Breaking News Cable Digitization of 4 Metros Extended till 1st Nov 2012 !!

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Bowing to pressure from the local cable operators, multi-system operators and some state governments, the Government today decide to defer the date of cable digital addressable systems (DAS) to 1 November in the first phase covering four metros.

The four-month delay from the earlier deadline of 1 July was announced today even as matters are pending before the Mumbai and Delhi High Courts and Tdsat. This will also satisfy the West Bengal government as chief minister Mamata Banerjee was pressing for digitisation in Kolkata after the Dusshera Pujas.

The official statement said: "The assessment of the ground realities compels the I&B Ministry to set a new deadline. It is, however, imperative that the modified target deadline is set with strict benchmarks to ensure that no complacency sets-in in the system and the new target date is achieved collectively by all the stakeholders."

"Therefore, keeping in view public interest and after intensive and extensive consultations as well as written commitments from all the stakeholders for fully implementing the regulations of Trai", the Ministry said it had decided to modify the deadline to 31 October in all four metro cities: Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and Kolkata.

Under the Cable Television Networks (Regulation) Amendment Act, 2011, it had been mandated that the switchover of the existing analogue Cable TV networks to DAS by December 2014, in a phased manner. In respect of four metros of Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai, the digital switchover was mandated to come into effect from 1 July 2012.

The Government admitted in its order that the orders of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India on Tariff & Interconnection, and on the Quality of Service Regulations and the Consumer Complaint Redressal Regulations had not yet been substantially implemented.

As a result of this, the installation of set-top boxes had not picked up necessary pace for the completion of the process of digitisation by 30 June 2012.

The Task Force comprising all stakeholders constituted by the Ministry in April 2011 had been monitoring the progress made by various stakeholders towards digitisation. The task force has also undertaken field visits and interacted with local stakeholders. Discussions have been regularly held with broadcasters, multi-system operators (MSOs) and local cable operators (LCOs), while the Information and Broadcasting Ministry had been in regular contact with the concerned State Governments on this issue.

 

[Chief]

The Centre has extended by four months to October 31 the deadline for digitising cable signals in Calcutta, Delhi, Chennai and Mumbai.

The Bengal government had demanded an extension but the Centre cited logistical reasons, including delay by the watchdog in issuing regulations, for the postponement. Reports from the field suggest all the four metros, not Calcutta alone, lag in meeting the switchover target. (See chart)

The earlier deadline, set in April, falls next week on June 30. Under the rules notified by industry regulator Trai then, subscribers can choose the channels they want to watch and not let cable operators decide it for them.

Bengal urban development minister Firhad Hakim, who had first broached in Delhi the problems in meeting the earlier deadline, said he wanted it pushed back further. “The deadline should have been put off by at least six months. There’s no chance that the transition can be made by November, especially because the Puja season comes in between,” he told The Telegraph tonight.

Broadcasters, who prefer the digital system that is expected to bring in more transparency and accountability on the part of the last-mile distributors, are worried about another postponement, although the Centre warned of “action” if the new deadline is not met.

“We are disappointed. But we appreciate the resolve of the ministry to implement digitisation and that they will strictly monitor the progress and take punitive action if warranted. We also hope there will be no extension beyond October 31 either by the ministry or Trai,” said News Broadcasters Association general secretary Annie Joseph.

According to industry estimates, of the 40 lakh television sets in the Calcutta Metropolitan Area, around 25 per cent are running on digital cable or DTH at the moment and the rest on analogue signals.

Opinion is divided on whether the four-month extension is adequate. “The four-month extension will fall short in the city, especially since October is a festive month. Chennai will also struggle to meet the deadline,” said Mrinal Chatterjee, a cable operator.

Calcutta multi-system operator (MSO) Siti Cable said four more months would give it ample opportunity to ensure all subscribers could make the switch. “Fifty per cent of our subscribers have already bought STBs (set-top boxes). This gives us more time to ensure the others too make a smooth switch,” said Suresh Sethia, director, Siti Cable.

