MUMBAI: After issuing a consultation paper and holding open-house discussion on KYC of DTH set top boxes, the Telecom regulatory authority of India (TRAI) has finally come out with a set of recommendations on the issue. The authority has recommended the DTH operators to install DTH connections at the address mentioned in the Customer Application Form(CAF) only and verify the address.

“DTH operator should install the DTH connection at the address mentioned in the Customer Application Form(CAF) only and the address of such installed set top box must be verified by the representative of the DTH operator and record of such installation shall be maintained by the DTH operator,” TRAI said.

Elections can be unpredictable for political parties. But their results aren't for the India Today Group, the company has said.

As every other media outlet faltered in its forecast of the Haryana and Maharashtra assembly elections, the India Today-Axis-My-India exit poll delivered the most accurate picture of around 11 crore voters in the two states.

Haryana

Almost all other pollsters and TV stations were unanimous in predicting a BJP sweep Haryana, led by Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar.

MUMBAI: The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has today released its recommendations on ‘KYC of DTH Set Top Boxes’. The TRAI has recommended that there is no need to mandate DTH operators to incorporate Location Based Services (LBS) in STBs.

The Authority is of the view that provisioning of the LBS would unnecessarily increase the cost of equipment, which has to be borne by the subscribers without any substantial gain to the industry.

It further stated that no stakeholder has submitted any concrete figure with respect to the extent of revenue loss due to carrying of STB to another country as apprehended by some stakeholders.

“In a nutshell, the cost outweighs the benefits (cost-benefit analysis) in provisioning LBS facility in set top boxes. Hence it would not be appropriate to mandate location-based services in DTH set top boxes owing to its nature of being unidirectional services in broadcast mode,” TRAI noted.

MUMBAI: Zee Media Corporation Ltd (ZMCL) reported consolidated revenues of Rs 1,370.3 million for the second quarter of FY 20. The Network incurred an expenditure of Rs 1,000.1 million in the quarter and reported a consolidated net loss of Rs 1264.6 million for the second quarter ended September 30, 2019 on account of exceptional items.

“During the quarter, the network expanded its footprint s into Southern India through the launch of Zee Hindustan in Tamil and Telugu languages. This is intended to make the network's content accessible to wider audience,” ZMCL said on a statement.

Operating revenue of the network grew by 4.4 per cent to Rs. 3,376.9 million in the first half of FY20 from Rs. 3,233.5 million in the first half of FY19. However, it declined by 18.8 per cent to Rs 1,370.3 million in Q2FY20 from Rs 1,686.6 mn in Q2FY19 .

Zee5 Global, the digital entertainment destination from Zeel, has made some key appointments to strengthen its Product and Tech teams. Rahul Vaz has been appointed to head the Product team. Vaz most recently served as Sr. Product Director, Voot, and will be based in Zee5 Global office in Mumbai.

Vaz comes with an experience of over 18 years. Through stints at People Interactive, Hungama Digital and most recently with Viacom’s Voot, he has worked with OTT and video products from the ground up and has a deep understanding of the consumer tech segment.

In his role at Zee5 Global, Vaz will be responsible for defining and driving what the user experience of Zee5 Global should be in global markets and grow out the product division and ensure a seamless entertainment experience on the platform for Zee5’s global audiences. In addition to this he will build efficiencies towards a stronger user interface in terms of design, communication and more, while also looking for constant improvements on the web and app.

With festive season at its peak, Nickelodeon, the kid’s entertainment franchise, is geared up for a fun-filled quarter. Starting with Motu Patlu, Rudra and Shiva on Nick to Golmaal Jr, Pakdam Pakdai and Ninja Hattori on Sonic, the months ahead will see a gamut of movies and new seasons to keep young viewers entertained.

The franchise has kickstarted the festive bonanza with Rudra spreading his “Magic” on Nick along with an unmatched dose of pranks and adventure with the Golmaal Jr. gang on Sonic. 

Zee Media Corporation Ltd (ZMCL) has posted a 4.4 per cent growth in operating revenue to Rs 337.6 crore in the first half of FY20, as per media reports.

It has reported a consolidated revenue of Rs 137.03 crore for Q2 FY20.

In a statement, ZMCL has said: “During the quarter, the network expanded its footprint s into Southern India through the launch of Zee Hindustan in Tamil and Telugu languages. This is intended to make the network's content accessible to wider audience.”

The operating expenditure in Q2FY20 has dropped by 21.7 per cent.

The statement further said: “EBITDA for HlFY20 improved by 34.1 per cent to Rs 1,029 million from Rs 767.5 million EBITDA for H1FY19, while the same declined by 9.4 per cent to Rs 370.2 million from Rs 408.7 million for the corresponding period last financial year. EBITDA Margin grew from 23.7 per cent in H1FY19 to 30.5 per cent in HlFY20, while growing from 24.2 per cent in Q2FY19 to 27 per cent in Q2FY20.”

MUMBAI: With the festive season around the corner, Nickelodeon – India’s leading kid’s entertainment franchise is geared up for a fun filled quarter. Starting with Motu Patlu, Rudra and Shiva on Nick to Golmaal Jr, Pakdam Pakdai and Ninja Hattori on SONIC, the months ahead will see a gamut of movies and new seasons to keep our young viewers entertained. The franchise has kickstarted the festive bonanza with Rudra spreading his “Magic” on Nick along with an unmatched dose of pranks and adventure with the Golmaal Jr. gang on SONIC.

The Nickelodeon campaign will be brought to life through an interactive contest where kids need to tune in to all new episodes of Rudra Mon-Fri 7:25 pm, give missed calls on the unique number flashing on their television screens and stand a chance to win a specially curated magic box. The campaign will be further amplified on digital and social with interactive games and gifs and a whole lot of ambient visibility and ground swell in key metros like Mumbai with mall chains like Inorbit, Infinity, Oberoi to name a few.

MUMBAI: The ministry of information and broadcasting (MIB) has granted 15 new TV channel licences in the last six months and has cancelled 21 TV channel licences in the last five months including one in June.

As on date, the total number of valid permissions stands at 908 and the total cancelled TV channel licences are at 280.

Star has got three licences Vijay Music through its subsidiary Asianet Star Communications besides Star Sports 1 Malayalam and Star Gold 2 in place of Movies OK.

News Nation Network has received three licences namely News State Bihar/Jharkhand, News State Maharashtra/Goa, and News State Rajasthan. Dharampal Satyapal Ltd has got the approval to launch Utkrisht News Samachar Plus Rajasthan and Utkrisht News Samachar Plus Uttar Pradesh/Uttrakhand.

B4U Television Network has received the licence to launch B4U Hitz and B4U Plus. Incidentally, the company had earlier surrendered two licences under the same name.