'DTH will coexist with cable services'

How do you differentiate yourself from your direct competitor, Dish TV,
and cable operators?

Some of the attributes, which will distinguish Tata Sky from other players in
the market, are related to its pedigree that culminates into two of India's
biggest brand names. The TATA group is one of the most trusted corporate houses
of the country. On the other hand, STAR has been the leading entertainer in
India for many years now. Add to that, Tata Sky leverages STAR's parent
company, BSkyB's experience in the pay television market. BSkyB operates
several pay television platforms including Foxtel, Sky New Zealand, and Sky
Italia across the world.

Secondly, customer service is a key factor that will distinguish Tata Sky
from other pay television platforms. Tata Sky will be directly responsible for
installing and servicing the hardware at every subscriber's home, thereby
ensuring the highest levels of customer service. The company has engaged a field
force of about 3,000 people who will be complemented by a high-end 24x7 call
centre, manned by multi-lingual customer service associates, trained to solve
all customer problems.

-Vikram Kaushik, MD & CEO, Tata Sky

Tata Sky will offer subscribers a wide range of interactive programming
choices and interactive features. Channels on the platform will range from
sports and general entertainment to news and lifestyle. The service has been
designed to give subscribers a choice of all their favorite television channels
in DVD quality picture and CD quality sound. In addition, subscribers can now
control the way they watch television through a host of interactive services
such as an on-screen program guide, Actve Sports, Actve STAR News, Actve
Newsroom, and Actve Khabar. Such innovative applications are not available on
other platforms.

How HDTV and IPTV fit in your services offerings?

IPTV is still in its nascent stage with less than one million connections across
the world. On the contrary, DTH is an established technology with more than 60
million subscribers across the world. India is a large enough market for
multiple technologies to survive. The success or failure of any service, whether
existing or planned, firmly depends on the quality of customer service and value
for money that it provides to consumers.

How sure are you of cable TV's replacement by DTH in coming days?

Tata Sky believes that as in all other countries where DTH services are
successfully operated, DTH will coexist with cable services. Industry estimates
seem to suggest both cable and DTH will grow in India in the years to come.

How an end consumer would be benefited with these services?

Satellite television has a gamut of benefits to offer subscribers. To begin
with, Tata Sky offers viewers a wide array of channels in DVD picture quality
and CD quality sound. Channels on our platform cover the entire spectrum of
entertainment, ranging from movies and sports to lifestyle and general
entertainment. Shortly, the channel will launch Actve Wizkids (an edutainment
service for children) and Actve Sports (a service which promises the way sports
enthusiasts watch and interact with television cricket coverage).

Apart from the bouquet of channels, what are the other value-added
services that you would offer?

Since its introduction in India, television has always been a passive medium for
viewers. The introduction of innovative interactive services makes room for
two-way activity and on-demand services. Interactive applications definitely
have tremendous potential in India and we are sure it will definitely capture
the keen interest of television viewers.

Tata Sky leverages the expertise of Newscorp's successful pay television
ventures across the world. Newscorp offers customers in UK, USA, and Australia
some of the most advanced interactive applic ations in the world.

We have brought many of those advanced applications to India and adapted them
to the Indian market. Our interactive services cater to the interests of all age
groups. We will shortly be introducing an exclusive educational service that
will teach young children English, Mathematics, and General Knowledge.

Further, we will also be launching our pay-per-view service which will
present viewers with the opportunity of watching some of the recently released
movies in DVD picture quality and CD quality sound, that too in the comfort of
their own homes. We are sure viewers will thrive on the service as subscribing
to pay-per-view is definitely more economical than taking the entire family to
watch a movie at the cinema.

Other services such as interactive sports and gaming too will be launched on the
Tata Sky ­platform.

What would be your business strategy? What is the road map for
distribution?

With a myriad of programming choices and interactive services in DVD picture
quality and CD quality sound, Tata Sky is currently offering viewers the entire
spectrum of entertainment ranging from travel, lifestyle, and sports to news and
movies.

We believe that satellite television is a new product category and therefore
in this initial launch phase, Tata Sky will be paying significant attention to
customer education on the use and benefits of the service.

Tata Sky is using different media including television, print, outdoor in
both the urban and rural areas of the country to educate consumers.

Further, it has arranged to demonstrate the service in high traffic areas such
as airports, railway stations, shopping malls, etc. to enable consumers to
understand as well as experience satellite television.

Most importantly, the company has invested in an intensive distribution set
by making its hardware and prepaid recharge vouchers available through popular
consumer electronic stores such as LG, ITC International Business Division, and
Indian Oil Corporation outlets all over India. Our key partners are our 225
distributors in all major cities and towns and our Installation Service
Providers.

How many transponders would you be using and what would be the compression
ratio?

Tata Sky has signed an agreement with ISRO to lease all 12 KU-band transponders
on the INSAT 4A satellite.

Rahul Gupta