MUMBAI: India will have 1.2 million HD subscribers on DTH by the end of this fiscal, industry experts said here today.

Pricing is a sticky issue but aggressive marketing will push the demand for HD channels.

Demonstrating the success of Movies Now, Media Network and Distribution Network India CEO and MD Yogesh Radhakrishnan said the idea for an HD channel came in 2007. In 2009 the decision was made that Movies Now had to be taken across digital and analogue on the same feed. The analogue market is large and the channel looks better than competition even in this segment.

“So we went the dual way. We approached the DTH operators,” added Radhakrishnan, conceding that it was a humongous effort to transfer all content to HD. “There was a starting cost, but it has paid us twice over. We backed the project. People looked at our product as being superior.”

Demand is key for HD channels to work. “We want to drive the HD market. We are looking at having an English music channel. We would also want a 3D launch,” he said.

Videocon d2h CEO Anil Khera said that his company was the last to launch DTH. “We missed the World Cup but launched before the IPL. We wanted all HD channels on our platform. We have reserved bandwidth for future HD channels.”

On the hardware side, Khera said that 14 million colour TV sets would be sold this fiscal our of which six million will be panels. “Close to one million HD panels will be sold. Some consumers will move to DTH, if cable is not offering HD.”

Cost remains a main concern. Khera said there is not much difference between the cost of a standard definition box versus an HD one. He expects costs to come down further.

“MPEG 4 cost will in the near future be the same as MPEG 2. On the consumer electronics side, companies like Sony, LG, Samsung are pushing 3D and HD. But there is a bandwidth scarcity for 3D content,” he stated.

AETN18 president Ajay Chacko noted that for History there is no input cost as content in this genre is mostly made in HD. There is a bandwith cost but he expects that to fall.

Sports and Bollywood content would drive the demand for HD, Khera said.

Source: Indiantelevision.com

MUMBAI: Times Television Network enterprise Movies Now, which was launched six months ago, is looking to capture up to 30 per cent of its total revenue from the English movies channel segment during FY’12.

“Despite being a new channel, our viewership was strong even during the Cricket World Cup and IPL . Looking at the trend, we expect 20-30 per cent revenue of the total English movies channel (segment) to come to us by FY’12,” Channel Head Ajay Trigunayat told reporters here.

The channel introduced High Definition (HD) experience, making it the preferred English movie channel in a short time, he said.

“We have been successful in dethroning established players like Star Movies and HBO by holding the number one position for 22 weeks,” he claimed.

Movies Now’s channel share in the English movies category was about 34 per cent in eight metro cities compared to 24 per cent of Star Movies, 16 per cent of PIX, 15 per cent of HBO and 11 per cent of others, according to TAM data from December to June.

The channel, available with all DTH players except Tata Sky, is mainly focused on mass appeal, catering to the age group between 15-34 years, rather than being a niche channel, he said.

Considering the growing popularity, Movies Now also hiked its average advertisement rates to Rs 3,000 per 10 seconds from this month, from the earlier Rs 2,270.

“We are dependent on advertisements for revenue. As our viewership is increasing considerably, we may raise it further to an average of Rs 5,000 per 10 seconds by FY’13,” he said.

The channel already has 450 films in its portfolio and Trigunayat said it will focus on maintaining this number.

When asked about plans on launching Hindi-dubbed movie channel on the lines of UTV Action, which has become very popular, Trigunayat said, “We are certainly evaluating the option of launching another channel by next fiscal. However, we have not yet decided the category… whether it will be another Hindi movie or a Hindi-dubbed movie channel.”

Source: The Economic Times

The Indian Direct-to-home (DTH) broadcast market is witnessing a flood of premium and add-on services like HD (high definition) and gaming features, but cost remains a stumbling block in efforts to woo customers, industry players say.

In the last six months, major players like Dish TV, Tata Sky and Airtel have launched high-end services like HD and PVR (personal video recording) in efforts to diversify their product in an increasingly crowded DTH broadcast industry, but the jury is still out on whether traditionally cost-sensitive subscribers will take the bait.

“This market will grow, but slowly. There is growth in value added services like games, banking services or matrimony, but when it comes to premium services like HD or PVR’s, that will all depend on the cost of these services,” says Salil Kapoor of Dish TV, which was the first to introduce HD in the Indian market.

Others are more confident that quality will triumph over cost in a market which is still dominated by cable operators, who provide cheaper service.

