MUMBAI: The direct to home (DTH) industry is looking forward to an exciting year ahead. The sector, which saw some improved subscriber numbers and Average Revenue Per User (ARPU), is hoping to improve it further this year, while continuing to add more innovative services to its kitty.
According to The DTH Operators Association president and Dish TV CEO RC Venkateish, the overall additions in subscribers, for all the DTH players in the year 2014, were higher in magnitude of 25-30 per cent than 2013.
While the industry faced some challenges in the previous year, with regards to high taxation and DTH licence fee issue, it hopes to have some clarity on it in 2015.
The year 2014 saw some positive growth in Dish TV, as it regained its share leadership for about last three to four quarters. The DTH operator also launched a significant and tactical product in Zing which has helped it to capitalise in the phase III and IV areas.
Indiantelevision.com asks Venkateish to list down his top five predictions for the year 2015:
• 2015 will be an interesting year. It starts off with the ICC Cricket World Cup, which is a very high profile event. This will give a lot of momentum and boost to all the DTH operators, who could also gain traction in the phase III and IV markets. This is also being supported by developments like the new channel launches and talks of rational regulations coming in to keep the supply prices of high definition (HD) under control, so that’s one reliever.
• The year will also see a few operators showcasing some new technologies like 4K, though it’s still very far away.
• One might also see the launch of online consumption media. This trend has started picking up, but currently is at a nascent stage.
• For Dish TV, we will continue to strengthen the share leadership in all the segments. We will expand Zing to other geographies during the course of the year. We will push new technologies and there will be a couple of new products which will be launched around these new technologies.
• Overall, we go in to the New Year on a very positive note, and with the kind of plans we have, we hope we can sustain the kind of growth we gained in 2014.
