Tag: Videocon DTH

DTH subscriber growth see-saws in three quarters of 2018

BENGALURU: Growth of direct to home (DTH) subscriber base of private players in India was the slowest over the last five years for the nine month period ended 30 September 2018 (TQY 2018, TQY period, three quarters of the year under review) as per Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI). The good news was that the quarter ended 30 June 2108 (Jun-18, last or previous quarter) saw a reversal of fortunes. From a loss of about 30,000 (0.003 crore, 0.3 million, 0.3 lakh) subscribers in the quarter ended 31 March 2018 (Mar-18), DTH subscriber growth was positive 18.4 lakh (0.184 crore, 1.84 million) for the quarter ended 30 June 2018 (Jun-18). However, in the case of the quarter ended 30 September 2018 (Sep-18), subscriber growth has once again nose-dived to just 8,000 subscriber additions. As a matter of fact, the industry has faced one of the worst TQY periods – subscriber growth in TQY-18 was just 1,89,000 (0.0189 crore, 0.189 million) as compared to 3,44,000 (0.0344 crore, 0.344 million) in TQY-17 and 5,92,000 (0.0592 crore, 0.592 million) in TQY-16.

The figure below shows a q-o-q growth of DTH subscribers between the period Mar-16 and Sep-18.It may be noted that Mar-16 growth of 25.5 lakh (0.255 crore, 2.55 million) is with respect to Dec-15.

According to TRAI data, the overall private DTH active subscriber base grew by 0.419 crore or 4.19 million (7.8 percent) in calendar year (CY 2017) to 6.756 crore or 67.56 million from 6.256 crore or 62.65 million in CY 2016. Comparatively, in 2016, the overall private DTH active subscriber base grew by 6.67 million or 0.667 crore (11.9 percent) from 55.98 million or 5.598 crore in CY- 2015.

Please refer to the figure below for the DTH subscriber numbers as per TRAI data:

The merger between Dish TV and Videocon d2h that was effective since October 2018 has created the largest DTH services company in India and the second largest globally in terms of number of active subscribers. Please refer to the three figures below for approximate market share of the private DTH players in India in CY 2017, CY 2017 and CY 2018:

It must also be mentioned that the government’s FreeDish DTH service is the largest DTH player by far in terms of subscribers with an estimated 22 million or 2.2 crore subscribers in 2016 as per the KPMG-FICCI Indian Media and Entertainment Industry Report 2017 (KPMG-FICCI M&E Report 2017) titled Media for the Masse: The Future Unfolds. It must however be noted that an exact number for registered or active subscribers is not available since this is a free DTH service. Also, the merger of Videocon d2h with Dish TV will create the largest private television carriage player in India and quite likely the second largest in the world, be it cable, internet television or DTH or any other.

January 9, 2019
DTH subscriber growth slow in first half of 2018

BENGALURU: Growth of direct to home (DTH) subscriber base of private players in India was the slowest in five half-years for the half year ended 30 June 2018 (HY 2018, half year under review) as per Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI). The good news is that the quarter ended 30 June 2108 saw a reversal of fortunes. From a loss of about 30,000 (0.003 crore, 0.3 million, 0.3 lakh) subscribers in the quarter ended 31 March 2018 (Mar-18), DTH subscriber growth was positive 18.4 lakh (0.184 crore, 1.84 million) for the quarter ended 30 June 2018 (Jun-18, quarter under review).

The figure below shows a q-o-q growth of DTH subscribers between the period Mar-16 and Jun-18.It may be noted that Mar-16 growth of 25.5 lakh (0.255 crore, 2.55 million) is with respect to Dec-15.

According to TRAI data, the overall private DTH active subscriber base grew by 0.419 crore or 4.19 million (7.8 percent) in calendar year (CY 2017) to 4.19 million or 67.56 million from 6.256 crore or 62.65 million in CY 2016. Comparatively, in 2016, the overall private DTH active subscriber base grew by 6.67 million or 0.667 crore (11.9 percent) from 55.98 million or 5.598 crore in CY- 2015.

Please refer to the figure below for the DTH subscriber numbers as per Trai data:

The merger between Dish TV and Videocon d2h that was effective since October 2018 has created the largest DTH services company in India and the second largest globally in terms of number of active subscribers. Please refer to the three figures below for approximate market share of the private DTH players in India in CY 2017, CY 2017 and CY 2018:

It must also be mentioned that the government’s FreeDish DTH service is the largest DTH player by far in terms of subscribers with an estimated 22 million or 2.2 crore subscribers in 2016 as per the KPMG-FICCI Indian Media and Entertainment Industry Report 2017 (KPMG-FICCI M&E Report 2017) titled Media for the Masse: The Future Unfolds. It must however be noted that an exact number for registered or active subscribers is not available since this is a free DTH service. Also, the merger of Videocon d2h with Dish TV will create the largest private television carriage player in India and quite likely the second largest in the world, be it cable, internet television or DTH or any other.