“15 to 20% of our new acquisitions have been on the back of HD sets, so we are seeing a response from Sec A and B centres”, says Ajai Puri, Director and CEO, DTH, Bharti Airtel.

While the flood of added features are a bonanza for consumers, for DTH companies, already battling competition from local cable operators and MSO’s (multi system operators), it also means a higher cost of acquiring subscribers.

A report by consulting firm Pricewaterhouse Coopers says DTH players are bleeding Rs 5 billion annually largely due to increased competition.

Players are facing challenges by having a very high subscriber acquisition cost. This cost is around Rs 2,500 to Rs 5,000 per customer for a few operators and this scenario is likely to continue, the report says.

The DTH market in India is currently at around 20 million subscribers and poised to grow, especially in rural areas, where penetration is presently at 64% as compared to 34% in 2008.

But most rural users are looking for that essentially Indian quality of value for money, making advanced technology an essentially urban need.

“You have to keep in mind that this is a cost sensitive market, and companies are selling services like PVR’s at a subsidised cost to consumers. They will have to wait till these consumers get so used to it that they won’t mind a cost hike, but I don’t think that tipping point will come any time soon,” says Timmy Khandari of PwC.

Source: Moneycontrol.com

The HDTV boom is now a reality with most of the DTH players offering high definition television. As Sun ventured into HD television the rest of the DTH operators like Dish TV, Tata Sky, Reliance Big TV, Airtel Digital TV followed suit. With the FIFA World Cup being broadcast in HD television and the upcoming commonwealth games will be broadcasted in HD Television as well, HDTV has a long way to go. exchange4media spoke to some of the media planners to find out what do they think about the growth of HDTV in India and the affect on advertisers.

Manas Mishra, EVP and Country Head, Mudra Connext, said, “HDTV is now becoming an equaliser as most DTH brands have started offering HDTV. This feature helps consumers get a better picture and sound clarity which is always a welcome thing. Like for example in telecom services, when one brand offered a life time free for incoming calls, everyone else had to follow suit. HDTV is now the latest parity offering from DTH brands.”

Anamika Mehta, COO, Lodestar Universal commented, “The biggest challenge for HDTV is the bandwidth. Only a few HD channels are there and the reason why the HD explosion is not happening is because, they do not have the spectrum and bandwidth for HD transmission. The experience is fantastic and people are buying HD ready television sets but channels are not equipped to broadcast. Also the price is high and it is a drawback as Indian consumers are price sensitive and it will all boil down to the price value.”

She added, “It excites me because DTH penetration is limited. It is for the upmarket audience and makes sense as upscale brands will reach out to the audience more effectively.”

Kushal Sanghvi, Executive Director, Business Development, Media & Alliances, StratosHear said , “Clearly it is great for customers, years back they got used to DD, then 15 years back they got used to Cable & satellite television, 3 years back DTH came into the picture and right now its HD television. It is a great opportunity from the customer point of view to see and record content and audiences are shifting from the usual television to HD television.”

“It offers a different platform for connecting with brands. I see it as a great opportunity for reaching out to nuclear families. Also the content they offer engages the youth and the kids. So it is a good prospect for brands like Cadbury or Nestle who want to connect with the kids. From the advertisers perspective it is great as they can get their specific content.” said Sanghvi.

Surbhi C Murthy, Deputy General Manager, Allied Media observed, “I think moving forward on HD was foreseen but it has happened much earlier. I see it will give a lot of boost to the advertisers and this as a great opportunity for marketers as well. It means unadulterated attention which is wonderful and there is no clutter. This is going to be a very important component for the media planners.”

T Gangadhar, M.D. India, MEC said, “HD boom is happening but how many owners provide HD content is important. There should be more HD content, like this time FIFA is being shown in HD and also wildlife channels like Discovery and National Geographic are in HD. Two things will happen, one, the quality of advertising will go up and two, targeting more affluent groups will become possible because the cream will be watching HD television as the set top box is available at high prices and it will take time for HD to get democratised. Gaming in HD is also another opportunity DTH operators will cash on.”

Rajiv Gopinath, COO, Madison Media Infinity, having a different view about HD television commented, “There are 3 entry barriers today- a) HD compatible TV sets, which is still a miniscule percentage, b) HD Boxes – The seeding / migration to the same will take quite some time. None of the existing boxes are compatible for HD signals. Today the price is Rs 2000 + for a HD box and c) HD Content is very limited today- ESPN has HD only for FIFA and other special events, and National Geographic and Discovery have it for their shows. Conversion to HD boxes cannot happen with this content alone. 3D would out leap HD within 2 years or less. From the media planner’s view, the digital CS panel on TAM, due to low sample sizes, cannot get upper SEC data cuts. So there is a limitation in exploring the viewership of HD Channels among core audiences.”

