ITV

Tag: Jawahar Goel

  • Dish TV to introduce card-less set top boxes

    Dish TV to introduce card-less set top boxes

    MUMBAI: Dish TV India is looking at moving away from set top boxes requiring smart cards for subscribers to its satellite pay TV service. This is likely to take place over the next three or four months.

    Last weekend, India’s largest DTH provider announced that it had selected Rambus’ Cryptomedia security platform for use in its pay TV satellite system. The platform, which includes a hardware root-of-trust embedded in the set-top box chipset, ensures secure distribution of premium content for cable and satellite operators while eliminating the need for a smart card and enhancing usability of the set-top box.

    “As we look to grow our customer base from the current 13 million subscribers, the demand for cost-effective and robust content protection solutions becomes increasingly important for consumers seeking premium content,” said Dish TV India managing director Jawahar Goel. “By leveraging the embedded CryptoMedia core, we no longer need a smart card to provide secure access to premium content, significantly reducing the cost and improving the security of the set-top box.”

    The CryptoMedia Content Protection Core, developed by Rambus Cryptography Research, is one of several new security elements to be integrated in Dish TV India’s latest set-top boxes. Together with the CryptoMedia operator services, the solution provides a flexible security foundation that allows Dish TV India to easily update and reconfigure software and hardware security throughout the lifecycle of the set-top box. Dish TV India will launch the new platform in broad commercial operation later this year.

    “By using the CryptoMedia Content Protection Core, Dish TV India recognizes the value of enabling another level of protection in the set-top box chipset alongside security elements provided by CAS vendors,” said Martin Scott, senior vice president and general manager of the Security Division at Rambus. “Our CryptoMedia Security Platform provides Dish TV India with extra protection for the delivery of content, utilizing our expertise in both embedded security and ecosystem enablement.”

    Formerly part of the CryptoFirewall family, the CryptoMedia Content Protection Core is designed to provide strong security and superior system design flexibility for premium content distribution. The solution minimizes the risk of security failure and helps simplify product development. The core is available in a broad range of set-top box and smart TV chipsets and is compatible with the leading CAS and DRM systems to prevent unauthorized access to content and services, including features like pay-per-view and service-tier upgrades.

  • FY-16: Dish TV adds 15 lakh subscribers, subscription revenue Rs 2,827 crore

    FY-16: Dish TV adds 15 lakh subscribers, subscription revenue Rs 2,827 crore

    BENGALURU: This is the second consecutive year that direct to home (DTH) company Dish TV India Limited (Dish TV) has reported growth across important financial and operational parameters including operating revenues (TIO), profit after tax (PAT) and subscription numbers. Last fiscal and quarter (year and quarter ended 31 March, 2015, FY-15 and Q4-15), Essel Group’s DTH operator Dish TV Limited turned the corner with a consolidated profit after tax (PAT) of Rs 3.14 crore and Rs 34.94 crore (margin 4.8 per cent) respectively. The company has followed this up with improved numbers for the subsequent two quarters of FY-16, and rendered a fait accompli of sorts in the final quarter with the largest ever subscription numbers add in a quarter in Q4-16, as if to reiterate – Profits are here to stay!.

    Dish TV says that so far it is the only company in the Indian DTH sector to have achieved net profitability. 

    Dish TV reported subscription revenue of Rs 2,827.5 crore in the fiscal ended 31 March 2016 (FY-16, current year). Operating revenue in the current year increased to Rs 3,059.9 crore from Rs 2,687.9 crore in the previous year.

    Dish TV reported PAT of Rs. 692.4 crore in FY-16, including deferred tax expense of Rs. 436 crore.

    During FY-16, Dish TV says that it has achieved the full year guidance of 15 lakh subscribers. In Q4-16 (quarter ended 31 March 2016, current quarter) Dish TV added 5.08 lakh subscribers. The company also reported higher Rs 174 in Q4-16 as compared to Rs 172 in Q3-16.

    Note: 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.

    Operating revenue for Q4-16 increased 9.5 percent year-over-year (y-o-y) to Rs 799.3 crore from Rs 729.9 crore and increased 3.6 percent quarter-over-quarter from Rs 771.5 crore in Q3-16.

    EBIDTA in the current year increased 39.8 percent to Rs 1,024.9 crore from Rs 733.1 crore in FY-15. EBIDTA in Q4-16 at Rs 260.8 crore increased 18.1 percent y-o-y from Rs 220.9 crore in Q4-15 but declined 1.7 percent q-o-q from Rs 265.4 crore in Q3-16.

    Dish TV managing director Jawahar Goel said, “Fiscal 2016 was yet another year that saw global economic uncertainty take centre-stage all throughout. Notwithstanding that, the Indian economy registered good economic growth as the government focused on development through reforms. With the macro economy showing early signs of pick-up and the Met department predicting an ‘above normal’ monsoon, fiscal 2017 has already started on an optimistic note. So far as the DTH industry is concerned a strong agrarian economy, further supported by government initiatives like 100% village electrification,  and prospering urban areas, with 24×7 power supply, shall certainly ensure growth for the industry going forward.”

