The direct-to-home (DTH) industry in India faces issues such as low ARPU and high cost of

acquisition of content and subscribers, in addition to various taxes and digitisation of cable.

The direct-to-home (DTH) industry in India, which currently has about 30 million subscribers
and six players, is poised to grow to 60 million subscribers by the end of 2013, despite the fact
that the industry faces several issues such as low ARPU (average revenue per user), high cost of
acquisition of content and subscribers, and various taxes such as entertainment tax and service
tax. These aspects, along with the complete digitisation of cable, were some key points that were
highlighted at the CASBAA India Satellite Industry Forum held at the Shangri-La in the Capital
on March 22.

The panellists at the discussion comprised Sugato Banerji, chief marketing officer, Airtel digital
TV, Rajiv Khattar, president, operations, DishTV, Deepak Mathur, vice-president, sales, South
and West Asia, SES World Skies, Amit Thukral, principal counsel, legal and regulatory affairs,
Tata Sky, and Salil Pitale, executive director, investment banking, Enam Securities. Timmy
Khandari, executive director and leader, entertainment and media practice,
PricewaterhouseCoopers, moderated the session.

Opening the discussion, Banerji said, "The DTH industry in India is growing fast and in the next
two years, will grow further from a subscriber base of 30 million to 60 million. However, it still
has to pay a very high price to acquire content from broadcasters, as well as subscribers, when
compared to the price paid by the cable operators."

He added that the government should create a level playing field for the cable operators and the
DTH operators by completing the digitisation of cable, which so far has been rolled out in certain
areas in a few selected metros. Furthermore, the cost of set-top boxes is also declining, which
should make digitisaton only simpler. In India, approximately 12 million set-top boxes are sold
annually.

Speaking next, Khattar of DishTV said that while it was true that the industry is under pressure
due to low ARPU, in the last two years, it has been growing slowly and steadily and now the
trend is that the revenue is moving up as consumers have realised that DTH offers better quality
and services as compared to cable operators.

Khattar explained, "Unlike cable, in the case of the DTH industry, carriage fee is not a driver of
revenue as it contributes only 2-3 per cent of the overall revenue; in fact, various services such as
high-definition (HD), targetted advertising, movie-on-demand (MOD), and active services drive
business in this industry."

While the DTH industry is working on new ideas, one of its areas of concern has been the
availability of sufficient bandwidth, which would allow a DTH operator to telecast more than
500 channels.

Speaking on the issue of bandwidth, Mathur of SES World Skies said, "There is more than
sufficient bandwidth available for the DTH industry as companies like ours are working with
DTH operators to develop two-three satellites to increase their capacity. For example, currently,
we are developing three satellites for DishTV."

Mathur further added, "However, it takes two-to-three years to build and launch a satellite and
the cost of production is very high, taking about US$250-350 million. So, while we are working
towards ensuring that maximum bandwidth is available for DTH operators, the cost of
production makes the process a bit slow."

Thukral of Tata Sky focussed on the issue of taxes. Currently, the industry faces various taxes
such as license fee, service tax, entertainment tax and the additional value-added tax levied by
certain state governments such as Andhra Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh.

Thukral said that the government should work towards easing certain taxes like license fee,
which is 10 per cent of the gross revenue earned, along with entertainment tax. "The DTH
industry has a total turnover of Rs 6,000 crore and about 35 per cent of it is paid as tax by the
industry. It is about time that the government recognised DTH as a sector similar to any other
sector and not as a niche category," he said.

While it is true that the DTH industry is slowly spreading its roots, there is still some time left
before the industry turns into a profitable venture. Nevertheless, it seems that investors have
recognised the potential of the category.

Pitale of Enam Securities said that the DTH industry has managed to gain a fair amount of
interest from equity investors as they feel that the industry will grow in the same pattern as
telecom. He said, "Currently, the game is about subscriber acquisition. As soon as the operators
move beyond the acquisition mode, it is expected that the industry will be about retaining the
consumer base and the game will change from there."

RAI has issued a tariff order for addressable systems - DTH, HITS, IPTV and digital
addressable cable TV

The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) issued a new tariff order on July 21 for the
various addressable systems such as DTH, HITS, IPTV and digital addressable cable TV.

The tariff order recognises that the cable and satellite television sector is analog and non-
addressable. Besides, due to capacity and quality constraints, analog systems cannot offer choice
to subscribers. Hence, TRAI is actively promoting digital addressable systems to improve the
quality of services to the consumers.

Under the tariff order, the subscribers will have the advantage of choosing the channels they
wish to watch. The service providers have been instructed to provide pay channels on an a-la-
carte basis to subscribers, latest by January 1, 2011 in case of DTH operators. This has been done
to give enough time for them to reconfigure their systems. Besides, the service providers have to
publish the channel rates every three months.

When fixing the subscriber fee, the service providers have to ensure that any minimum monthly
subscription amount cannot exceed Rs 150. In an addressable system, there would be complete
record of the subscribers opting for various channels. So, broadcasters have been mandated to
make available TV channels to distributors of all addressable systems on a-la-carte and bouquet
basis at a maximum of 35 per cent of the corresponding rates for non-addressable cable TV
services.

The new order will come into effect from September 1, 2010.

Two main reasons that contribute to the popularity of DTH – first it reached places where
both cable & satellite (C&S) operators and terrestrial towers couldn't. The lousy
experience of C&S also tempted the subscribers to migrate to DTH

DTH subscribers in 1999: Did not exist

DTH subscribers in 2009: 16.3 Million (excl DD Direct Plus)

When it was launched in 2000, direct-to-home (DTH) services in India had just DD Direct Plus.
Three years later came the first private player Dish TV, promoted by the Essel Group. Three
years after that came TataSky. Today, there are three more private players in the fray - Sun
Direct, Big TV and Airtel Digital. Between them, the five private players cater to 16.3 million
subscribers. Add DD Direct Plus and that figure becomes 26.3 million.

For an industry that is limited by the fact that government regulation prevents content
differentiation by the players, DTH seems to be doing quite well. Two main reasons contribute to
that popularity. First, DTH reaches places where cable & satellite (C&S) operators don't or
where there are no terrestrial towers even by Doordarshan. Secondly, what also prompted
consumers to opt for DTH was the lousy experience that the C&S was proving to be.
The first proposal for DTH in India was mooted in 1996 but did not get the Government's
approval. It was only four years later that DTH was allowed - with many clauses. Government
policy requires all operators to set up earth stations in India within 12 months of getting a
license. The companies offering DTH service have to have an Indian promoter (foreign
investment - FDI (foreign direct investment). Also FII (foreign institutional investment) for the
sector has been capped at 49 per cent. However, there is no limit on the number of companies
applying for a DTH licence.

DTH's popularity is growing. Tata Sky (in August 2009) and Sun Direct (in September 2009) are
reported to have crossed a subscriber base of four million each. Dish TV's subscriber base was
5.8 million in September 2009.

In terms of reach, DD Direct Plus leads the way with a huge slice of the rural markets. With the
government planning to increase the cap on foreign investment to 74 per cent, there could be
more action. Domestic set top box manufacturers can expect a boost because the government is
planning to impose a customs duty of five per cent on imported set top boxes.