Source: Exchange4media.com

NEW DELHI: Consumers need to watch out before they go for that high definition (HD) DTH set top box. Even as DTH companies gear up for relaying content in high definition, the content backing it is very little. Only two channels- Discovery and National Geographic are available in HD. Essel Group channels Zee TV and Zee Cinema are available only with Dish TV, also an Essel Group venture, and ESPN has only two properties, the ongoing Fifa World Cup and Wimbledon, currently available for HD broadcast, and that too with select DTH operators. Leading players like Dish TV, Tata Sky, Airtel Digital TV, Sun Direct are marketing HD set top boxes.

“There is no demand for HD content from broadcasters,” says Nikhil Alva, MD of Miditech, the country’s third largest production house that supplies content to many major TV channels.

“Also, the number of high definition television sets in the country is miniscule. Transmitting HD is significantly more expensive for channels so it is not a priority for them. Also our analog cable networks that supply content to the majority of C&S homes is already too clogged with channels to deliver HD content. For now, HD is a niche phenomenon and largely a marketing gimmick,” he adds.

Even DTH players admit that sales of HD set top boxes will take some time coming through. “The numbers on HD set top boxes will be low,” says Salil Kapoor, COO, Dish TV. “But we were the first ones to provide HD set top boxes and are the only ones who currently have great distribution of HD boxes in the market,” he adds. Dish TV has a HD pack and is the only operator to have one, largely thanks to its group owned channels.

But Ajai Puri, Bharti Airtel’s director and CEO, DTH, feels more hopeful of a change towards HD in the near future. “There is a HD content scarcity now as there are only two true HD channels. The rest are upscaled versions of broadcast. But in the next 12 months, we hope that 15 channels will become HD. We are creating an ecosystem and content will catch up,” he says.

The DTH industry has grown rapidly in India, but the entry of new players has ensured intense competition that has in turn forced operators to subsidise set top boxes by almost 50%. This mean that DTH service providers have to ramp up subscriber base quickly to ensure that they can break even soon.

Most operators are charging over Rs 2,000 for upgrading existing standard DTH consumers, though prices of HD set top boxes have come down significantly since they were first introduced. Consumers also have to pay 20 to 30% extra monthly rental for receiving high definition signals.

Industry observers feel that the upgrading to HD is a demand of the DTH industry. “Building up a sizeable subscriber base is top priority with DTH players who are pressured for revenue. So they have to introduce new technology to attract consumers. They cannot jack up prices much, they cannot give exclusive channels, so new technology is their only plank,” says Smita Jha, media analyst with PricewaterhouseCoopers India. “All stake holders, consumer durable companies, TV channels and DTH companies will have to work together to make HD a success in India,” she adds.

Source: The Economic Times

When you are the 14th entrant in a fast growing but highly competitive product or service category, how do you stand out? Or when you are almost the last to introduce a new product or service that competition is already pushing hard, what can you do differently? When you are an established player in a competitive business, what do you do to create fresh growth? And when you are standing at the doorway of a high-growth product category dominated by big, international brands, how do you get noticed and consumed?

When low pricing becomes a common solution for all four scenarios, you sit up and take note. So when Uninor, owned by the world’s sixth largest mobile services provider, the Telenor Group (Norway), entered India in partnership with Unitech Group as the 14th mobile service provider, it had to stand out noticeably.

It launched its unique variable discount plan, with discounts of five-to-60 per cent – 20-to-47.5 paise on a 50 paise per minute rate — on local calls. The variable rates are beamed to mobile phones by the different mobile towers, the discounts governed by a tower’s load at that time. Uninor has 21,000 towers covered in a tie-up with Tata Tele Services Ltd. and is talking to Reliance and Indus. It has a licence for all 22 circles.

“We are putting the power of the tariff in the hands of the consumer,” said Olav Sande, EVP – western hub, Uninor India. “Our discounts are supported by high technology. Our efforts are towards long-term excellence in 2G services.”

Also well thought out was Tata Sky’s low pricing on its high-definition DTH set-top boxes, when it launched its HD services after Sun Direct, Dish TV, Airtel DTH and Reliance Big TV had launched theirs. To offer the imported set-top boxes at a low Rs 2,599 — to speed up subscriber acquisition or upgradation — required hard negotiations with the manufacturers, said Vikram Kaushik, MD & CEO, Tata Sky.

