DTH operators added 2.5 lakh subscribers to their active base in Q1 FY24, says TRAI

The four pay direct-to-home (DTH) service providers added 250,000 customers to their total base in the April-June quarter, reversing the trend of declining subscribers.

According to the performance indicator report of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), the total active subscriber base of the four pay DTH operators – Tata Play, Dish TV, Airtel Digital TV and Sun Direct – increased 0.38% quarter-on-quarter to 65.50 million.

On a year-on-year basis, the active subscriber base decreased 2.29%, compared to 67.04 million a year ago.

The active subscriber base of pay DTH platforms had shrunk by 1.37 million to 65.25 million for the quarter ended March.

Tata Play had 21.43 million subscribers, followed by Airtel Digital (17.58 million), Dish TV (13.97 million) and Sun Direct (12.5 million), as of June 2023.

Twelve multi-system operators (MSOs) and one headend in the sky (HITS) operator held more than a million subscribers. Together, these 13 platforms have 43.9 million subscribers.

The number of MSOs that have permission from the information and broadcasting ministry to provide digital cable TV services has fallen to 1,737 from 1,748.

In a recent statement, the Indian Broadcasting and Digital Foundation (IBDF) said there has been a 7% viewership growth in pay TV homes, with 5.8 million households transitioning from free-to-air to pay.

“The impressive rise in television viewership underscores India as one of the few international markets witnessing consistent television growth, despite digital media’s rapid expansion,” said IBDF president K Madhavan.

While the number of TV channels permitted by the ministry remained unchanged at 903, the number of pay channels increased to 360 from 358 in the previous quarter. The total number of free-to-air channels stood at 532, down two from 534 in the previous quarter.

Among the 360 pay channels, there are 256 standard definition (SD) and 104 high definition (HD) pay TV channels.

According to the TRAI data, 58 SD pay TV channels are priced under Re 1. Almost 97 SD and 13 HD pay TV channels are priced between Rs 1 and Rs 5, and the price of 47 SD and 25 HD pay TV channels ranges from Rs 5-12. There are about 37 SD and 52 HD pay TV channels priced at Rs 19, with only two channels priced higher than Rs 19.

Among the 360 pay TV channels, 114 are general entertainment channels, while 71 are movie channels. There are 62 news and current affairs channels that are paid. According to the TRAI, 36 private FM radio operators operate 388 private FM radio stations in 113 cities. Their cumulative ad revenue during the quarter stood at Rs 390 crore.

There are 26 internet protocol television operators. Among them, Andhra Pradesh State Fibernet reported a subscriber base of 0.61 million, the TRAI said.