With increasing competition, the DTH operators' biggest challenge lies in increasing the average
revenue per user (ARPU). In India, ARPU is as low as Rs 180 a month. However, the ARPUs
are likely to pick up from 2010 onwards, largely on account of increased usage of add-on
services associated with DTH.

Another impediment to DTH's growth comes from the shortage of server space on the satellite
spectrum. Companies have to either lease transponders on INSAT satellites or go through the
Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) to sub-lease capacity on foreign transponders.

In 2008-09, the size of the DTH market was estimated around Rs 1,428 crore and is estimated to
touch Rs 3,000 crore in the current financial year.

ABSTRACT

DTH is no a new technology and it has matured to its full

potential in other parts of the world. There are many applications
been found everyday for exploitation of benefits of DTH?

The word ‘DTH’ is synonymous with transmission of digital

video channel to home subscriber’s using a small dish antenna.
The DTH utilizes a technology which enables a home to receive
high speed internet broadband access data communication, voice
over internet protocol (IP) telephony and much more using an open
standard Digital Video Broadcasting (DVB) technology. The video
channels are received with a suitable set top box. Capable of
demodulating Motion Picture Engg. Group (MPEG-2) standard
videos. It is for the return channel required for other services such
as , voice over internet protocol and broadband access data
communications , that a return channel is also required for the
home terminal. The return channel via the satellite is called RCS
and is an open standard.

Hardware compatible with DVB-RCS technology are readily

available in the market in both Ku-band and C-band. DVB-RCS is
an international open standard for multimedia satellite network
where the return data rates in access of 2 Mbps are possible using
low cost user terminals. The forward ink is usually at 40 Mbps.

What is DTH?

DTH stands for Direct-To-Home television. DTH is defined as the

reception of satellite programmes with a personal dish in an
individual home.

DTH does away with the need for the local cable operator and puts
the broadcaster directly in touch with the consumer. Only cable
operators can receive satellite programmes and they then distribute
them to individual homes.

How does DTH work?

A DTH network consists of a broadcasting centre, satellites,
encoders, multiplexers, modulators and DTH receivers.

A DTH service provider has to lease Ku-band transponders from

the satellite. The encoder converts the audio, video and data signals
into the digital format and the multiplexer mixes these signals. At
the user end, there will be a small dish antenna and set-top boxes to
decode and view numerous channels. On the user's end, receiving
dishes can be as small as 45 cm in diametre.

DTH is an encrypted transmission that travels to the consumer

directly through a satellite. DTH transmission is received directly
by the consumer at his end through the small dish antenna. A set-
top box, unlike the regular cable connection, decodes the encrypted
transmission.

How does DTH really differ from cable TV?

The way DTH reaches a consumer's home is different from the

way cable TV does. In DTH, TV channels would be transmitted
from the satellite to a small dish antenna mounted on the window
or rooftop of the subscriber's home. So the broadcaster directly
connects to the user. The middlemen like local cable operators are
not there in the picture.

DTH can also reach the remotest of areas since it does away with
the intermediate step of a cable operator and the wires (cables) that
come from the cable operator to your house. As we explained
above, in DTH signals directly come from the satellite to your
DTH dish.

Also, with DTH, a user can scan nearly 700 channels!

Does one need to put two dish antennae and pay double
subscription per month if one has two TVs?

For multiple connections in the same premises, one can use the
same connection. However, every television set will need to have
an individual STB.

Also, DTH is a national service and the STBs enable a viewer to

change service providers without changing the STB, even if one

moves from one city to another.

Can a CAS set-top box be used for DTH?

No, these are different set-top boxes.

Why is DTH is being discussed now?

Doordarshan plans to launch its DTH telecast from April 1. The

government has said it will provide 10,000 dishes free across eight
states for increased community viewing of the DTH service. The
government is estimated to be investing over Rs 300 crore (Rs 3
billion) in this DTH venture.

There are four serious contenders for DTH services in India:

Doordarshan, Star, Zee, and Data Access.
Is DTH superior to cable TV?

Yes. DTH offers better quality picture than cable TV. This is
because cable TV in India is analog. Despite digital transmission
and reception, the cable transmission is still analog. DTH offers
stereophonic sound effects. It can also reach remote areas where
terrestrial transmission and cable TV have failed to penetrate.
Apart from enhanced picture quality, DTH has also allows for
interactive TV services such as movie-on-demand, Internet access,
video conferencing and e-mail. But the thing that DTH has going
for it is that the powerful broadcasting companies like Star, Zee,
etc are pushing for it.

So why are broadcasters pushing for DTH?

In DTH, the payments will be made directly by the subscriber to
the satellite company offering the service.
A big problem that broadcasters face in India is the issue of under-
reporting of subscribers by cable operators.

Consider the cable operators pyramid. Right at the top is the

broadcaster. Next comes the Multi Service Cable Operator (MSOs)
like Siticable, InCable, etc. Below them are the Access Cable
Operators (ACOs) or your local cable guy who actually lays the
wires to your house.

The local cable operators or the ACOs then allegedly under-report the number of subscribers
they have bagged because they have to pay the MSOs something like Rs 30-45 per household.
Showing a lesser number of households benefits ACOs.

With no way to actually cross check, the MSOs and the

broadcasters lose a lot. Broadcasters do not earn much in
subscription fees and are mostly dependent on advertisement
revenue to cover their costs, which is not sustainable and does not
offer high growth in revenues for broadcasters.

The way out of this is to use a set-top box so that it will be clear
how many households are actually using cable or going for DTH
where broadcasters directly connect to consumers and can actually
grow revenues with a growth in the subscriber base.

Why do Doordarshan, Zee, Star think DTH will work in India?

Today, broadcasters believe that the market is ripe for DTH. The
prices of the dish and the set-top box have come down
significantly. Overall investments required in putting up a DTH
infrastructure has dropped and customers are also reaping the
benefits of more attractive tariffs.

The major thing that DTH operators are betting on is that the
service is coming at a time when the government is pushing for
CAS (conditional access system), which will make cable television
more expensive, narrowing the tariff gap between DTH and cable.

Will DTH be cheaper than cable or more expensive?

DTH will be definitely more expensive than cable as it exists
today.

A set-top box is a must for DTH. Earlier, when CAS made set-top box mandatory for
households, the costs between DTH and cable would not have been too wide

But CAS on the backburner now -- which means no set-top box (a

must for DTH), the price gap between DTH and cable will be
wide.

In Oct 2002, Siticable, which is owned by Zee, said that the cost of
the installation equipment, which includes the receiver dish and the
set-top box, would be priced at around Rs 3,900. Siticable is
looking to rope in 1 million subscribers in 15 months.

Other estimates say that digital cable set-top box may cost Rs
4,000, a DTH decoder dish is unlikely to cost less than Rs 7,000.
DTH's minimum subscription could be priced around Rs 500 per
month.

Some reports say that an entry level DTH STB will cost about Rs
7,000 (including taxes and installation cost at consumers end). A
more advanced STB with value added features like PVR (Personal
Video Recorder), PSTN connectivity, Gamming console, channel
management system, etc. may cost as much as Rs 15,000.

What is the history of DTH in India?

DTH services were first proposed in India in 1996. But they did
not pass approval because there were concerns over national
security and a cultural invasion. In 1997, the government even
imposed a ban when the Rupert Murdoch-owned Indian Sky
Broadcasting (ISkyB) was about to launch its DTH services in
India.

