Tag: Airtel Digital TV

DTH subscriber growth retards in Q1-16 as per TRAI data

BENGALURU: We at www.indiantelevision.com had noted and said thatContrary to expectations that the sunset date of 31 December 31, 2015 (Q3-16 in financial terms in India) would rake in good numbers for the DTH industry for Q4-16 the subscriber base growth just did not happen.At that time, results declared by three of India’s seven DTH players whose results are available un public domain did notshow much of a change.Further, at that time, though Airtel Digital TV and Videocon d2h had both shown a small spike in subscriber additions between Q2-2016 and Q3-2016, overall taking the combined addition in subscription numbers by all the three, the change was just 3.59per cent. In the case of the third player-Dish TV, it witnessed the lowest growth over a five quarter period starting Q3-2015 until Q3-16 at 2.19 per cent.

Results for Q4-16 (quarter ended 31 March 2016) showed a reversal of sorts in that trend. Dish TV announced that it had added 5 lakh subscribers – the highest additions in fiscal 2016. Airtel DTH and Videocon d2h added 6.19 lakh and 5.9 lakh subscribers respectively and each reported approximately 11 percent quarter-over-quarter (q-o-q) growth in operating profits in that quarter.It may be noted that TRAI (Telecom Regulatory Authority Regulatorreports for Q3-16 (quarter ended 31 December 2015) of the net active subscriber base included temporarily suspended subscribers that have been inactive for not more than 120 days – hence reflecting a huge 36 percent growth in active subscribers for that quarter.

Besides Airtel DTH, Dish TV and Videocon d2h, there are three other private DTH players in India – Reliance, Sun Direct and Tata Sky, and the government’s FreeDish. Airtel DTH, Dish TV and Videocon d2h (the three players in this report) represent about 65 percent of the private DTH active subscriber universe in India. Please refer to Fig A below:

FreeDish DTH service – the largest DTH player by far in terms of subscribers with an estimated 15 million or 1.5 crore subscribers in 2015 as per the KPMG-FICCI Indian Media and Entertainment Industry Report 2016 (KPMG-FICCI M&E Report 2016) titled The Future: Now streaming. It must however be noted that an exact number for registered or active subscribers is not available since this is a free DTH service. The proposed merger of Videocon d2h with Dish TV will create the largest private television carriage player in India and the second largest in the world, be it cable, internet television or DTH or any other.

As per numbers released by TRAI for Q4-16 and the quarter ended 30 June 2016 (Q1-17), the growth of registered and active DTH subscribers has reduced from 4.5 percent and 4.6 percent in Q4-16 to 3.3 percent and 3.4 percent respectively in Q1-17. Overall, DTH active subscribers grew by 19.7 lakh or 8.06 percent q-o-q in Q1-17 to 605 lakh active subscribers (66 percent of registered subscribers) from 585.3 lakh (also 66 percent of registered subscribers) in Q4-16. The three players in this report contributed a combined 12.95 lakh or 65.74 percent in subscriber growth. Registered subscriber numbers were 915.3 lakh and 886.4 lakh in Q1-17 and Q4-16 respectively. In Q3-16, registered subscribers were 848 lakh.

In Q1-17, 4.65 lakh (3.97 percent growth), 4 lakh (2.76 percent growth) and 4.3 lakh (3.6 percent growth) were added q-o-q by Airtel DTH, Dish TV and Videocon d2h respectively.

Among the three, Airtel DTH added more net subscribers in absolute numbers in FY-16 than in FY-15, Dish TV added approximately the same number of net subscribers in both FY-15 and FY-16, while Videocon d2h saw slightly lower absolute net subscribers increment in FY-16 as compared to FY-15. Airtel DTH added 55.6 percent more subscribers in FY-16 – 16.52 lakh to reach net subscriber base of 117.52 lakh as compared to 10.62 lakh in FY-15; Dish TV added 15 lakh subscribers in FY-16 as well as in the previous year; Dish TV’s subscriber base was 145 lakh in FY-16; Videocon d2h added 16.8 lakh subscribers in FY-16 to reach a subscriber base of 118.6 lakh as compared to 17.4 lakh subscriber additions in FY-15. The above numbers are based on the financial results/investor presentations reported by the three DTH entities.

