GECs
Reliance Infocomm wooing cable operators to push fixed telephony & broadband
MUMBAI: For Anil Ambani, it has been the hardest part of the game. The last mile, crucial for offering triple play services, has so far been elusive.
Now, Ambani has come out with a concrete offer to cable operators. His aim is to push fixed telephony and broadband services with their assistance.
Reliance Infocomm is offering cable operators a 10 per cent margin on gross revenues from data and voice services, sources say. The billing will be handled by Reliance. The telecom company has also promised to invest in the infrastructure, which will include digital loop carriers (DLC), home switches, and Cat 5 cable.
DLC, which is a junction box through which Reliance will push Cat 5 cable, will be installed for every 200 customers of telephony and around 42 customers of broadband Internet. Reliance Infocomm will put in the entire investments.
There is a catch, though. Cable operators will have to put in Rs 100,000 as security deposit for each DLC. And they will not be given any interest on these deposits. “We are making all the investments. We just need a commitment from cable operators,” a source in the company said.
Cable operators, however, are not fully convinced. “Why should we set aside Rs 100,000 for every DLC? We are, after all, going to bring them the customers. Besides, we offer cable Internet on our own,” a last mile operator said.
Cable operators also fear that Reliance will be competing with them as it plans to launch direct-to-home (DTH) television and video services.
Still, for his latest initiative, Ambani has carefully kept video services out of the game so far. He does not want the cable operators to feel that he is entering their turf and could snatch their business away.
Ambani’s sales pitch: cable operators can build in an additional revenue stream. “Cable operators can make money from telephony and broadband in addition to their offering of cable TV services,” says the source.
The big question is: will cable operators bite the bait?
GECs
EPIC Company unifies all brands under single EPIC identity
IN10 Media rebrand aligns TV, digital and films into one ecosystem
MUMBAI: The EPIC Company, formerly known as IN10 Media Network, has announced a sweeping brand consolidation, bringing its television channels, digital platforms and content IPs under a single identity, EPIC.
The move is aimed at simplifying the company’s structure while creating a more connected content ecosystem spanning television, digital and films. By aligning multiple verticals under one umbrella, the company is looking to present a sharper, more cohesive face to both audiences and partners.
As part of the transition, several channels have been rebranded to align with the EPIC identity. EPIC will now operate as EPIC TV, while Nazara becomes EPIC Bharat, Filamchi is now EPIC Bhojpuri, Gubbare transitions to EPIC Kids, and ShowBox is reintroduced as EPIC Music. Ishara will continue under the identity EPIC Parivaar, maintaining its core positioning.
The company has also refreshed EPICON, its streaming platform, to reflect a more unified and modern brand experience. The overhaul is designed to improve content discovery and create a seamless experience across platforms.
This consolidation follows the recent launch of EPIC Studio, a unified production arm that brings together Juggernaut Productions and MovieVerse Studio, as the company expands its footprint across films, OTT and television.
The EPIC Company managing director Aditya Pittie said, “As our scale has grown, it has become important to simplify how we operate and how we present ourselves to the ecosystem. This consolidation gives us a clearer, more future-ready structure to partner, invest, and build at scale, while ensuring that for viewers, the experience is more seamless and intuitive.”
With the rebrand, The EPIC Company is positioning itself as a platform-agnostic content network, focused on scale, simplicity and integrated storytelling. By bringing everything under one banner, it is aiming to make its content universe easier to navigate and harder to ignore.