October 5, 2018
Tata Sky, Airtel DTH gain market share in 2017

BENGALURU: Tata Sky and Airtel Digital TV (Airtel DTH) have reason to rejoice as they saw market share rise in calendar year 2017 as compared to a year ago. Both saw an increase by one per cent each at the end of December 2017 as compared to at the end of December 2016 according to Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) data.

Tata Sky had 24 per cent market share at the end of 2017 (CY-2017) as compared to 23 per cent at the end of 2016 (CY-2016), while Airtel DTH had 21 per cent share as compared to 23 per cent during the same period. Hence, the market share of Tata Sky and Dish TV, which lost one per cent market share in 2017, was the same. The other player that lost market share was Videocon d2h – its market share fell by a percentage point to 19 per cent in 2017 as compared to 20 per cent in 2016.

We had mentioned earlier that the share of the three major players whose numbers are available in the public domain –(in order of number of subscribers – Dish TV, Airtel DTH and Videocon d2h) has been declining – from about 65 per cent to 64 per cent in the Jun-Sep17 quarter to an even lower 63 per cent in the Oct- Dec 2017 quarter.

Please refer to the market shares of the six private DTH players at the end of 2017 and 2016 according to TRAI data:

According to TRAI data, the overall private DTH active subscriber base grew by 4.19 million or 0.419 crore (7.8 per cent) in CY-2017 to 67.56 million or 6.756 crore from 62.65 million or 6.256 crore in CY- 2016. Comparatively, in 2016, the overall private DTH active subscriber base grew by 6.67 million or 0.667 crore (11.9 per cent) from 55.98 million or 5.598 crore in CY- 2015.

As also mentioned by us earlier, quarterly data released by TRAI indicates that the industry added net 2.25 million or 0.225 crore subscribers for the quarter ended 31 December 2017 (Oct-Dec17 quarter), hence the final quarter of CY-2017 accounted for about 46 per cent of the net subscribers added during the year. The Oct-Dec17 quarter had the highest quarter-on-quarter pay-TV DTH subscriber growth in CY- 2017 at 3.45 per cent.

We’d said that CY-2017 saw muted pay-TV DTH subscriber growth. Those numbers were based on the results declared by the above mentioned three private DTH players.

It must also be mentioned that the government’s FreeDish DTH service is the largest DTH player by far in terms of subscribers with an estimated 22 million or 2.2 crore subscribers in 2016 as per the KPMG-FICCI Indian Media and Entertainment Industry Report 2017 (KPMG-FICCI M&E Report 2017) titled Media for the Masse: The Future Unfolds. It must however be noted that an exact number for registered or active subscribers is not available since this is a free DTH service. Also, the merger of Videocon d2h with Dish TV has created the largest private television carriage player in India and quite likely the second largest in the world, be it cable, internet television or DTH or any other.

May 4, 2018
Oct-Dec quarter sees highest pay TV DTH subscriber growth in 2017

BENGALURU: After the debacle created by demonetisation in November 2016 and then the implementation of the new Goods and Services Tax regime in July 2017, the fortunes of the pay TV direct-to-home (DTH) industry seem to be improving in terms of subscriber addition. Quarterly data released by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) indicates that the industry added net 22.5 lakh (2.25 million) subscribers for the quarter ended 31 December 2017 (October to December17 quarter). Throughout the calendar year 2017 (CY-2017), the industry had added 49.1 lakh (4.91 million subscribers), hence the final quarter of CY-2017 accounted for about 46 percent of the net subscribers added during the year.The Oct-Dec17 quarter had the highest quarter-on-quarter pay-TV DTH subscriber growth in CY-2017 at 3.45 percent. The number of active pay-TV DTH subscribers in India as per TRAI data as on 31 December 2017 was 675.6 lakh or 67.56 million as compared to 653.1 lakh (65.31 million) in the Jun-Sep17 quarter.

