Category: Broadcast

Major broadcast networks have announced a price hike for their channels at the start of the new year, with players like JioStar increasing their rates by 18%. As a result, JioStar now has the highest channel bouquet rates. Other players, including Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd (ZEEL) and Sony Pictures Networks India (SPNI), have also revised their rates, with an average increase of 10%.

An 18% price hike is unusually high, the largest in the last seven years, according to Karan Taurani, senior V-P at Elara Securities. He notes that most broadcast players typically raise their bouquet rates by 7-9% annually. This is a smart strategy, particularly for the newly-merged entity, as it is the most logical way to drive up revenues. Both Viacom18 and Disney Star had been incurring losses from their premium sporting content, which they had been offering for free, Taurani added.

This could indicate that the brand is aiming for a premium positioning, leveraging properties such as Star Gold Network, Colors TV, and Star Sports,” said an official from a rival channel.

JioStar has also unveiled 83 channel packs comprising 134 channels — 85 of which are standard definition, 44 high definition and five free channels. The value pack for standard definition is now 110, up from the combined Star India (60) and Viacom18 (`34) Hindi pack rates.

JioStar has unveiled 83 channel packs, offering a total of 134 channels, including 85 in standard definition, 44 in high definition, and five free channels. The value pack for standard definition channels is now priced at 110, up from the combined rates of Star India (60) and Viacom18 (`34) for their Hindi packs.

JioStar has broken the 19 ceiling for two individual channels, Colors Kannada and Maa TV, raising their subscription rates to25. These channels are available only on an a-la-carte basis.

SPNI’s Hindi bouquet rate has increased from 48 to54, while ZEEL’s Hindi channel bouquet pricing has risen from 47 to53.

“There won’t be a major churn in subscribers either, especially not in urban markets. Even though networks like Zee and Sony may lose more subscribers than JioStar, the impact of the price rise will be positive from a revenue standpoint,” observes Taurani. The only negative fallout of the new pricing could be in terms of advertiser interest, since even the smallest drop in viewership could keep advertisers away. Financial Express

Tubi experienced strong momentum in 2024, with Fox Corporation’s free ad-supported streamer reaching 97 million monthly active users, with over 10 billion hours streamed during the calendar year.

“Tubi’s momentum is growing as audiences increasingly value a premium entertainment experience that is also 100% free, fun and reflective of culture,” Tubi CEO Anjali Sud said in a statement. “Our strategy is simple yet powerful: put viewers first by offering unique stories from unique storytellers, a vast selection of content to choose from and a delightful experience across devices. We let our viewers guide us and obsess over their engagement, and we are seeing the results.”

While Tubi has seen significant growth since being acquired by Fox Corporation for $440 million in 2020, the monthly active user metric is not universally agreed upon due to different platforms having different definitions for what constitutes an active user. A Tubi spokesperson did not immediately return TheWrap’s request for comment on how it calculates the MAU figure.

In addition to its user growth, Fox CEO Lachlan Murdoch told Wall Street during the company’s first quarter earnings call in November that Tubi is on track to cross the $1 billion revenue mark this fiscal year.

Tubi, which accounted for a 1.8% share of TV viewing in November according to Nielsen’s latest Gauge report, offers 275,000 movies and TV episodes and over 300 Tubi originals, which are viewed by nearly 1 in 4 viewers

Tubi’s chief content officer Adam Lewinson previously told TheWrap that about 63% of Tubi’s audience is made up of cord-cutters and cord-nevers, and 40% is “unreachable” on other ad-supported SVODs. More than 90% of that audience’s consumption comes from the service’s on-demand programming, he added.

In comparison, Samsung TV Plus reported 88 million monthly active users in October. Pluto, which stopped reporting its MAU figure back in 2023, last disclosed a total of 80 million monthly active users. Pluto made up 0.9% of TV viewing in November, according to Nielsen.

Roku, which reported a total of 85.5 million streaming households in its third quarter of 2024, will stop disclosing the metric starting in the first quarter of 2025. The Roku Channel reported a share of 1.9% of TV viewing during the month of November, according to Nielsen.

The post Tubi Hits 97 Million Monthly Active Users appeared first on TheWrap. MSN

Warner Bros Discovery’s streaming platform Discovery+ is increasing its monthly subscription price by $1, the company said on Tuesday, becoming the first streaming service to raise rates in the new year.

Last year, several streaming services, including Warner Bros Discovery’s flagship service Max, Paramount+, and Peacock, increased subscription prices to focus on profitability as the market matures and subscriber growth slows.

Discovery+’s ad-supported plan will now cost $5.99 per month, up from $4.99, while the ad-free plan will increase to $9.99 from $8.99.

New subscribers will see the price change immediately, with existing subscribers affected during their next billing cycle or from February 7.

