DTH

Demonetisation hits Dish TV numbers for Q3-17

Published

9 years ago

January 31, 2017

BENGALURU: Indian direct to home (DTH) company Dish TV India Limited (Dish TV) has reported just 3.3 per cent increase in subscription revenue for the quarter ended 31 December 2016 (Q3-17, current quarter) as compared to the corresponding year ago quarter (quarter ended 31 December 2015, Q3-16). Total Income from operations (TIO) in the current quarter actually declined three per cent as compared to Q3-17.

Further, despite the sunset dates for DAS phases III and IV quickly approaching, the company could add just 220,000 subscribers (net additions) in the current quarter as compared t0 317,000 (net additions) in Q3-16. Dish TV says that it closed the current quarter with 1.53 crore net subscribers.

In its earnings release, Dish TV says that only 30 of its subscribers made payments by digital means until demonetisation day – 8 November 2016. CMD Jawahar Goel explained further, “Limited cash supply made people defer their DTH recharges by a few days or weeks depending on the urgency of other basic necessities. The impact was stronger in the second tier and below towns and cities as most of the economy in these areas runs on cash. Our subscription revenues during the quarter could have been higher by around 8 per cent in a non-adverse scenario. Lower growth eventually resulted in lower average revenues per user as well.”

The company says that the fiscal third quarter being the period of festivals is generally the largest contributor to new subscriber additions during the year. Demonetization however impacted Dish TV’s new subscriber additions also with the company recording an estimated 8-10 per cent lower subscriber adds during the quarter.

Goel said further, “Subscribers as well as trade partners were extended temporary credit facilities basis their past transactions pattern. Subscriber awareness drives to promote alternate methods of payment were run both on the ground and on screen in addition to various other initiatives. Looking at the brighter side of it, demonetization does promise an eventual less-cash dependent population that should use online payment interfaces over cash for DTH recharges. That’s going to be a boon for the DTH business.”

Goel is optimistic about the future. He said, “Though demonetization has led to an initial distress, it also will result in certain structural changes that are going to benefit the economy in the long run. As far as our business is concerned, the effect has already started coming in. As online payment transactions, credit cards and a less-cash society become buzz words today, we are happy to note an increase in our online transacting subscriber base from 30 percent to around 38 percent with around 22 digital wallets and the like being integrated with the company. Every online recharge transaction vis-à-vis EPRS based transaction implies savings on recharge commissions paid by us.”

Let us look at the numbers reported by Dish TV for Q3-17

As mentioned above, subscription revenue in the current quarter increased 3.3 percent to Rs 692.10 crore from Rs 669.90 crore. TIO declined 3 percent to Rs 747.98 crore from Rs 771.48 crore.

Profit after tax (PAT) declined to almost a third (declined 61.0 Percent) to Rs 26.68 crore (3.6 percent margin – of TIO) in Q3-17 from Rs 68.49 crore (8.9 percent margin) in Q3-16. EBIDTA in the current quarter declined 6 percent to Rs 249.51 crore (33.4 percent margin) from Rs 265.45 crore (34.4 percent margin).

Total Expenditure in Q3-17 increased 1.8 percent year-over-year (y-o-y) to Rs 664.04 crore from Rs 652.33 crore. Programming/content and other costs increased 6.2 percent y-o-y to Rs 220.10 crore in the current quarter from Rs 207.31 crore.

Employee Benefits Expense in the current quarter increased 25.2 percent to Rs 36.12 crore from Rs 28.85 crore. Other expenses in Q3-17 increased 9.7 percent y-o-y to Rs 118.09 crore from Rs 107.68 crore. Other operating costs declined 36.6 percent in the current quarter to Rs 66.82 crore from Rs 105.35 crore in the corresponding year ago quarter.

Finance costs in Q3-17 increased 8.3 percent to Rs 59.1 crore from Rs 54.46 crore in the corresponding year ago quarter.

Commenting on the results, Goel said, “We believe that the negative impact of demonetization is only temporary and that with a strong subscriber growth rate, tight control on costs, reasonably steady free cash flows and a healthy balance sheet we should deliver sustainable growth. The rollout of the Goods and Services Tax (GST), a hopefully favourable license fee regime and a revenue conscious cable industry should only add to the strengths of Dish TV going forward.”

Notes:The unit of currency in this report is the Indian rupee – Rs (also conventionally represented by INR). The Indian numbering system or the Vedic numbering system has been used to denote money values. The basic conversion to the international norm would be:

(a) 100,00,000 = 100 lakh = 10,000,000 = 10 million = 1 crore.