Please refer to Fig B below.

ARPU has been steadily increasing in the case of Airtel DTH and Videocon d2h, while it has was constant in the case of Dish TV at Rs 174 in Q4-16 as well as Q1-17. In Q2-17, however, Dish TV’s ARPU has dipped q-o-q by a huge Rs 12 to Rs 162.

For the first time in Q1-17, despite having the largest subscriber base amongst the top three, Dish TV’s revenues have been the lowest. In Q2-17, Airtel DTH reported the highest revenue amongst the three followed by Dish TV, with Videocon d2h’s revenue lower by just a few crore rupees. This could be mainly because Dish TV is more of a value player, whilst the other two are premium players. It may be noted Videocon d2h’s ARPU in Q2-17 has also dipped q-o-q by Rs 10 to Rs 209. Please refer to Fig C below for revenue and ARPU trends (Revenue numbers have been rounded off to the nearest Rs crore, ARPU numbers are in Indian Rupees, Rs)

Let us see how the three have performed in Q1-17

Airtel DTH

Revenue from Airtel’s DTH segment in Q1-17 increased 22.2 per cent to Rs 836.9 crore as compared to Rs 684.8 crore in the corresponding quarter of the previous year. Airtel’s DTH segment reported EBIT (Earnings before interest and tax) of Rs 121.9 crore (14.6 per cent operating margin) in Q1-17 as compared to EBIT of Rs 41.5 crore (6.1 percent operating margin) in Q1-16.

Airtel DTH added 4.24 lakh net subscribers in Q1-17 to bring its subscriber base to 121.9 lakh from 117.25 lakh in the previous quarter. Average revenue per user (ARPU) increased to Rs 233 from Rs 229 in the immediate trailing quarter. Airtel DTH reported a monthly subscriber churn of 0.8 percent in Q1-17, same as the churn in Q1-16 and Q4-16.

Dish TV

Dish TV reported 6.7 percent higher y-o-y subscription revenue of Rs 728.2 crore for Q1-17, as compared to Rs 682.8 crore. Operating revenue in Q1-17 increased 5.7 percent y-o-y to Rs 778.6 crore from Rs 736.7 crore in the corresponding quarter of the previous year.

Dish TV says that:
(1.1) For Q1-17, subscription revenue, on a like-to-like basis, was Rs 766.9 crore, a growth of 12.3 percent y-o-y.
(1.2) For Q1-17 operating revenue, on a like-to-like basis, was Rs 817.2 crore, a growth of 10.9 percent y-o-y.

Dish TV reported PAT of Rs. 40.9 crore in Q1-17, down 24.5 percent as compared to Rs 54.2 crore in Q1-16.

EBIDTA in the Q1-17 increased 12.2 percent to Rs 264.6 crore from Rs 235.7 crore in Q1-16.

The company reported addition of 4.02 lakh net subscribers for Q1-17. It closed the quarter with 149 lakh subscribers. Average revenue per user (ARPU) for Q1-17 remained the same year-over-year (y-o-y) and quarter-over-quarter (q-o-q) at Rs 174.

Videocon d2h

Videocon d2h is the second listed Indian DTH player to report a profit after tax (PAT), after the Essel group’s Dish TV that turned the numbers black last year. Videocon d2h reported PAT of Rs 2.7 crore for Q1-17. For the corresponding year ago quarter (Q1-17), the company had reported a loss of Rs 24.4 crore and for the immediate trailing quarter (Q4-16) reported loss was Rs 21.2 crore.

Videocon d2h subscription and activation revenue in Q1-17 increased 23.9 percent y-o-y to Rs 752.3 crore from Rs 607.3 crore and increased 6.6 percent q-o-q from Rs 705.6 crore.

