20 Lakh TV Viewers Quit DTH In 2019, Is OTT The Reason? Tata Sky Is India’s #1 DTH Operator

The Direct-To-Home (DTH) television  subscriber base has dipped by more than 20 lakh over 2019.

The findings from Indian Telecom Services Performance Indicator Report October – December 2019 published by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) state that the segment ended the year with approximately 6.99 crore as compared to 7.24 crore in March the same year.

Read on to find out more…

The DTH User Base Shrinks!

The growth is however, marginal from the 6.93 crore subscribers reported in September 2019.

Furthermore, the number of DTH operators remains 4 while the number of MSOs (multiple system operators) is 13.

The DTH market in India is dominated by Tata Sky (31.80%), followed by Dish TV (30.55%), Airtel (23.31%) and Sun Direct (14.35%).

A Tatasky spokesperson said, “At Tata Sky our commitment is to ensure our ever increasing base of consumers can access their entertainment across platforms.”

The spokesperson added, “As we explore technology driven newer platforms for content delivery and further scale up our customer support, we are confident that our viewers will continue to make Tata Sky the prime choice of their entertainment needs. The report also reinforces our belief that Television as a medium of entertainment continues to grow and strengthen.”

TRAI’s NTO The Reason?

According to TRAI’s report, there are 332 pay channels in India as on 31 December 2019 which include 234 SD (standard definition) pay TV channels and 98 HD (high definition) pay TV channels. However, there were 330 channels at the end of 2018 indicating minimal increase. 

The total number of satellite channels registered with the ministry of information and broadcasting has touched 918 as compared to 880 in December 2018.

According to the New Tariff Order (NTO) introduced by TRAI in 2019, consumers could choose the TV channels they want to watch and pay only for them at maximum retail prices (MRPs) set by broadcasters, instead of the pre-set bouquets offered earlier. 

The new tariff order was expected to make channels cheaper for the consumer and offer more choice. However, on ground, the opposite happened as the cost of like-to-like channel options went up.

This has further disrupted the TV business. 

Are users preferring OTT platform subscriptions over DTH services?