As mentioned by us earlier, CY-2017 saw muted pay-TV DTH subscriber growth. Those numbers were based on the results declared by three private DTH players whose numbers are available in the public domain. They are: Indian telecom major Bharti Airtel’s Airtel Digital TV (Airtel DTH), the Essel group’s Dish TV and Videocon d2h. The other three private pay-TV players during a part of CY-2017 were Tata Sky, the Sun TV Network’s Sun Direct and Reliance Big TV. It may be noted that Reliance Big TV has been acquired by Pantel Technologies and Veecon Media. Normal operations have to recommence as yet. A number of Big TV customers were acquired by other players and the true status of its operations and current subscriber numbers are still unclear at the time of writing of this paper. Furthermore, the merger of Videocon d2h into Dish TV has been recently concluded, and the combined entity has the second largest pay-TV subscriber base in the world.

Be that as it may, the share of the three major players in the Oct-Dec17 quarter (in order of number of subscribers–Dish TV, Airtel DTH and Videocon d2h) has been declining from about 65 percent to 64 percent in the Jun-Sep17 quarter to an even lower 63 percent in the Oct-Dec17 quarter. It may be noted that Tata Sky subscriber base could be higher than Airtel’s subscriber base. Tata Sky data is not available in the public domain, and hence this cannot be verified or neglected.

Besides the six private pay DTH players, Doordarshan’s (DD) FreeDish DTH service is a major player in terms of subscribers with an estimated 2.2 crore as per the numbers available in the public domain. It must, however, be noted that an exact number of registered or active subscribers is not available even with DD since this is a free DTH service.According to an E&Y report titled ‘India’s Free TV’ released in July 2017, among the DTH operators in India DD FreeDish has grown to become the largest with its estimated 2.2 crore subscribers which E&Y predicted could cross 4 crore over the next two to three years.

Please refer to the figure below for the trends of pay-TV subscribers based on TRAI data and the numbers published by the three players in the public domain. Q-o-q growth for the Jan-Mar16 quarter cannot be compared with the Oct-Dec15 quarter since TRAI changed the way it measured active DTH subscribers in the Jan-Mar16 quarter.

Also Read :

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

DTH subscriber growth muted in CY-2017

DTH subscriber growth down in second quarter

March 28, 2018
DTH subscriber growth muted in CY-2017

BENGALURU: DAS, especially phases 3 and 4, was supposed to be a great growth opportunity for television direct-to-home (DTH) service providers. Has that been the case? Not if one were to go by data released by the Telecom Regulatory of India (TRAI) and three of the six private DTH players in India.

The status quo

At present, there are six private pay-TV players (five active in the true sense of the word) and one government free-TV player DD FreeDish. The five players are: Airtel Digital TV or Airtel DTH, Dish TV, Sun Direct, TataSkyand Videocon DTH–the sixth player being Reliance Digital TV or Big TV.

Reliance Big TV has been acquired by Pantel Technologies and Veecon Media. Normal operations have to recommence as yet. A number of Big TV customers were acquired by other players and the true status of its operations and current subscriber numbers are still unclear at the time of writing.

Please refer to the figure below for subscriber share of the six private players at the end of 30 September 2017 (Q2-18 or Q2-2108).

DTH subscriber acquisition seems to have petered down in calendar year 2017 (CY2017, 1 January 2017 to 31 December 2017) as compared with CY 2016. Please refer to the chart below for active subscribers addedas per TRAI data until 30 September 2017 (Q2-2018) and data reported by the three private players – Airtel DTH, Dish TV and Videocon d2h until 31 December 2017. It may be noted that these three players had almost 63 percent share of subscribers according to the above-mentioned Dish TV investor presentation.

The continuous blue curved line in the chart below represents the total number of net active subscribersaddedfor each quarter – this number has been obtained by deducting the number of active subscribers in a quarter from the number of subscribers in the previous quarter. The combined total number of the three subscribers has been obtained by addition of net subscribers added by each of the three players – Airtel DTH, Dish TV and Videocon d2h – as declared by them in their financial/other releases and presentations. Thesecombined subscriber additions are represented by the continuous maroon line in the figure. The broken grey line represents the percentage of the combined net subscriber additions by the three players of the total subscriber additions as per TRAI data.

The chart below indicates the subscriber base of the three players and all private DTH players as per quarterly data released by TRAI. TRAI data for the October-December 2017 quarter has not been released at the time of writing. Subscriber data for each of the three players mentioned below has been obtained from their respective financial releases and presentations. The numbers have been rounded off to the nearest lakh by the author.

As is obvious, Dish TV is the biggest player in the country in terms of subscribers followed by Airtel DTH and Videocon d2h in that order. It may be noted that Tata Sky subscriber base could be higher than Airtel’s subscriber base. Tata Sky data is not available in the public domain, and hence this cannot be verified.