Another MSO, Manthan, said the deadline had been pushed back by one month too many. “(Deferring the deadline by) three months would have been enough. But the regulatory authority should quickly get the broadcasters to sit down with the MSO to fix packages and new prices,” said Sudip Ghosh, director, Manthan.

The information and broadcasting ministry said it had been “compelled” to set the new deadline after an “assessment of ground realities”.

In a statement, the ministry said “keeping in view public interest and after intensive and extensive consultations, as well as written commitments from all the stakeholders”, it had decided to “modify” the June 30 deadline for a “complete switchover” to October 31 for all the four metros.

“It is, however, imperative that the modified target deadline is set with strict benchmarks to ensure that no complacency sets in the system and the new target date is achieved collectively by all the stakeholders,” the ministry said.

The ministry said it “will issue warning letters to those going slow on their written commitments”. It said both the ministry and Trai “will take action under the provisions of the cable Act, wherever and whenever necessary”.

The Cable Television Networks (Regulation) Amendment Act, 2011, made it mandatory for switchover of the existing analogue cable TV networks to Digital Addressable System (DAS) by December 2014, in a phased manner. The four metros were required to carry out the digital switchover by June 30, 2012.

The ministry said the process suffered from delays from the very beginning. “Regulations on tariff and interconnection were issued by Trai only on 30th April 2012 instead of being issued in January 2012 as expected,” it said.

Trai issued the service regulations and consumer complaint redress regulations on May 14. All broadcasters and MSOs were required to publish their offers for price of channels or bouquet of channels within 30 days.

“Another 30 days are required for negotiations between broadcasters and MSOs. Thereafter, the MSOs and LCOs arrive at agreements which enable the consumers to have a clear indication of the terms and conditions for installing the set-top boxes and the prices of channels,” the ministry said.

Trai’s May 14 order required every MSO or its linked local cable operator to put in place a consumer complaint redress system consisting of a complaint centre with a toll-free number and web-based complaint monitoring system.

“These orders have not yet been substantially implemented. As a result of this, the installation of set-top boxes has not picked up necessary pace for the completion of the process of digitisation by June 30,” the ministry added.


Digital deadline extended

 

[Chief]

Digitisation deadline extension upsets TV broadcasters


Television broadcasters have expressed disappointment over the government's decision to postpone cable TV digitisation in four metros till October, while multi system operators (MSOs) welcomed it saying it was a "sensible" move.

"We are very disappointed with the change in the date. It was a law enacted and approved by Parliament, which was supposed to benefit the citizens," News Broadcasters Association President Narayan Rao told PTI.



The government must now ensure that there is no slippage again and no further extension of the deadline, he added.

"There is a feeling that if this can be extended once, it could be extended again. This should not be allowed to happen," Rao added.

Yesterday, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting pushed back the June 30 deadline to October 31 for a complete switch over of cable TV to digital platform from analogue in the four metros of Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and Kolkata.

The ministry cited gross unpreparedness for installation of Set Top Boxes (STBs) as the reason for the postponement.

MSOs, however, welcomed the move saying it was required considering the ground reality.

"This is a sensible and welcome step. The earlier deadline was impractical as it was not possible to cover 10 million household within just six weeks time," MSO Alliance President Ashok Mansukhani said.

Asked if the new deadline could be met, he said: "The new deadline of October 31 is a bit tough but is reasonable and the industry should be able to meet the deadline or at least expect 80 per cent of the household to be covered."

Cable operators, however, said the new deadline was not enough to install STBs in the households in the four metros.

"The deadline should have actually been postponed to December 31, instead of October 31 because even extra four months are not enough to seed the required number of set-top-boxes in the market," Cable Operators Federation of India (COFI) President Roop Sharma said.

Direct to Home (DTH) service providers said they were disappointed with the extension of deadline as they have already started investing on the process.

