A famous documentary which is not available in the regular program guide can now be viewed on demand at home. Or a favourite TV show which you are bound to miss, can be instantly recorded through more than one remote access point — these are innovations which DTH operators have brought to consumers to enhance the user experience. Now as the playing field gets crowded, newer promotions and offerings in the high definition arena are being rolled out by these operators to adhere to evolving consumer needs.
“The DTH business is one of scale and of driving volumes. The industry has been one of the fastest growing sectors today,” says Mr Raviganesh V, COO-South, DTH Services for Bharti Airtel.
Currently, at least six players in the digital-to-home segment have emerged in India and they are all competing neck to neck to increase their customer base. And by the month numerous price offers are being made as operators employ competitive pricing to increase their customer base.
For example, with the advent of the IPL season, the current T-20 cricket World Cup and football season, some operators are giving discounts on their sports channels packages, while some are offering additional channels in the segment. DishTV on the other hand is offering its existing customers one month’s free service when they pay for three months, while Sun Direct also gives their customer the 13th month free service if they pay for 12 months upfront. But consumers in India, who have fast adapted to the latest technologies, are not just looking for attractive price offers now also seek for better service and superior picture quality, making the operators step up their game.
“In order to make recharge convenient for customers, we have introduced mobile recharge,” says, Mr. Rongom Mukherjee head of Videocon’s D2H marketing. Similarly, Tata Sky offers a video-on-demand (TVoD) service to its Tata Sky+ subscribers, which enables them to access a catalogue of movies, documentaries and sitcoms directly on their set top box. Bharti-Airtel’s DTH service allows consumers to access their set to box through the mobile and record their favorite shows, while Videocon launched a satellite DVD player which not only play DVDs but also receives DTH services.
And as more and more consumers in India began switching to flat-screen and LCD TVs, their appetite for high-definition picture quality was soon apparent to DTH operators, who are now making a push into this arena.
“One of the latest offerings we have come out with is the high definition digital video recording box,” says Reliance Big TV’s Mr Umesh Rao.
Similarly, Sun Direct also offers HD set-top boxes, while Bharti Airtel and Tata Sky plan to roll out offerings in the HD arena soon.
DTH operators in India continue to compete with the traditional cable operators, but industry experts say these operators are soon poised to phase out in the market, as consumers get more demanding.