    Talking about subscriber additions during the quarter, Goel, said, “We had a well-defined plan in place to target these markets. Our campaign ‘Set-Top-Box Matlab Dish TV’ had the desired impact while the specially designed sports packs ensured that sports fans didn’t go elsewhere during the cricket season. Higher investments behind the brand not only ensured higher brand scores but a stronger brand recall as well. To further strengthen our connect with the customer, we upgraded our existing service infrastructure and enhanced distribution in areas that were not up to the mark. Thus covering newer territories.”

    Talking about the fourth quarter results, Goel said, “Healthy subscriber additions and a higher ARPU improved the subscription revenues by 12.6 percent over the corresponding quarter last fiscal. EBITDA of Rs. 260.8 crore recorded an 18.1 percent jump over the corresponding quarter. Net Profit for the quarter was Rs. 482.8 crore as against Rs. 34.9 crore in the fourth quarter last fiscal. The resultant free cash flow was Rs. 104.7 crore. Churn for the quarter remained steady at 0.7 percent per month.”

    The company also added 8 new channels to its platform during the month of April 2016 taking its total offering size to more than 525 channels and  services. To further enhance the digital TV experience for subscribers and build an affordable and fast deployment model for itself, Dish TV
    selected Wyplay’s Frog as the Middleware for its next generation Set-Top-Boxes. Wyplay is an HTML5 browser based system and incorporates all features required for traditional linear broadcast TV consumption, on-demand content and applications distributed over the internet.

    Talking about these developments, Goel said, “We had our share of ups and downs during the year, but I am glad that we came out as winners at the end of it all. The fast paced dynamism of technological, regulatory and industrial developments kept us productively occupied and brought the best out of us.  We are in tune with the environmental shift around us and are motivated to be ahead of the curve as complex changes take place.”

     

     

  • FY-16: Dish TV adds 15 lakh subscribers, subscription revenue Rs 2,827 crore

    FY-16: Dish TV adds 15 lakh subscribers, subscription revenue Rs 2,827 crore

    BENGALURU: This is the second consecutive year that direct to home (DTH) company Dish TV India Limited (Dish TV) has reported growth across important financial and operational parameters including operating revenues (TIO), profit after tax (PAT) and subscription numbers. Last fiscal and quarter (year and quarter ended 31 March, 2015, FY-15 and Q4-15), Essel Group’s DTH operator Dish TV Limited turned the corner with a consolidated profit after tax (PAT) of Rs 3.14 crore and Rs 34.94 crore (margin 4.8 per cent) respectively. The company has followed this up with improved numbers for the subsequent two quarters of FY-16, and rendered a fait accompli of sorts in the final quarter with the largest ever subscription numbers add in a quarter in Q4-16, as if to reiterate – Profits are here to stay!.

    Dish TV says that so far it is the only company in the Indian DTH sector to have achieved net profitability. 

    Dish TV reported subscription revenue of Rs 2,827.5 crore in the fiscal ended 31 March 2016 (FY-16, current year). Operating revenue in the current year increased to Rs 3,059.9 crore from Rs 2,687.9 crore in the previous year.

    Dish TV reported PAT of Rs. 692.4 crore in FY-16, including deferred tax expense of Rs. 436 crore.

    During FY-16, Dish TV says that it has achieved the full year guidance of 15 lakh subscribers. In Q4-16 (quarter ended 31 March 2016, current quarter) Dish TV added 5.08 lakh subscribers. The company also reported higher Rs 174 in Q4-16 as compared to Rs 172 in Q3-16.

    Note: 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.

    Operating revenue for Q4-16 increased 9.5 percent year-over-year (y-o-y) to Rs 799.3 crore from Rs 729.9 crore and increased 3.6 percent quarter-over-quarter from Rs 771.5 crore in Q3-16.

    EBIDTA in the current year increased 39.8 percent to Rs 1,024.9 crore from Rs 733.1 crore in FY-15. EBIDTA in Q4-16 at Rs 260.8 crore increased 18.1 percent y-o-y from Rs 220.9 crore in Q4-15 but declined 1.7 percent q-o-q from Rs 265.4 crore in Q3-16.

    Dish TV managing director Jawahar Goel said, “Fiscal 2016 was yet another year that saw global economic uncertainty take centre-stage all throughout. Notwithstanding that, the Indian economy registered good economic growth as the government focused on development through reforms. With the macro economy showing early signs of pick-up and the Met department predicting an ‘above normal’ monsoon, fiscal 2017 has already started on an optimistic note. So far as the DTH industry is concerned a strong agrarian economy, further supported by government initiatives like 100% village electrification,  and prospering urban areas, with 24×7 power supply, shall certainly ensure growth for the industry going forward.”

    Talking about subscriber additions during the quarter, Goel, said, “We had a well-defined plan in place to target these markets. Our campaign ‘Set-Top-Box Matlab Dish TV’ had the desired impact while the specially designed sports packs ensured that sports fans didn’t go elsewhere during the cricket season. Higher investments behind the brand not only ensured higher brand scores but a stronger brand recall as well. To further strengthen our connect with the customer, we upgraded our existing service infrastructure and enhanced distribution in areas that were not up to the mark. Thus covering newer territories.”