Overall, the players are faced with declining monthly average revenue per user (ARPU). In absence of complete ARPU data, the author has taken the liberty to calculate ARPUs of each of the three players by using quarterly operating revenue/subscription revenue of the players and dividing it by the subscriber base at the end of that quarter and then calculating the ARPU per month. Similarly, the quarterly operating/subscription revenues of the three players have been added and then divided by the combined subscriber base of the three players at the end of that quarter and then the average monthly average ARPU has been arrived at. In each case calculated ARPU numbers have been rounded off to the nearest rupee.

The combined four quarter average monthly ARPU of the three players across four quarters of 2017 has declined by Rs 9 to Rs 183 from Rs 192 in CY-2016. Airtel DTH is the premium player – its four quarter average monthly ARPU in 2017 increased by Rs 2 to Rs 230 from Rs 228 in 2017. Dish TV is a value player, its average declined by Rs 18 in 2017 to Rs 143 from Rs 161 in 2016. Videocon d2h four quarter average monthly ARPU in 2017 declined by Rs 9 to Rs 186 from Rs 195 in 2017. It must be reiterated here that the ARPU numbers mentioned in this paper have been calculated by the author and may vary from the actual numbers. The numbers in the graph below are just indicative numbers.

Besides the six private pay DTH players, FreeDish is a major player in terms of subscribers with an estimated 2.2 crore as per the numbers available in the public domain. It must however be noted that an exact number for registered or active subscribers is not available even with DD, since this is a free DTH service. If and when the announced Dish TV Videocon d2h merger happens, the merged entity will probably be one of the largest DTH players in the world in terms of subscriber numbers.

According to an E&Y report titled ‘India’s Free TV’ released in July 2017, among the DTH operators in India, FreeDish has grown to become the largest with its estimated 2.2 crore subscribers which E&Y predicted could cross 4 crore over the next two to three years.

A number of reasons can be attributed to this dismal performance–two of the chief ones that have been touted over the recent past by most players in media and entertainment industry are demonetisation in November 2016 and the implementation of the new GST regime. Given that most of India faced a cash crunch for a few months post demonetisation, money spends for entertainment took the least priority for the common man.Subscriber acquisition seems to have picked up in the April-June 2017 quarter, only to be dampened in the July-September 2017 – the quarter in which the new GST regime was implemented. The glitches of the new GST are slowly being ironed out. In the absence of TRAI data for the October-December 2017 quarter, numbers reported by the three players seem to indicate that DTH subscriber acquisition should have improved. Despite this, it seems unlikely that the industry was able to surpass or even match subscriber growth of CY-2016.

Another important reason could be that DTH is considered a premium service – by all the stakeholders in carriage ecosystem with the resulting perception that procurement as well as monthly subscription will be premium and hence a deterrent for the consumer. While some players such as Dish TV have been making attempts to come up with packages that it perceives should attract the masses, but, results as per TRAI data seem to indicate otherwise. Yes, Dish TV is the largest private player in the country that has come up with different pricing models under different brands, whether unwittingly or not, most of the other players present themselves as premium players and seem to have done little in that direction.

Also Read :

DTH’s year of consolidation

Recalibrating India’s DTH sector after Airtel DTH-Warburg Pincus deal

Veecon Media acquires Reliance Big TV

February 26, 2018
DTH subscriber growth down in second quarter

BENGALURU: The carriage industry and more specifically the direct to home or DTH industry had a disappointing fiscal year 2017 (FY-17, year ended 31 March 2017) in terms of subscriber growth. Going by the subscriber numbers data of the six private DTH players in India provided by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) in its Indicator Reports of the Indian Telecom Sector. This dismal performance seems to have spilled over to the second quarter of financial year 2017 (FY-18, year commenced on 1 April 2017 until 31 March 2018) as per TRAI data for the quarter ended 30 September 2017 (Q2-18, quarter under consideration). The industry could add just 2.47 million subscribers during the first six months (first 2 quarters, 1 April 2017 to 30 September 2017) as compared to the 3.37 million subscribers it added during the corresponding year six-month period the year before. Active DTH subscribers added in Q2-18 were just 0.78 million as compared to 1.4 million in Q2-17.