Finally in 2000, DTH was allowed. The new policy requires all
operators to set up earth stations in India within 12 months of
getting a license. DTH licenses in India will cost $2.14 million and
will be valid for 10 years. The companies offering DTH service
will have to have an Indian chief and foreign equity has been
capped at 49 per cent. There is no limit on the number of
companies that can apply for the DTH license.
So, what's the buzz? Will DTH finally be the one that rules?

The cable system is well entrenched in India and is showing quite

rapid growth. If DTH had come to India in 1996-97 (like Star had
originally attempted), then it could have made a significant
breakthrough.

Europe is an example of this. DTH developed there before cable

and now controls nearly 80 per cent of the total satellite television
subscriber base. But in US, cable rules because it came before
DTH.

DTH will definitely cut into the existing cable user base. It will make the local cable operator
less important and take business away from him. It will give consumers greater choice.

But it is likely to be an up market premium product and most

middle class households will stick to cab
BASIC DTH NETWORK CONCEPTS

Dth is a fast emerging in this part of the globe . the

technology would be well suited to the need of the Indian people.
This technology will help reach to those part of the country which
is difficult to reach.

The dth network consists of two parts :

 Transmission station
 Receive terminal
1. Transmission station :

The transmission station also known as earth

station is used to uplink the contents. The base analog or digital
video-audio are converted to the DVB standard using the encoder
and multiplexer. The way DTH reaches a consumer's home is

different from the way cable TV does. In DTH, TV channels

would be transmitted from the satellite to a small dish
antenna mounted on the window or rooftop of the
subscriber's home. So the broadcaster directly connects to
the user. The middlemen like local cable operators are not
there in the picture.

2. Receive terminals:
 the receive terminals are basically for the
reception of the signals being beamed from the transmission
station. The terminal consists of the following :

• receive type solid offset antenna

• LNB feed system

• Interface cables &

• Set top box

The terminal can be placed outside the window of

a high rise building, on the ground or a roof mount. The
terminals can be used as per the contents being beam by the
transmission stations. DTH can also reach the remotest of

areas since it does away with the intermediate step of a

cable operator and the wires (cables) that come from the
cable operator to your house.

DTH RECEIVE TERMINALS EQUIPMENTS

1.ANTENNA
Antenna size considerations:

The selection of the appropriate antenna size helps in keepin

the network up and healthy.
it is decided based on the following:

• Satellite EIRP at the particular location.

• Rain attenuation at the location.

• Adequate Eb/No for reception of excellent picture quality.

• With the 'CAS' issue not yet resolved, there's 'DTH'

coming up to muddle things up for you and me.

Antenna mounts:
The antenna mount can be selected based on the
requirements of the user:
• wall mount

• roof mount

• ground mount

LOW NOISE BLOCKER

Certain commercial accounts, like sports bars, won’t settle

anything less than the based. Can a you imagine a branch of rowdy
guys drinking beer all day then losing the signal in the middle of
the ground?

A DTH service provider has to lease Ku-band transponders from

the satellite. The encoder converts the audio, video and data signals
into the digital format and the multiplexer mixes these signals. At
the user end, there will be a small dish antenna and set-top boxes to
decode and view numerous channels. On the user's end, receiving
dishes can be as small as 45 cm in diameter.

DTH is an encrypted transmission that travels to the consumer

directly through a satellite. DTH transmission is received directly
by the consumer at his end through the small dish antenna. A set-
top box, unlike the regular cable connection, decodes the encrypted
transmission.

The way DTH reaches a consumer's home is different from the

way cable TV does. In DTH, TV channels would be transmitted
from the satellite to a small dish antenna mounted on the window
or rooftop of the subscriber's home. So the broadcaster directly
connects to the user. The middlemen like local cable operators are
not there in the picture.

A low noise converter (low noise block converter)

placed in the focal
point of the dish antenna.
Polarization

Polarization is a way to give transmission signals a specific

direction. It makes the beam more concentrated. Signals
transmitted by satellite can be polarized in one or four different
ways: linear (horizontal or vertical) or circular (left-hand or right-
and). FSS satellites use horizontal or vertical polarization, DBS
satellites used left- and right-hand circular polarization. to use the
channel that are available for broadcast as efficiently as possible,
both horizontal and vertical polarization (and left and right circular
polarization ) can be applied simultaneously per channel or
frequency. In such cases the frequency of one of the two is slightly
altered, to prevent possible interference. DTH can also reach the
remotest of areas since it does away with the intermediate step of a
cable operator and the wires (cables) that come from the cable
operator to your house. As we explained above, in DTH signals
directly come from the satellite to your DTH dish.
Consequently, via one and the same frequency the satellite can
broadcast both the horizontal and vertical polarized signal (H and
V), or a left and right –hand circular polarized signal (LH and RH).

Direct broadcast via satellite

Direct broadcast satellite, (DBS) also known as "Direct-To- Home" is a relatively recent
development in the world of television distribution. “Direct broadcast satellite” can either refer to
the communications satellites themselves that deliver DBS service or the actual television
service. DBS systems are commonly referred to as "mini-dish" systems. DBS uses the upper
portion of the Ku band.

Modified DBS systems can also run on C-band satellites and have been used by some networks
in the past to get around legislation by some countries against reception of Ku-band
transmissions. DBS systems are generally based on proprietary transport stream encoding
and/or encryption requiring proprietary reception equipment. Service providers sometimes
license several manufacturers to provide equipment capable of receiving the proprietary
streams. This equipment typically uses a smart card as part of the decryption system or
conditional access. This measure assures satellite television providers that only authorised;
paying subscribers have access to Pay TV content but at the same time can

allow free-to-air (FTA) channels to be viewed even by the people

with standard equipment available in the market.
Television receive-only
 Television receive-only, or TVRO, refers to satellite television reception equipment that is
based primarily on open standards equipment. This contrasts sharply with direct broadcast
satellite, which is a completely closed system that uses proprietary reception equipment. TVRO
is often referred to as "big dish" satellite television. TVRO systems are designed to receive
analog and digital satellite feeds of both television or audio from both C- band and Ku-band
transponders on FSS-type satellites. TVRO systems tend to use larger rather than smaller satellite
dish antennas, since it is more likely that the owner of a TVRO system would have a C-band-
only setup rather than a Ku band-only setup. Additional receiver boxes allow for different types
of digital satellite signal reception, such as DVB/MPEG-2 and 4DTV.

The narrow beam width of a normal parabolic satellite antenna means it can only receive
signals from a single satellite at a time. Simulsat is a quasi-parabolic satellite earthstation
antenna that is capable of receiving satellite transmissions from 35 or more C- and Ku-band
satellites simultaneously.

Direct broadcasting satellites which can be received by what are known in Chinese as little
ears have had a major role in breaking the government monopoly of information on Mainland
China. Although met with frequent and generally unsuccessful efforts to regulate them, these
small satellite dishes are fairly common in urban China. Satellite television has also played an
important role in broadcasting to expatriate communities such as Arabs, and overseas Chinese

DTH APPLICATIONS:
a) To view pay & free-to-air TV channels of various DTH
platform on your home TV.

b) Doordarshan free-to-air srvices providing 40 TV channels with no subscription feees is an

attracitve preposition to peoplle in urban and rural areas . these channels comprises of DD
channels and popular channels of news , sports , information , entertainment etc.

c) One can csan the entire globe with a motorised dish using a CI set top box with CAM modules
and watch TV channels of several DTH platforms visible to the dish terminals.

d) A number hasstarted IP broadcast with rturn channel on PSTN line and this would be for
education and other application.