    Talking about the fourth quarter results, Goel said, “Healthy subscriber additions and a higher ARPU improved the subscription revenues by 12.6 percent over the corresponding quarter last fiscal. EBITDA of Rs. 260.8 crore recorded an 18.1 percent jump over the corresponding quarter. Net Profit for the quarter was Rs. 482.8 crore as against Rs. 34.9 crore in the fourth quarter last fiscal. The resultant free cash flow was Rs. 104.7 crore. Churn for the quarter remained steady at 0.7 percent per month.”

    The company also added 8 new channels to its platform during the month of April 2016 taking its total offering size to more than 525 channels and  services. To further enhance the digital TV experience for subscribers and build an affordable and fast deployment model for itself, Dish TV
    selected Wyplay’s Frog as the Middleware for its next generation Set-Top-Boxes. Wyplay is an HTML5 browser based system and incorporates all features required for traditional linear broadcast TV consumption, on-demand content and applications distributed over the internet.

    Talking about these developments, Goel said, “We had our share of ups and downs during the year, but I am glad that we came out as winners at the end of it all. The fast paced dynamism of technological, regulatory and industrial developments kept us productively occupied and brought the best out of us.  We are in tune with the environmental shift around us and are motivated to be ahead of the curve as complex changes take place.”

     

     

  • Status Report: Q3-2016: DAS Phase III deadline no great shakes for DTH industry

    Status Report: Q3-2016: DAS Phase III deadline no great shakes for DTH industry

    BENGALURU: Contrary to expectations that the sunset date of 31 December, 2015 (Q3-2016 in financial terms in India) would rake in good numbers for the DTH industry for the quarter ended 31 December, 2015 (Q3-2015, current quarter), results declared by three of the seven players in the country show not much of a change.

    Refer to Fig A below, which shows a quarter-on-quarter change in subscriber numbers. Though Airtel DTH and Videocon d2h have 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 3.59 per cent. In the case of the third player – Dish TV, it witnessed the lowest growth over a five quarter period starting Q3-2015 until the current quarter at 2.19 per cent

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

    (2) This report covers only the three of the seven DTH service providers in India (as had the previous two reports) since the other four – Reliance Digital TV, Sun Direct (about 97 lakh subscribers as on 31 March, 2015), Tata Sky and DD Free Dish are not listed directly on the bourses and their financial numbers are not available, unless the principals of these companies/segments chose to reveal them. The three players – Airtel DTH, Dish TV and Videocon d2h have already been covered in our earlier reports.

    (3) Some of the players mention their financial as well as subscription numbers in millions in their financial reports/investor presentations and other documents that they make available publicly. The financial numbers have been converted to Rs crore and subscription number to lakh to an approximation, and percentages have been mentioned to the second decimal place approximation.

    (4) There could be some ambiguity about the market share of the three players. If one were to go by the latest numbers released by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) in February 2016 for September 2015. TRAI’s indicator report says that the number of registered DTH subscribers as on 30 September, 2015 was 814.7 lakh. The combined subscription numbers of the three players as on the same day as reported by them individually was 351.16 lakh and hence the market share of these players works out to 43.10 per cent. However, TRAI’s report also says that the number of active DTH subscribers as on 30 September, 2015 was 410.5 lakh. Based on the second TRAI number, the combined total subscriber market share of the three players in this paper works out to 85.54 per cent. Though, the combined share of subscribers of the three players has declined between Q1-2016 and Q2-2016, based on TRAI numbers, the author contends that it is safe to assume that the three players have more than 50 per cent market share in India in terms of subscribers.

    (5) Videocon d2h EBIDTA numbers are adjusted.

    Although in absolute numbers, Q3-2016 saw probably the highest subscriber additions by the three players per quarter over the past few quarters, in percentage terms it was slightly lower at 3.59 per cent in the current quarter as compared to 3.62 per cent in Q1-2016. Overall, the three players in this report have mentioned a combined net addition of 12.6 lakh subscribers in Q3-2016. In Q1-2016, the three had reported a combined net addition of 11.99 lakh subscribers.

    Dish TV managing director Jawahar Goel said, “We continued to build our pan-India reach during the quarter. However, as expected, despite analogue sunset there was no real spike in consumer demand from Phase III markets thus making it an ordinary quarter from that perspective. Later, changing gears to align with the current industry trend, we tweaked our subscription packages to a more versatile and seemingly economical offering. Mandatory digitisation however is expected to pick up speed and our key focus going forward would be to gain market share both in terms of subscribers and profitability.”

    Of the three, Airtel DTH added the highest number of subscribers in Q3-2016, about six lakh subscribers. Further, among the three players, Dish TV has the largest subscriber base – about 140 lakh, followed by Videocon d2h with 112.7 lakh and Airtel DTH with 111.06 lakh subscribers. In terms of revenue, it is Dish TV that leads with the highest revenue, followed by Airtel DTH, with Videocon d2h among the 3 players in this report.

    Please refer to the figure below. Panel A indicates the combined numbers of the three players, Panels B, C and D indicate the playout of revenue, EBIDTA and subscription base for Airtel DTH, Dish TV and Videocon d2h respectively, panel E indicates ARPU and panel F monthly subscriber churn.