Further, as reported by us earlier, despite the sunset date for DAS IV having passed, the DTH industry had not been able to leverage the opportunity that it was presented with. Earlier, TRAI numbers for the six private players in the DTH industry showed a very poor growth rate of just 0.96 million and 5.08 million during the quarter and year ended 31 March 2017 (Q4-17, FY-17) respectively. This figure is far lower – less than one-third of the 17.38 million active DTH subscribers that were added in fiscal 2016 by the six.

Please refer to the figure below – The three players whose numbers are available in the public domain and whose combined q-o-q subscriber growth has been represented in the figure are Dish TV, Airtel DTH and Videocon d2h

Let us understand the status of the DTH industry at the end of September 2017. The six private DTH players are – Dish TV, Tata Sky, Airtel Digital Services (Airtel DTH), Videocon DTH, Sun Direct, and the Anil Ambani-led Reliance Big TV (Big TV). It may be noted that Big TV announced closure of its operations since November 2017. The three players – Dish TV, Airtel DTH and Videocon d2h represented approximately 63 to 65 percent of the active pay-TV DTH subscribers at the end of September 2017. Please refer to figure below for subscriber share of the private DTH players as per data in the public domain:

Besides the six private pay DTH players, Doordarshan’s (DD) Free Dish DTH service is a major player in terms of subscribers with an estimated 22 million as per the numbers available in the public domain. It must however be noted that an exact number for registered or active subscribers is not available even with DD, since this is a free DTH service. When the announced Dish TV Videocon d2h merger happens, the merged entity will probably be one of the largest DTH players in the world in terms of subscriber numbers.

According to an E&Y report titled ‘India’s Free TV’ released in July 2017, among the DTH operators in India, DD Free Dish has grown to become the largest with its estimated 22 million subscribers which E&Y predicted could cross 40 million over the next two to three years.

A number of reasons can be attributed to this dismal performance – two of the chief ones that are touted over the recent past by most players in media and entertainment industry – demonetisation in November 2016 and the implementation of GST. Another important reason could be that DTH is considered a premium service – by all the stakeholders in the carriage ecosystem with the resulting perception that procurement as well as monthly subscription will be premium and hence a deterrent for the consumer. While some players such as Dish TV have been making attempts to come up with packages that it perceives should attract the masses, but, results as per TRAI data seem to indicate otherwise. Yes, Dish TV is the largest private player in the country that has come up with different pricing models under different brands. Whether unwittingly or not, most of the other players present themselves as premium players and seem to have done little in that direction.

December 29, 2017
DTH subscriber growth on upswing in first quarter?

BENGALURU: Is the DTH subscriber growth in the first quarter of fiscal 2017 (Q1-18, quarter ended 30 June 2017, current quarter) on an upswing? Of the six private players in the Indian DTH ecosystem, three are publically listed and their numbers are available in the public domain. Two players, Airtel DTH and Dish TV, have indicated a quarter-on-quarter growth in number of subscriber additions. Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has yet to release subscription numbers for Q1-18.

Airtel has indicated subscriber additions of 0.499 million for Q1-18 as compared to 0.228 million for the previous quarter (quarter ended 31 March 2017, Q4-17, previous quarter). Dish TV reported adding 0.186 million subscribers as compared to an estimated 0.165 million additions for the previous quarter.

The third player – Videocon d2h reported adding 0.13 million subscribers in Q1-18 as compared to the slightly higher 0.14 million for Q4-17. It may be noted that subscriber numbers are generally rounded off by the players in their reports, in some case to an extent of 10,000. Also, the sum of the net subscriber additions per quarter may not be equal to the overall subscribers reported as added in a fiscal by the companies because of subscriber churn and rounding off.

Please refer to the figure below:

As reported by us earlier, despite the sunset date for DAS IV having passed, the DTH industry had not been able to leverage the opportunity that it presented. Financial results of Airtel Digital TV (Airtel DTH), Dish TV, and Videocon DTH show poor subscriber adds in the quarter ended 31 March 2017 (fourth quarter, Q4-17). As a matter of fact, subscriber additions in Q4-17 was the lowest that the three Indian major operators reported in a quarter for the financial year ended 31 March 2017 (FY-17). The combined subscribers for all the three players grew 8.33 percent to 41.23 million in FY-17 from 38.06 million in FY-16. In FY-16, the three players had added about 65 percent more subscribers in absolute numbers at 4.93 million as compared to the 3.81 million added in FY-17.

The DTH industry witnessed a slowdown in subscriber growth even in fiscal 2016. Combined subscriber additions of the three pay-direct to home operators in India for the annual period ended 31 March 2016 (FY-16) vis-à-vis the previous year (FY-15) grew by 14.8 percent. This subscriber growth rate was however was much lower than the growth that these entities had in FY-15 at 24.7 percent as compared to FY-14.

