The government has made it mandatory for all broadcasters — representing about 350-plus television channels that are currently allowed to be beamed on cable and direct-to-home (DTH) platforms — to share their feed with Headend-In-The-Sky (HITS), IPTV and Mobile TV, the new cable distribution platforms that have emerged recently.
This is going to be a bonanza for the customers as they will now have the option of watching television programs through a multitude of platforms. The governments decision is expected to make possible the entry of many more players into the Indian market. With Dish and TataSky already locked in a head on battle for increasing their subscriptions, this decision by the government is going to take the already fierce competition one step ahead with the arrival of newer players. All these new technologies will eventually lead to a vastly superior viewing experience and reduced cost of service for the consumers. The arrival of DTH brought salvation to many a consumer, who had to earlier dance to the whims of their local cable walas. With the entry of corporates into this market the consumers have witnessed an overall improvement in the quality of service.
The decision was a shot in the arm for the Dish TV owner Essel group whose HITS venture was locked in a dispute with broadcasters like STAR, SONY for sharing their channels with HITS. This move will also make Subhash Chandra-promoted Essel Group the pioneer of private DTH (Dish TV) and HITS. Dish TV is the first private DTH company in the country launched in late 2004, while WWIL an Essel subsidiary will become the first cable company to have launched HITS starting July-end.
Similarly, operators of IPTV (Bharti, Reliance Communications and MTNL) or Mobile TV (Doordarshan) can now demand from the broadcasters any channel they want, even in the trial-phase, till an overall policy for all the new platforms comes out, an industry source said. The government is yet to bring out its policy on HITS, IPTV and Mobile TV.
Headend in the Sky (HITS) is a new cable distribution platform that is similar in its technology with DTH. But unlike DTH, where the television signals reach the end consumers directly via satellite, in HITS, the cable operator receives the channels via a satellite multiplex service and then pushes them to the consumers through a set-top box. At a traditional cable television headend, multitudes of satellite dishes and antennas are used to grab cable stations from dozens of communication satellites. In contrast, HITS combines cable stations into multiplex signals on just a few satellites; cable television companies can then pull in hundreds of channels at the local headend with relatively little equipment; the HITS feed effectively replaces the more complex traditional headend operations.
Mobile TV involves bringing TV services to the mobile phones. It combines the services of a mobile phone with television content. Mobile TV over cellular networks allows viewers to enjoy personalized, interactive TV with content specifically adapted to the mobile medium. In addition to mobility, mobile TV delivers a variety of services including video-on-demand, traditional and live TV programs. Another exciting opportunity for users is Mobile TV pod casts, where content is delivered to a user’s mobile on demand or by subscriptions. Stored locally on the handset, this content can then be viewed even when there’s no network connection. And a service provider can schedule the delivery to “off-peak” hours, for example during the night.
IPTV (Internet Protocol Television) is a system where a digital television service is delivered using Internet Protocol over a network infrastructure, which may include delivery by a broadband connection. For residential users, IPTV is often provided in conjunction with Video on Demand and may be bundled with Internet services such as Web access and VoIP. The commercial bundling of IPTV, VoIP and Internet access is referred to as “Triple Play” service (adding mobility is called “Quadruple Play”).
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