Dish TV sees semi-urban, rural areas as next growth drivers

Apart from major metros where digitisation has been mandated by the Government, the next big wave will come from 42 cities that will follow suit, said Virendra Kumar Gupta, Chief Operating Officer of Dish TV India.

The country’s Direct to Home (DTH) industry was in consolidation mode, with semi-urban and rural India offering the next growth opportunity, he told media.

Dish TV accounts for about 28-30 per cent of the country’s 45 million DTH subscriber base.

“We now have a subscriber base of about 13.4 million and have added 5.4 lakh in the last quarter. But the average revenue per user has come down from Rs 156 to Rs 150 in the last quarter. With the cost of owning DTH coming down significantly over the last three years and monthly charges amongst lowest in the world, the numbers will just go up given the access to number of channels and the quality,” he said.

Virendra Kumar Gupta said the industry was at an inflection point with significant consolidation on cards. There is a clear move from standard definition to high-definition mode, although the latter occupies only 5 per cent market space.

Having recently launched a standard definition box with recording facility, Dish TV is seeking to attract consumers. “As a part of the drive to promote the growth, we plan to invest about Rs 25 crore in a multi-media campaign,” he added.

Source: The Hindu Business Line, 13 August 2012

Source: http://cablequest.org/news/dth-news/item/437-dish-tv-sees-semi-urban-rural-areas-as-next-growth-drivers.html