The current DTH scenario in India

Dish TV is at present the largest private DTH player in the country in terms of number of subscribers. The three players – Airtel DTH, Dish TV and Videocon d2h represent about 60 to 65 percent marketshare of the pay-TV DTH industry subscribers. The other three players are Tata Sky, Sun Direct and Big TV. Please refer to the figure below for the estimated subscriber marketshare of the private pay-TV players.

The government’s FreeDish DTH service is the largest DTH player by far in terms of subscribers with an estimated 22million or 2.2 crore subscribers in 2016 as per the KPMG-FICCI Indian Media and Entertainment Industry Report 2017 (KPMG-FICCI M&E Report 2017) titled Media for the Masse: The Future Unfolds. It must however be noted that an exact number for registered or active subscribers is not available since this is a free DTH service. Also, the proposed merger of Videocon d2h with Dish TV will create the largest private television carriage player in India and quite likely the second largest in the world, be it cable, internet television or DTH or any other.

August 30, 2017
DTH subscriber growth slows down even further

BENGALURU: Despite the information and broadcasting (I&B) ministry extending the deadline for phase IV of cable television digitisation by three months to 31 March 2017, owing to the “unsatisfactory progress of installation of set top boxes (STBs) in phase IV areas”, reports submitted by the carriage industry indicate that subscriber additions in the extended period have been low.

Financial results of companies or entities from the carriage industry whose financial and limited operational data is available in the public domain – Airtel Digital TV (Airtel DTH), Dish TV, and Videocon DTH show poor subscriber adds in the quarter ended 31 March 2017 (fourth quarter, Q4-17). As a matter of fact, subscriber adds in Q4-17 was the lowest that the three Indian major operators reported in a quarter for the financial year ended 31 March 2017 (FY-17). The combined subscribers for all the three players grew 8.33 percent to 41.23 million in FY-17 from 38.06 million in FY-16. It maybe noted that subscriber numbers are generally rounded off by the players in their reports, in some case to an extent of 10,000. In FY-16, the three players had added about 65 percent more subscribers in absolute numbers at 4.93 million as compared to the 3.81 million added in FY-17.

Please refer to the figure below:

The DTH industry witnessed a slowdown in subscriber growth even in the previous year.Combined subscriber additions for the annual period ended 31 March 2016 (FY-16) vis-à-vis the previous year (FY-15) grew by 14.8percent of the three pay-direct to home operators in India. This subscriber growth rate was however a little less than half that these entities had in FY-15 at 24.7 percent as compared to FY-14.

Let us see where the three pay DTH players considered in this paper stand in the Indian DTH eco-system

Airtel DTH, Dish TV and Videocon d2h have about two thirds (65 percent) of market share of the DTH universe by private players in India. Of the other three players, according to a TRAI report Tata Sky has a market share of 23 percent, while Sun Direct and Reliance have a market share or 10 percent and 2 percent respectively. It may be noted that at present probably the largest DTH player in India could be the government’s FreeDish, but since it is a free service, no subscriber data is available even with Prasar Bharati. Please refer to the chart below:

June 5, 2017
Videocon’s DTH arm plans to raise Rs 7 bn via IPO

MUMBAI: Videocon has taken the leap to list its direct-to-home (DTH) arm, Bharat Business Channel Ltd, to cash in on the digitisation wave.

Bharat Business Channel Ltd, which operates its DTH business under the Videocon d2H brand, is planning to raise Rs 7 billion through an initial public offering (IPO). The company has filed its documents with market regulator Securities and Exchange Board (Sebi).

The company is also looking at raising Rs 500 million through a pre-IPO placement of its shares to institutional investors.

The promoters (the Dhoot family) had earlier issued rights issue at Rs 50 a share. A similar IPO pricing would lead to a 36 per cent dilution, pegging the value of the company at Rs 19 billion. But the promoters, it is understood, are looking at a higher valuation as they tap the capital.

Starting operations in July 2009, Bharat Business Channel has a gross subscriber base of 6.62 million as of 30 September 2012.

The company has a negative net worth of Rs 5.90 billion as of 30 September 2012, reporting net loss of Rs 11.40 billion in the last three fiscals. In the first half of this fiscal, it had a net loss of Rs 2.70 billion on revenue of Rs 4.93 billion.

The government has mandated digitisation across the country by 31 December 2014, leading to a huge funding requirement among cable TV operators and DTH companies.

December 18, 2012