    Please refer to Panel A in the graphs above. The combined revenues of the three players in the current quarter grew 17.24 per cent year on year (YoY) to Rs 2,245.17 crore from Rs Rs 1,915.01 crore and grew 4.46 per cent quarter on quarter (QoQ) as compared to Rs 2149.32 crore. EBIDTA increased 41.35 per cent YoY in Q3-2016 to Rs 710.51 crore (31.65 per cent margin) from Rs 503.65 crore (26.25 per cent margin) and grew 4.44 per cent QoQ from Rs 680.30 crore (31.65 per cent margin). Reported Combined Subscription numbers in Q2-2016 grew 13.22 per cent YoY to 363.76 lakh from 321.3 lakh and grew 3.59 per cent QoQ from 351.16 lakh.

    Please refer to panel F above. All the three players have reported a monthly subscriber churn of around 0.7 per cent in the current quarter, as compared to a high of 1.3 per cent in Q2-2016.

    Airtel DTH

    Airtel’s DTH segment contributes about four per cent to the telecom giant’s overall revenue. Revenue for the DTH segment in Q3-2016 increased 19 per cent to Rs 742.2 crore, up 19 per cent YoY as compared to Rs 623.4 crore. EBIDTA for Q3-2016 grew 45 per cent to Rs 247.4 crore (33.3 per cent margin) as compared to Rs 170.7 crore (27.4 per cent margin).

    The segment’s subscriber base grew 13.2 per cent YoY to 111.06 lakh in the current quarter as compared to 98.10 lakh and grew five per cent as compared to 105.76 lakh in the immediate preceding quarter. Though in US dollar terms, average revenue per user (ARPU) was constant YoY and QoQ at $3.5, it has increased seven per cent YoY in Indian rupees to Rs 229 from Rs 214 and increased two per cent QoQ from Rs 224.

    Dish TV

    Dish TV added 3.17 lakh net subscribers (the least among the three) in the quarter ended 31 December, 2015 (Q3-2016, current quarter), taking its subscriber base on that date to 140 lakh. Dish TV is the largest DTH player in the country in terms of subscribers as well as revenue. The company reported 11.8 per cent YOY revenue growth in the current quarter at Rs 771.48 crore as compared to Rs 690.08 crore and 2.5 per cent more QoQ as compared to Rs 752.42 crore.

    The company reported 39.1 per cent EBIDTA growth in the current quarter at Rs 265.4 crore as compared to Rs 190.8 crore in the corresponding year ago quarter and 4.1 per cent more than the Rs 255 crore in the immediate trailing quarter. Dish TV reported PAT in Q3-2016 at Rs 68.49 as compared to a loss of Rs 2.63 crore in the corresponding prior year quarter, but a decline of 21.3 per cent as compared to Rs 86.96 crore in the previous quarter.

    ARPU in the current quarter declined by Rs 5 YoY to Rs 172, but increased by Rs 1 QoQ.

    Videocon d2h

    Videocon d2h added 6.7 lakh gross subscribers and 4.3 lakh net subscribers during the quarter. Gross subscribers totalled 149.5 lakh and net subscribers totalled 112.7 lakh as of 31 December, 2015.

    The company’s revenue from operations (TIO) increased 21.6 per cent YoY to Rs 731.49 crore in Q3-2016 as compared to Rs 601.53 crore, and increased six per cent QoQ from Rs 690.08 crore.

    Videocon d2h reported 42.2 per cent YoY growth in adjusted EBITDA at Rs 201 crore for Q3- 2016 compared to Rs 141 crore in the corresponding year ago quarter. Net loss for the quarter declined to Rs 22.05 crore as compared to the net loss of Rs 79.8 crore in Q3-2015.

    ARPU in Q3-2016 increased 8.2 per cent to Rs 211 as compared to Rs 195 in Q3-2015 and increased 2.9 per cent as compared to Rs 205 in Q2-2016.

    Closing remarks

    Dish TV, which is more of a value player when compared to the other two players in this report, which could be labelled a premium players in terms of subscription packages, could show even better results in terms of better subscriber acquisition and hence higher revenues over the next few quarters, considering the fact that it is tweaking its subscription packages to be more economical.

    Videocon d2h executive chairman Saurabh Dhoot said, “In the first few days of January 2016, we saw strong pick up in subscriber additions in cities that come under Phase III digitisation. Recently, a few state high courts issued a stay order on implementation of Phase III digitisation for one to three months. This was in line with our expectations of the digitisation being a staggered process.”

    “We estimate around 50 million television homes come under Phase III digitisation, of which 24-25 million television homes are already on the digital platform. Thus, the target market under Phase III digitisation is the remaining 25-26 million television homes that are currently on analogue cable,” added Dhoot.

    Investors in Indian DTH companies could heave a sigh of relief – Chrome figures recently released for the month of January 2016 reveal that the DTH industry is a major beneficiary of DAS phase III. If that is the case, then DTH players should report even better numbers for Q4-2016 and FY-2016. Another heartening revelation was made by Sun TV Network Limited (Sun TV) in its earnings release for Q3-2016. Sun TV says that its DTH business under the brand Sun Direct, revenue was up approximately 14 per cent. Subsidy costs for DTH set top boxes is going down, and that should help with improved bottom lines.

