MUMBAI: Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has directed distribution platform operators (DPOs) to enable the facility of adding and dropping channels through SMS. The authority has also asked DPOs to display information on Channel No. 199 about MRP of channels and bouquets.

The TRAI has directed that all DPOs to display information on the Channel No. 999 as per format within 15 days from the issue of this letter and (b) provide the facility of ADD/DROP of channels to the subscribers through SMS as per format within 15 days of issue of this letter.

Further, The ADD/DROP request of the subscriber shall be executed not later than seventy-two hours from the receipt of request and the subscriber to be charged on pro-rata basis only for the number of days for which, the services have been availed by him.

BENGALURU: Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s speech at the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) and incidents related to the event such as the speech of Pakistan’s Prime Minister Imran Khan and the abrogation of article 370, helped boost up English news viewership in Broadcast Audience Research Council of India’s (BARC) week 39, 2019 ratings. After the super success of ‘Howdy Modi’, the Indian premier’s speech was the most awaited one by world. Short to the point, the speech called upon the world to unite to face challenges such as terror, climate, fight against poverty, etc.
The combined viewership of the top 5 English news channels in week 39 of 2019 (Saturday, 21 September 2019 to Friday, 27 September 2019, week or period under review) increased 0.788 million weekly impressions or by 41 per cent as compared to the previous week – week 38. Needless to say that all the five channels saw ratings climb up at least 32 per cent during the period under review. 

MUMBAI: In the regional space, Colors Bangla has entered the top five Bangla channels at fifth position in week 39 of BARC India ratings. The channel replaced Sony Aath which was seen at the fourth position last week. This week Malayalam movie channel Asianet Movies also replaced last week's new entrant Zee Keralam at fifth position. Apart from that no changes were observed in Bhojpuri, Tamil and Telugu spaces.

MUMBAI: In week 39 of BARC India ratings, Sony Entertainment Television (SET) continued to hold its leading position in the urban market for the second consecutive week. Even on the pay platform, the channel continued to be in the second position. SET's Kaun Banega Crorepati has garnered 7859 weekly impressions (000s), making it gain the third position in the top five programme's list of BARC India ratings in the urban market. Another change observed in the urban market was that Colors has also moved one step up at the fourth position in the urban market

After three successful seasons, MN+ has announced the fourth season of its marquee property, ‘Pathbreakers’ starting October 7, 2019, airing every Monday to Thursday at 9 pm.

To make the experience more relatable for the viewer, a pathbreaker in her own right, the global icon, Priyanka Chopra Jonas is the face of Pathbreakers Season 4. Taking forward the spirit of her character from her highly anticipated upcoming real-life drama, ‘The Sky is Pink’, she encourages viewers to celebrate stories that redefined cinema and are etched in gold forever.

MUMBAI: Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd (ZEEL) MD and CEO Punit Goenka has said that over 90% of promoter stake in the company is pledged with the lenders. He also stated that there is a possibility that the promoters may have to sell their entire stake to repay debt.

He was addressing analysts following a disclosure made by VTB Capital on Friday regarding encumbrances over the shares of ZEEL that are held by Essel Media Ventures. The promoter stake in ZEEL currently stands at 22% while outstanding debt repayment obligation is Rs 7,000 crore.

“Even if left with single-digit holding, I will be willing to work with the company if the due process allows it.” Goenka did not rule out the possibility of promoters having to sell their entire stake in Zee Entertainment if required to pay lenders,” Goenka stated.

MUMBAI: Direct to home (DTH) operators have come out in favour of enabling discounts on network capacity fee (NCF) and distributor retail price (DRP) in the new tariff framework.

In its submission to the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India’s (TRAI) consultation paper on tariff-related issues, Dish TV has submitted that discounted NCF and DRP for the multiple TV connections, being in the consumer interest, should definitely be allowed.

To facilitate the same by the DPOs, it added that provision should accordingly be made in the regulation that the broadcasters should also extend discounted price for its channels/bouquets provided for such multiple connections in their RIOs.

MUMBAI:  Zee Entertainment Enterprise Ltd’s (ZEEL) promoter Essel Group pledged 10.71 per cent shareholding in the media company with Russia’s VTB Capital Plc.
According to a disclosure made by VTB Capital to the stock exchanges, the encumbrance on 10.2 crore shares of Zee owned by Essel Media Ventures Ltd was created pursuant to a loan agreement executed on 4 September 2017.
As per Sebi’s new rules related to pledging which came into effect on 1 October, disclosure of detailed reasons for encumbrance if the shares pledged equal or exceed 50 per cent of the total promoter holding (including shares owned by persons acting in concert) or 20 per cent of the total share capital of the company is needed.

MUMBAI: The first-ever writers Masterclasses conducted by Indiantelevision.com as a part of the fourth edition of its Vidnet summit saw some of the best writers from the world of TV, cinema, and OTT in presence. The varied sessions were graced by writers of series like Sacred Games, Little Things, and Mirzapur.
The proceedings of the day were opened by Indiantelevision.com founder, CEO, and editor-in-chief Anil Wanvari, also an avid writer, who motivated the community of creators in the room to work on their craft continuously despite the rejections that come their way. He said a good writer is the one who never gives up. Wanvari also promised the audience a Masterclasses on the legal aspects of writing and selling stories in the coming months.

MUMBAI: Indiantelevision.com’s Vidnet 2019, for the first time, conducted Masterclasses for aspiring directors and editors of the OTT space. Masterclasses brought directors and editors of successful series like Ghoul, Gullak, Rangbaaz, Kota Factory, It’s Not That Simple, Criminal Justice and Delhi Crime to share their experiences and learning as creators.
The initiative is an attempt to help the audience learn from the OTT industry’s best creators on creating successful web series. In the opening remark, Indiatelevision.com founder and CEO Anil Wanvari said, “This is the first time that we have organised Masterclasses and our vision is to create a platform and to build a community for aspiring creators."