(b) 10,000 lakh = 100 crore = 1 arab = 1 billion.

Also Read:

The growth of DTH in India

DTH adds 14 lakh active subscribers in Q2-17 as per TRAI data

DishTV expands its HD offering

Dish TV offers ‘Digishala’ to 15 million subs

Related Topics:Dish TV Limited EBIDTA Goods & Services Tax GST Jawahar Goel Q3-17

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DTH

Dish TV Q3 revenues fall 20 per cent, Ebitda turns negative

Published

7 days ago

February 7, 2026

indiantelevision.com Team

NOIDA: When the remote stops working, you don’t throw it away, you change the batteries. Dish TV is trying something similar. Faced with falling subscription revenues and a fast-shrinking DTH universe, India’s once-dominant satellite broadcaster is flipping channels, betting on smart TVs, OTT aggregation and a hybrid future even as the numbers flash red.

For the quarter ended 31 December, 2025, Dish TV India reported operating revenues of Rs 2,991 million, down 19.8 per cent year-on-year from Rs 3,730 million. Subscription revenues, still the backbone of the business, fell sharply by 32.2 per cent to Rs 2,245 million, reflecting industry-wide cord-cutting and persistent churn. The pain shows up clearly below the line.

Ebitda swung to a loss of Rs 415 million, compared with a profit of Rs 1,227 million a year earlier. Total expenditure climbed 36.1 per cent to Rs 3,406 million, pushing costs to nearly 114 per cent of operating revenues. The quarter closed with a loss before tax of Rs 2,762 million, weighed down further by exceptional items of Rs 700 million. Yet the company insists this is not a business stuck buffering, but one deliberately loading a new format.

Dish TV is repositioning itself from a pure DTH operator into what it calls a connected-home entertainment platform, stitching together live television, OTT apps and smart devices. The centrepiece of that strategy is the nationwide rollout of VZY smart TVs, offering a unified DTH-plus-OTT experience.

Amazon Prime Video has now been integrated across Dish TV’s ecosystem, including Watcho and VZY. Watcho, the company’s in-house OTT super app, has crossed millions of downloads and paid subscribers, aggregating more than 25 content apps.

Fliqs, its creator-driven content platform, is being pitched as a home for premium regional and international programming. Brand visibility has also been boosted through splashy partnerships with Bigg Boss Hindi and Bigg Boss Kannada: high-decibel bets in a crowded attention economy.

“Indian home entertainment is undergoing a structural shift,” said CEO and executive director Manoj Dobhal arguing that Dish TV’s hybrid model improves convenience while keeping customers within a single ecosystem. The revenue mix shows early signs of diversification, even if it is not yet compensating for falling subscriptions.

Marketing and promotional fees rose 27.3 per cent to Rs 399 million, while advertisement income, still small, nearly doubled to Rs 48 million. Other operating income surged 267.6 per cent to Rs 298 million, softening the overall revenue decline.

On costs, the company is tightening the screws. It has renegotiated transponder contracts, rationalised call-centre and general expenses, and improved asset discipline by boosting set-top box recovery beyond 30 days, reducing swap frequency and replacement capex.

New customer activations are being driven through a no-subsidy Rs 999 set-top box, a move management says materially improves unit economics and cash flow. Still, risks remain stubbornly in view. Churn continues to shadow the business, and scaling Watcho while balancing content spend will demand execution discipline.

Cost cuts, the company admits, must not erode service quality: a delicate act in a market where customer loyalty is already thin. For now, Dish TV’s numbers tell a story of strain.

DTH

Tata Play deepens Odia push with ad-free ‘Odia Manoranjan’ platform

Published

2 weeks ago

January 29, 2026

indiantelevision.com Team

MUMBAI: Tata Play is doubling down on regional loyalty. India’s leading DTH player has launched Tata Play Odia Manoranjan, a new value-added service that corrals Odia entertainment into a single, ad-free destination, available on television and the Tata Play mobile app.

Powered by Sidharth TV, one of Odisha’s most popular Odia-language GECs, the platform serves up a hefty catalogue: over 180 movies, 100+ Jatras, around 20 television shows and a library of more than 12,000 songs spanning devotional, folk, film and non-film genres. From vintage favourites to contemporary titles, the mix is pitched squarely at Odia-speaking households, with particular pull in tier-3 and tier-4 markets.

Subscribers get 24×7, full-screen SD viewing without ad breaks on channel number 1755, with live TV and VOD access across screens. The price point is deliberately sharp: Rs 2 a day.

