Reliance Communications and Bharti Airtel, which are entering the direct-to-home (DTH) broadcasting market, are likely to leverage their existing communication networks for the new service.
NEW DELHI: Telecom companies like Reliance Communications and Bharti Airtel, which are entering the direct-to-home (DTH) broadcasting market, are likely to leverage their existing communication networks for the new service.
Anil Ambani’s Big TV, for instance, may offer deals and discounts to the group’s public call office operators (PCOs) and local business associates (LBAs) if they subscribe to its DTH connections.
Bharti is also likely to make the best use of its wide telecom network in order to attract customers for its DTH service.
Both Bharti and Reliance are scheduled to enter the DTH market soon.
Reward schemes for its PCO operators, channel partners and LBAs are being planned by Reliance, an industry source told DNA Money.
One of the schemes that may be floated is that if an operator buys PCO voucher for an amount of Rs 2,500, he gets a DTH connection along with talk time worth Rs 1,500. This offer would cover three months’ subscription fee for the DTH connection as well as free access to the pay-per-view movie channels for a period of two months, the source added.
It is estimated that a PCO operator would get value worth Rs 6,000, by paying just Rs 2,500. Similar deals for DTH connections are being planned for Reliance Energy customers, too.
Among the private telecom operators, Reliance Communications has the maximum number of PCOs, at around 1.7 million.
According to the telecom regulator, TRAI, there are 5.78 million PCOs in India as of September 30, 2007. While Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL) operates 2.04 million PCOs, MTNL runs 0.26 million. The remaining 3.5 million PCOs are operated by private operators.
Currently, Dish TV (of the Essel group) and Tata Sky (joint venture between the Tatas and Rupert Murdoch’s Star TV) are the two main DTH players in India; Tamil Nadu-based Sun TV too has launched its direct-to-home broadcasting service.
Prasar Bharati has been running its DTH service (DD Direct Plus), but it is a free-to-air platform. Dish TV, which recently touched the 3-million subscription figure, reported a net loss of Rs 251 crore in the financial year ended March 2007. Its rival Tata Sky showed a net loss of Rs 815 crore in the corresponding period, though the service was launched in August 2006.
Besides deals and discount offers, the DTH players are also strategising on their pay-per-view content, mainly on the movie front. This is more so as channel exclusivity over any media platform like cable TV and DTH is not allowed as per a must-share clause set by the regulator TRAI.
Big TV is planning to offer over 30 films at a time for its on-demand viewership, Reliance Communications president Prakash Bajpai had recently said. It is learnt that Dish TV is planning to increase the on-demand bouquet to at least 12 films at a time, from the current four to five. Regional films are likely to be added to its current offering. Tata Sky would also step up its movie initiative.
There are around 5 million DTH subscribers in the country now, and the number is expected to go up to 10 million in the year 2008-09.
Of the 120-million TV households in India, only 70 million have cable connection. DTH is still in its infancy in India, and there’s sufficient room for growth.
By 2015, 40% of the pay TV universe (cable TV and DTH) are likely to be DTH users, significantly up from around 5% now, according to industry projections.
m_nivedita@dnaindia.net
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