The DTH major also reported 15.5 percent year-over-year (y-o-y) growth in net subscriber number growth at 122.9 lakh for Q1-17 as compared to 106.4 lakh and a 3.6 percent quarter-over-quarter (q-o-q) growth from118.6 lakh. Average revenue per user (ARPU) in Q1-17 increased to Rs 219 from Rs 205 in Q1-16 and from Rs 214 in the immediate trailing quarter.

Subscriber monthly churn in the current quarter was 0.49 percent; in Q1-16 it was slightly lower at 0.46 percent, while in the immediate trailing quarter it was much higher at 0.58 percent.

Comments

There is not much of a change in the comments and conclusions drawn by us for FY-16 numbers. Overall, the pay DTH industry is turning profitable as is obvious from the results.

DAS III and IV were/are sunshine periods for the television carriage industry. Activation revenues have been adding to the top lines and bottom lines of most of the players. Have they been able to optimise the opportunity that DAS has offered? Not fully! At present the focus of a majority of the players is more investor oriented, not viewer oriented. This has to change. DTH has the potential to grow even more than the predictions of the industry pundits, provided they get their act together in coming out with packaging – as has Dish TV to a limited extent. India is a price sensitive market, offer the viewers what they want at a reasonable price and the sheer volumes will bring in more and more moolah.And what happens to profits once the activation fee component goes down?

December 13, 2016
Bharati Airtel to switch off IPTV service?

MUMBAI: It persisted with its service for more than seven years. But now Bharati Airtel, which launched its IPTV offering in 2009, is reportedly shutting it down.

The company has been sending out notices to its less than 50,000 subscribers that it would be pulling the plug on it by 31 July first and now on31 August, according to news reports.

The service is available in Bengaluru and Delhi. In Delhi, it has been offering two packs, according to the Airtel website: SD 399 (Rs 399 for 196 SD channels, including 48 time shift channels), and HD599 (Rs 599 for 196 chax fonnels, 48 time shift channels and 12 HD channels). Bengaluru subscribers could avail of only the SD399 pack. A free wifi modem was thrown in when customers bought a set top bor Rs 3,500.

In both the cities, it appears to be making a sweet offering: IPTV, though running on top of the consumer’s broadband connection, would not consume bytes from his or her existing broadband plan. Additionally, the service allowed users could access seven days of recorded programmes.

Reports are that Airtel has written to its triple play customers saying that it would be offering an upgrade to its Airtel Digital TV DTH service at zero installation and activation cost (worth Rs 500), complementary HD USB set top box (Rs 1,300), 10 HD channel bouquet free for a month (Rs 111), free three months of recording (Rs 90), and a complimentary 8 GB pendrive (Rs 300).

Some irate Airtel customers have been clogging consumer complaints websites online expressing their unhappiness about the one-sided decision to shut down its IPTV service and pushing them to subscribe to Airtel Digital TV.

Airtel is switching ofF its IPTV service at a time when Reliance Jio is working on rolling out its own offering to customers. It imported a consignment of IPTV settop boxes a couple of months ago.

Attempts to contact Airtel officials were unsuccessful.

August 17, 2016
Bharati Airtel to switch off IPTV service?

MUMBAI: It persisted with its service for more than seven years. But now Bharati Airtel, which launched its IPTV offering in 2009, is reportedly shutting it down.

The company has been sending out notices to its less than 50,000 subscribers that it would be pulling the plug on it by 31 July first and now on31 August, according to news reports.

The service is available in Bengaluru and Delhi. In Delhi, it has been offering two packs, according to the Airtel website: SD 399 (Rs 399 for 196 SD channels, including 48 time shift channels), and HD599 (Rs 599 for 196 chax fonnels, 48 time shift channels and 12 HD channels). Bengaluru subscribers could avail of only the SD399 pack. A free wifi modem was thrown in when customers bought a set top bor Rs 3,500.

In both the cities, it appears to be making a sweet offering: IPTV, though running on top of the consumer’s broadband connection, would not consume bytes from his or her existing broadband plan. Additionally, the service allowed users could access seven days of recorded programmes.