“The business of DTH is in selling long-term subscription, not set-top boxes. The real expense for the consumer is on the HD TV set. He wouldn’t be willing to pay a high price for the set-top box as well. The HD experience is still to impact,” Kaushik explained.

Tata Sky’s move has triggered a price war, with Dish TV reducing its Tru HD set-top box price from Rs 5,990 to 2,990. Airtel Direct, is advertising Rs 2,250 now; it launched with Rs 2,840. Sun Direct’s HD box launched at Rs 9,990 and Reliance Big TV’s at Rs 7,990. Tata Sky claims demand has exceeded box availability.

Tata Housing Development Company launched its Shubh Griha scheme at Boisar, on Mumbai’s outskirts, to tap the lower end of the market. Popularly dubbed as the “Nano housing scheme”, Shubh Griha offers smaller, one room-kitchen-bathroom houses at Rs 3.9-odd lakh and larger, one bedroom-hall-bathroom-kitchen ones at Rs 6.7-odd lakh. Research showed a demand for 24.7 million houses in India, of which nine million are in metros and tier I cities.

“People with Rs 1-1.5 lakh annual incomes could not dream of owning a home. They stay in dreary shared accommodation, away from their families. We addressed them. The response was overwhelming: 17,000 applications for 1,000 homes, later increased to 1,350. There were 38 million hits on our website on day one,” said Rajeeb Dash, head – marketing & product development, Tata Housing.

The 65-acre, self-contained township has been planned meticulously. The Boisar MIDC area has 15,000 companies with ongoing employee requirements. Single-room accommodations have a ready partition to convert into two bedrooms for the night, and good storage facilities that leave floor-space free. Delivery of flats starts by December. Tata Housing tied up with Micro Housing Finance Corporation for loans to buyers. State Bank of India and HDFC are also offering loans.

Advertising has primarily dealt with the theme of how food is so much tastier in your own home. Shubh Griha will be taken to other locations such as Delhi, Bangalore, Pune, Ahmedabad and Indore. “And we make a profit of 20-25 per cent as against the 30-35 per cent from upper-end projects. The Assam government has signed a MoU with us and the Maharashtra and Haryana governments are talking to us for similar developments,” Dash said.

Similar has been the success of new, feature-rich Indian mobile phone brands that sell handsets accessed from China and Taiwan — Max, Micromax, Karbonn, Lava, Lemon, Spice and Zen, among others. Priced below Rs 10,000, these phones have dual SIM slots, higher battery life, and features such as MP4, Bluetooth, QWERTY keypads and trackpads.

“These handsets are not for entry-level, low ARPU consumers but for mid-range, young consumers who do not want to spend Rs 15,000-plus on a big brand’s smartphone,” said Prasanto K. Roy, chief editor, CyberMedia. “They may not compare with the big brands on quality and delivery but with the short handset lifecycles today, many buyers are willing to experiment.”

A survey by CyberMedia’s telecom journal, Voice & Data, found that Indian mobile handset brands garnered a 14 per cent share of the total Rs 27,000 crore worth of sales in 2009-10, up from four per cent of Rs 25,910 crore the previous year.

Zen has roped in Amitabh Bachchan as its brand ambassador. Its MD, Deepesh Gupta, said, “Indian mobile phone brands have brought alive a segment left wide open by the established MNC brands who offered either top-end feature-rich products or bottom-end basic handsets.”

What each of these brands — that used low pricing as a strategic agent — had in common were game-changing visions. None saw low pricing as an incremental advantage but as a powerful tool to break fresh ground in established, competitive, high-growth categories.

Source: Hindustan Times

The country’s largest Direct-To-Home (DTH) operator, Dish TV, with 7.3 million subscribers, has now launched high-definition DTH service offering five high-definition (HD) channels. Managing director Jawahar Goel speaks to Ashish Sinha on the company’s plans and targets. Excerpts:

What is the future of HD in the Indian broadcasting space?
HD television in the country is what colour television was after the Asian Games in 1982. According to my estimate, there will be 30-40 HD channels within the current fiscal. We are launching five HD channels, but customers will only pay for four and get the Fifa World Cup on ESPN free of cost. It is the future of television viewing. We will continue to add more HD channels as and when broadcasters launch them in the market.

