MAM
IBC2023 ACCESS and NetRange revolutionise media services deployment
Mumbai: ACCESS Europe GmbH and NetRange GmbH announce that they will be demonstrating their video technology and content solutions for video operators and TV manufacturers at IBC2023 (Hall 1. D61, RAI Amsterdam, 15-18 September 2023.). The demo highlights are:
The first public demonstration of ACCESS Twine for TV Operators, the content aggregation and revenue-generating platform that uniquely caters for all connected set-top boxes (STBs) such as AOSP, RDK and Linux, however powerful.
NetRange is a one-stop shop for globally licensed content that provides smart TV OEMs and ODMs with the ultimate in Smart TV experiences.
How ACCESS helps bring the power of generative AI to the consumer experience on TVs, cars and other devices on a global basis.
Discussing the company’s presence at IBC, ACCESS Europe’s CEO, Masahiro Aono, said: “The combination of ACCESS Twine for TV Operators and NetRange Smart TV Portals and App Stores provides TV operators, broadcasters and device manufacturers with a one-stop shop that unlocks the revenue-generating opportunities of advanced video services from apps to FAST and AVOD, and at the same time keeps consumers engaged with your platform.”
On-booth demos will include:
ACCESS Twine4TV Operators (T4TO) enables providers to continually update their customer offering realise new revenue streams and increase ARPU by quickly expanding their portfolio of services. The CMS enables operators to manage, package and aggregate metadata, with the provision of apps and services through a unified API. The twine standard client (TSC) enables service providers to quickly realise their own UI/UX to access the integrated services, as well as expand to operator or region-specific content and applications. T4TO can include licensed content including, AAA gaming, music, karaoke and podcasts, and video, including FAST and AVOD channels.
NetRange Smart TV Portals and App Stores provide the most straightforward route for content creators, TV manufacturers, media, and entertainment distributors to ride the connected and Smart TV wave. NetRange provides portal and ecosystem solutions to CE device manufacturers, infrastructure providers (satellite, cable, and telecommunications), OEMs/ODMs, retailers, and content brands. NetRange unceasingly expands its worldwide content portfolio with high-value local providers, especially in emerging markets. The portal is continuously developed and enhanced to help its device and content partners deliver to consumers. NetRange portals and ecosystems can be operated as global solutions or designed for specific countries, to drive a key business strategy of providing content to an often-underserved region: This combination of global content with leading local content is a key focus for NetRange’s Smart TV portfolio.
Masahiro Aono concluded: “By providing the media & entertainment industry with a powerful and fast-to-deploy route to advanced video, audio and gaming services, including the ability to harness exciting new AI features to enhance the customer experience, visitors to IBC will see how ACCESS and NetRange ensure that TV operators and vendors deploy services, continuously update their portfolios and generate additional revenue in today’s challenging economic environment.”
Note to editors: If you would like to meet ACCESS and NetRange at IBC (Hall 1. D61, RAI Amsterdam, 15-18 September 2023), please contact Platform, at access@platformcomms.com
Brands
Reserve Bank of India cancels Paytm Payments Bank licence
Central bank cites compliance failures; curbs tighten as wind-up looms
MUMBAI: India’s banking watchdog delivered its sharpest blow yet to Paytm Payments Bank, cancelling its licence and effectively ending its ability to operate as a bank under the law.
The Reserve Bank of India said the entity can no longer conduct banking business under the Banking Regulation Act, citing concerns that its affairs were not being run in the interest of depositors or the public and that it had failed to meet licence conditions.
The move escalates a crackdown that has been building for months. The bank had already been barred from onboarding new customers since March 11, 2022, and later faced restrictions on deposits, credit and wallet top-ups. In January 2024, the central bank ordered it to stop accepting fresh deposits, pointing to persistent non-compliance, including lapses in customer due diligence, use of funds and technology systems.
Operationally, the bank is now on a tight leash. It may process withdrawals of existing deposits and facilitate loan referrals through banking correspondents, but it cannot take fresh deposits.
The central bank said it would apply to the high court to wind up the bank.
Paytm sought to ringfence the fallout. In a regulatory filing, it said the licence cancellation applies to Paytm Payments Bank Limited, a separate entity, and should not be attributed to One 97 Communications. It added that there is no exposure or material business arrangement with the bank and that it operates independently, without Paytm’s board or management involvement.
“As informed earlier, Paytm (One 97 Communications Limited) and its services, which have been operating without interruption, will continue to operate uninterrupted. These include the Paytm app, Paytm UPI, Paytm Gold and all other services offered by its subsidiaries and associated companies,” the company said.
The distinction may reassure users of the app ecosystem, but the regulator’s verdict is unequivocal. After years of warnings, caps and curbs, the payments bank experiment at Paytm is being shut down—decisively, and with little room left to manoeuvre.