Reports are that Airtel has written to its triple play customers saying that it would be offering an upgrade to its Airtel Digital TV DTH service at zero installation and activation cost (worth Rs 500), complementary HD USB set top box (Rs 1,300), 10 HD channel bouquet free for a month (Rs 111), free three months of recording (Rs 90), and a complimentary 8 GB pendrive (Rs 300).

Some irate Airtel customers have been clogging consumer complaints websites online expressing their unhappiness about the one-sided decision to shut down its IPTV service and pushing them to subscribe to Airtel Digital TV.

Airtel is switching ofF its IPTV service at a time when Reliance Jio is working on rolling out its own offering to customers. It imported a consignment of IPTV settop boxes a couple of months ago.

Attempts to contact Airtel officials were unsuccessful.

August 17, 2016
Airtel Digital TV and Shemaroo Entertainment Ltd launch ‘SadabaharHitz’

MUMBAI: Airtel Digital TV and Shemaroo Entertainment Limited have launched a collection of classic Bollywood movies and music service titled SadabaharHitz. The ad free service is available at a fee of Rs 39 per month and can be watched on channel number 164.

Shemaroo Entertainment Limited director Hiren Gada said, “We are glad to launch SadabaharHitz– a service that showcases evergreen films and songs on a platform like Airtel Digital TV, one of the most popular DTH players in our country. The service is targeted to bring to the audience, quality films and soulful songs that will not only be appealing to mid and older generation but also will give youth an opportunity to reconnect with the era. There are not many options available for people who want to watch such movies on TV. Our service will cater to their need. SadabaharHitz is an endeavor to bring to our audience best of the classics that they can relish with friends and family.”

The subscribers can activate the service by giving a missed call to 9109424242.

Airtel Digital TV CMO S.Sriram added, “At Airtel Digital TV, we are constantly looking to deliver a content rich TV viewing experience to our customers. We are delighted to partner Shemaroo for the launch SadabaharHitz, a content library of hit Hindi movies and songs from yesteryears. We believe that this platform is a worthy addition to our existing set of services and will help us deliver a more tailored customer experience at a great price”.

The companies had launched a movie premiere service called Miniplex through their past association.

May 25, 2016
Airtel Digital TV and Shemaroo Entertainment Ltd launch ‘SadabaharHitz’

MUMBAI: Airtel Digital TV and Shemaroo Entertainment Limited have launched a collection of classic Bollywood movies and music service titled SadabaharHitz. The ad free service is available at a fee of Rs 39 per month and can be watched on channel number 164.

Shemaroo Entertainment Limited director Hiren Gada said, “We are glad to launch SadabaharHitz– a service that showcases evergreen films and songs on a platform like Airtel Digital TV, one of the most popular DTH players in our country. The service is targeted to bring to the audience, quality films and soulful songs that will not only be appealing to mid and older generation but also will give youth an opportunity to reconnect with the era. There are not many options available for people who want to watch such movies on TV. Our service will cater to their need. SadabaharHitz is an endeavor to bring to our audience best of the classics that they can relish with friends and family.”

The subscribers can activate the service by giving a missed call to 9109424242.

Airtel Digital TV CMO S.Sriram added, “At Airtel Digital TV, we are constantly looking to deliver a content rich TV viewing experience to our customers. We are delighted to partner Shemaroo for the launch SadabaharHitz, a content library of hit Hindi movies and songs from yesteryears. We believe that this platform is a worthy addition to our existing set of services and will help us deliver a more tailored customer experience at a great price”.

The companies had launched a movie premiere service called Miniplex through their past association.

May 25, 2016
Miniplex to air Jazbaa on 12 Feb

MUMBAI: Miniplex – a movie premiere service available on Airtel Digital TV and Tata Sky DTH is set to premiere, Jazbaa on television this 12 February 2016. The much spoken about movie marks the comeback of the gorgeous actress Ashwairya Rai Bachchan in bollywood after a long gap and hence is very special for her fans. The movie also features the versatile actor Irrfan Khan. The power packed performances got the movie rave reviews from the critics.

