DTH

The DTH Opportunity

Published

24 years ago

November 2, 2001

It came somewhat like manna to travellers lost in the desert. The Union Cabinet’s decision on 2 November 2000 to lift the four-year ban on DTH has been long- awaited by Indian and foreign broadcasters. And now that it has come, it should open up the floodgates with a slew of them taking a shot at it.

Among those who could make attempts include: Star TV, Zee TV, C. Sivasankaran, Reliance, HFCL, Lalit Modi’s Modi Entertainment Group, Sun TV. One cannot exclude tyros attempting to enter the DTH fray. One does not know if all of them will survive.

A lot of thought has gone into the drafting of the notification. It appears as if the government is taking clear steps to prevent the emergence of television monopolies. That is why it has placed a 20 per cent restriction on foreign direct investment, with the total foreign investment being permitted being 49 per cent. Additionally, it has stated broadcasters and cable TV operators – without further explaining whether these players should be operating in India or overseas – will be permitted to hold only 20 per cent in a DTH platform. Now is this 20 per cent the limit for several broadcasting investors in a single DTH venture; or is it the cap that each can have in a DTH venture? Will we see Sony, Star and Zee holding 60 per cent in a DTH operation or will they be permitted to hold just 6.33 per cent each – totting up to 20 per cent? This is an issue that will need clarification.

If one takes these clauses at face value then Star TV, Zee TV, Sun TV, Eenadu, Sony will simply have to be satisfied with a minority stake each in a platform. It would not be surprising if three of them choose to come together for a new DTH operational company. The other option they will have is to become innovative in the equity holding pattern and incorporation of the DTH firm. With penalties of Rs 500 million one wonders whether they will take the risk? Hence it is more likely that unusual alliances are going to be formed, which one never thought possible in the past.

The government has also made it mandatory for the DTH operator to uplink from within Indian shores within 12 months to any satellite, be it foreign or Indian. Preferential treatment will be given to those uplinking to Indian birds, the notification says. An open architecture has been mandated with the set top box working with the smart cards and encryption technologies that the various operators choose to use. This is a big plus for consumers as they will be able to switch between services easily or subscribe to more than one.

Licence fees of Rs 100 million and a bank guarantee of Rs 400 million are not all that high at all. What could prove high is the 10 per cent revenue share that DTH operators will have to dole out to government each year. Sure the operator will build this into its subscription fees; but should targets of subscription be failed to be met; things could get quite tough.Remember, there will be fierce competition between the various services with each of them trying to woo subscribers with freebies and price-off offers. If such a scenario arises, 10 per cent could be the company’s margin which would mean that the DTH company will end up making losses. It’s quite likely the DTH company will make losses anyway for the first two-to-three years because the market will have to be created. And there’s already a relatively cheaper option available in cable TV which is priced at Rs 150-200.

Of course, the government has protected the state-owned broadcaster Prasar Bharati by mandating carriage of all its channels at the most favourable terms provided to an occupant of the platform.

The I&B ministry’s programming and advertising code will have to be followed to a T, the notification states. The problem is that a watchdog and adjudicator have yet to be set up. And if the government is banking on the convergence authority to keep tabs on content, it will have to move fast and enact convergence regulation.

How many platforms can coexist in India? Indications are that just one or two and if one stretches one’s imagination, three. There’s just not enough content in terms of programming going around. Not many channels are going to take the option of getting exclusively onto DTH, after all cable TV offers them their lifeblood revenue, either in the form of subscription or advertising. They have stuck it out for so long; bleeding in the Indian market for seven years to build up a cable TV business. They will not throw it away for DTH. What one will see is the development of new channels with diverse programmes – both old and new shows – being packaged innovatively for the DTH platform. Other niche channels will also be developed.

One advantage is that set top boxes have become cheaper over the past three years and are priced at anywhere between Rs 5,000 and Rs 10,000 (it could be lower should the DTH provider gives a higher subsidy). Three years ago, the sticker price was a hefty Rs 20,000-25,000. Monthly subscription packages could range from Rs 200 going up to Rs 350.

The DTH market on the upside is about two to three million strong, with 350,00 of them likely to come on board in year one. This could go up to 700,000 in year two and finally to a million in year three. The two million could take up to six to seven years to achieve. Or even longer. One can’t forget: cable TV will be fighting back. As will other newer options, such as broadband, which will make their appearance.

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DTH

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

Published

4 weeks 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.