DTH-BENEFITS:

Benefits of DTH extends to all sections of the

society .since DTH has a reach in all areas whethe it is remote
or urban , ti provides equal benefits to everyone . benefits of
DTH are listed below:

• Cost effective communnication , information and

entertainment to all .
• Small size terminals can provide upto 4000 TV channels

and 2000 radio channels through a click of a button and

thus brings world’s altest information , news ,
entertainment to your home .

• DTH services bypasses mediators and thus content

provider comes with customer directly.
• DTH services are transparent providing digital quality
video , audio , radio, and IP to all at equal prices and other
benefits with reliability.

CONCLUSION:

DTH projects in india are just a beginning and we are takng

th eadvantage of dth revolution. direct to home connects urban ,
rural and remote areas of the country and porvides desire
informaiton , communication, education and entertainment at the
click of a buttton.

As new players enter the DTH market, the war has shifted from between two distribution
methods to between the various DTH players. afaqs! investigates

It is not just the direct to home (DTH) players who are beaming with joy. The Indian consumer
too never had it so good. From two players last year, viewers have a choice of two – may be
three – more now. The ad industry, too, is in for good times as a big spending category explodes
on the scene.

Last year, there were only two players – DishTV (an Essel Group venture) and Tata Sky (an
80:20 joint venture of the Tata Group and STAR) – in the paid DTH market. DD Direct+ existed,
but it catered mostly to the areas that did not have cable TV. Today, four players are crowding
the skies and two more are waiting to take off. Eight months ago, Sun Direct from the Chennai
based Sun Network kicked off in style. Today, it already has 1.2 million subscribers.

Last month, Big TV of Reliance Communications (Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group) announced
its arrival. Bharti’s DTH service – under the brand name, Airtel – is ready to move in. Another
player waiting with licence in hand is Videocon. Round 2 of the DTH war promises to be
exciting. But just how exciting is it going to be?

Consumer is king
Big TV and Airtel are telecom players and have a huge distribution network in place by virtue of
their telecom business. Has that unsettled the existing players? Not really. If Big TV and Airtel
have their distribution networks, both Sun Direct and DishTV understand exactly how
distribution works. Sun has a cable network called Sumangali Cable Vision, while DishTV has
Siticable (an Essel venture).
The new players say that since DTH in India is in its nascent stage, the entry of more players will
help the category grow. The old ones say that they are not competing with one another. Each of
them is looking to convert cable TV consumers. And what a market the latter is.

Of the 120 million TV homes in India at present, 80 million are cable and
satellite (C&S) homes. Out of these, 14 million homes have DTH connections.
Of that, DD Direct+ takes 50 per cent (seven million homes) market share.
DishTV is at No. 2 with 3.6 million connections, Tata Sky at No. 3 with 2.3
million, followed by the eight month old Sun Direct at No. 4. But is it easy to
get the cable subscribers to jump on to this bandwagon?

The two new entrants, Sun Direct and Big TV, fancy their chances highly. While Big TV is
banking on its strong distribution network and varied offerings, Sun Direct – which is present in
Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala and Pondicherry – is banking on competitive
pricing. It plans to go pan-India soon. ‘Consumer experience’ is the mantra they are chanting.

Technology is a big factor for the consumer to actually experience

anything. And price. To get the consumer hooked, companies announce
how they are subsidising the cost of the set-top boxes (STBs) needed to
access DTH telecasts. Salil Kapoor, chief operating officer, DishTV,
says, “Almost all players are subsidising the STBs to the extent that even
if interoperability (one provider’s STB being used by another) were
allowed, the cost of installing new software would be as much as a new
STB.”

Kapoor is happy about one change. With more players coming in, he
doesn’t need to educate the customer about DTH. Instead, he can focus on the brand’s services.
He believes the education part “will now be done by the collective noise”. Till now, DishTV’s
campaigns focused on educating the customer about differentiating between cable and DTH.
Brand ambassador Shah Rukh Khan has been urging customers not to be “santusht” with the
current offerings.

The way ahead

The fun has just begun, and in the words of Tony D’Silva, chief
executive officer, Sun Direct TV, “The year ahead is exciting.” But he is
careful to add that “all platforms – cable, DTH and IPTV – will coexist.
The real question should be how soon or how slowly India will get
digitalised.”

Analysis reports on the media and entertainment industry predict that by

2012, India will have about 30 million DTH connections. But as of now,
the segment is characterised by high customer acquisition and marketing
costs. DishTV has made losses of close to Rs 664 crore between April
2006 and now. According to Sanjay Behl, group head, brand and
marketing, Reliance Communications, just the advertising and marketing costs of acquiring a
customer is between Rs 400 and Rs 500. Breaking even is a tough game.

D’Silva, is more forthcoming. According to him, as STBs are highly

subsidised, the cost of acquisition of a customer is close to Rs 4,000
(including expenses for the cable, STBs and others). Industry analysts,
however, say that such subsidies include the cost of the STB (normally
not more than Rs 2,500) and bundling of packages. And that for Sun
Direct to break even would take “close to four years”. “However,” he
adds, “in our model we will be able to recover the cost in a shorter period
than others as the STB is an asset.” The company will keep the STB on
its books and claim depreciation, taking the box back if the consumer
deserts the service.

Kapoor of DishTV feels that breaking even depends on how soon a provider can encourage the
customer to upgrade her package. To do that, the players are spending big on advertising. The ad
spend in this category is estimated to be around Rs 200 crore – according to Kapoor – and is
likely to shoot up manifold in a year’s time. Making the consumer aware is just one of the things.

As the war livens up, what battle plans have each of the players drawn up? afaqs! takes a trip
through the war room of each contestant.

Old guns
DishTV, DD Direct+ and Tata Sky were the early entrants in this space and they enjoyed the first
mover advantage, although they also had to fight against the two decades old cable television
distribution system. Now with the entry of the new kids, their game plans have also changed.

DishTV

Launched in 2003, India’s first DTH service provider hopes to touch

the magical figure of five million connections by the end of this fiscal –
magical because that is the figure at which DTH providers are expected
to start making a profit. Experts say that it is when a company crosses
five million that the base starts contributing to recovering the cost of acquisition of adding new
subscribers (assuming that the cost of an STB is Rs 2,500 and the cost of subsidies doesn’t
exceed this figure).

What also helps is that by this time, the service provider has the clout to bargain with the
channels for better margins.

DishTV believes that it knows the pulse of the customer. Kapoor highlights three areas of
DishTV’s strength. The first is how content across various demographies is consumed. Second,
that the game is not just about selling an STB, but also acquiring and retaining customers. Third
is channel management – where and how the customer goes and buys the STB.
According to Kapoor, cable dark areas (where there’s no cable TV) are content with the basic
package. The South is divided into four language pockets, but in the bigger cities, people opt for
the English packages as well. It is the same in the North. DTH is also about last mile
connectivity. “The customer is not going to stay forever with the package he subscribed to
initially. The question is how to encourage the customer to subscribe to other packages and value
added services (VAS) quickly,” says Kapoor.

