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Time of India
5 days ago
- Business
- Time of India
AIDCF-EY report: India's Cable TV sector loses over 5.77 lakh jobs, 40mn Pay TV homes
India's cable television sector is grappling with a severe job loss crisis and a sharp decline in subscriptions, according to a study released today by the All India Digital Cable Federation (AIDCF) in collaboration with EY India. The report, titled—State of Cable TV Distribution in India, highlights an estimated cumulative job loss exceeding 5.77 lakh and a significant drop in Pay TV households, urging immediate policy reforms to stabilise the industry. The comprehensive study, based on extensive field data from over 28,000 Local Cable Operators (LCOs) across the country, paints a grim picture of the industry's health since 2018. The workforce of surveyed LCOs has plummeted by 31 percent since 2018, resulting in a reported loss of 37,835 jobs. When extrapolated nationally, the estimated job loss ranges between 1.14 lakh and 1.95 lakh. Factoring in the closure of approximately 900 Multi-System Operators (MSOs) and 72,000 LCOs over the past six years, the total cumulative job loss is estimated to exceed a staggering 5.77 lakh. Beyond job losses, the sector has seen a dramatic decline in subscriber numbers. Pay TV households have fallen by 40 million, from 151 million in 2018 to 111 million in 2024. 93 percent of LCOs reported a decline in their subscriber base since 2018, with 49 percent experiencing a drop in their monthly income. Alarmingly, 35% of LCOs reported a subscriber loss of over 40 percent. The report attributes these challenges to a combination of rising channel costs and intense competition from unregulated digital platforms, which often offer content for free or at significantly lower prices. To mitigate the crisis and ensure the sustainability of the cable TV industry, the report proposes several key reforms. These include enabling a level-playing field across all content distribution mediums to ensure fair competition and permitting differential Pay TV pricing for different territories based on consumers' ability to pay. The report also calls for measures to activate over 20 million inactive Set-Top Boxes (STBs) in India, restricting or limiting the provision of live or slightly delayed transmission of Pay TV content for free on other platforms, and fostering a unified stand against piracy across the broadcasting ecosystem. Sanjiv Shankar, Additional Secretary, Ministry of Consumer Affairs; Former Joint Secretary, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting shared his remarks, "This report is truly one of its kind—comprehensive, data-driven, and grounded in the realities of the ground-level cable ecosystem. It brings into focus the structural shifts and challenges within the sector, and provides a valuable evidence base for future policymaking.' S.N. Sharma, CEO of DEN Networks and President of AIDCF, emphasised the human impact of the crisis. He stated, 'This report is perhaps the most comprehensive bottom-up view of the Pay TV distribution sector in recent times. The report presents not just statistics but stories of lost livelihood impacting families and entrepreneurship, and they need to be heard across the broadcasting ecosystem. We urge all stakeholders — including broadcasters, regulators, and our parent ministry — to use the report as a base to bring practical reforms and support the cable TV industry to thrive once again.' Ashish Pherwani, Partner, Media & Entertainment Sector, EY India, highlighted the report's unique contribution, remarking, 'This is a first-of-its-kind report that captures the true pulse of the cable TV distribution network in India. Its scale, depth of field data, and insight into last-mile realities make it a valuable resource for both industry and policymakers alike.'
Mint
6 days ago
- Business
- Mint
Pay TV homes fall by 40 mn, 1.14-1.95 lakh job cut at local cable operators since 2018
New Delhi, June 9 (PTI) The number of paid TV homes fell by 40 million to 111 million in 2024 from 151 million in 2018, leading to an estimated employment reduction of 1.14 lakh to 1.95 lakh by the local cable operators, according to a report. The employment generated by the LCOs has fallen by 31 per cent since 2018, according to findings of a joint report by the industry body All India Digital Cable Federation (AICPDF) and EY India. The decline in pay TV homes is due to growing popularity and adoption of digital means of content consumption, such as OTT platforms, connected TVs and free DTH service, which led to a fall from 151 million in 2018 to 111 million in 2024. "The impact of this decline in pay TV homes has been significant, particularly on the local cable operator (LCO) ecosystem," said the report titled "State of Cable TV Distribution in India". The impact of this decline in pay TV homes has been significant, particularly on the local cable operator (LCO) ecosystem, said the report, which is based on a survey of 28,181 LCOs between November and December 2024. They collectively reported reducing the number of employed people by 37,835. "The key impact of this decline is that employment generated by the LCOs has fallen by 31 per cent since 2018," the report said adding "Extrapolating this to all-India level, the approximate reduction could be between 1.14 lakh and 1.95 lakh, given that TRAI data suggests there are approximately 85,000 registered LCOs in India and AIDCF's 12 members claim 1.62 lakh LCOs between them." The study further said 93 per cent of LCOs reported a decline in their subscriber base and 49 per cent reported a drop in their monthly income. Besides, 35 per cent of the LCO reported a subscriber loss of over 40 per cent from 2018. According to the study, the key challenge faced by the LCOs is their inability to increase collections from customers when broadcasting majors has increased their channel rates. Moreover, another factor, which are leading to cord-cutting, are a lack of "quality content on linear TV" which is not on par with the quality of content on OTT platforms. There is also a "decline in second TV set connections" within households, besides "consumers movement from pay TV to OTT platforms, Free Dish and Connected TVs". The study has pot views from the cable industry that could be evaluated, including " a level-playing field across all content distribution mediums —Free TV, OTT platforms, FAST channels and pay TV" and "permitting differential pay TV pricing for different territories based on their ability to pay." Commenting on the report, AIDCF President and CEO of DEN Networks S N Sharma said it provides a comprehensive bottom-up view of the Pay TV distribution sector in recent times. "We urge all stakeholders — including broadcasters, regulators, and our parent ministry — to use the report as a base to bring practical reforms and support the cable TV industry to thrive once again,' he said.