"The extension will put strain on the financial health of the DTH industry due to additional inventory carrying costs and investments in infrastructure that the industry will have to incur now," Airtel digital TV CEO Shashi Arora said.

The government had set a target of digitisation of the cable services in the entire country by December 2014 starting with the four metros, which was supposed to be completed by June 30 this year.

 

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Broadcasters unhappy, MSOs welcome digitisation deadline delay​

Television broadcasters have expressed disappointment over the government’s decision to postpone cable TV digitisation in four metros till October, while multi system operators (MSOs) welcomed it saying it was a “sensible” move.

“We are very disappointed with the change in the date. It was a law enacted and approved by Parliament, which was supposed to benefit the citizens,” News Broadcasters Association president Narayan Rao told PTI.

The government must now ensure that there is no slippage again and no further extension of the deadline, he added.

“There is a feeling that if this can be extended once, it could be extended again. This should not be allowed to happen,” Rao added.

On Wednesday, the ministry of information and broadcasting pushed back the 30 June deadline to 31 October for a complete switch over of cable TV to digital platform from analogue in the four metros of Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and Kolkata.

The ministry cited gross unpreparedness for installation of Set Top Boxes (STBs) as the reason for the postponement.


MSOs, however, welcomed the move saying it was required considering the ground reality.
“This is a sensible and welcome step. The earlier deadline was impractical as it was not possible to cover 10 million household within just six weeks time,” MSO Alliance president Ashok Mansukhani said.

Asked if the new deadline could be met, he said: “The new deadline of 31 October is a bit tough but is reasonable and the industry should be able to meet the deadline or at least expect 80% of the household to be covered.”

Cable operators, however, said the new deadline was not enough to install STBs in the households in the four metros.

“The deadline should have actually been postponed to 31 December, instead of October 31 because even extra four months are not enough to seed the required number of set-top-boxes in the market,” Cable Operators Federation of India (COFI) President Roop Sharma said.

Direct to Home (DTH) service providers said they were disappointed with the extension of deadline as they have already started investing on the process.

“The extension will put strain on the financial health of the DTH industry due to additional inventory carrying costs and investments in infrastructure that the industry will have to incur now,” Airtel digital TV CEO Shashi Arora said.

The government had set a target of digitisation of the cable services in the entire country by December 2014 starting with the four metros, which was supposed to be completed by 30 June this year.

Livemint

 

[Chief]

Digitization delay to hit DTH industry​

The extension of the deadline for digitization by four months will put a strain on the financial health of the DTH industry which has made investments in infrastructure to facilitate its implementation. Companies operating in the DTH space were in a state of readiness %to meet the June 30 deadline, but are now straddling additional inventory carrying costs, thanks to the government postponing the deadline to November 1, 2012, at the last moment.

The move to postpone could lead to financial losses to broadcasters, multi-system operators and others who have invested in equipment and awareness campaigns in anticipation of the June 30 deadline. Digitization has the potential to change the entire landscape of the industry and plug both revenue leakage to broadcasters and taxes to the government.
The Information & Broadcasting (I&B) ministry said an assessment of ground realities compelled the ministry to set a new deadline. Expectedly the DTH industry is up in arms.
"Digitization is an important and critical policy intervention to provide high quality video content to customers. The delay in implementation is disappointing and expensive. As an organization, we were fully geared up for the earlier deadline of June 30, 2012, with significant investments made already to facilitate seamless adoption of this technology. That said, we will continue to support government's digitization agenda as it is in the best interest of our customers and look forward to its successful implementation at the earliest," said Shashi Arora, CEO, Airtel digital TV.

What has taken the industry by surprise is the last-minute postponement in the implementation date which was fixed six months ago. "The date was fixed six months ago and we wake up nine days before the deadline to say we are not prepared? The extension is a major setback for the DTH industry, which has invested a great deal in terms of set-top box inventory and installer manpower to cater to the expected demand on the cutover date. It is difficult to understand what different is being planned in the next three months that was not done in the last six months," said Harit Nagpal, MD & CEO, Tata Sky and president of DTH Operators Association of India.

