Dish TV’s Q4 net loss widens 16% to Rs 1989 crore

Dish TV’s net loss for the quarter ended March 31 has widened to Rs 1989 crore, a 16% year-over-year increase compared to Rs 1720 crore in the same quarter last year.

The losses widened due to the deferred tax of Rs 1572 crore. In the previous fiscal, the loss was mainly on account of exceptional items worth Rs 1907 crore.

The direct-to-home (DTH) company’s operating revenue declined by 19% to Rs 407 crore, while subscription revenue was down 18% to Rs 320 crore.

EBITDA for the quarter rose 11 times to Rs 165 crore amid a 51% decline in expenditure at Rs 242 crore.

For the full fiscal, net loss widened 17% to Rs 1967 crore, while EBITDA fell 18% to Rs 754 crore.

Operating revenues declined 18% to Rs 1857 crore amid a 17% fall in subscription revenue at Rs 1485 crore. Expenditure was down 18% to Rs 1103 crore.

Dish TV said that its subscriber additions in Q4 and FY24 aligned with DTH industry trends; however, a high churn rate resulted in negative net additions.

The company added that its new subscriber acquisitions have risen significantly, surpassing the 3 million mark for fiscal 2024 after a three-year gap.

“We are adopting a two-pronged approach to keep subscribers engaged with our services, targeting both base-tier as well as mid- and top-tier subscribers. While the Dish TV Smart+ service is focused on the latter, the Zing Super service is designed to attract base-tier subscribers towards the pay-TV side of the platform,” said Dish TV CEO Manoj Dobhal.

“We did record encouraging numbers in the 10 odd days of prime-time cricket action during March 2024 and hope that the two services will deliver as per our expectations in the coming quarters.”

The DTH operator has launched the Dish TV Smart+ service in the ongoing quarter of FY25. The service allows Dish TV and d2h customers to select six popular OTT apps from popular OTT apps when recharging their DTH subscription package.

Dish TV said it is the first Indian DTH provider to provide integrated OTT content and linear TV subscriptions at no cost to its subscribers.

“The Dish TV Smart+ service is a pioneering initiative that should go a long way in not only adding value to the organisation but also changing the rules of the game in the television distribution industry in the country,” he added.

Dish TV’s Watcho aggregation app has more than 4.5 million paid subscriptions and more than 20 popular OTT apps on it currently.