However, revenue from VAS such as movies on demand is minimal and hasn’t picked up yet.
“People are just testing the waters. But it is just a matter of understanding and awareness and
people getting used to it,” Kapoor says. He adds, “The core business will always be supply of
content.”

DishTV, when it started off, had to build up a distribution network from scratch. Does the fact
that new players have a telecom network to bank upon bother him?

“I’m not sure if their huge distribution system will actually deliver. STBs are sold more through
consumer durables shops. They have a huge distribution system, but in a different category,
telecom, and the dealers are used to selling low cost products like recharge cards and handsets.
Once these channels start delivering, they are bound to keep our products because these channel
partners will keep multiple products and at least three-four brands to give the consumer a choice.
That will benefit us too and open up another channel for us,” he says.

DishTV has an edge over its competitors in that it has 14 transponders (transmission hardware) –
other competitors have about seven to eight only – which give it the capability to carry more
channels. It is in the process of launching its own satellite, too, and claims that it will be in a
position to beam more than 400 channels in the next 12 months.

Tata Sky

Launched on Independence Day in 2006, Tata Sky hopes to have about

eight million connections by 2012. Though the Indian broadcasting
regulations do not allow exclusivity of content and one has to carry all
channels, Tata Sky has taken upon itself the onus of investing in more
interactive services to differentiate it from the other players.
It has about 10 interactive services, such as Actve Wizkids, Actve
Stories, Actve Matrimony, Actve STAR News and Showcase (a pay per
view system of movie rentals). Vikram Mehra, head, consumer
marketing, Tata Sky, says that he personally met the principals of 1,500
schools across the country to persuade them to adopt Actve Wizkids,
Actve Stories and Actve Learning as a part of their teaching. He is elated
to point out that as per internal research, “children spend 66 minutes a
day during weekdays and about 78 minutes during weekends on
Wizkids.”
Mehra feels that Tata Sky’s interactive services will do well because “TV is a modern fireplace
in India, where the family gets together, and it is watched collectively as compared to Europe
and the US, where viewing is individualistic, except during soccer matches.”

The company recently tied up with BharatMatrimony.com to provide a matrimonial channel to

its users, which Mehra feels is fun. DishTV, too, has tied up with Shaadi.com for a similar
service. Like DishTV, for Tata Sky too, the movie on demand service has not been a great
revenue generator.

According to Mehra, people are content watching a pirated movie on the cable system, even
though half the screen is covered with an ad strip. “And in any case,” he says, “they believe that
the movie will premiere on television after six months.” To change this perception, Tata Sky has
been working on two fronts. One, to approach the producers and release movies simultaneously
on Tata Sky, and two, to educate the customer about the ad free movie experience.

Most of Tata Sky’s advertising was about its interactive services. Recently, it took on film actor
Aamir Khan, who stands for exclusivity and perfection, as its brand ambassador. The focus of
the campaign with Khan is to establish the pedigree of Tata Sky. “Many people don’t know that
the ‘Sky’ in Tata Sky comes from our joint venture and the learning we have from one of the
world’s leading DTH players, British Sky Broadcasting. They think that Sky stands for
transmission through the sky,” Mehra says.

Industry Analysis: Direct To Home

After a slow start, the DTH market in India is fuelled by fiercecompetition between the
incumbent Dish TV and challenger Tata Sky,plus several new entrants, but pricing and
exclusivity remain keycontentious issues.1.0
Introduction
 
 In earlier days there was only one TV channel in India the “Doordarshan”,Channel Doordarshan
was owned and operated by government of India. In thisera, every home which had a TV set
used to have its own antenna to capture thesignals. The Cable Television Ordinance Law was
passed in January 1995. Thisenabled cable operators to feed channels and later on private
companies wereallowed to air their own channels and this led to the explosive growth in
numberof TV channels and number of cable operators.The growth of TV channels & cable
operators created a big industry andmarket opportunities. There were as many as 1, 00,000 cable
operators acrossIndia until few years back. However the services provided by cable
operatorswere poor. The strikes, increase in tariff plan, selective broadcast and poorservices were
major cause of dissatisfaction among the customers. This hascreated an opportunity for DTH,
which serves an immediate threat to the high-end cable networks India has about 130 million TV
homes of which, Cable &Satellite (C&S) services are present in 97 million (74%) of the home.
The DTHmarket in India comprises 11% of the total market with almost 15 million homes.The
DTH industry growth lagged to 10.3% in 2008 from 16.7% a year earlier. Butindustry players
agree that the digitization drive is expanding by 35-40%annually. However, industry estimates
DTH to touch 35-40 million subscribersby 2012, and that’s the number that every DTH brand
has set its sights on.By 2015, DTH will enjoy a market share of 40%, digital cable 40%
andanalog cable will follow with only 20% market share. The DTH service market inIndia has
emerged as one of the most lucrative markets which have successfullyresisted the impacts of the
current economic slowdown. The slowdown, instead,proved a boon for the Indian DTH industry
as people started to cut on theirentertainment expenditure and instead of viewing movies at
theatres, theypreferred to stay at home with their television sets.The anticipated growth to the
efforts of DTH industry players who are alltrying to lure viewers by cutting down prices as well
as offering perks eventhough it translates into loss of Rs 1,600-2,000 on each new subscriber
acquiredby them. They have started to offer a number of value-added services such as‘movie on
demand’, live recording of TV content, matrimonial match-making, etc.

With 7 operational players, the segment rivalry is quite high. The competitionfrom state
owned DD-Direct to private players is negligible from the contentpoint of view as the number of
channels offered by DD-Direct is very limited.However, DD-Direct does not charge any monthly
subscription fee which posesa threat to the private players. Between Dish TV and Tata Sky there
is an intenserivalry exhibited by price wars and discount schemes offered to new
connections.Being the first mover, Dish TV has price advantage in both the STB as well
asprocuring the transponders. On the other hand, Tata Sky claims its STB havingsuperior DVD
quality video. There is also a competition at acquiring the content. 
3.0
 
DTH Market Structure 
The DTH market structure can be classified into three categories; Market leaders,Market
challengers and Market followers. There is intense competition as someof the leading players
have not only succumbed in the sales for acquiring newcustomers but has started loosing existing
ones to Tata Sky, Big TV and other
 
Oct’09 PT-PGPM
Page 8
 
Market Leader:
 
Dish TV India’s first DTH service provider launched in October 2003 is themarket leader with
6.4 million subscribers. Dish TV continues to be a marketleader with 32% market share in 7
player scenario on date, with sizeablesales and distribution infrastructure of over 650 distributors
and 45,000 dealersacross 6500 towns – once again, the largest in the category. This reach into
farflung markets enables building of a diverse subscriber base across consumersegments, which
are supported by its rich content of regional channelofferings.
 
Dishtv has maintained its leadership position through an improved market shareof all DTH
subscribers. New offers, extensive marketing campaigns havecontributed to impressive
subscriber acquisition and are committed to providethe best value to our customers and investors
by enhancing operationalefficiencies and by leveraging economies of scale.
 
Market challengers:
 
The gap between the leader and the challengers is decreasing because of theincreasing
competition and promotion strategy followed by each player.
  