    Going on to 31 December, 2016, the sunset date for DAS IV, the DTH platform should be able to garner a big chunk of subscribers from DAS IV areas. The future seems good, let’s see how it plays out from the DTH industry’s perspective.

  • Status Report: Q3-2016: DAS Phase III deadline no great shakes for DTH industry

    Status Report: Q3-2016: DAS Phase III deadline no great shakes for DTH industry

    BENGALURU: Contrary to expectations that the sunset date of 31 December, 2015 (Q3-2016 in financial terms in India) would rake in good numbers for the DTH industry for the quarter ended 31 December, 2015 (Q3-2015, current quarter), results declared by three of the seven players in the country show not much of a change.

    Refer to Fig A below, which shows a quarter-on-quarter change in subscriber numbers. Though Airtel DTH and Videocon d2h have 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 3.59 per cent. In the case of the third player – Dish TV, it witnessed the lowest growth over a five quarter period starting Q3-2015 until the current quarter at 2.19 per cent

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

    (2) This report covers only the three of the seven DTH service providers in India (as had the previous two reports) since the other four – Reliance Digital TV, Sun Direct (about 97 lakh subscribers as on 31 March, 2015), Tata Sky and DD Free Dish are not listed directly on the bourses and their financial numbers are not available, unless the principals of these companies/segments chose to reveal them. The three players – Airtel DTH, Dish TV and Videocon d2h have already been covered in our earlier reports.

    (3) Some of the players mention their financial as well as subscription numbers in millions in their financial reports/investor presentations and other documents that they make available publicly. The financial numbers have been converted to Rs crore and subscription number to lakh to an approximation, and percentages have been mentioned to the second decimal place approximation.

    (4) There could be some ambiguity about the market share of the three players. If one were to go by the latest numbers released by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) in February 2016 for September 2015. TRAI’s indicator report says that the number of registered DTH subscribers as on 30 September, 2015 was 814.7 lakh. The combined subscription numbers of the three players as on the same day as reported by them individually was 351.16 lakh and hence the market share of these players works out to 43.10 per cent. However, TRAI’s report also says that the number of active DTH subscribers as on 30 September, 2015 was 410.5 lakh. Based on the second TRAI number, the combined total subscriber market share of the three players in this paper works out to 85.54 per cent. Though, the combined share of subscribers of the three players has declined between Q1-2016 and Q2-2016, based on TRAI numbers, the author contends that it is safe to assume that the three players have more than 50 per cent market share in India in terms of subscribers.

    (5) Videocon d2h EBIDTA numbers are adjusted.

    Although in absolute numbers, Q3-2016 saw probably the highest subscriber additions by the three players per quarter over the past few quarters, in percentage terms it was slightly lower at 3.59 per cent in the current quarter as compared to 3.62 per cent in Q1-2016. Overall, the three players in this report have mentioned a combined net addition of 12.6 lakh subscribers in Q3-2016. In Q1-2016, the three had reported a combined net addition of 11.99 lakh subscribers.

    Dish TV managing director Jawahar Goel said, “We continued to build our pan-India reach during the quarter. However, as expected, despite analogue sunset there was no real spike in consumer demand from Phase III markets thus making it an ordinary quarter from that perspective. Later, changing gears to align with the current industry trend, we tweaked our subscription packages to a more versatile and seemingly economical offering. Mandatory digitisation however is expected to pick up speed and our key focus going forward would be to gain market share both in terms of subscribers and profitability.”

    Of the three, Airtel DTH added the highest number of subscribers in Q3-2016, about six lakh subscribers. Further, among the three players, Dish TV has the largest subscriber base – about 140 lakh, followed by Videocon d2h with 112.7 lakh and Airtel DTH with 111.06 lakh subscribers. In terms of revenue, it is Dish TV that leads with the highest revenue, followed by Airtel DTH, with Videocon d2h among the 3 players in this report.

    Please refer to the figure below. Panel A indicates the combined numbers of the three players, Panels B, C and D indicate the playout of revenue, EBIDTA and subscription base for Airtel DTH, Dish TV and Videocon d2h respectively, panel E indicates ARPU and panel F monthly subscriber churn.

    Please refer to Panel A in the graphs above. The combined revenues of the three players in the current quarter grew 17.24 per cent year on year (YoY) to Rs 2,245.17 crore from Rs Rs 1,915.01 crore and grew 4.46 per cent quarter on quarter (QoQ) as compared to Rs 2149.32 crore. EBIDTA increased 41.35 per cent YoY in Q3-2016 to Rs 710.51 crore (31.65 per cent margin) from Rs 503.65 crore (26.25 per cent margin) and grew 4.44 per cent QoQ from Rs 680.30 crore (31.65 per cent margin). Reported Combined Subscription numbers in Q2-2016 grew 13.22 per cent YoY to 363.76 lakh from 321.3 lakh and grew 3.59 per cent QoQ from 351.16 lakh.

    Please refer to panel F above. All the three players have reported a monthly subscriber churn of around 0.7 per cent in the current quarter, as compared to a high of 1.3 per cent in Q2-2016.

