NDS Commits to Continued Investment in India as Digitisation of the Indian Pay-TV Industry Accelerates
Highlights:
- NDS has invested over US$120 million in its Indian research
and development centre and commercial and support offices and
plans to accelerate investment over the next three years
- NDS technology enhances the viewing experience of an estimated
16 million viewers for its pay-TV customers in India
- NDS technology also protects over US$65 million in business
revenues for Indian pay-TV broadcasting customers annually
and over US$40 billion for pay-TV operators worldwide
NEW DELHI, INDIA – November 4, 2008 — NDS,
the leading provider of technology solutions for digital pay-TV,
today announced that since opening its R&D Centre in Bangalore
in 2000, it has invested over US$120 million in India. NDS now
plans to increase investment in its Indian R&D Centre and
commercial offices over the next three years to support the accelerating
digitisation of pay-TV across the nation and worldwide.
NDS solutions, centring around market-leading VideoGuard® conditional
access technology, safeguard over US$65 million in revenue in
India annually by helping pay-TV operators deliver content to
their audiences securely. Teams of engineers from NDS India are
working on solutions for local operators including Bharti Airtel,
Digital Entertainment Network (DEN), Hathway and Tata Sky, demonstrating
NDS’ commitment to helping its customers deliver an enhanced
viewing experience to an estimated 16 million Indian viewers.
On a worldwide basis, 26% of NDS employees are based in India,
making the Indian operation the second largest in the NDS global
network and providing jobs and training to over 1,000 staff.
The NDS Bangalore R&D facility is instrumental in designing
unique solutions tailored to the Indian audience as well as creating
solutions for leading global platforms. Projects developed in
Bangalore include interactive
TV applications (iTV), including
games and multilingual electronic
programme guides (EPGs).
Discussing DEN’s strategy in India, Mr. Anuj Gandhi, CEO,
said: “As the latest entrant in the cable space, DEN has
been aggressively focused on time to market, and also on continuously
innovating to deliver more channels and services to its subscribers.
NDS is an important partner for us as they offer the combination
of local support and leading edge TV services, both of which
are essential in the innovation process and help us achieve customer
delight.”
Mr K Jayaraman, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer,
Hathway, said: “Hathway’s partnership with NDS has
resulted in an exceptional viewing experience for our subscribers.
In addition to VideoGuard CA and MediaHighway® middleware,
we are offering a customised electronic programme guide, and
interactive applications and we are the first Indian MSO to offer
the NDS XTV™ DVR (digital video recorder). By working with
NDS we can offer our subscribers control over what they watch
and when.”
Dr. Abe Peled, NDS Chairman and CEO, said: “With our R&D
centre and commercial support offices in Bangalore, Delhi and
Mumbai, NDS is committed to the Indian market and to developing
and providing industry-leading pay-TV solutions for subscribers
there. We are proud that within a few years our R&D centre
in Bangalore has become central to our worldwide operations.”
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About DEN
DEN Networks is promoted by Sameer Manchanda, an industry veteran with over 20 years’ experience in media and channel distribution, and Raghav Behl (Promoter and Managing Director of Network18 Group), a founding member. DEN's leadership team includes CEO, Anuj Gandhi, President S.N. Sharma and President Vikas Bali who have long been associated with the media industry.
About Hathway
Hathway is the largest cable company (MSO) in India in terms
of analogue, digital and broadband internet subscribers. It
is a part of the Rajan Raheja Group. The Group has diversified
interests in a multitude of businesses with great emphasis
on being market leaders in their respective areas. See www.hathway.com for more information about Hathway.
About NDS
NDS Group plc (NASDAQ: NNDS), a majority
owned subsidiary of News Corporation, supplies open end-to-end
digital technology and services to digital pay-television platform
operators and content providers. See www.nds.com for
more information about NDS.
Read about the latest developments at NDS and in the pay-TV
industry in World Vision
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Statements
This document may contain certain “forward-looking
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Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements are based on management’s
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For further information:
| NDS |
|
| Cynthia Ritchie |
T: +44 20 8476 8378 |
| Director, Corporate Communications |
critchie@nds.com |
| |
|
| Vanessa Griffiths-Green |
T: +852 2201 9151 |
| Director Marketing & New Initiatives, Asia Pacific |
vgriffiths-green@nds.com |
| |
|
| Breakaway Communications for NDS |
T: +1 212 616 6006 |
| Kelly Fitzgerald, Managing Partner |
kfitz@breakawaycom.com |