The story of Jazbaa revolves around Anuradha Verma, played by Ashwairya Rai Bachchan, who is a prominent criminal lawyer and a single mother. She has never lost a case. One day her daughter Sanaya is kidnapped and no ransom is demanded, but instead the kidnapper contacts her and tells her that she has to defend a convicted felon to get her daughter back. Thus the struggle in Anuradha’s life begins.

Ashwairya Rai Bachchan was awarded Screen Award for Best Actress (Popular Choice). She also won Power-packed performance of the year at Stardust Awards.

To subscribe Miniplex on TataSky Channel No: 299 SD and Ch. No: 298 HD, give a miss call on
092 308 92 308 from your registered mobile number.

To subscribe Airtel Digital TV Miniplex Channel No 162, give a missed call on 88 003 88 002 from your registered mobile number.

To subscribe Airtel Digital TV Miniplex HD Channel No 163 , give a missed call on 910 94 94 949 from your registered mobile number.

February 10, 2016
Miniplex to air Jazbaa on 12 Feb

MUMBAI: Miniplex – a movie premiere service available on Airtel Digital TV and Tata Sky DTH is set to premiere, Jazbaa on television this 12 February 2016. The much spoken about movie marks the comeback of the gorgeous actress Ashwairya Rai Bachchan in bollywood after a long gap and hence is very special for her fans. The movie also features the versatile actor Irrfan Khan. The power packed performances got the movie rave reviews from the critics.

The story of Jazbaa revolves around Anuradha Verma, played by Ashwairya Rai Bachchan, who is a prominent criminal lawyer and a single mother. She has never lost a case. One day her daughter Sanaya is kidnapped and no ransom is demanded, but instead the kidnapper contacts her and tells her that she has to defend a convicted felon to get her daughter back. Thus the struggle in Anuradha’s life begins.

Ashwairya Rai Bachchan was awarded Screen Award for Best Actress (Popular Choice). She also won Power-packed performance of the year at Stardust Awards.

To subscribe Miniplex on TataSky Channel No: 299 SD and Ch. No: 298 HD, give a miss call on
092 308 92 308 from your registered mobile number.

To subscribe Airtel Digital TV Miniplex Channel No 162, give a missed call on 88 003 88 002 from your registered mobile number.

To subscribe Airtel Digital TV Miniplex HD Channel No 163 , give a missed call on 910 94 94 949 from your registered mobile number.

February 10, 2016
Shemaroo launches Miniplex movie service on Tata Sky

MUMBAI: After joining hands with Airtel Digital TV, Shemaroo Entertainment has now tied up with yet another DTH operator – Tata Sky to launch its subscription-based movie premiere service Miniplex.

The subscription based ad-free service Miniplex will premiere one movie every Friday for the first time on Indian television as well as other recent movies.

As was reported earlier by Indiantelevision.com, in addition to DTH, Shemaroo also plans to launch Miniplex across other platforms like cable and online in a phased manner.

The monthly subscription price for the service is Rs 60. To activate it, consumers can give a missed call to 9230892308. For HD subscribers, the service is on channel number 298, whereas for SD subscribers, it is on 298.

Shemaroo Entertainment director Hiren Gada said, “Miniplex is a subscription-based movie premiere service curated to cater to movie lovers across the country. We are glad to tie up with Tata Sky for this service. Tata Sky consumers can now enjoy world television premiere of movies on every Friday. Not only this, other movies showcased on the channel are carefully selected set of movies that are not telecasted on television so often.”

The ‘Premieres’ are supported by ‘Premiums,’ which are movies released post 2005. ‘Premiums’ will be showcased for five days of the week with everyday featuring a new movie.

Tata Sky chief content and business strategy officer Paolo Agostinelli added, “To satisfy our subscriber’s hunger for refreshing content, we were glad to tie-up with Shemaroo to provide this collection of movies under the new service called Miniplex. The day-long movie timings, enriched content with the novel concept of premiere and premium movies ensure the movie-buff’s of Tata Sky have entertainment on their fingertips 24×7.”

