The Hindu : National : DTH industry set for 50 p.c. growth

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Thursday, Aug 05, 2010
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National

DTH industry set for 50 p.c. growth

Staff Reporter

Dish TV launches new customised packages for South India

HYDERABAD: The Direct-to-Home (DTH) services in the country are set to take a quantum leap this year with the number of households having television viewing facility directly from satellites projected to reach about 33 million by March 2011-end from 21 million at the beginning of the financial year.

The industry hopes to add a whopping 12 million customers this year registering over 50 per cent growth rate. Adoption of technology by increasing number of households is stated to be the reason for the phenomenal growth projected.

Out of 135 million television households in the country, about 80 million have either cable or satellite connections.

Speaking at the launch of Dish TV's new customised packages for South India here on Tuesday, chief operating officer Salil Kapoor stated that they were the first DTH service providers in the country to offer sporting events like the recent Wimbledon, FIFA World Cup and the ongoing cricket series of India in Sri Lanka in high-definition (HD) mode.

Subscriber base

Dish TV had 7.66 million subscribers in the country now with South India accounting for 22 per cent. They were planning to add another 2.5 million customers this year, about 25 per cent of the growth projected for DTH industry, Mr. Kapoor stated. Being chosen as the “power brand” in DTH category, Dish TV had 33 per cent of the market share, he noted.

By expanding their subscriber base to about 9.5 million by the end of 2010-11, the company was expecting to improve its turnover to Rs. 1,400-crore from Rs. 1,050 crore last year.

The COO claimed that Dish TV was only the only mobile DTH service provider in the country and also making available customised subscription packages at district level.

He launched customised three months South silver package including one South regional package with sports, entertainment and cartoon channels at Rs.1,390 including the cost of set-top-box (STB). They were offering 11 packs for South viewers with the most competitive price of Rs. 160 per package.

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