iWorld
Mobile content delivery platform DVB-H TV to grow in importance in Europe
MUMBAI: Digital video broadcasting (DVB-H), the standard used for bringing broadcast services to handheld receivers, is set to gain momentum in Europe by 2008.
With the full-fledged rollout of DVB-H mobile television (TV), the current role of downloaded video content (downloads and streaming) in providing access to TV and other forms of video entertainment is likely to change.
Frost & Sullivan analyst Pranab Mookken says, “By 2011, video services like downloading would be used as a sales channel for specific video content while DVB-H takes over as the primary channel for mobile video services,”
Manufacturers will launch DVB-H mobile TV on a trial basis by 2008 after dealing with ambiguities regarding spectrum allocation. Meanwhile, operators are likely to deploy stopgap solutions involving multicasting technologies in addition to using existing cellular networks and video services to introduce TV in Europe.
Notwithstanding this delay, the DVB-H standard is likely to witness high adoption rates in Europe. It was developed by the digital video broadcast (DVB) project, an industry-led consortium of over 260 professionals from over thirty-five countries. The project had already established a terrestrial transmission system for Europe in the form of DVB-T, but the industry still lacked a standard that could support handheld terminals.
CThe consortium developed DVB-H signals to meet the huge demand for such a standard. DVB-H currently has the ability to utilize existing DVB-T infrastructure, that is, it is backward compatible with DVB-T and its content is delivered in the form of Internet Protocol (IP) datacasts that are similar to that distributed on the Internet. This, along with the standards specification which ensure maximum conservation of handset/terminal battery power and thereby allay customer fears of running out of battery for communication purposes, will facilitate its adoption in Europe.
Moreover, mobile TV using DVB-H will be easy to use and will offer a better experience for its customers. This will automatically translate into increased viewership. The report notes that initially, companies will keep prices low, until business models, service offerings and quality levels become satisfactory. But by 2010, service providers might augment prices to anywhere between 7 Euros and 12 Euros per month.
Mokken adds, “The DVB-H mobile TV market is set to grow at an explosive rate and touch Euro 6.80 billion in revenues by 2011. The mobile average revenue per user (ARPU) is also likely to rise as prices increase.” The biggest beneficiaries of this development will undoubtedly be the terminal providers that will gain tremenously from the revenue influx prompted by the need for compatible handsets. Service providers, especially mobile operators, will see a rise in their ARPU through the deployment of value-added services (VASs) in the form of DVB-H mobile TV. The channel will also help in making operators’ retention and loyalty strategies more intimate and effective.
Gaming
MTG gaming chief Benninghoff joins NODWIN board as esports firm primes for IPO
The Gurugram-based esports firm is pursuing a public listing, has returned to profitability and is growing revenues by 42 per cent
GURUGRAM: NODWIN Gaming is moving fast. The Gurugram-based gaming and esports company has launched a pre-IPO fundraising round, appointed UBS as lead adviser for both the round and a subsequent public listing, and landed a heavyweight board director, all in one go.
The new board member is Arnd Benninghoff, executive vice president of gaming at Stockholm-listed Modern Times Group (MTG), who has overseen the group’s strategic investments and portfolio growth since 2014. He is no stranger to building things: Benninghoff has founded and built fifteen companies, served as chief digital officer at ProSiebenSat.1 Media AG, managing director of SevenVentures, and chief executive of Holtzbrinck eLAB. He began his career as a journalist at Deutsche Presse Agentur and various TV networks, holds a Diplom-Kaufmann in business and administration from the University of Münster, and previously sat on the board of Edgeware AB.
The numbers back the ambition
NODWIN is not pitching a story without substance. The company has returned to EBITDA profitability and posted a 42 per cent year-on-year revenue surge, reaching $58.5m in the first nine months of FY2026. The pre-IPO round will combine a primary issuance to fund global expansion through organic growth and acquisitions, alongside a secondary sale to give existing shareholders some liquidity.
Akshat Rathee, co-founder and managing director of NODWIN Gaming, said Benninghoff understands “the entire lifecycle of the gaming and media ecosystem, from the boots-on-the-ground reality of building startups to the strategic complexity of managing multi-billion dollar global portfolios.”
Benninghoff, for his part, said the company “sits at the intersection of sports, entertainment, and technology, making it one of the most exciting players in the global gaming landscape today.”
A portfolio built for the global south
Founded in 2014 by Rathee and Gautam Virk, NODWIN has quietly assembled one of the more compelling esports portfolios outside the Western hemisphere. Its properties include DreamHack India and Comic Con India, and it recently acquired StarLadder, the Ukraine-based tournament organiser behind premier events in CS:GO and Dota 2. The company also serves as a long-term strategic marketing partner for the Evolution Championship Series (EVO), the world’s most prominent fighting game tournament, helping push it into new geographies.
Its geographic focus spans South Asia, Central Asia, Southeast Asia, the Middle East and Africa. Backers include Nazara Technologies, KRAFTON, Sony Group Corporation, JetSynthesys, and the founders’ investment vehicle Good Game Investments.
What comes next
With UBS running the books, a board freshly reinforced with European media and gaming expertise, and revenue heading in the right direction, NODWIN is laying the groundwork deliberately. The esports industry has burned investors before with big promises and thin margins. NODWIN’s return to profitability, combined with a real portfolio of owned intellectual properties across gaming, music and youth culture, gives it a more credible runway than most. The IPO clock is now ticking.
