afaqs! news bureau
Media

NDS pushes sales effort for pay TV services

The digital pay TV solution provider has appointed a new director of sales

NDS, the UK based solutions provider for digital pay TV operators, is beefing up its sales efforts in India. The company, which has been present in India since 2000, recently appointed Alan Dishington as director, sales, India.

Apart from business development, Dishington will be responsible for developing the sales team for NDS in India. Currently, the company has sales offices in New Delhi and Mumbai.

Earlier, Dishington was director, marketing, EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa), NDS. He developed the market for the company's services and products in Central and Eastern Europe. He has also worked with Sky Italia and BSkyB and has an experience of 16 years in the pay TV industry.

NDS pushes sales effort for pay TV services
In India, NDS offers its services to Tata Sky, Airtel Digital TV, DEN (Viacom18's distribution company), Hathway and various satellite operators.

Speaking about the digital pay TV industry in India, including CAS (conditional access system) and DTH (direct to home), Dishington says, “There are about 10-15 million digital TV households in India. There is a lot of potential for this industry in India. Though the growth seems slow now, it will pick up in the next two or three years. Take the case of UK, which had digital TV about eight years ago and now has 50 per cent penetration.”

NDS pushes sales effort for pay TV services
Elaborating on emerging technologies, Dishington says that IPTV is still young in India and will take time to develop as telecom networks in India are not in a position to support the technology.

On the new digital video recording (DVR) facility being offered by Tata Sky, he says, “DVR will grow through word of mouth as the technology gathers interest.”

NDS is looking for a stronger foothold in India, adds Dishington. The company has about 1,000 employees in India (comprising 26 per cent of its work force) and by November 2008, had invested $120 million (about Rs 580 crore) in its R&D centre in the country.

The services offered by NDS in India are encryption of signals for CAS, set-top box (STB) applications, interactive applications on DTH, electronic programme guides (EPG), DVR and IPTV support.

Have news to share? Write to us atnewsteam@afaqs.com