TATA Sky

In the enormous consumer market that is India, occasionally an opportunityarises that can create
incredible growth and profitprovided those who seek tocapture it can move quickly enough.
TATA wanted to capitalize on thisopportunity as there was currently only one player in the DTH
market. It was thesecond Mover after Dish TV leveraging on brand TATA and high brand
recall. Incorporated in 2004, Tata Sky is a JV between the TATA Group and STAR. TataSky
endeavors to offer Indian viewers a world-class television viewingexperience through its satellite
television service. The key business challenge in acountry like India is meeting customer
demandswhich are very dynamicunder the regulatory purview of the country. 

Sun DIRECT
Sun Direct is the fastest growing DTH service provider having garnered over 1.9million
subscribers since its launch in December 2007 and aims to become one ofthe leading players in
the DTH space. Sun Direct challenged the existing playersby
 
involving them in the price war by acting as a discounted brand. It startedoffering subscriptions
at as low as Rs 99 to reach as much at the bottom of themarket. The biggest differentiator for the
brand is the pricing point which islesser than the other brands.
The other point of differentiation is with regard to their distribution channels. Itis being made
available in most basic shops such as telephone booths, cyclerepair shops and video parlors.
  
Sun DTH was the first one to move into the MPEG4 league and soon after thePAN India launch
HD services will be launched. Another first from SUN DTH isthe launch of exclusive comedy
channels for its subscribers.
 
Market followers:
 Reliance BIG TV/ Airtel Digital/Videocon d2h
 The approach being followed is of Market Follower (as they are late entrant and their primay
objective is to attract max subscribers in shortest span of time.
 
 Consumer Behaviour Pattern

Major Factors influencing the purchase decision of DTH are as below:


 
Price

 
Customer Service

 
Reception

 
Program choices

 
New Technology and

 
Technical Support

 
Strategies to sustain in competitive growth market
 
Advertising & Promotion:
Indian TV channel broadcast 15.7-mn advertisement every year, whichtotals to 362-mn seconds
of TV advertisement every year.  India currently hasover 400 channels.TV viewer ship has
declined by 5% since 2001.  TVbroadcasters are expected to increase advertisement rate this year
by 16-18%

DTH industry uses different marketing strategies for promotion and salesof its products. It gives
advertisements with their brand ambassadors whichattract customers, door to door selling, on the
phone selling, discount and offersales, packages, etc. Marketing practices is a continuous process
as thecompetition keeps increasing among the players in the industry.  Each player isinvesting lot
of money in promoting there brands.Many players are making advertisement with movie actor
and actress asbrand ambassadors for their products because DTH is mainly considered
withentertainment. Some of the companies like Tata sky is having Super Star Aamirkhan as
brand ambassador and Airtel is having many film stars like KareenaKapoor, A.R. Rahman, Saif
Ali khan, etc. Dish TV is also having Super StarShahrukh khan as the brand ambassador. Sun
direct also use southern actress fortheir brand promotion.Marketing practices are the decisions
taken by the manufacturingcompany to increase sales, expand themselves into many areas etc.
Successfulmarketing practices bring sale up, while unsuccessful marketing practices haveno
impact on sale or negatively impact sale. Marketing concepts specific to theindustry is primarily
targeted at a niche segment who buy the TV sets from theelectronic retail chains. 
Product Innovation
The concept of innovation in DTH industry is INCREMENTAL innovation;everything that is
done is due to constant research of many marketing andanalysts to bring many innovations to the
existing products in the DTH industry.Incremental innovation is the apt innovation which is
suitable and all the DTHplayers are concentrating up on. This innovation makes the business to
growcontinuously and brings advantages to the customers using the products and
theservice.There are many sources of innovation for this industry as mentioned inthe above, the
technology and the people are the main sources for the innovation.Customer’s opinions and their
needs can be served by providing a service whichis matching to their needs and
requirements.Digital TV, the DTH service from Airtel, has announced India’s first
skinintegration innovation on its EPG screen in partnership with Yahoo. Yahoo takesforward its
latest brand campaign “YOU” in this first of its kind partnershipwhere an online portal will use
DTH as a medium to promote itself.The ‘Electronic Programming Guide’ screen on Airtel digital
TV is nowcompletely integrated with Yahoo India’s homepage. Customers will find amessage
‘Fill your home page with all the things that make YOU’ when they log
onto to the EPG screen. A prompting ‘Red Button’ will take them to a dedicatedlanding page
that elaborates the offerings on Yahoo India’s new home page.The ‘YOU’ campaign enables
users to customize the home page as pertheir liking and empowers them with the choice to
integrate social applicationssuch as Facebook with their Yahoo homepage.  This whole idea was
conceivedby Network Play, right from design elements to execution and thanks toMindshare
for buying into the idea and flawlessly helping people execute it.Tata Teleservices Limited has
announced a technological breakthroughafirst-of-its-kind innovation in India with the launch
of TATA Photon TV, a newapplication that allows Tata Photon Plus subscribers to watch live
televisionchannels on their laptops while on the move, and on their personal computers
athome and in the office. The Photon TV service is exclusively available to PhotonPlus users.
“With its growing popularity, Photon Plus has caught the admirationof millions of users across
the country, with its high-speed data accesscapabilities and the ease of mobility.TATA Photon
TV is a personal computer- and laptop-based video-streaming application, which allows Tata
Photon Plus users to view live TV feedfrom various sports, news, entertainment and regional
channels, and to watchrecorded TV shows from the library (viz Coffee with Karan, Zoom, Pogo,
etc),movies, music and videos on demand.Internet Browsing charges will be charged as per
your Photon+ tariff planand it would be applicable while viewing Photon TV. These charges
would beover and above the subscription charges for the Photon TV. (Approximate datausage is
1-2MB per Min).Rate of innovation in this sector is growing at a faster rate in the recentyears
where as it is not very impressive before this period.  The reason for this isthe fair competition
between the all players in this DTH industry. It led to thedevelopment of new products in this
sector which also led to the diversificationof products as there is abolition of entry of foreign
industries into Indianindustries initially. It also made the industries in this sector to establish
their ownR&D departments for successful product innovations like Airtel Live, Videocon dth.

Market segmentation
 
6.1 GEOGRAPHIC SEGMENTATION

In terms of geographical location, North India and Western India togethercontribute over 8
million DTH subscribers, while the southern marketcontributes 3 million. The states of
Maharashtra, Goa, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, andRajasthan are the leaders in DTH subscription,
contributing over 6.5 million DTHconnections to the overall base.
 
Urban and Rural:
 
In order to cater to the diverse taste and needs of both urban and rural people,operators provide
entirely different range of services and offerings. In rural areas,fleet of vans for demos,
installation as well as selling hardware and pre-paidvouchers are being used. Most players are
building up their subscriber base bytargeting viewers outside the big cities, which suggests that
about 60 per cent ofDTH subscribers reside in rural areas and towns with a population under
amillion. 