    Airtel DTH

    Airtel’s DTH segment contributes about four per cent to the telecom giant’s overall revenue. Revenue for the DTH segment in Q3-2016 increased 19 per cent to Rs 742.2 crore, up 19 per cent YoY as compared to Rs 623.4 crore. EBIDTA for Q3-2016 grew 45 per cent to Rs 247.4 crore (33.3 per cent margin) as compared to Rs 170.7 crore (27.4 per cent margin).

    The segment’s subscriber base grew 13.2 per cent YoY to 111.06 lakh in the current quarter as compared to 98.10 lakh and grew five per cent as compared to 105.76 lakh in the immediate preceding quarter. Though in US dollar terms, average revenue per user (ARPU) was constant YoY and QoQ at $3.5, it has increased seven per cent YoY in Indian rupees to Rs 229 from Rs 214 and increased two per cent QoQ from Rs 224.

    Dish TV

    Dish TV added 3.17 lakh net subscribers (the least among the three) in the quarter ended 31 December, 2015 (Q3-2016, current quarter), taking its subscriber base on that date to 140 lakh. Dish TV is the largest DTH player in the country in terms of subscribers as well as revenue. The company reported 11.8 per cent YOY revenue growth in the current quarter at Rs 771.48 crore as compared to Rs 690.08 crore and 2.5 per cent more QoQ as compared to Rs 752.42 crore.

    The company reported 39.1 per cent EBIDTA growth in the current quarter at Rs 265.4 crore as compared to Rs 190.8 crore in the corresponding year ago quarter and 4.1 per cent more than the Rs 255 crore in the immediate trailing quarter. Dish TV reported PAT in Q3-2016 at Rs 68.49 as compared to a loss of Rs 2.63 crore in the corresponding prior year quarter, but a decline of 21.3 per cent as compared to Rs 86.96 crore in the previous quarter.

    ARPU in the current quarter declined by Rs 5 YoY to Rs 172, but increased by Rs 1 QoQ.

    Videocon d2h

    Videocon d2h added 6.7 lakh gross subscribers and 4.3 lakh net subscribers during the quarter. Gross subscribers totalled 149.5 lakh and net subscribers totalled 112.7 lakh as of 31 December, 2015.

    The company’s revenue from operations (TIO) increased 21.6 per cent YoY to Rs 731.49 crore in Q3-2016 as compared to Rs 601.53 crore, and increased six per cent QoQ from Rs 690.08 crore.

    Videocon d2h reported 42.2 per cent YoY growth in adjusted EBITDA at Rs 201 crore for Q3- 2016 compared to Rs 141 crore in the corresponding year ago quarter. Net loss for the quarter declined to Rs 22.05 crore as compared to the net loss of Rs 79.8 crore in Q3-2015.

    ARPU in Q3-2016 increased 8.2 per cent to Rs 211 as compared to Rs 195 in Q3-2015 and increased 2.9 per cent as compared to Rs 205 in Q2-2016.

    Closing remarks

    Dish TV, which is more of a value player when compared to the other two players in this report, which could be labelled a premium players in terms of subscription packages, could show even better results in terms of better subscriber acquisition and hence higher revenues over the next few quarters, considering the fact that it is tweaking its subscription packages to be more economical.

    Videocon d2h executive chairman Saurabh Dhoot said, “In the first few days of January 2016, we saw strong pick up in subscriber additions in cities that come under Phase III digitisation. Recently, a few state high courts issued a stay order on implementation of Phase III digitisation for one to three months. This was in line with our expectations of the digitisation being a staggered process.”

    “We estimate around 50 million television homes come under Phase III digitisation, of which 24-25 million television homes are already on the digital platform. Thus, the target market under Phase III digitisation is the remaining 25-26 million television homes that are currently on analogue cable,” added Dhoot.

    Investors in Indian DTH companies could heave a sigh of relief – Chrome figures recently released for the month of January 2016 reveal that the DTH industry is a major beneficiary of DAS phase III. If that is the case, then DTH players should report even better numbers for Q4-2016 and FY-2016. Another heartening revelation was made by Sun TV Network Limited (Sun TV) in its earnings release for Q3-2016. Sun TV says that its DTH business under the brand Sun Direct, revenue was up approximately 14 per cent. Subsidy costs for DTH set top boxes is going down, and that should help with improved bottom lines.

    Going on to 31 December, 2016, the sunset date for DAS IV, the DTH platform should be able to garner a big chunk of subscribers from DAS IV areas. The future seems good, let’s see how it plays out from the DTH industry’s perspective.

  • Q3-2015: DishTV adds 317K subscribers; reports subscription revenue of Rs 711 crore

    Q3-2015: DishTV adds 317K subscribers; reports subscription revenue of Rs 711 crore

    BENGALURU: This is the fourth consecutive quarter that direct to home (DTH) company DishTV has reported growth across important financial and operational parameters including operating revenues (TIO), profit after tax (PAT) and subscription numbers. Last fiscal and quarter (year and quarter ended 31 March, 2015, Q4-2015), Essel Group’s DTH operator Dish TV Limited turned the corner with a consolidated profit after tax (PAT) of Rs 3.14 crore and Rs 34.94 crore (margin 4.8 per cent) respectively. The company followed this up with even better numbers in the previous two quarters (Q1-2016 and Q2-2016).

