Thakur
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MUMBAI: For market leader Dish TV, the 2014 fiscal year was tough and needed repair.
Debt was high at Rs 1,633 crore (Rs 16.33 billion) at the beginning, content cost was climbing, subscriber additions were sluggish, and average revenue per user (ARPU) was at a low level.
It was time to take corrective steps to cut debt, get in quality customers, push HD acquisitions and minimise subsidy for a faster break-even. “Our focus in FY14 was to lighten our balance sheet.
Since this was our priority, we had to compromise a bit on growth and were not aggressive on mopping up subscribers,” said Dish TV CEO RC Venkateish. When Dish TV set foot on a new fiscal beginning 1 April 2014, it was ready to accelerate.
It had a number of things on the agenda such as higher subscription growth, expanding ARPU, taming content cost, adding HD subscribers and preparing for launch in Sri Lanka. Zing and subscription growth Strategy is Venkateish’s strong suit.
Realising that digitisation in the smaller Phase III and IV towns would leave the door wide open for direct-to-home (DTH) operators to penetrate, he designed a sub-brand called Zing for the price-conscious consumers who prefer a skinny bundle of regional-language television channels. Launched in March 2014, Zing ensured that Dish TV ran on a double-engine growth strategy.
As the mother brand, Dish TV’s role was to mop up subscribers at a broader level while also focusing on driving HD subscribers.
Zing would, on the other hand, be a price warrior brand and tap the regional-language consumption market.
“We put in place a two-pronged strategy for growth. The tenets of our strategy will ensure that future growth is sustained,” said Venkateish.
Just a year old, the strategy seems to be working well. After a sluggish FY14, Dish TV is motoring again.
There is a sharp turnaround and the company is on course to add 1.5 million subscribers at the net level this fiscal, double of what it achieved a year ago.
Launched in eight regional markets, Zing already contributes 16–17 per cent of the company’s incremental subscribers.
In states like Odisha and West Bengal, it claims to have an incremental share of nearly 35 per cent. A few more regional-language markets are being targeted for launch.
Armed with a definite positioning, Zing will keep out of the Hindi belt. While spreading its net across the country, Dish TV will exclusively cater to the Hindi-speaking market (HSM).
As the Phase III and IV DAS [digital addressable system] towns open up for digitisation, Dish TV is going to flash the Zing card more aggressively.
Read more at:
http://www.televisionpost.com/dth/how-dish-tv-planned-its-new-phase-of-growth/
Debt was high at Rs 1,633 crore (Rs 16.33 billion) at the beginning, content cost was climbing, subscriber additions were sluggish, and average revenue per user (ARPU) was at a low level.
It was time to take corrective steps to cut debt, get in quality customers, push HD acquisitions and minimise subsidy for a faster break-even. “Our focus in FY14 was to lighten our balance sheet.
Since this was our priority, we had to compromise a bit on growth and were not aggressive on mopping up subscribers,” said Dish TV CEO RC Venkateish. When Dish TV set foot on a new fiscal beginning 1 April 2014, it was ready to accelerate.
It had a number of things on the agenda such as higher subscription growth, expanding ARPU, taming content cost, adding HD subscribers and preparing for launch in Sri Lanka. Zing and subscription growth Strategy is Venkateish’s strong suit.
Realising that digitisation in the smaller Phase III and IV towns would leave the door wide open for direct-to-home (DTH) operators to penetrate, he designed a sub-brand called Zing for the price-conscious consumers who prefer a skinny bundle of regional-language television channels. Launched in March 2014, Zing ensured that Dish TV ran on a double-engine growth strategy.
As the mother brand, Dish TV’s role was to mop up subscribers at a broader level while also focusing on driving HD subscribers.
Zing would, on the other hand, be a price warrior brand and tap the regional-language consumption market.
“We put in place a two-pronged strategy for growth. The tenets of our strategy will ensure that future growth is sustained,” said Venkateish.
Just a year old, the strategy seems to be working well. After a sluggish FY14, Dish TV is motoring again.
There is a sharp turnaround and the company is on course to add 1.5 million subscribers at the net level this fiscal, double of what it achieved a year ago.
Launched in eight regional markets, Zing already contributes 16–17 per cent of the company’s incremental subscribers.
In states like Odisha and West Bengal, it claims to have an incremental share of nearly 35 per cent. A few more regional-language markets are being targeted for launch.
Armed with a definite positioning, Zing will keep out of the Hindi belt. While spreading its net across the country, Dish TV will exclusively cater to the Hindi-speaking market (HSM).
As the Phase III and IV DAS [digital addressable system] towns open up for digitisation, Dish TV is going to flash the Zing card more aggressively.
Read more at:
http://www.televisionpost.com/dth/how-dish-tv-planned-its-new-phase-of-growth/