November 10, 2015
DAS Phase III drives STB demand in Q3 2015; India accounts for 97% shipments

MUMBAI: The set-top-box (STB) market in the SAARC region has registered record growth in third quarter of 2015, as rapid digitisation in the Phase III cities of Digital Addressable Systems (DAS) in India is driving the demand for STBs.

With pay-TV industry in all major SAARC countries moving toward digitisation – mandatory or voluntary – STBs of all kind from SD to HDTV and hybrid boxes are witnessing steady and robust growth.

According to new research report from Dataxis, “The STB Market in SAARC countries (Bangladesh, Nepal, India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka)-Q32015,” STB shipments to SAARC countries have witnessed 73 per cent quarter-on-quarter growth during the Q3 2015. In the quarter under consideration, 7.34 million STBs were shipped in the SAARC region with an estimated value of $176 million.

India leads the STB shipments for the period, accounting for about 97 per cent of the total shipments to the SAARC region in the September ended quarter of 2015, according to Dataxis.

Skyworth tops the STB shipments to SAARC in the Q3 2015. The company reportedly has plans to locally manufacture STBs for the Indian market.

Local manufacturing in India, which accounted for just five per cent of total STBs sold during the first and second phase of seeding, is showing steady growth in the third phase. Dataxis estimates that the sale of made-in-India STBs will witness growth up to 15 per cent in the fourth phase of digitisation.

“Local STB manufacturing in India has increased almost fourfold in the third quarter of 2015, and this is in line with our expectations. As the deadline for the third phase digitisation nears, there is high demand for STBs from the MSOs and most of the independent and small size operators are coming forward to partner with indigenous brands,” said Dataxis media analyst Sreeja VN.

The Indian government was also proactive during the period by promoting the make in India campaign in the sector. The decisions by three major DTH players namely Airtel Digital TV, Dish DTH and Videocon D2H to opt for indigenous brands have also boosted the Indian STB industry.

Another notable trend, according to the Dataxis Research, is the increase in demand for High-Definition (HD) and Ultra HD STBs in the region. Dataxis’s analysis of STB shipment for the Q2 2015 and Q3 2015, depicts steady growth in the volume of HD STBs shipped to India. The rise in the number of HD and UHD STBs has also contributed to a rise in the average selling price of STBs to the country.

The key STB vendors for the quarter are Technicolor, Skyworth, Changhong, Huawei and Coship (international vendors), and Mybox, One-eIGHT technologies, Trend Electronics, Ridsys, and Willet Communications (domestic vendors).

November 4, 2015
Shemaroo launches movie premiere service on Airtel Digital TV

MUMBAI: Shemaroo Entertainment tied up with direct to home (DTH) platform Airtel Digital TV to launch a movie premiere service called Miniplex.

Miniplex will premiere one movie every Friday for the first time on Indian television. In addition, the service, which is an ad free subscription based service will also showcase other recent movies.

In addition to DTH, Shemaroo also plans to launch Miniplex across various other platforms, like cable and online in a phased manner in the future.

Miniplex is a cross platform subscription-based movie premiere service that will provide the audiences an opportunity to view premiere and also premium movie content for a subscription fee of Rs 60 per month or Rs 3 daily. The Miniplex service will be available on channel number 162 on Airtel Digital TV.

Shemaroo Entertainment director Hiren Gada said, “Miniplex is a richly curated movie premiere service and we are glad to launch it with a partner like Airtel Digital TV. We have seen that apart from the top few movies of the year, audiences end up missing most movies in theatres. Very often TV channels too don’t carry many such movies and so consumers don’t have access to them. With Miniplex, we hope to bridge this gap. In addition, we have also picked good recent movies, which may have already premiered on TV but don’t get telecast often.”

Airtel Digital TV chief marketing officer S Sriram added, “As a customer focused brand, we at Airtel constantly strive to introduce innovative products and services with an aim to enhance our customer’s TV viewing experience. We are therefore happy to partner Shemaroo for the launch of Miniplex, which is an innovative service to enable movie buffs to catch up on latest blockbusters in the comfort of their home at an affordable price.”

The movies on the service will be scheduled at fixed timings throughout the day.

November 2, 2015