Mudasir 4K
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Update
Dish TV is planning to launch operations in Sri Lanka this fiscal as the island nation government has approved its DTH licence.
The Subhash Chandra-promoted direct-to-home (DTH) company has already invested Rs 25 crore (Rs 250 million) in the project. Dish TV has purchased land and created an uplinking facility near Colombo.
“We were only waiting for the licence. We have created an uplinking facility and are ready. We just need to work out the marketing plan and stitch content deals. We could launch this quarter or it could get extended to the next,” an official told TelevisionPost.com.
Dish TV will operate in Sri Lanka through a joint venture company called Dish TV Lanka (Pvt) Ltd. In the JV, Dish TV holds 70 per cent stake while the remaining 30 per cent is with local partner Satnet Pvt Ltd.
“Dish TV Lanka, the subsidiary company in Sri Lanka, has been granted the Satellite Television Broadcasting Licence (DTH licence) by the Government of Sri Lanka to establish, operate and maintain satellite television network for the purpose of digital television satellite broadcasting,” Dish TV said in a filing to the BSE.
Earlier, Dish TV had expressed intent to invest Rs 100 crore (Rs 1 billion) in Dish TV Lanka.
Dish TV COO Salil Kapoor said in a statement, “We are pleased with this development that we have been issued the DTH licence by government of Sri Lanka to operate DTH services in Sri Lanka. We have been working on this for last couple of months. Now the focus will be on building up the ground operations.”
Sri Lanka has a high demand for English-language international channels. Dish TV will also have to offer local channels, including Maharaja Television Network. India’s Tamil-language channels are also popular in Sri Lanka.
Local channels in Sri Lanka
1Rupavahini
2Channel Eye
3ITN
4Vasantham TV
5TV Derana
6Swarnavahini
7Sirasa TV
8Shakthi TV
9MTV Sports
10Hiru TV
11TNL
12CSN
13Ada Derana
14Ridee TV
15CiTiHits
16Revision TV
17Nenasa 11
18Nenasa 10
19Buddhist TV
20Channel C
21Cine Thirai TV
Unlike India, the ARPU (average revenue per user) in Sri Lanka is much higher. There is also no subsidy on set-top boxes (STBs).
For Sri Lankan DTH player Dialog TV, it is $9. Dialog TV, a subsidiary of telecom major Dialog Axiata, dominates the Sri Lankan pay TV market.
As reported earlier by TelevisionPost.com, Dish TV will have a dedicated transponder on SES’ new satellite for the Sri Lanka DTH service. Dish TV will use the same encryption and set-top box (STB) vendors for the Sri Lankan operations. Conax will be the content protection partner and MPEG-4 STBs will be used.
Dish TV is planning to launch operations in Sri Lanka this fiscal as the island nation government has approved its DTH licence.
The Subhash Chandra-promoted direct-to-home (DTH) company has already invested Rs 25 crore (Rs 250 million) in the project. Dish TV has purchased land and created an uplinking facility near Colombo.
“We were only waiting for the licence. We have created an uplinking facility and are ready. We just need to work out the marketing plan and stitch content deals. We could launch this quarter or it could get extended to the next,” an official told TelevisionPost.com.
Dish TV will operate in Sri Lanka through a joint venture company called Dish TV Lanka (Pvt) Ltd. In the JV, Dish TV holds 70 per cent stake while the remaining 30 per cent is with local partner Satnet Pvt Ltd.
“Dish TV Lanka, the subsidiary company in Sri Lanka, has been granted the Satellite Television Broadcasting Licence (DTH licence) by the Government of Sri Lanka to establish, operate and maintain satellite television network for the purpose of digital television satellite broadcasting,” Dish TV said in a filing to the BSE.
Earlier, Dish TV had expressed intent to invest Rs 100 crore (Rs 1 billion) in Dish TV Lanka.
Dish TV COO Salil Kapoor said in a statement, “We are pleased with this development that we have been issued the DTH licence by government of Sri Lanka to operate DTH services in Sri Lanka. We have been working on this for last couple of months. Now the focus will be on building up the ground operations.”
Sri Lanka has a high demand for English-language international channels. Dish TV will also have to offer local channels, including Maharaja Television Network. India’s Tamil-language channels are also popular in Sri Lanka.
Local channels in Sri Lanka
1Rupavahini
2Channel Eye
3ITN
4Vasantham TV
5TV Derana
6Swarnavahini
7Sirasa TV
8Shakthi TV
9MTV Sports
10Hiru TV
11TNL
12CSN
13Ada Derana
14Ridee TV
15CiTiHits
16Revision TV
17Nenasa 11
18Nenasa 10
19Buddhist TV
20Channel C
21Cine Thirai TV
Unlike India, the ARPU (average revenue per user) in Sri Lanka is much higher. There is also no subsidy on set-top boxes (STBs).
For Sri Lankan DTH player Dialog TV, it is $9. Dialog TV, a subsidiary of telecom major Dialog Axiata, dominates the Sri Lankan pay TV market.
As reported earlier by TelevisionPost.com, Dish TV will have a dedicated transponder on SES’ new satellite for the Sri Lanka DTH service. Dish TV will use the same encryption and set-top box (STB) vendors for the Sri Lankan operations. Conax will be the content protection partner and MPEG-4 STBs will be used.
