rollouts. It will also deal with Interactive broadband internet content distribution over satellite and cable television networks.

    Nine sessions and one super session will mark the two day conference. The first day‘s sessions will focus on the future of reality television, broadband and branding for networks. One of the sessions will showcase latest media entrants and examine the nature of investment in Asia‘ media sector. The day‘s other sessions will also scrutinise the effectiveness of anti piracy measures and the industry‘s response to the burgeoning piracy in the entertainment sector.

    The second day‘s sessions will look at the revenues of terrestrial, cable and satellite networks, and will predict changes in the advertising landscape. Other sessions will focus on digital behaviour trends across Asia. Panelists will hold forth on their views on the difference between interactive TV and what the web has to offer. The ‘Breakout Session‘ on the second day of the conference focusses on the satellite industry. Experts will tackle the question of how the satellite industry is trying to deliver efficient communication in a cost effective manner.

    The focus also shifts to local markets, with panelists talking about how indigenous content providers can distinguish their product from American and European offerings. Desi content will be judged against overseas ones in terms of cost, distribution and returns. At the concluding session, CASBAA 2001 will gaze into ‘The Crystal Ball‘ to get an idea of the direction in which the cable & satellite industry is headed. Thought Leaders from each session will amalgamate their views to form a perspective of the industry ext one to three years. The key challenges, opportunities and issues facing the industry will be delved into.

    CASBAA represents 120 Asian corporations catering to over 3 billion people, its members comprising cable operators, satellite platforms, satellite system operators, cable and satellite channels, hardware providers and new media service purveyors and network enablers. Top brass from several corporates and professionals from the cable & satellite industry in the region are expected to attend the event.

  • CASBAA conference kicks off on 27 November

    Innovation, focus, profit.

  • Star acquires entire Channel Nine library at a steal

    Submitted by ITV Production on Nov 12, 2001

    Star India edged out Sony Entertainment Television in the race to acquire Channel Nine Gold‘s entire content library last week. Sources say Star bought out the library at about 20 per cent of its actual valuation. Unconfirmed reports peg the Nine Gold library‘s valuation at around Rs 120 million.

    HFCL Nine may have had to bid a hasty adieu to DD Metro; but its content library has been the cynosure of rival channels‘ eyes ever since. Star had bought some of the Channel Nine programmes in September, after its break up with DD Metro.

    Sony was also a serious bidder for the lot, but Star seems to have beaten it in this respect too. Although Star has refused to divulge the exact valuation of the deal, industry sources say the arrangement includes all the popular soaps and films made by Nine Gold during its short tenure on Doordarshan Metro. Star had bought soaps Kundali, Kabhie Souten Kabhie Saheli and The Helen Show in September after the much-hyped HFCL Nine stopped operations following Doordarshan‘s refusal to renew its contract with the software company. The events Star bought at the time included the series Celebrate with Music and The Madhuri Concert.

    Star, which is already strong in the soap segment, is expected to further consolidate its numero uno position following the acquisition of the programmes from the Nine Gold stables, media analysts feel. The defunct TV software venture floated by Australian media mogul Kerry Packer and the HFCL group notched up heavy losses after its exit from DD, after paying Rs 121 crore to the pubcaster and spending heavily on programming and promoting its shows. DD, while agreeing to an extension of between 6 and 18 months for Channel Nine Gold, had put its foot down on other demands made by the company. This led to a break-in contract between DD and the company.

  • Final okay awaited as ETC earmarks land in Khopoli for teleport

    ETC Networks Ltd, the first channel to secure clearance to build a commercial teleport in Mumbai, is now looking to s

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