Nagpal said the opportunity that is missed due to this delay is speedy digitization which would lead to broadcasters getting their share of revenues. "Moreover, November hosts Diwali and could turn out to be an unwise cut over timeline since it is the peak month for broadcasters for ad revenues and the migrant installer community goes back to their hometowns. The DTH community which is licensed, regulated and pays taxes on behalf of everyone of its customers has once again lost out to its analogue competitors who are not subjected to these rules," said Nagpal. According to V N Dhoot, chairman, Videocon Group, the government could stand to lose a few thousand of crores with this delay in terms of revenues because the market is highly fragmented and there are instances of operators not paying taxes. Digitization is expected to significantly curb the practice of under-declaration of subscriber numbers which led to tax losses. In addition to ushering in transparency and accountability, it is also expected to lead to technological advancement enabling consumers to opt for better options for quality viewing. "The delay is unlikely to affect us as we are already the leading player in the segment with six million customers and adding maximum numbers of subscribers on monthly basis," said Dhoot.

DTH players on their own have been adding nearly a million customers every month. Industry analysts remain positive on digitization over the long term. An Edelweiss Securities report said digitization has positive ramifications in terms of subscription revenues for listed broadcasters.


TOI

 

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DTH providers gripe about digitisation deadline extension

The Government’s decision to modify the earlier cable digitisation deadline of June 30 for a complete switchover toOctober 31 in four metros is a “massive blow” to DTH (direct-to-home) service providers.​

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Though the Government has said that the deferment was done in the interest of consumers and “only after intensive and extensive consultations with all the stakeholders”, DTH players say this will put a strain on the financial health of the industry.​

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Mr Shashi Arora, CEO of Airtel Digital TV, has said that the industry will now have to bear the additional burden of inventory carrying costs and other investments in infrastructure creation. “As an organisation, we were fully geared up for the earlier deadline of June 30, with significant investments made already to facilitate seamless adoption of this technology.” However, he said that Airtel will continue to support the Government’s digitisation agenda as it is in the best interest of our customers and look forward to its successful implementation at the earliest.​

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STRICT ACTION​

A senior executive of another leading player in the segment said since every stakeholder in the cable industry knew that they had to comply with the deadline, “there is hardly any reason why the deadline should be extended”. At least now the Government should take strict punitive action against those who fail to comply with the new deadline, he said.​

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According to Mr Harit Nagpal, President, DTH Operators Association of India and Managing Director of Tata Sky, the extension is a major setback for the industry. “We have invested a great deal in terms of set-top box inventory. It’s not clear what difference the four-month delay will make that the last 6-8 months did not,” he said. “They could have at least told us that the deadline could get extended, a few months ago,” he added. Besides investment in set-top boxes, both DTH and big multi-system cable operators also employed additional manpower to execute new orders, anticipating a spurt in the digital subscriber base. Mr Nagpal says it has now turned out to be a waste of money and efforts. “Just because analogue cable operators are underprepared, the prepared lot have to bear the brunt,” he said.​

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The industry is of the opinion that November being the festival period, the new deadline may turn out to be unwise since it is the peak month for broadcasters for ad revenues. “Besides, the migrant installer community will also go back to their hometowns during the time,” Mr Nagpal said.​

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NOT SURPRISED​

However, Mr Salil Kapoor, Chief Operating Officer of the market leader Dish TV, sees some merits in the postponement decision. He says, “So what if we are not able to distribute our set-top boxes now? We will do it four months later. We have contingency plans in place. According to him, the decision did not come as a surprise for him. The company could guess that much. “We did not even advertise much in the last few months,” he said.​

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Business Line : Industry & Economy / Marketing : DTH providers gripe about digitisation deadline extension​