Active DTH subscribers base drops by 2.17% in the quarter from July to September of 2022

Direct-to-Home (DTH) television in India has seen a dip in its active subscriber base. According to the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), the number of active DTH subscribers has decreased by 2.17% on a quarter-over-quarter basis, totalling 65.58 million in the quarter from July to September 2022. This marks a decrease from the previous quarter’s 67.04 million subscribers and a 4.8% decline from the 68.89 million active subscribers in September 2021. 

The largest share of the DTH market belongs to Tata Sky (now called Tata Play), with 33.03% of the 65.58 million subscribers. Following closely behind is Bharti Telemedia’s Airtel Digital TV with 26.49%, while Dish TV holds 21.67% of the market, and Sun Direct has 18.81%. Tata Sky and Airtel Digital TV have seen an increase in their market shares, while Dish TV’s market share has declined.

The number of subscribers for the 12 major Multi-System Operators (MSOs) and one Headend in the Sky (HITS) operator has also decreased, down by 1.07% from the previous quarter to 45.2 million. 

On a year-over-year basis, the number of active subscribers for these 13 platforms including HITS and major MSOs has declined by 0.7%. It is worth noting that this number includes subscribers who have been inactive or temporarily suspended for not more than 90 days, according to the TRAI.

As of September, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting has granted licenses for 885 television channels, which is a decrease from the June quarter’s 892 channels and 906 channels in the same quarter of 2021. There are a total of 353 satellite pay TV channels, with 254 of them being standard definition (SD) channels and 99 being high definition (HD) channels.

The decrease in the number of pay DTH subscribers in India can be attributed to the popularity of online streaming platforms or Over-The-Top (OTT) services. Many people prefer these services because they offer more flexibility and convenience, and often have fewer or no advertisements. Despite the cost of TV channels and the Network Capacity Fee remaining unchanged due to a delay in the implementation of the New Tariff Order 2.0, many people still feel that they are spending more on TV subscriptions. This, combined with the growth of DD Free Dish are major reasons for the drop in the number of DTH subscribers.