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Time of India
29-05-2025
- Business
- Time of India
DTH cos asked to pay ₹16kcr licence fee dues
At a time when the direct-to-home (DTH) industry is contending with several challenges-including a declining subscriber base and falling revenues-the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB) has issued demand notices totalling ₹16,000 crore to the country's four private DTH operators for outstanding licence fee dues, according to industry sources. These demands cover both the principal amount and accrued interest. Industry officials noted that the operators have communicated to the MIB that the notices cannot be enforced, as the matter is sub judice in various High Courts, the Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal (TDSAT), and the Supreme Court. The MIB's licence fee demand exceeds the combined revenue of the four private DTH operators, which stood at ₹10,230 crore in FY24-down 5% from ₹10,837 crore the previous year, as per regulatory filings. The industry has been under stress, having lost eight million subscribers between FY21 and FY24. The active pay DTH subscriber base stood at 58.22 million as of December 2024. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like If You Eat Ginger Everyday for 1 Month This is What Happens Tips and Tricks Undo In its correspondence, the MIB stated that the figures are subject to reconciliation based on the outcome of audits by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG), as well as pending judicial decisions. In its Q4 FY25 regulatory filing, Dish TV disclosed that it had received a communication from the MIB dated April 22, 2025, directing the company to pay ₹6,735 crore towards licence fees, including interest, covering the period from the grant of its DTH licence up to FY24. The company added that it has disputed the demand in its response. Live Events As of FY24, Tata Play has received a consolidated demand of ₹3,628 crore, including ₹1,401.66 crore in interest. Sun Direct has received a demand of ₹1,051.84 crore (excluding interest) as of March 2024. Bharti Telemedia, Tata Play, and Sun Direct declined to comment on the matter. Dish TV CEO Manoj Dobhal acknowledged the pressures facing the sector, saying: "The DTH industry is navigating a difficult phase, with factors such as subscriber churn driven by competition from OTT platforms and DD Free Dish, along with taxation and regulatory issues. Given these challenges, we would have hoped for a more supportive approach from the authorities."
Time of India
19-05-2025
- Business
- Time of India
Broadcasters look to tune into a brighter FY26 after static year
Broadcasters are hopeful of a recovery in FY26 after a sluggish FY25, which was weighed down by weak advertising revenues, muted subscription growth and customer reports noted that churn has started to ease, aided by marquee live cricket content moving behind digital to Media Partners Asia, the industry added 3.5 million new pay-TV subscribers in calendar year 2025 so far, including 1.5 million during the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) industry consolidation is also expected to boost ad revenues, as broadcasters seek to extract higher yields from their advertising inventory. The re-launch of free-to-air (FTA) Hindi general entertainment channels (GECs) on DD Free Dish is also projected to drive incremental ad revenue from FY26 onward. DD Free Dish continues to offer broadcasters and advertisers access to a vast rural audience, with an estimated reach of 40-50 million homes. Linear TV is witnessing green shoots due to strong consumption across entertainment and sports, industry leaders told ET. Halt in free cricket streaming and removal of content from YouTube could also boost pay-TV subscriptions while the relaunch of FTA Hindi GECs on DD Free Dish could bring in incremental revenue, they said. During its Q4 earnings call, Zee Entertainment 's management said the linear television landscape remains robust, with weekly impressions exceeding 27 billion and a weekly reach above 740 million viewers. "The fiscal proved to be a mixed bag for the industry at large," said Zee Entertainment CEO Punit Goenka, adding the industry displayed "immense resilience" by taking cautious steps forward and pivoting strategies to enhance revenue generation across segments. For FY25, ZEE subscription revenue grew 7% to '3,926 crore. Goenka further noted that consolidation in the industry would benefit all stakeholders on both revenue and cost fronts. "On the advertising front, it's still very early days. But I do expect that eventually it will have a positive impact on the overall industry," he said, adding that the sector is already seeing "a lot of benefit flowing in on the acquisition of content." In its latest media and entertainment report, Ficci-EY observed that-barring any unforeseen disruptions-all segments are expected to grow or remain flat, with the exception of linear television, assuming India's real GDP grows at 5% or more. Speaking at the recent WAVES summit, JioStar vice-chairman Uday Shankar said, "TV remains pretty healthy although there is room for making it better". The only concern for the industry is that ad revenue remains under pressure due to macroeconomic issues.
Time of India
18-05-2025
- Business
- Time of India
Broadcasters look to tune into a brighter FY26 after static year
Synopsis Broadcasters anticipate a recovery in FY26, driven by easing churn, new pay-TV subscribers, and industry consolidation. The resurgence of FTA channels on DD Free Dish is expected to boost advertising revenue, particularly in rural areas. While linear TV shows signs of strength, advertising revenue remains under pressure due to macroeconomic factors, posing a challenge for the industry.