What are the investments and targets planned for Dish TV HD service?
I have kept a very achievable target. We should sell over 60,000 boxes of Dish TV HD in this fiscal. On our part, the HD service on the Dish TV platform should require an investment of Rs 15 crore this year. In the introductory offer that will last all through this year, we will give the Dish TV HD box for Rs 5,990. We will launch exchange schemes for the existing Dish TV customers as well. Our subsidy on HD box is almost similar to the normal box – around Rs 2,500 per box.

Tell us about the late foray in HD by Dish TV.
I am aware that some DTH operators have already launched HD services without enough dedicated HD channels. We did not want to do that. Our HD service comes with dedicated HD channels—Zee TV HD, Zee Cinema HD—apart from other HD contents.

What is your take on demand for reduction of licence fees to 6 per cent of revenue?
We are hopeful that the government will accept our longstanding demand. There is substantial progress in this direction. Hopefully, with the roll out of the goods and services tax, we will get what we want.

Source: Screenindia.com

• Available at Rs. 2250 across India for existing Airtel digital TV customers and Rs.2840 for new customers.
• New Airtel digital TV HD customers can have either the Economy Pack for 75 days free or the South Super Value Sports Pack free for 90 days

Airtel digital TV- the DTH service from Bharti Airtel – today announced the launch of ‘Airtel digital TV HD’, an enhanced Set Top Box (STB) with capability to showcase High Definition (HD) content to its customers. As part of this, Airtel digital TV HD users get to have ESPN on HD. Airtel will be adding other HD channels to its offering over the next few months.

With this, Airtel digital TV becomes the first DTH player to bring in Digital Dolby Plus Sound experience as part of an HD offering for the Indian DTH market. Airtel digital TV HD will offer viewers crystal clear resolution that is 5 times better than normal, through the combination of the latest MPEG 4 DVBS2 technology and High Definition signal processing using a powerful 256MB RAM processor. The Dolby Digital Plus feature provides for an enhanced surround sound experience.

Airtel digital TV HD will be available at Rs 2250 for all existing Airtel digital TV customers going in for an upgrade and Rs.2840 onwards for all new customers. Besides all new Airtel digital TV customers can opt for either the Economy Pack (worth Rs.221/month, 155 channels) free for 75 days OR the South Super Value Sports Pack (worth Rs. 144/month,120 channels) free for 100 days.

In keeping with the ongoing sporting fervor, Airtel digital TV also announced the introduction of a Limited Edition ESPN Pack@ Rs.99 for customers to catch sporting action for the next one month on ESPN.

Speaking on the occasion, Ajai Puri, Director and CEO – DTH, Bharti Airtel, said, “Innovative technology that adds value to customer experiences is a vital element of our brand endeavors. HD is usually about visual appeal but our consumer insight says that TV is as much an audio medium as it is visual. That is why we have invested in being the first to bring to India the Dolby Digital Plus sound experience in HD Set top boxes. This launch underlines our key strength of understanding consumer needs and using technology to deliver a simple elegant benefit to our valued customers who will experience the next level of TV viewing in India.”

To avail the service, customers can buy the Airtel digital TV HD from any near-by retailer or call 1860-500-6500 at local rates or call 12148 from Airtel mobile phones or send HD as sms to 54325. The launch of HD services comes on the back of a rousing response to the Airtel digital TV recorder, both of which are expected to help Airtel digital TV further consolidate its market leadership of new customer additions over the past 4 quarters.

Airtel digital TV – The DTH service from Bharti Airtel – is one of the leading national level DTH service in the country which offers its customers MPEG 4 with DVBS 2 – currently the most advanced digital broadcasting technologies available in the world after HD broadcasting. Additionally, Airtel digital TV was the first to bring many firsts to the DTH segment in India including a Universal Remote which operates both the Set Top Box and TV set as well as several unique Interactive Applications. Recently, Airtel scaled one more feat by introducing for the first time in India, its digital TV recorder that offered the capability to record live television, anytime, anywhere. Users can also update themselves on the latest stock news. All this is backed by 24×7 customer care.

About Bharti Airtel Limited
Bharti Airtel Limited, a group company of Bharti Enterprises, is a leading emerging markets telco with operations in 18 countries across Asia and Africa. The company has over 180 million customers across its operations.