Warner Bros Discovery does not break out the number of subscribers for Discovery+, but it’s believed to have a smaller user base than Max.

The service offers content from channels such as Food Network, Animal Planet, and Magnolia Network, with most of its programming also available on Max.

It streams adventure reality shows such as the “Deadliest Catch” and “Dual Survival”.

Warner Bros Discovery is undergoing a restructuring and announced in December its plans to separate its declining cable TV businesses, such as CNN, from streaming and studio operations like Max, setting the stage for a potential sale or spinoff of its TV business as more cable subscribers cut the cord. MSN

Rocket scientist V Narayanan was on Tuesday appointed Secretary of the Department of Space, succeeding S Somanath, who will complete his tenure next week.

“The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet has approved appointment of Shri V. Narayanan, Director, Liquid Propulsion Systems Centre, Valiamala as Secretary, Department of Space and Chairman, Space Commission for a period of two years with effect from 14.01.2025, or until further orders, whichever is earlier,” an official order said.

Secretary of the Department of Space also holds the charge of chairman of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO).

Somanath assumed charge as the Secretary of the Department of Space on January 14, 2022, for a three-year term.

Narayanan, a distinguished Scientist at the ISRO, has nearly four decades of experience and has held various key positions within the Indian space organisation.

Narayanan’s expertise lies in rocket and spacecraft propulsion. He was the Project Director for the C25 Cryogenic Project of the GSLV Mk Ill vehicle.

Under his leadership, the team successfully developed the C25 Stage, a vital component of GSLV Mk III.

Narayanan, a Rocket & Space Craft Propulsion Expert, joined the ISRO in 1984 and functioned in various capacities before becoming Director of the Centre.

During the initial phase, for four and a half years, he worked in the Solid Propulsion area of Sounding Rockets and Augmented Satellite Launch Vehicle (ASLV) and Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) in Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC).

In 1989, he completed his M.Tech in Cryogenic Engineering with First Rank at IIT-Kharagpur and joined the Cryogenic Propulsion area in the Liquid Propulsion Systems Centre (LPSC). The Hindu BusinessLine

After a brief impact of SIM consolidation, subscribers are likely to grow again from Q3FY25, according to ICICI Securities (ISec) in their telecom report. Bharti Airtel is projected to benefit the most, with subscriber additions estimated at around 5 million, while Reliance Jio’s subscriber additions are estimated at 3 million. Meanwhile, Vodafone Idea (Vi) may lose up to 4 million subscribers, the report said.

“Subs base that dipped in Q2FY25 on SIM consolidation, may resume growing. Airtel’s 4G/5G net add should remain stable at 6mn; Vi’s 4G subs may dip by 1mn, which should grow from Q4FY25E on network expansion benefits,” said the report.

ARPU to grow QoQ on the back of tariff hike but with lower intensity
Stating that the residual ARPU benefits from teclos’ earlier tariff hikes will continue in Q3FY25, ISec estimated Airtel’s ARPU to grow 5 per cent QoQ/17.7 per cent YoY to ₹245. In terms of mobile services revenue growth, Airtel is estimated to increase 5.3 per cent QoQ, partly due to Indus Towers’ complete consolidation, changing company status from associate to subsidiary.

Jio’s ARPU may jump 3.8 per cent QoQ/11.5 per cent YoY to ₹203. Commenting on the comparatively lower growth, the report said, “Optically, growth may appear lower vs Airtel, as Jio has a higher proportion of long validity subs; hence, tariff hike translation is staggered over three quarters.”

Vi’s ARPU is expected to rise 3 per cent QoQ/10.8 per cent YoY to ₹161 but revenue to grow 1 per cent QoQ/3.5 per cent YoY to ₹110 billion due to subs losses. The report also expects a dip in 4G subs, as network rollout started from November 2024. The Hindu BusinessLine

Broadcasters are likely to report subdued ad revenues in the third quarter on a year-on-year basis, as per analysts. At the same time, multiplex companies are expected to report expansion in revenues on the back of hits such as Pushpa 2, Singham Again and Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3 in the December quarter. This was even as October was a washout month due to lack of any big releases.

Abneesh Roy, Executive Director, Nuvama Institutional Equities, in a report said media companies are likely to report a muted Q3FY25. “Broadcasters shall continue to suffer a year-on-year dip in ad revenues due to muted ad spends by FMCG companies. However, their subscription revenues are likely to improve year on year aided by price hikes and an increase in subscriber base,” he added. He said that ad revenues are expected to improve in FY26 as pricing power comes back for consumer companies and due to a likely reversal in urban slowdown in the second half of 2025.

Karan Taurani, Senior Vice-President, Elara Capital, said in a report that FMCG sector’s share of TV ads is estimated at about 47 per cent. He added that slowdown in FMCG sector has led them to cut back on spending which has hit traditional broadcast players. Echoing a similar sentiment, he said that broadcasters are likely to report drop in ad revenues, but growth momentum in subscription revenues.