Time of India
17-05-2025
- Business
- Time of India
Regulatory issues hurt DTH business: Bharti Airtel's Gopal Vittal
Mumbai: Bharti Airtel , which recently called off talks to merge its direct-to-home (DTH) business with Tata Play , said the decline of the DTH business in the country has more to do with regulatory imbalances than with technology. During the company's Q4 earnings call, vice-chairman and MD Gopal Vittal said different distribution systems-like cable TV, DTH, and broadband-are governed by different regulations, despite serving the same set of consumers, with DTH facing stringent rules such as cross-holding restrictions and pricing caps. "The DTH industry is going through its moment of reckoning-not just due to legitimate technological disruption, like IPTV and broadband-enabled connected boxes, but also because of how it has been regulated," Vittal said, adding, "Today, three neighbouring homes-one with DTH, one with cable, and one with broadband-operate under entirely different regulatory constructs. DTH faces price controls and cross-holding restrictions; cable has a different set of rules, and broadband is completely unregulated." He also pointed out the impact of DD Free Dish on the pay-DTH universe, which he said was launched by the government for entirely different purposes. "Then there's the rise of DD Free Dish, which offers strong entertainment content at little to no cost. These are some of the other headwinds that the industry is facing," he said, pointing out that the original intent of DD Free Dish was to provide educational programming in domains like agriculture in rural areas. Despite these headwinds, Vittal believes DTH still has a future, as home broadband won't reach every household-out of 260-270 million homes in India, which includes 150-160 million TV homes. "Perhaps 75-80 million will have broadband in the next five years. That leaves a significant market for linear TV, where DTH will continue to play a role. And there's still an opportunity to grow from cable," Vittal said. On May 3, Airtel announced that it and Tata Play-70% owned by Tata Sons-had mutually agreed to end their discussions, having failed to reach a satisfactory resolution. The deal, if consummated, would have created India's leading pay-TV operator. Airtel has also done away with subsidies on set-top boxes (STBs) to reduce capex in DTH. In FY25, the company's capex on digital TV , which also includes IPTV from Q4, rose 16% to ₹1,665 crore. "We've taken a brave call and done it. We're waiting for the competition to follow, and we hope sense will prevail to strip those subsidies out-because there's no point in subsidies that just rotate your customer," he said. Airtel Digital TV, the DTH brand of Airtel, competes with Tata Play, Sun Direct and Dish TV in the DTH industry, which had 58.22 million paid DTH subscribers as of December 2024. "We've now launched IPTV, which will further enhance our customer experience drive. Convergence has also lowered our capex spend on the box," Vittal noted. Airtel's digital TV business added 76,000 customers in Q4, largely aided by the IPTV launch . In March, Bharti Airtel launched its IPTV service in 2,000 Indian cities, offering 600 TV channels, high-speed Wi-Fi, and on-demand content from 29 streaming apps. "Our IPTV launch has seen an encouraging response from customers. IPTV delivers enhanced convenience with a better user experience and flexibility to watch on demand as well as catch-up content, in addition to linear broadcast content," he noted.
Business Mayor
17-05-2025
- Business
- Business Mayor
Regulatory issues hurt DTH business: Bharti Airtel's Gopal Vittal
During the company's Q4 earnings call, vice-chairman and MD Gopal Vittal said different distribution systems-like cable TV, DTH, and broadband-are governed by different regulations, despite serving the same set of consumers, with DTH facing stringent rules such as cross-holding restrictions and pricing caps. 'The DTH industry is going through its moment of reckoning-not just due to legitimate technological disruption, like IPTV and broadband-enabled connected boxes, but also because of how it has been regulated,' Vittal said, adding, 'Today, three neighbouring homes-one with DTH, one with cable, and one with broadband-operate under entirely different regulatory constructs. DTH faces price controls and cross-holding restrictions; cable has a different set of rules, and broadband is completely unregulated.' He also pointed out the impact of DD Free Dish on the pay-DTH universe, which he said was launched by the government for entirely different purposes. 'Then there's the rise of DD Free Dish, which offers strong entertainment content at little to no cost. These are some of the other headwinds that the industry is facing,' he said, pointing out that the original intent of DD Free Dish was to provide educational programming in domains like agriculture in rural areas. Despite these headwinds, Vittal believes DTH still has a future, as home broadband won't reach every household-out of 260-270 million homes in India, which includes 150-160 million TV homes. 'Perhaps 75-80 million will have broadband in the next five years. That leaves a significant market for linear TV, where DTH will continue to play a role. And there's still an opportunity to grow from cable,' Vittal said. On May 3, Airtel announced that it and Tata Play-70% owned by Tata Sons-had mutually agreed to end their discussions, having failed to reach a satisfactory resolution. The deal, if consummated, would have created India's leading pay-TV has also done away with subsidies on set-top boxes (STBs) to reduce capex in DTH. In FY25, the company's capex on digital TV, which also includes IPTV from Q4, rose 16% to ₹1,665 crore.'We've taken a brave call and done it. We're waiting for the competition to follow, and we hope sense will prevail to strip those subsidies out-because there's no point in subsidies that just rotate your customer,' he said. Airtel Digital TV, the DTH brand of Airtel, competes with Tata Play, Sun Direct and Dish TV in the DTH industry, which had 58.22 million paid DTH subscribers as of December 2024. 'We've now launched IPTV, which will further enhance our customer experience drive. Convergence has also lowered our capex spend on the box,' Vittal noted. Airtel's digital TV business added 76,000 customers in Q4, largely aided by the IPTV launch. In March, Bharti Airtel launched its IPTV service in 2,000 Indian cities, offering 600 TV channels, high-speed Wi-Fi, and on-demand content from 29 streaming apps. 'Our IPTV launch has seen an encouraging response from customers. IPTV delivers enhanced convenience with a better user experience and flexibility to watch on demand as well as catch-up content, in addition to linear broadcast content,' he noted.