Bharti Airtel has been ranked among the six best performing technology companies in the world by Business Week. Bharti Airtel is structured as four strategic business units – Mobile, Telemedia, Enterprise and Digital TV. The mobile business offers services in 18 countries across Asia and Africa. The Telemedia business provides broadband, IPTV and telephone services in 89 Indian cities. The Enterprise business provides end-to-end telecom solutions to corporate customers and national and international long distance services to carriers. The Digital TV business provides DTH services across India. All these services are provided under the Airtel brand (excluding Bangladesh and Africa). Airtel’s international network infrastructure includes ownership of the i2i submarine cable system and consortium ownership in five global undersea cable systems, SEA-ME-WE 4, EIG, I-ME-WE, AAG and UNITY. For more information, visit www.airtel.in

MUMBAI: The price war on the HD front has begun. Soon after Tata Sky announced its aggressive entry pricing, market leader Dish TV has dropped the cost of its Tru HD box from Rs 5,990, when launched, to Rs 2,990.

Dish TV’s package includes the price of the set-top box (STB), LNB, Dish antenna and remote. The company is also offering two months subscription of Platinum/South Platinum Pack and two months subscription of HD Pack. Customers will have to pay an extra amount of Rs 200 for installation.

Direct-to-home (DTH) operators sense they can expand their up-end customers through their HD service offerings. Tata Sky had set the ball rolling with the launch of its High Definition (HD) service at a price of Rs 2,599.

Sun Direct is offering the HD set-top-box bundled with subscription package at Rs 9990, while Big TV’s service comes at Rs 7,490 (HD with DVR technology).

On the content front, Dish TV’s HD pack includes Zee TV HD, Zee Cinema HD, Discovery HD and National Geographic HD. ESPN Star Sports has also extended its HD feed for the football World Cup and Wimbledon to Dish TV, Tata Sky and Airtel Digital TV.

Indiantelevision.com had earlier predicted that DTH operators would start a cut-throat price war on the HD front.

The competition in the DTH sector is going to be fierce this year as the market is set for rapid expansion. DTH operators expect to add 11 million subscribers in FY’11 due to a spate of sporting events, the peak for any year.

Source: Indiantelevision.com

NEW DELHI: Direct-to-home (DTH) television service providers have unleashed a price war leading to a fall in the cost of high-definition(HD) set top box by as much as 50% over the last few weeks.

Tata Sky launched its high-definition (HD) set top box that allows a subscriber to receive television content with superior image and sound quality at Rs 2,599 last week, forcing market leader Dish TV to slash its prices by 50% within days of its launch to remain competitive. Competition is likely to only intensify with others like Videocon and Airtel expected to launch their HD box within the next few days.

Vikram Mehra, chief marketing officer, Tata Sky, said the aggressive pricing strategy was to ensure that, “it becomes a mass product and not a premium product”.

One of the trigger points for the brands looking to hook on a new consumer now is the ongoing FIFA cup. ESPN, that has broadcast rights for the football world cup has an optional HD service exclusively for FIFA tournament. Marketers say, the earlier plan was to launch HD boxes around the Commonwealth Games, but the world cup has pre-empted the launches.

Salil Kapoor COO Dish TV says the FIFA cup has already seen markets like Kerala and West Bengal and metros where football is followed closely build sales of HD boxes. “We had launched our offering with conservative growth projections for HD services but with the new prices growth will be much faster,” he said.

Before Dish TV launched its HD box at Rs 5,990 last month, Sun Direct was the only player offering such a product at Rs 9,990 including one year free subscription. With Tata Sky unleashing a price war, the price differential between a standard definition box and HD has shrunk significantly.

Hi-definition offers two to five times sharper picture and better sound quality than a standard television signal. One fallout of this would be that entertainment companies could now roll out HD signals of their content faster than they planned. At present less than a dozen channels are available in both standard and high definition format including Discovery, National Geographic, Colors, Zee TV, Star Plus, Star Movies and Sun TV.

“Within the next two months we expect at least twelve more channels to be available in HD format,” said Anil Khera CEO Videocon D2H, the latest entrant in the DTH industry with about a million odd subscribers.

However, a HD box and channel is not enough to enjoy a true high definition service. A consumer would also need to have a LCD or Plasma TV compatible with HD service besides television channels in HD format. One also has to pay a 20-30% premium for receiving HD signals in addition to the average monthly subscription fee that is upwards of Rs 160 for standard definition channels.

Although DTH firms will be able to generate higher revenues from the growth in HD format, it may eat into their margins as firms subsidise consumers on the set top box hoping to earn money over a longer period through subscription fees.

Tony D Silva, CEO, Sun Direct, says subsidising HD boxes is tough as it is more expensive than SD boxes, forcing the DTH service provider to absorb a large component of the entire cost.

Source: The Economic Times