DTH

First Indian Digital TV Honours celebrates digitisation’s leading practices

Published

12 years ago

January 29, 2014

NEW DELHI: It was a day when the stalwarts of the Indian cable, broadcast and direct to home television industry converged to witness the best or leading practices of the industry being recognised at indiantelevision.com’s first ever Indian Digital TV Honors (IDTH). The event, held at the Lalit Hotel in Delhi late last eveing saw 15 professional/initiatives/organisations getting a citation for evolving best practices during phase I and phase II of digitisation over the past 18-24 months, ever since digital addressable system (DAS) was mandated by the government.

An advisory panel comprising 13 professionals from broadcast, cable TV, consulting and technology , along with the editorial team of indiantelevision.com, helped finalise the honoraries after a tough round of discussion for over a month on the merits and demerits of those being sought to be honoured for their great work and innovations.

The event was attended by close to 200 professionals from the cable, DTH and broadcast industry and the regulatory body.

The evening was anchored by Indian Television Dot Com Founder, CEO and editor-in-chief Anil Wanvari along with TV actor Prerna Wanvari who hosted the two hour long proceedings.

The First Indian Digital TV Honours, which were powered by leading Indian MSO DEN Networks began with Tata Sky being honoured for its obsessive focus on consumer service and product quality. The direct to home operator (DTH) has for long being spoken of excelling in the area of customer services, and this honour only further supported that perception.

India’s oldest DTH operator Dish TV was honoured for its dervish like focus on its financial health and for protecting and creating shareholder value. The citation was received by CEO RC Venkateish, who shared the fact that he has to answer to public and other shareholders regularly, making it imperative for the company to be bottom line focused.

“We have been generating free cash flow for quite sometime, and probably are the only Indian DTH company to do so,” said Venkateish. “Things could be better if we could rationalise content costs which are still way too high.”

Videocon d2h was recognised for its technological innovations and for the use of indigenous set top boxes which the group’s sister organisation manufactures indiegenously

Additionally MSO Hathway Cable & Datacom was honoured for its pioneering push into broadband internet services, way before anyone else in the business. “With over 400,000 users we have gained a lot of experience which will only further help us as we move forward. Consumers are demanding a lot more bandwidth as they are guzzling a lot more online content,” said Hathway CFO G. Subramaniam. “We will be the best company providing the broadband internet service in the future.”

Tata Sky was also recognised for its its Value Added Services (VAS) which it says is helping lure subscribers to them.

DEN Networks, which had in 2013 attracted an investment of $160 million from Goldman Sachs at a time when every other MSO was being turned away, was honoured for becoming a beacon for the cable TV sector in the area of raising capital. Elated with the honour, DEN Network CFO Rajesh Kaushal said, “This is a very cash guzzling business and so there is a lot of investment and infrastructure that is needed. We have enough capital with us to see us through Phase I, II and III of DAS.”

The Indian Broadcasting Foundation (IBF) was recognised for its marketing and promotional campaign to encourage the smooth spread of digitisation. Almost every channel aired the commercial several times a day to push the message and educate consumers about digitisation and set top boxes. The same was recognised by the Indian Digital TV Honours advisory committee.

“We wanted to incite consumers through the ad campaign. We had aired the promos for at least eight times a day on 150 channels,” said IBF secretary Shailesh Shah while receiving the honour. Leading broadcaster Star India was also recognised for its strategy to invest big money in sports. Sports TV worldwide is a big driver of pay TV and Star India’s early initiative to invest big money is only going to see a similar play being played out here. And this in turn will likely encourage the process of digitsation.

SitiCable Network was honoured for fostering Local Cable Operator (LCO) partnerships and being the first ones to give carriage fee revenue share to the LCOs. “We believe that LCOs are an integral part of the cable TV ecosystem and that is the reason we have given them the access to our subscriber management system and also are sharing the carriage fee revenue with them,” informed SitiCable COO Anil Malhotra.

It was in 2013 that Doordarshan owned DTH service DD Direct Plus was rechristened as Freedish. The DTH player which introduced several innovations for its consumers in the year was recognised for catering to the needs of Indian consumers through Freedish. “Freedish is the most profitable venture of Prasar Bharti. Broadcasters are changing their business model for us, which is welcome change,” said Doordarshan additional director general Ranjan Thakur while receiving the honour.

Two industry leaders have put their shoulder to the wheel and have played a major role in promoting digitsation over the past 18-24 months and have themselves invested heavily in it: Hathway Cable’s Raheja family led by Viren Raheja and DEN Networks’ founder Sameer Manchanda. “If you have patience, scale and execution one can excel in this field which holds a lot of scope. Cable will grow exactly how mobile grew in India, but you will have to wait minimum for five years to see results,” opined Manchanda. “You have to have the passion to see your belief in cable TV come true.”

The evening also saw Seven Star Digital Network being honoured for effectively managing digitisation as an independent operator. Honours were also given to Ministry of Information and Broadcasting and Telecom Regulatory Authority of India for their push in making India a digitised nation. Most of industry has begun hearing of the Maharashtra Cable Operators Federation (MCOF), which represents the interests of the last mile owner. In time, if it does manage to facilitate a feasible formula on revenues and shares with MSOs, then it stands a strong chance to be honoured in next year’s Indian Digital TV Honours.

More power to the industry’s elbow!

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

Published

1 month 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

1 month 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

3 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.