The price war has intensified in the direct-to-home (DTH) broadcasting space as the number of players has increased.
NEW DELHI: The price war has intensified in the direct-to-home (DTH) broadcasting space as the number of players has increased.
The first DTH player in the country, Dish TV (of the Zee group), has slashed rates to an all-time low. It will now offer a `Happy Family Pack’ at Rs 1,990. At this entry point, you get a set-top box and 12 months of viewing for 125 channels spread over several genres, including 21 audio channels, according to Dish TV COO Salil Kapoor.
After a year, one can renew this pack and pay a monthly rental of Rs 100, around the same that a cable TV subscriber pays, points out Kapoor.
Meanwhile, the Maxi package announced by Dish TV a few months ago continues. For this, you pay an entry price of Rs 3,990 in a year to get around 200 channels. There’s no extra cost for the set-top box. After a year, the monthly rental is Rs 300.
Other players are not behind in the race either. DTH services of TataSky (a JV between the Tata group and Star TV) and Anil Ambani-promoted Big TV are being advertised through mass SMSes, just the way real estate schemes and mutual funds are.
A recent SMS announced, “TataSky with 400 days of subscription at Rs 3,999. And Big TV with six months at Rs 2,490. Installation within 48 hours.”
The trend suggests that DTH is where competition is, according to a source in the industry. There are four private players and one state-owned platform already, and at two more are waiting to join in.
Currently, Dish TV has a market share of 54%, with 3.8 million DTH subscribers, while TataSky has 2.2 million. Big TV, which launched its DTH service recently, has not issued any subscriber numbers yet.
Sun TV also offers DTH but only in the south. Sun too has pan-India ambitions. The other two planning to join the DTH race are Bharti and Videocon.
According to a senior official of Videocon, it’s launching DTH in October/November. Bharti, meanwhile, has to get FIPB (Foreign Investment Promotion Board) approval before starting its DTH service. It is believed that Bharti would start DTH around end of this year. Besides these, there’s Prasar Bharati’s free-to-air DTH platform as well.
In all, there are around 6 million DTH users in the country.
DTH is a satellite broadcasting system through a pizza-sized dish and a set-top box, which eliminates the neighbourhood cablewallah. 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 the year 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
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
)
)
)
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}