Pallavi Puri, chief commercial and content officer at Tata Play, framed the move as a bet on language and culture. “India’s strongest viewing loyalties are rooted in language and lived culture. Tata Play Odia Manoranjan brings together the many expressions of Odia entertainment—from films and Jatras to devotional programming and music—into one clearly defined destination. With this launch, Tata Play further elevates its regional content offering by giving Odia audiences a single, definitive home for their stories and traditions.”

For Sidharth TV Network, the partnership is about reach without compromise. Sitaram Agrawalla, owner and chairman, said: “For decades, Odia families have trusted our entertainment platforms for stories that feel like home, and for moments that bring us together. Tata Play Odia Manoranjan builds on this trust by placing a diverse range of Odia films, theatre, devotional music and shows into a single, accessible space. This collaboration isn’t just about wider distribution—it’s about honouring the preferences of Odia viewers with a seamless, ad-free viewing experience that reflects their language, culture and the way they choose to engage with content.”

The new service slots into Tata Play’s expanding portfolio of entertainment and infotainment platform services across genres including entertainment, kids, learning, regional and devotion, catering to all age groups.

In short: one language, one screen, zero ads—and a clear signal that regional is where the real viewing power lies.

DTH

Binge strikes play as Tata Play adds Times Play to its OTT universe

Published

2 months ago

December 2, 2025

indiantelevision.com Team

MUMBAI: If streaming had galaxies, Tata Play Binge just opened a wormhole. In its latest move to become India’s most sprawling entertainment universe, the platform has now folded Times Play, Times Network’s digital-first OTT service, into its all-in-one subscription bouquet bringing Hollywood hits, snackable shorts, live news, lifestyle, entertainment, Pickleball and 11 live TV channels under a single roof.

The new addition means subscribers no longer need to hop between apps in Olympic-level finger gymnastics, Binge now pulls Times Network’s entire digital catalogue into one screen, one login, one bill. And in the era of attention overload, that’s practically a public service.

Times Play brings with it a distinctive blend of premium Hollywood cinema, web series, short-format videos, and Times Network’s formidable news muscle. Viewers can flip seamlessly between Romedy Now, Movies Now, MNX, MN+, Zoom, Times Now, Times Now Navbharat, ET Now, ET Now Swadesh, and even Pickleball Now, mirroring the growing Indian appetite for niche sporting entertainment.

On the long-form front, hits like Reunion, India’s Story, True Story of Angeline Jolie, Orphan First Kill, The November Man, Barely Lethal, Southpaw, The Hurt Locker, Transporter Refueled, and The Holiday sit alongside Times Network factual and current-affairs staples including Frankly Speaking, Sawaal Public Ka, and News Ki Paathshaala.

Describing the partnership, Tata Play chief commercial and content officer Pallavi Puri, said the aim remained unchanged to make content discovery effortless and reduce the modern curse of app overload. She noted that integrating Times Play enriches Binge’s already deep catalogue with a broader mix of premium films, originals and news programming “without juggling multiple apps or subscriptions”.

Times Network echoed the sentiment, calling the collaboration a natural extension of its mission to deliver credible entertainment and journalism at scale. It emphasised Tata Play’s reach, reliability and reputation as a key driver in bringing Times Play’s digital catalogue to diverse Indian households.

With the addition of Times Play, Tata Play Binge now boasts 30 plus OTT platforms on a single interface, a list that includes Prime Video, JioHotstar, Zee5, Apple TV+, Lionsgate, SunNXT, Discovery+, BBC Player, Aha, Fancode, ShemarooMe, Hungama, ManoramaMax, Nammaflix, Tarang Plus, Travel XP, Animax, Fuse+, ShortsTV, Curiosity Stream, and DistroTV, among others.

Notably, Netflix remains available as part of combo packs for DTH subscribers, while Amazon Prime Video can be unlocked as an add-on for Binge users with a Tata Play DTH connection. And for large-screen loyalists, all 30 plus apps can be streamed via LG, Samsung and Android Smart TVs, the Tata Play Binge+ set-top box, Amazon FireTV Stick – Tata Play edition, or through TataPlayBinge.com.

The expansion comes on the heels of recent integrations, including WAVES by Prasar Bharati and BBC Player, reinforcing Tata Play Binge’s ambition to remain India’s most diverse, most unified, and most fuss-free entertainment destination.

With Times Play now in the mix, Binge isn’t just aggregating content, it’s quietly aggregating the future of how India watches.