Since its inception in 2003, the Indian Direct-To-Home (DTH) TV industry has been growing at a rapid pace, which shows no sign of slowing down.

This growth has been supported by huge investments by the existing and new players into the DTH arena. Defying the global trend of economic crisis, the DTH industry posted significant growth in 2008 and 2009, reports a study from Companies and Markets.

The DTH market acquired around 16 million subscribers by the end of 2009, an increase of approximately 44% over 2008 levels. With the entry of new players in the Indian DTH industry, competition is getting intense. Due to this intensifying competition, installation prices are declining and subscribers have a wide range of options to make choices.

High growth in DTH subscriber bases can be attributed to the fact that the quality of service delivered by DTH is superior compared to cable or any other medium. Since the DTH TV industry is currently in a growth phase, it is expected to attract a large number of subscribers in near future. As per Companies and Markets’ new research report “Indian DTH Market Forecast to 2012″, the number of DTH subscribers is projected to grow at a CAGR of around 18% during 2010-2013 to 39 million by 2013. In 2008, DTH subscribers accounted for only a small proportion (less than 10%) of total number of TV households in India, which numbered 119 million, representing a huge future growth potential.

Currently, the Indian DTH market is being served by six private players – Dish TV, Tata Sky, Sun Direct, Big TV, Airtel Digital TV and Videocon D2H (Doordarshan is a free DTH service provider). The report contains comprehensive information about all the DTH service providers in India, with focus on in-depth analysis of their strengths and weaknesses. It also explains the reason why all the incumbent players have been investing huge amounts in the promotion and marketing of DTH services in the country.

Meanwhile, one of the last DTH platforms to launch in India, Videocon’s d2h, is forecasting a million subscribers by end-June, up from its current reported 850,000.

Source: Rapid TV News