Region and States:

 
It has come up with special offers for the southern region where regional andsports channels are
viewed the most. Like Ultimate sports bonanza offer - Rs1890 with 3 Months of South Silver
subscription available in Tamil Nadu, Kerala,Karnataka & Pondicherry only. Ultimate sports
bonanza offer - Rs 2490 with 12Months of Silver subscription available in Andhra Pradesh only.
Dish TV hasstructured a basic bouquet of customized package of channels which are indemand
in a particular state at a very affordable price pack like North diamondpack and South diamond
pack. Marathi channels namely Star Pravah and StarMajha for its Marathi speaking customers

DEMOGRAPHIC SGMENTATION 
AGE and GENDER:
 
 As the market gets fragmented, niche channels will become more and moredesirable. The
increased interest in unique content channels is in line with theinternational trend, where once
the market matures, consumer needs come intofocus. Thus channels on Education, Women,
Gardening, a variety of Sports,Wellness and Religion, etc. make their appearance.Most of the
players in DTH offer niche channels to create a unique and excitingoffering for its viewers of
every age and gender segment. DTH industry mainlyconcentrates on women who don’t like
missing their daily soap and news moreever women are able to learn English speaking which is a
very special feature ofDTH. DTH also concentrates on children also by providing them
games,dictionary, some discovery videos specially inbuilt, maths, and science and
socialknowledge.  It also focuses on old people as it has updated videos of variousholy and
religious places.Dish TV recently launched ‘Children Films Festival’ with a bouquet of over
25super-hit films across various categories priced at Rs. 25/- per movie thus

targeting the children segment. Besides this value added services like GamesActive, Bhakti
active services etc carters to needs of customers from various agegroups and gender.
 INCOME:
Recognizing the vast differences in tastes and pocket sizes of different consumersegments,
content has been aggregated and classified into 4 different packagesnamely MAXI, WELCOME,
FREEDOM PLUS and FREEDOM packages .Whilethe Maxi and Welcome packs are price
drivers and target high ARPU consumers,the value pack offerings in Freedom and Freedom Plus
packages are volumedrivers that inspire new subscribers to come on board through a low price
pointand basic channel offering. The strategy is to gradually upgrade the low ARPUsubscriber
too, through tailor made add on packs on a-la-carte like movies,business, etc. basis for specific
entertainment needs. Keeping income levels ofconsumers in mind, operators apprise the
consumer of its three tier pricing. Itgives a choice to the consumer to select from a three level
flexi plan that bundlethree, six or 12 months of subscription along with the initial box.
BEHAVIOURIAL SEGMENTATION
OCCASIONS:
DTH operators come out with new offers of channels or new buyer schemes atrelatively cheaper
rates on occasions of festivals or major sports events. Forexample It offers benefits to customers
like: In a cricket match choosing thelanguage of the commentary, camera angles, know player
statistics and watchmatch highlights at our will. In the past Dish TV has come with schemes
like‘Diwali Double Dhamaka’ (November 2007), the IPL Pack (April 2010), 'SummerSports
Bonanza' (June 2008), Special Onam Offer for Kerala (August 2007), Worldcup offer (March
2007). 
USER STATUS:
Every product has its non users, ex-users, potential users, first time users andregular users. In
order to attract the non users and potential users time and againcompetition has forced players to
introduce innovative and exciting consumerpromotion offers into the market. Schemes like
World Cup Free Offer, Free bhiZyaada bhi, Ab Sab Sikandar, and the landmark Set Top Box
Free Offer, have notonly added to the pace of acquisitions but attracted specific consumer
audienceslike sports lovers and kids into its fold
In conclusion, each player has cautiously segmented the market through anexpanded product
range at appropriate price points to stay competitive. Byoffering packages like cinema active,
khel active, movie active, music active istargeting people with specific lifestyles. Premiering new
movies within weeks oftheir releases is targeted at people who want to see latest movies at
affordableprices. Latest movies are premiered within weeks of their release. Dish TV hasalso
targeted the youth segment with offers like “Michael Jackson Live inBucharest tour” for just Rs
25, Microsoft Xbox 360 Arcade

Brief profile of players in the industry

 
7.1 DD DIRECT
Doordarshan is the public television broadcaster of India and a divisionof Prasar Bharati, a
public service broadcaster nominated by the Government ofIndia. It is one of the largest
broadcasting organizations in the world in terms ofthe infrastructure of studios and transmitters.
Recently, it has also started DigitalTerrestrial Transmitters. On September 15 2009, Doordarshan
celebrated its 50thanniversary. Doordarshan had a modest beginning with the
experimentaltelecast starting in Delhi on 15 September 1959 with a small transmitter and
amakeshift studio.The regular daily transmission started in 1965 as a part of All India Radio.The
television service was extended to Bombay (now Mumbai) and Amritsar in1972. Till 1975,
seven Indian cities had television service and Doordarshanremained the only television channel
in India. Television services were separatedfrom radio in 1976. Each office of All India Radio
and Doordarshan were placedunder the management of two separate Director Generals in New
Delhi.Finally Doordarshan as a National Broadcaster came into existence.National telecasts were
introduced in 1982. In the same year, color TV wasintroduced in the Indian market with the live
telecast of the Independence Dayspeech by then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi on 15 August
1982, followed by the1982 Asian Games being held in Delhi. Now more than 90 percent of the
Indianpopulation can receive Doordarshan (DD National) programmes through anetwork of
nearly 1400 terrestrial transmitters and about 46 Doordarshan studiosproduce TV programs
today.DD Direct+ is a free Direct to Home (DTH) service that provides satellitetelevision and
audio programming to households and businesses in the Indiansubcontinent. Owned by parent
company Doordarshan, DD Direct Plus waslaunched on December 16, 2004. Now chairman of
DD plus+ is Shri ArunBhatnagar and CEO is B S Lalli under the ministry of information
andbroadcasting. 

7.2 Dish TV
Dish TV is the first private DTH satellite television provider in India,using MPEG-2 digital
compression technology, transmitting using NSS Satelliteat 95.0. Dish TV's managing director
and Head of Business is Jawahar Goel whois also the promoter of Essel Group and is also the
President of IndianBroadcasting Foundation and Mr. Subhash Chandra is the Chairman of Dish
TV.Dish TV is a division of Zee Network Enterprise (Essel Group Venture).EGV has national
and global presence with business interests in mediaprogramming, broadcasting & distribution,
specialty packaging andentertainment. Zee Network incorporated dishtv to modernize TV
viewing. Bydigitalizing Indian entertainment, this enterprise brought best television
viewingtechnology to the living room. It not only transmits high quality programmesthrough
satellite but also gives a complete control of selecting channels andpaying.DTH service was
launched back in 2004 by launching of Dish TV by EsselGroup's Enterprises. Dish TV is on the
same satellite where DD Direct+ is. DishTV started its service in Pakistan with the collaboration
of BudgetCommunication.  Dish TV was only DTH operator in India to carry the twoTurner
channels, Turner Classic Movies and Boomerang. Both the channels wereremoved from the
platform due to unknown reasons in March 2009.  \Dish TV uses NSS-6 to broadcast its
programmes. NSS-6 was launched on17 December, 2002 by European-based satellite provider,
New Skies. Dish TVhopped on to NSS-6 from an INSAT satellite in July 2004. The change in
thesatellite was to increase the channel offering as NSS 6 offered more transpondercapacity.
 7.3 Tata Sky
Tata Sky is a DTH satellite television provider in India, using MPEG-2digital compression
technology, transmitting using INSAT 4A at 83.0°.  Tata skywas incorporated in 2004.Tata Sky
is a JV between the TATA Group and STAR. Tata SkyDTH endeavors to offer Indian viewers a
world-class television viewingexperience through its satellite television service. Vikram Kaushik
is presentCEO of Tata Sky Ltd. The TATA Group is one of India's largest and mostrespected
business conglomerates. It comprises 93 operating companies in sevenbusiness sectors and
diversified group information systems and communications,engineering, materials, services,
energy, consumer products and chemicals.The TATA Group has operations in more than 40
countries across sixcontinents and its companies export products and services to 140 nations.
TheGroup and its enterprises have been steadfast and distinctive in its adherence to