    The company added 3.17 lakh net subscribers in the quarter ended 31 December, 2015 (Q3-2016, current quarter), taking its subscriber base on that date to 140 lakh. Dish TV is the largest DTH player in the country in terms of subscribers as well as revenue. The company reported 11.8 per cent YOY revenue growth in the current quarter at Rs 771.48 crore as compared to Rs 690.08 crore and 2.5 per cent more QoQ as compared to Rs 752.42 crore.

    Note: 100,00,000 = 100 lakh = 10 million = 1 crore

    The company reported 39.1 per cent EBIDTA growth in the current quarter at Rs 265.4 crore as compared to Rs 190.8 crore in the corresponding year ago quarter and 4.1 per cent more than the Rs 255 crore in the immediate trailing quarter. The company reported PAT in Q3-2016 at Rs 68.49 as compared to a loss of Rs 2.63 crore in the corresponding prior year quarter, but decline 21.3 per cent as compared to Rs 86.96 crore in the previous quarter.

    Dish TV managing director Jawahar Goel said, ““We witnessed steady growth in the third quarter and our key metrics strengthened further. Subscription revenues grew 12.6 per cent while EBITDA margin improved to 34.4 per cent. Churn was lower at 0.7 per cent per month. PAT was Rs. 68.5 crore compared to a loss of Rs.2.6 crore in the corresponding quarter last fiscal. Free cash flow for the quarter stood at Rs. 129.6 crore. With a focus on Balance Sheet strength, Dish TV further pruned its debt by Rs 300 crore. The net debt is now around Rs 561 crore and likely to reduce substantially going forward.”

    Goel added, “Efforts towards 100 per cent village electrification and 24×7 power supply in urban areas have a direct correlation with our business. Improved power quality is likely to increase the consumption of pay-tv and within that, pre-paid platforms like Dish TV. Further, financial inclusion initiatives like the ‘Jan Dhan Yojna’ have also facilitated ease of recharge for DTH subscribers by giving them universal access to banking facilities. Rising income levels, growing urbanisation and favourable population dynamics instil confidence that India would be able to sustain high growth over a long period of time. Such positive indicators are catalysts for consumption driven sectors like DTH.”

    Talking about digitisation and Dish TV’s positioning, Goel said, “We continued to build our pan-India reach during the quarter. However, as expected, despite analogue sunset there was no real spike in consumer demand from Phase III markets thus making it an ordinary quarter from that perspective. Later, changing gears to align with the current industry trend, we tweaked our subscription packages to a more versatile and seemingly economical offering. Mandatory digitisation however is expected to pick up speed and our key focus going forward would be to gain market share both in terms of subscribers and profitability.”

  • Q3-2015: DishTV adds 317K subscribers; reports subscription revenue of Rs 711 crore

    Q3-2015: DishTV adds 317K subscribers; reports subscription revenue of Rs 711 crore

    BENGALURU: This is the fourth consecutive quarter that direct to home (DTH) company DishTV has reported growth across important financial and operational parameters including operating revenues (TIO), profit after tax (PAT) and subscription numbers. Last fiscal and quarter (year and quarter ended 31 March, 2015, Q4-2015), Essel Group’s DTH operator Dish TV Limited turned the corner with a consolidated profit after tax (PAT) of Rs 3.14 crore and Rs 34.94 crore (margin 4.8 per cent) respectively. The company followed this up with even better numbers in the previous two quarters (Q1-2016 and Q2-2016).

    The company added 3.17 lakh net subscribers in the quarter ended 31 December, 2015 (Q3-2016, current quarter), taking its subscriber base on that date to 140 lakh. Dish TV is the largest DTH player in the country in terms of subscribers as well as revenue. The company reported 11.8 per cent YOY revenue growth in the current quarter at Rs 771.48 crore as compared to Rs 690.08 crore and 2.5 per cent more QoQ as compared to Rs 752.42 crore.

    Note: 100,00,000 = 100 lakh = 10 million = 1 crore

    The company reported 39.1 per cent EBIDTA growth in the current quarter at Rs 265.4 crore as compared to Rs 190.8 crore in the corresponding year ago quarter and 4.1 per cent more than the Rs 255 crore in the immediate trailing quarter. The company reported PAT in Q3-2016 at Rs 68.49 as compared to a loss of Rs 2.63 crore in the corresponding prior year quarter, but decline 21.3 per cent as compared to Rs 86.96 crore in the previous quarter.

    Dish TV managing director Jawahar Goel said, ““We witnessed steady growth in the third quarter and our key metrics strengthened further. Subscription revenues grew 12.6 per cent while EBITDA margin improved to 34.4 per cent. Churn was lower at 0.7 per cent per month. PAT was Rs. 68.5 crore compared to a loss of Rs.2.6 crore in the corresponding quarter last fiscal. Free cash flow for the quarter stood at Rs. 129.6 crore. With a focus on Balance Sheet strength, Dish TV further pruned its debt by Rs 300 crore. The net debt is now around Rs 561 crore and likely to reduce substantially going forward.”

