Dish TV India Q1 loss widens YoY to Rs 95 crore, revenue falls 28%
ADVERTISEMENT The company's EBITDA fell 56% to Rs 73 crore, with margins under pressure from competition, inflation, and rupee depreciation. Revenue from operations dropped 28% year-on-year to Rs 329 crore, as subscription income slid 11% to Rs 273 crore.
To address this, the company plans to focus on hybrid offerings, connected devices, and value-added products such as content bundling with TV manufacturers, partnerships, and alliances.
Dish TV has taken measures to improve the quality of subscriber acquisitions, reduce churn, and limit recurring set-top box capital expenditure. Savings from these steps are being redirected to newer business areas such as the Watcho and FLIQS platforms, with plans to fund similar initiatives internally.
The Watcho OTT Super App had more than 96 million downloads and 11 million paid subscribers by June 2025. It offers over 24 apps with a range of entertainment content at competitive prices. FLIQS provides a curated platform with exclusive, original, and premium digital content in multiple languages, including films, web series, and short-form videos. Dish TV and its subsidiary Dish Infra Services reassessed the value of key assets, including the Watcho streaming platform and those acquired from Videocon d2h. Independent valuations showed a steep decline due to fewer subscribers and changing business conditions.
ADVERTISEMENT Dish Infra wrote down Rs 798 crore in intangible assets under development, Rs 202 crore in capital advances, and Rs 120 crore in other advances, all related to new-age technologies, including the Watcho OTT platform. It also reduced the value of Videocon d2h assets in its books by Rs 2,364 crore in goodwill, Rs 70 crore in customer relationships, and Rs 401 crore in property and equipment. Unlock 500+ Stock Recos on App In Dish TV's own books, Videocon d2h-related assets were reduced by Rs 3,911 crore (goodwill), Rs 1,029 crore (brand), Rs 498 crore (customer relationships), and Rs 28 crore (property and equipment).
ADVERTISEMENT The company remains in a long-running legal dispute with the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting over DTH licence fees. The case has been in the Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh High Court since 2015, with interim relief still in place. Similar cases involving other DTH players are in the Supreme Court.Dish TV has set aside Rs 4,680 crore as of June 2025 to cover potential interest liabilities, up from Rs 4,613 crore in March. In April, the ministry demanded Rs 6,736 crore in licence fees and interest from the time the company first received its licences up to FY24, a demand the company has disputed.
ADVERTISEMENT The company also challenged a proposed audit by the Comptroller and Auditor General of India in 2023 and obtained a court stay, which remains in effect.As of June 2025, Dish TV's accumulated losses exceeded its equity capital, resulting in a negative net worth. Management says this is mainly due to the licence fee dispute and warns that an unfavourable outcome could raise doubts about its ability to continue.
Also read: Vodafone Idea's 60% slump has more bearish undertones as analysts sound warning ahead of Q1 earnings
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