NEW DELHI: Dish TV has launched a video on demand service that – unlike IPTV – works without the Internet and offers a choice of fifty English and Hindi films to choose from at any time.
While conceding that it was akin to the Internet Protocol Television (IPTV), which had been introduced without much success almost a decade earlier, Dish TV CEO R C Venkateish said that the difference was that DishFlix would work without the internet.
The new technology would require a small box costing Rs 5990 that will be attached to the set top box. Viewers can avail the service for a monthly fee of Rs 100. One film will be added every second day, making it a total of 15 new films every month. However, the total number of films would remain the same on the service.
Dish TV executive vice president Anjali Malhotra tells Indiantelevision.com that the company will be spending approximately Rs 20 - 25 crore in marketing the new product. DishFlix will be promoted on Zee and other channels as well as across theatres chains like PVR and INOX. Movie portals will also be seen sporting DishFlix ads.
While at launch the ratio of Hindi and English film on the service would be 70:30, other language films would be brought in at a later stage. The films were divided across five genres on DishFlix, informs Malhotra.
Dish TV MD Jawahar Goel informs that the new service would help curb piracy as lesser people would be templed to download films from the internet. Moreover, consumers could also bid goodbye to the problem of buffering caused by the slow Internet rate.
Venkateish added that this VOD version puts the power in the hands of the consumer. “It is a plug in service with films that would be completely free of advertisements,” he said.
Viewers will be able to pause, play, fast forward and rewind movies or TV shows at their own convenience. The service works sans any internet connection as the content will be pushed to the customer’s STB through satellite. Customers need to buy a DishFlix Box that comes preloaded with 50 movies. Out of these, 15 movies will be refreshed every month on first in first out basis so that the viewable movie library is always updated.
