The Hindu Business Line : VSNL teleport uplink may save costs for Raj TV

Raj Television Network Ltd expects “substantial reduction” in operational costs this fiscal on account of its move to uplink content through a VSNL teleport in Chennai. Until July, the news and entertainment programmes broadcaster was uplinking its content to the satellite ThaiCom 3 through Shin Satellite Public Company Ltd.

This satellite beamed content to India, South East Asia and the Gulf countries. The company spent about Rs 1.44 crore in transponder hiring charges last year.

The present arrangement allows Raj Television to uplink content including live programmes like news from its premises at Chennai. The company had made investments in a teleport facility as early as 2001 and obtained permission from the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting to uplink content via the same. However upon “violation of certain conditions,” the permit was revoked in 2004. The company has also entered into an agreement with VSNL to provide movie content on the ‘Video-on-demand’ format. Film satellite rights for the company’s nearly 1,400 strong movie database are valued at about Rs 375 crore.

A similar agreement with Dot Com Infoway will ensure that Raj Television’s content will be distributed internationally over broadband. Revenues accruing from this operation would be split equally between the two companies. Earlier this year, the company signed a two year agreement with the Singapore government owned TV 12 for exporting content to Vasantham Central, a free to air channel airing programmes for the Indian community there. The company is targeting similar tie-ups with broadcasters in Malaysia, Thailand, Fiji, UK and USA.

Domestically, the company plans to launch 12 new channels over the next two years, including 24X7 news, business, music and cartoons in Tamil, Telugu, Kannada and Malayalam.

The company reported revenues of Rs 15.12 crore and gross profit of about Rs 8.54 crore for the quarter ending June 2007. The corresponding figures last year were Rs 9.22 crore and Rs 1.34 crore respectively. Raj Television’s share price closed at Rs 230.89 a share on October 5.

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