business ethics and their commitment to corporate social responsibility. This is alegacy that has
earned the Group the trust of many millions of stakeholders inmeasure few business houses
anywhere in the world can match.The SKY brand, owned by the UK-based British Sky
Broadcasting Group,brings to Tata Sky the reputation of more than 20 years experience of
satellitebroadcasting. SKY is well known for the innovative products and serviceslaunched by
BSky, such as DTH broadcasting in 1989, digital satellitebroadcasting in 1998, interactive
television services in 1999 and the SKY+personal video recorder in 2001. Tata Sky joins an
international group of DTHbusinesses that includes platforms as far apart as the UK and Italy in
Europe, andMexico and Brazil in Latin America.Tata Sky Ltd is the First Indian DTH provider
to be awarded the ISO27001:2005 accreditation, the ultimate benchmark for information
security. Theassessment for the certification was conducted by Intertek Systems Certification,the
management systems registration business unit of Intertek Group plc and isaccredited by several
internationally-recognized accreditation bodies worldwide.In October 2008, Tata Sky announced
launching of DVR service Tata Sky+which allowed 45 hours of recording in a MPEG-4
compatible Set Top Box. Theremote is provided with playback control keys and is being sold
with specialoffers for existing subscribers.  Tata Sky was selected as a SUPER BRAND for
theyear 2009-2010 by an independent and voluntary council of experts known asSuper brands
Council. It is the only Indian DTH to have won this distinction. 
7.4 Sun Direct 
Sun Direct is a DTH satellite television provider in India, using MPEG-4digital compression
technology, transmitting using INSAT 4B at 93.5°E. It is thecountry's first MPEG 4 technology
DTH service provider. Sun Direct is a DTHservice in India headquartered in Chennai, Tamil
Nadu.Sun Direct TV was registered in February 16, 2005. However, the failedlaunch of INSAT
4C resulted in a lack of transponders, delaying the launch. Theservice was finally launched on
December 2007 after availability of transpondersfrom INSAT 4CR.  Because of the lowest
pricing of any DTH in India Sun Directspread rapidly all over the country. On December Sun
Direct was launched inMumbai and announced its pan India launch. By 2009 it became leading
DTHprovider with 3 million subscribers. This makes it 4th largest DTH serviceprovider of
India.In April 2009 Sun Direct officially launched its High-Definition service inIndia. Sun Direct
uses the latest MPEG-4 based technology to increase broadcastcapacity.
Sun Direct provide next-generation services in fast-growing and emergingmarkets quickly and
efficiently.  Sun Direct selected Oracle based on itsconvergent multi-service capabilities and
proven real-time scalability allowing itto consolidate billing operations, enables powerful new
service offerings andimproves visibility into customer information across services. 
7.5 BIG TV 
Reliance BIG TV is a DTH satellite television provider in India based inNavi Mumbai, using
MPEG-4 digital compression technology, transmittingusing MEASAT-3 91.5°east. It is the 5th
DTH service launched in India.  RelianceBIG TV limited is a part of Reliance Communications
Ltd., a subsidiary ofReliance Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group founded by the Late Dhirubhai
Ambani,the Indian business tycoon and owned by his son Anil Ambani.BIG TV started
operations from 19 August 2008 with the slogan "TV hoTho BIG Ho" ("If you have a TV, make
it BIG"). It currently offers close to 200channels and many interactive ones, 32 cinema halls (i.e.
Pay Per View CinemaChannels) as well as many Radio channels.  The company plans to
increase thenumber of channels in the near future to 400 and begin High Definition
(HD)broadcast. It is the first Pan-India DTH provider that uses MPEG-4 forbroadcasting. There
are also plans to introduce services like i-Stock, i-News andother such interactive services in the
future.Reliance BIG TV was launched on August 19, 2008 with the sole aim ofproviding the
consumer with quality and enriched home entertainment serviceat value-driven pricing.  Reliance
BIG TV's launch in August was probably thebiggest roll-out in home entertainment ever and
deployed the most advancedMPEG4 technology that enabled them to deliver best quality digital
audio-videoto the consumer. It also got prepared for the future when Hi-Definition TV willbe
launched in India because only MPEG4 technology can support HD TV andnot MPEG2 which is
used by the earlier entrants in the DTH industry.Reliance BIG TV's retailer network is spread
across 100,000 outlets in 6,500 townsin India. This was literally unheard of in the DTH industry.
They had effectivelyout-stripped the competition here. When it came to pricing – packaging,
theirintroductory offer stood at Rs. 1,490/- with 3 to 6 months of free subscription.They also
introduced 32 Pay-Per-View Movie Channels, the highest by any DTHplayer.
 7.6 Airtel digital TV 
Bharti Airtel Limited is the flagship company of Bharti Enterprises and isIndia’s largest
integrated and the first private telecom services provider with a

footprint in all the 23 telecom circles. As India's leading telecommunicationscompany, the Airtel
brand has played the role of a major catalyst in India'sreforms, contributing to its economic
resurgence. Airtel since its inception hasbeen at the forefront of technology and has steered the
course of the telecomsector in the country with its world class products and services.Airtel
Digital TV is a DTH (Direct to Home) service from Bharti Airtel. Ituses MPEG-4 digital
compression with DVB-S2 technology, transmitting usingINSAT 4CR 74°EAirtel digital
launched on 8 October, 2008 with a 360 degree mega campaign'Come Home to the Magic. Since
then it has launched 2 other campaigns: ‘Starscome home’ (March 2009) and ‘DTH Picture
Clarity (August 2009) has increasedits channel base to 183+ channels.Airtel digital TV is now
amongst the fastest growing DTH brands in thecountry and is available across 5000+ towns in
India. It has also been ranked asthe best DTH service by “Living Digital” magazine.Airtel chief
Sunil Mittal said that Airtel digital TV and other DTH playershave a bright future in Indian
market as the people are getting more attractedtowards DTH because of its quality and
affordability.
 7.7 Videocon d2h
Videocon d2h is a DTH satellite television provider in India based inMumbai, using MPEG-4
with DVB S2 digital compression technology. VideoconLeasing & Industrial Finance Limited
was incorporated on 4th September, 1986as Adhigam Trading Private Limited.  In terms of the
necessary resolutionsPassed under Sec. 21 of the Companies Act, 1956, the name of the
Company waschanged to Videocon Leasing & Industrial Finance Limited on 14th
February,1991.  The Company received a fresh certificate of incorporation from theRegistrar of
Companies, Gujarat at Ahmedabad on 14thFebruary, 1991.Videocon d2h launched May 1, 2009.
it came with a very good strategy forselling both of its electronic products like TV’s DVD’s
along with the new set topbox. This is offering direct to TV without any set top box also. Only
the antennais enough, it also came with DVD which is connected directly to the TV orantenna is
connected to DVD which gives a best quality of out put.
 
“There is only one winning strategy. It is to carefully definethe target market and direct a superior offering
to that target market.” 
Philip Kotler