STBs won't result in digital era

FICCI FRAMES Panel talks on the issues in the phase II

While the first phase of government mandated digitization has been partially successful and the second phase is under way with less than 20 days to the deadline to switch from analog cable to digital addressable systems (DAS), the industry experts believe that installing of set-top-boxes (STBs) alone will not take the country to a digitised era.

The government also feels that is just one aspect of the drive and other aspects like subscriber management system (SMS) and billing system need to be put in place if the real benefits of the digitisation drive have to be realised.

Talking at a panel discussion during FICCI FRAMES, N Parameswaran, principal advisor at the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India said that the stakeholders need to work towards having all the systems in place in order to implement digitisation in letter and spirit.

“The real benefit of digitization has not yet surfaced. The industry is coming together to correct this limitation. We need to ensure from day 1 that all systems are working and there is a multi-prong approach. Moreover, there is no regulation in the pricing of HD, 3D channels and broadcasters can charge as much as they want for these channels,” Parameswaran said.

While commending the industry for achieving digitisation in short span of time, Sameer Manchanda, Chairman & Managing Director, DEN Networks assured that the SMS and billing system will fall in place within 60 days. “We should have all things in place in 60 days. Putting eight million STBs was a herculean task. Digitisation has taken years in other countries,” Manchanda said. He added that the industry has to be ready for a few hiccups.  

Among other panelists were Sunil Lulla, MD & CEO Times Television Network, Man Jit Singh, CEO Multi Screen Media, Raman Kalra, Partner & Industry Leader, Media & Entertainment Practice, IBM Global Business Services, Tarun Katial, CEO, Reliance Broadcast, and Anuj Gandhi, Group CEO, India Cast.

The panelists spoke on the best way to speed up the second phase of digitization that will span across 38 cities by March 31. They discussed that as digital penetration becomes widespread, there is a need for effective business models to evolve where by all stakeholders in the industry come together to make Phase II of digitisation a success.

Kalra said, “We are living in a connected consumer era. It is not enough to go digital. It is important for the industry to keep a parallel strategy for incremental money upsell.  Consumers are happy to pay the extra money but there should be micro segmentation of consumers and content should be developed to cater to each set of consumers.”

Lulla added, “The current economics are not adequate for the success of Phase II of digitization. There is an urgent need for industry transformation and an effective change in consumer experience. We are sitting at the cusp where widespread and deep digitization will on the back of consumers, regulators, government and DTH operators working together.”

Gandhi added, “Content is consumed in multiple platforms through multiple devices by different consumers. Therefore as an industry has to work together to create the right revenue models.”

Manjit Singh summed up the discussion by saying that “Tiering and Advertising Revenue Per User (ARPU) is incremental to drive the market together by understanding the consumer needs and expectations. The burden of expansion has to be shared by the Local Cable Operator (LCO), Multi System Operator (MSO), broadcaster and the consumer.”