Box-office results
Meanwhile, multiplex players, which have been facing a volatile FY25, are expected to ride on a healthy box-office performance during December quarter to report expansion in revenues year on year.

Elara Capital’s Taurani said that overall net Hindi box-office collections jumped nearly 40 per cent quarter on quarter and 7 per cent year on year to ₹1,510 crore. “Sequentially, key metrics such as average ticket price, spend per head may script a strong comeback for the multiplex industry,” he added.

Roy said that while October was a washout, November and December were decent for the domestic box-office performance. However, analysts believe that multiplex players may report flattish occupancy numbers due to the adverse impact of October. The Hindu BusinessLine

Sony Pictures Network India (SPNI) has appointed Rajaraman S as its new head of content strategy. Prior to this, Rajaraman served as the head of the office, country manager- India, Disney Star.

With an extensive career spanning industries and roles, Rajaraman began as an industrial trainee at Citibank before working as a manager at Hari & Easwaran CAs, according to the company. He transitioned into media and entertainment at Vijay Television as senior manager – finance, followed by a move to Star TV Network as assistant vice president – finance. He later held leadership roles at NDTV Imagine as vice president – finance and at Hathway Cable & Datacom as COO – video business.

It is understood that Rajaraman further strengthened his expertise at Asianet STAR Communications as executive vice president – strategy and at The Walt Disney Company as business head of Asianet, where he oversaw content and communication strategy. FinancialExpress

Major broadcasters in India have unveiled their revised tariffs for distribution platform operators (DPOs) who deliver television channels to households across the country. From what is understood, Networks such as JioStar, Zee, and Sony Pictures Networks India (SPNI) have released their updated reference interconnect orders (RIOs), outlining the costs cable operators, direct-to-home (DTH) platforms, and IPTV players must pay for their offerings in 2025. The new rates, effective from February one, show a moderate increase, with most channels witnessing price hikes between five and fifteen percent, while several others remain unchanged.

JioStar, emerging as a powerhouse after the merger of Star and Jio, now offers an impressive portfolio of 134 channels across 83 curated packs. These include 85 standard definition channels, 44 high-definition channels, five free-to-air options, and a mix of regional and niche categories. On an a la carte basis, JioStar’s pricing ranges from Rs 25 for popular regional channels like Maa TV and Colors Kannada, to just ten paise for its news channels. Bundled options are equally diverse, with prices starting as low as Rs17 for the Disney Kids SD pack and climbing to Rs 240 for premium offerings like the Star Premium Pack Marathi Lite Hindi HD.

Zee, in contrast, has taken a simpler approach with just 30 packs on offer. Its flagship general entertainment channels, such as Zee TV Hindi, Zee Bangla, and Zee Kannada, are priced uniformly at Rs 19 each, while Zee Keralam is priced at Rs 10. Zee’s movie channel rates vary between Rs 19 for popular options like Zee Cinema and ten paise for classics. Most of its high-definition channels are capped at Rs 19, with a few exceptions like &Prive HD at three rupees. Zee has also introduced incentives for DPOs that position its channels on preferred logical channel numbers (LCNs), making its pricing strategy both practical and competitive.

Sony Pictures Networks India has revised its rates more selectively, with some channels seeing significant price adjustments. For instance, Sony Wah, previously priced at ten paise, now costs one rupees, while Sony Max 2 has doubled from one rupees to two rupees. Sports enthusiasts will note that Sony Sports Ten 4 has increased from Rs 17 to Rs 19. Bouquet pricing has also been adjusted, with hikes ranging from four to 12 percent. For example, the Happy India Smart – Hindi pack now costs Rs 54, up from Rs 48, while its Marathi and Bangla counterparts are now priced at Rs 56, reflecting the inclusion of additional channels. Financial Express

The Palestinian Authority temporarily halted operations of Qatar’s Al Jazeera television in the territory, including its broadcasts, citing the network’s dissemination of “inciting material,” the Palestinian news agency WAFA said on Wednesday.

The culture, interior and communications ministers made the decision jointly because the channel broadcast material that was “deceiving and stirring strife,” WAFA said without providing details on the subject matter.

The Palestinian Authority criticised Al Jazeera last week over its coverage of the weeks-long standoff between Palestinian security forces and militant fighters in the Jenin camp in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.

Al Jazeera denounced Wednesday’s decision as “an attempt to discourage it from reporting spiraling events in the occupied territories,” according to a statement.

It called on the Palestinian Authority to rescind the decision and allow its journalists to report freely from the West Bank without intimidation.

The decision was not expected to be implemented in Hamas-run Gaza where the Palestinian Authority does not exercise power.

