News Broadcasting
STB, cable based computer entertainment beckons MSOs, cable operators
MUMBAI: All TV and no play makes Jack a dull boy. That’s a modern adage that Milestone Interactive Software Ltd (MISL) is hoping to cash in on. India’s largest distributor and publisher of PC CD-ROM games and Sony’s official partner for PlayStations in India, plans to offer games to kids and adults at home.
MISL chairman and CEO Jayant Sharma believes that the initiative like this will provide an alternative revenue stream to Indian cable operators in the post-CAS scenario.
Speaking to indiantelevision.com, Sharma revealed that his company has initiated talks with several cable operators and MSOs to convince them to capitalise on the huge opportunity that exists in the area of computer entertainment software and interactive computer video games for Indian homes.
Internationally, the concept of ‘computer entertainment games’ is being extended to cable and satellite (C&S) homes either through telephone/telecom networks, cable TV networks or through webstores in public which house the ‘Plug and Play’ consoles (like the Sony Playstation).
Globally, its is estimated that PC games constitute around 30 percent of the business and the remaining is accrued to console games including the PlayStation, Nintendo, and X-Box. However, the Indian population is still not attuned to this novel concept.
Sharma feels that Indian cable ops can play a major role in popularising the concept and taking it to the homes of the discerning Indian consumers. They can actually offer the ‘games’ on TV sets that will be connected to a PC or a set-top box, with a joystick thrown in.
Sharma claims: “India already has a huge base of 40 million C&S households with either a single or multiple TV sets. The cable operators will anyway be installing set-top boxes in the metros soon and they could offer additional services such as broadband, games on demand and video-conferencing on the same network. Ideally, we are targeting those cable operators who service the upper end of the market in Mumbai and Delhi. The entry costs can be anything between Rs 50 and Rs 100.”
Home entertainment is almost 50 percent of the content offered in the developed markets. However, in India, the marketing effort will need to be targeted at encouraging upwardly mobile audiences to get hooked in. The models could vary as people sign up as monthly subscribers or pay individually for each game as and when they wish to play or visit public places to play the games.
Yahoo has already started a game channel which includes broadband and narrowband. Initially, Sharma has identified the children in the 8-18 years category and the ‘young-at-hearts’ in the 18-35 years age group as the primary TG.
“The children will definitely prefer to play games on their television sets rather than watch the programmes. This is a trend that is common abroad. It creates some kind of a passionate bonding amongst the children,” he adds.
The technology also doesn’t involve any major investment on the part of the cable operator or the consumer. Most of the computer games currently are in the narrowband as broadband has still not made its impact in a big way.
Additionally, a storage device such as a PC or a PlayStation device or set-top box with a memory of around 100 MB would be required. The storage device is required to ensure adequate memory for downloading the software and storing it on a temporary basis.
“Globally, the computer entertainment software and allied hardware industry is valued at $9 billion. I don’t wish to use the term ‘gaming’ as it is widely misunderstood. In India, the industry is around Rs 400 million but growing at a fast pace. What is more significant is the fact that the ‘gaming’ business is the highest export revenue earner for the UK. India too can vie for a share of the global pie,” Sharma points out.
“Even a base of 1 million subscribers would guarantee revenues in excess of Rs 1.2 billion if the subscription is priced at Rs 100/- per household. Three broadband infrastructure providers had stepped in as aggregators to partner MISL. However, this includes the broadband networks that need content to augment the services provided to consumers over the telecom networks,” Sharma elaborates.
One hopes that MISL manages to hook the cable ops and the MSOs to ‘gaming mania’.
News Broadcasting
Times Network to air JVC Exit Poll across 5 regions on April 29
Four-hour broadcast spans states and Puducherry with data-led analysis
MUMBAI: Times Network is set to roll out what it calls one of its most expansive election programming efforts yet, culminating in the JVC Exit Poll on 29 April, with a multi-hour broadcast spanning key poll-bound regions.
The exit poll will air across Times Now and Times Now Navbharat, beginning at 5pm and 4pm respectively. Co-powered by Vedanta and Jindal Stainless, the programming aims to combine on-ground reportage with data-driven projections across West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Assam and Puducherry.
The network has deployed over 50 journalists across these regions, gathering voter sentiment and local insights in the run-up to polling. The effort builds on its ongoing election formats such as Election Yatra and Election Premier League, which have tracked campaign narratives and community-level issues.
In parallel, Times Now Navbharat has focused on constituency-level reporting in West Bengal through its Jan Gan ka Mann series, capturing voter opinions across diverse segments.
The coverage has also featured interviews with prominent political leaders. Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan and Congress leaders Ramesh Chennithala and V D Satheesan have appeared on the network’s election specials. From Tamil Nadu, voices including deputy chief minister Udhayanidhi Stalin, DMK MP Dayanidhi Maran, BJP leader K Annamalai and NTK’s Seeman have also featured in discussions.
On the day of the exit poll, the network’s primetime anchors, including Navika Kumar, Zakka Jacob and Sumit Awasthi, will lead the coverage. They will be joined by a panel of political analysts, psephologists and senior journalists offering real-time insights and interpretation of trends.
The programming will integrate grassroots reportage with analytics from the JVC Exit Poll, aiming to give viewers an early sense of electoral outcomes ahead of the official results on 4 May.
With its combined English and Hindi broadcast reach, Times Network is positioning this effort as a comprehensive look at voter sentiment, blending field reporting, data and debate to decode what could lie ahead when the final mandate is revealed.
