| Apart
from a 360 degree approach through a media
campaign --- goodbye to cable problems. Hello
Digital! --- country’s first DTH platform
Dish TV is also set to unveil a host of services
from Monday onwards.
Leading the pack of new initiatives is
interactivity, which will come via Zee News.
The digi-boxes of Dish TV would now allow
the unique experience of interactive viewing.
Consumers can surf while watching TV for
detailed stories, headlines and weather
reports.
How does this work? A subscriber of Dish
TV wants to see whether Indian tennis sensation
Sania Mirza has won her latest match or
not and cannot wait for the sports segments
to come in the news bulletin.
So while a news bulletin is on on Zee News,
a few presses of the buttons can take the
viewer straight to the sports section for
the Sania news story even as the main news
bulletin continues.
“Such interactive facilities will
give Dish viewers more convenience, but
will also mean the broadcaster's (Zee News
in this case) having to upload more feeds
than usual to give the interactivity features
a momentum,” Khanna said.
By the end of next week, Zee News’
interactivity on Dish would be completed
for all subscribers, he assures.
Apart from news, Dish TV is also planning
to go interactive with sports, starting
with Zee Sports.
Sports interactivity will involve freezing
of shots from a particular angle, getting
player details immediately without having
to wait for the sports channel providing
it and statistics about the game in progress
and sports in general.
The interactivity on Zee Sports will start
with the Indian cricket board-recognised
tri-nation series involving India, Australia
and another country at a neutral ground
from mid-September for which Zee has the
telecast rights.
“At this point of time only Zee Sports
will go interactive, but we are talking
to Sony Entertainment TV India for introducing
the features for the ICC Champions Trophy
that will air on Max,” Khanna said.
Dish now has all the sports channel presently
available on Indian cable networks, which
include ESPN, Star Sports and Ten Sports.
It also has some niche sports channels not
beaming to cable subscribers.
Asked which other channels can go interactive,
Khanna opined that globally interactivity
works best with news and sports programming.
Next on the list is a dedicated gaming
channel for people of all age groups. At
any given point of time it will have eight
games, which will be updated on a monthly
basis.
Hassle free and simple, PlayJam software
would start downloading on set top boxes
of subscribers from early next week onwards.
The whole process will take a few days
to be completed for all of the 1.25 million
DTH subscribers of Dish.
According to Dish TV AVP (interactive services)
Manish Chawla, three to four games are likely
to be added every month with the overall
number of games available remaining at eight
presently.
The electronic programming guide had always
been available to Dish subscribers, but
from next week it will get fully activated
with programming details of over 100 channels
at one’s fingertips.
The EPG will store three days’ information,
which is likely to help viewers plan their
viewing, Chawla explained as proper setting
of the EPG will send out alerts before a
particular programme starts.
With Tata Sky (a joint venture between
the Tatas and Rupert Murdoch’s Star)
also planning to start its services soon,
there will be hectic action in the Indian
DTH market.
Hong Kong based Media Partners Asia (MPA)
says that India remains the most significant
and accessible cable and satellite (C&S)
opportunity in the Asia Pacific region.
India began commercial DTH operations in
October 2003 and by December 2004 reported
over three million subscribers. MPA said
India is poised to become Asia’s leading
cable market by 2010, the largest satellite
market by 2008 and the most lucrative pay
TV market by 2015.
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