Fatah, the faction that controls the Palestinian Authority, said the broadcaster was sowing division in “our Arab homeland in general and in Palestine in particular”. It encouraged Palestinians not to cooperate with the network.

The Israeli military in September raided Al Jazeera’s bureau in the West Bank city of Ramallah and ordered it shut.

Israel in May issued an order barring the channel from operating and broadcasting in the country, saying it posed a threat to Israeli security. A court subsequently upheld the ban. Reuters

Jessica Rosenworcel will be stepping down shortly. Brendan Carr will be the next Chairman of FCC.

The FCC highlighted its efforts to expand communication access in 2024, emphasizing the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP), which was the largest broadband affordability initiative in U.S. history, connecting over 23 million households before funding expired in May. Despite this setback, the FCC introduced new measures, including allowing schools and libraries to use E-Rate funding for Wi-Fi hotspots and improving broadband access in Tribal communities. The FCC advanced its Broadband Data Collection, enhancing the National Broadband Map and restarting the 5G Fund for Rural America, with $9 billion allocated for rural areas and increased support for Alaska. Accessibility was also prioritized, mandating 100 percent hearing aid compatibility for mobile phones and improving accessibility for video conferencing services, closed captioning, and relay services for people with disabilities.

The FCC emphasized efforts to ensure the digital revolution benefits vulnerable populations. The 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline, with text and geographically routed calls, has tripled in usage, providing critical support. Initiatives were expanded to protect domestic violence survivors, including examining connected car services used for stalking. A new alert code for Missing and Endangered Persons now delivers emergency messages for adults, crucial for Tribal communities facing disproportionate risks. Wireless Emergency Alerts were enhanced to support over a dozen languages and American Sign Language, ensuring inclusive communication during disasters. To address the financial burden on families of incarcerated individuals, the FCC implemented the Martha Wright-Reed Act, drastically reducing costs for voice and video calls in correctional facilities.

The FCC prioritized consumer protection in 2024, targeting robocalls, robotexts, and deceptive practices. Expanded rules blocked more unwanted communications, enforced penalties for carriers failing to prevent illegal calls, simplified consent revocation, and introduced proposals to regulate AI-generated robocalls and robotexts. Caller ID authentication was strengthened, and traffic from an international gateway linked to illegal robocalls was blocked. Partnerships with 49 state Attorneys General bolstered efforts against junk calls. Transparency was improved with “all-in” pricing rules for cable and satellite providers, and reviews were initiated on service quality and data cap practices. Consumer privacy was enhanced through agreements with major wireless carriers, advancing data protection and cybersecurity.

In 2024, the FCC prioritized national security and public safety through disaster response, emergency communications, cybersecurity, and measures to address new threats like AI misuse. During hurricanes, the FCC activated its Mandatory Disaster Response initiative, aiding recovery efforts and improving outage reporting. Emergency response was enhanced with precise location-based routing for 911 calls and expedited deployment of Next Generation 911 capabilities, including video and text. Rules were adopted to provide public safety users access to the 4.9 GHz spectrum for advanced technologies like 5G.

The FCC investigated a nationwide wireless outage, issuing recommendations to prevent future incidents. It strengthened cybersecurity with a new labeling program for secure IoT devices, improved internet routing security, and a pilot program to support cybersecurity for schools and libraries. Responding to the Salt Typhoon cyberattack, the FCC coordinated with national security agencies, emphasized carriers’ obligations to secure networks, and proposed new defenses against cyber threats.

To counter the misuse of AI, the FCC fined an individual $6 million for illegal AI-generated robocalls in the New Hampshire primary and proposed requiring disclosure of AI use in political ads. The agency also updated submarine cable policies to secure international communications infrastructure and enhanced foreign sponsorship identification rules for content broadcast on public airwaves.

The FCC focused on shaping the future of technology while addressing present-day challenges, with a particular emphasis on space innovation. The newly established Space Bureau implemented frameworks for in-space servicing, assembly, and manufacturing (ISAM), advanced seamless satellite-terrestrial networks to eliminate coverage gaps, updated orbital debris rules, and modernized spectrum sharing for non-geostationary satellites. It expanded spectrum use for high-throughput satellite communications and issued a record number of licenses to support next-generation satellite services.

Beyond space, the FCC opened spectrum for broadband on planes and ships, dedicated frequencies for uncrewed drone technology, and raised the national broadband speed benchmark to 100 Mbps upload and 20 Mbps download, with a long-term goal of 1 Gbps. Internationally, the FCC engaged with stakeholders from 78 countries to share best practices and advocate policies on issues like spectrum management and satellite licensing. Domestically, the Commission won an Emmy for its innovative Broadcast Incentive Auction and credited its achievements to collaboration within the agency and with its partners. These efforts aim to build an inclusive digital future that leverages advanced technologies for all. Philanthropy News Diges