    Goel added, “Efforts towards 100 per cent village electrification and 24×7 power supply in urban areas have a direct correlation with our business. Improved power quality is likely to increase the consumption of pay-tv and within that, pre-paid platforms like Dish TV. Further, financial inclusion initiatives like the ‘Jan Dhan Yojna’ have also facilitated ease of recharge for DTH subscribers by giving them universal access to banking facilities. Rising income levels, growing urbanisation and favourable population dynamics instil confidence that India would be able to sustain high growth over a long period of time. Such positive indicators are catalysts for consumption driven sectors like DTH.”

    Talking about digitisation and Dish TV’s positioning, Goel said, “We continued to build our pan-India reach during the quarter. However, as expected, despite analogue sunset there was no real spike in consumer demand from Phase III markets thus making it an ordinary quarter from that perspective. Later, changing gears to align with the current industry trend, we tweaked our subscription packages to a more versatile and seemingly economical offering. Mandatory digitisation however is expected to pick up speed and our key focus going forward would be to gain market share both in terms of subscribers and profitability.”

  • DishTV wins ET’s Best Corporate Brand 2015 award

    DishTV wins ET’s Best Corporate Brand 2015 award

    MUMBAI: DishTV bagged ‘The Economic Times Best Corporate Brands’ award in the DTH category.

     

    The award has been presented to DishTV for being one of the most admired corporate that is shaping up the Indian marketplace. 

    The ET Best Corporate brands is an endeavor of The Economic Times, where it conducts a survey across a wide spectrum of consumers and stakeholder’s demographics in eight metro cities and eight other cities on the basis of parameters like familiarity, interaction, loyalty, trustworthiness, innovation and recommendation.

     

    DishTV chairman and managing director Jawahar Goel said, “We would like to thank all our stakeholders for reposing their faith in DishTV. This is a vindication of our belief that our investments in technology, content, distribution and customer service has helped us in securing the leadership position in the category. We are committed to providing the services that help consumers make the most out of their DTH services and ensure a superior viewing experience that mirrors the latest world standards.”

  • Arun Kapoor becomes new Dish TV CEO

    Arun Kapoor becomes new Dish TV CEO

    MUMBAI: Dish TV India has informed Bonmbay Stock Exchange that upon the recommendation of the Nomination and Remuneration Committee of the Board, the Board of Directors of the Company at their meeting held on 20 November 2015inter alia, has approved the appointment of Arun Kumar Kapoor as the Chief Executive Officer of the Company with effect from November 23, 2015.

     

    Further, Kapoor, has also been nominated as a ‘Key Managerial Personnel’ of the Company under the applicable provisions of the Companies Act, 2013 and Listing Agreement. Kapoor was earlier CEO of Taj  TV, the Zeel; groups distribution business subsidiary, a post from which he resigned in April 2015.

     

    Dish TV India CMD Jawahar Goel, while welcoming Arun Kapoor on board said, “Arun  brings a  depth of  business experience that  will  be a perfect  complement to  the expertise of Dish TV in  the DTH industry. His business acumen will enhance our ability  to deliver consumer oriented services while also increasing stake holder’s value.”

     

    Kapoor, on his appointment as the CEO of Dish TV, said, “I am delighted to have the opportunity to lead Dish TV at this important stage in its journey and look forward to working with  the Dish TV team to  ensure that  the Company delivers as per its  strategic business objectives.”

     

    It may be recalled that the earlier Dish TV CEO R.C. Venkateish  or RC as he is called had resigned effective October 31, along with a number of personnel at Dish TV following a board meeting on October 27.  The meeting also saw the elevation of managing director Jawahar Goel as Dish TV chairman, and the resignation of non-executive promoter director Subhash Chandra from the board. RC shall however continue to be associated with the company in an advisory role specifically in areas relating to content, legal and regulatory affairs. He shall also continue to represent Dish TV in the DTH Association and before industry and regulatory bodies.

  • Dish TV considers deploying 15-20 million multi-layer CAS STBs over 5 years

    Dish TV considers deploying 15-20 million multi-layer CAS STBs over 5 years

    MUMBAI: The Jawahar Goel led Direct-to-home service provider Dish TV India is considering deployment of around 15-20 million Set Top Boxes(STBs) incorporating multi-layer condition access system (CAS) solutions over a period of 5 years and is hopeful of completing the selection process by December 2015. Adoption of multi-layer (CAS) will ward off potential security threats as well as enhance system efficiency going forward.

     

    Further, Dish TV is also toying with deployment of STB’s supporting card-less technology simultaneously. Currently, the DTH operator uses Conax card-based CAS from Nagra and plans to adopt simulcrypting technology going forward..

     

    Dish TV recently issued a request for proposal (RFP) to leading CAS vendors across the globe. Irdeto, Viaccess, Pace, Verimatrix, Cisco, Nagra, Nstv, Conax, Civolution-Nexguard, CRI and SMI are some of the vendors that have shown the interest. The company is currently evaluating all proposals received on a strict core security benchmark and shall select multiple partners keeping its business interests in mind..

     

    With more than 13 million subscribers Dish TV, a part of the Essel Group also provides digital cable television services through its cable distribution arm, Siti Cable (approx. 4 million subscribers). 

     

    Zee Entertainment Enterprise Limited (ZEEL) is the flagship company of the group, and beams more than 100 channels across the globe, through its direct to operator (DTO) arm.