DTH
Dish TV financials Q3 FY14 see it generating free cash flow
Dish TV India Limited (Dishtv) (BSE: 532839, NSE: DISHTV) today reported third quarter fiscal 2014 standalone operating revenues of Rs. 6,128 million, recording 9.9% growth over the corresponding period last fiscal. Subscription revenues of Rs.
5,529 million recorded a growth of 11.9% over the corresponding quarter last fiscal. A translational loss, due to foreign exchange fluctuation, of Rs. 70 million and an exchange rate adjustment demand for transponder payments amounting to Rs. 54 million negatively impacted EBITDA of Rs. 1,355 million. Net Loss for the quarter stood at Rs. 382 million compared to Rs.
449 million in the corresponding quarter last fiscal.
The Board of Directors in its meeting held today, has approved and taken on record the unaudited standalone results of Dish TV for the quarter ended on December 31, 2013.
Mr. Subhash Chandra, Chairman, Dish TV India Limited, said, “Global economic prospects seem to be improving with a faster pace of expansion predicted for 2014 going all the way up to 2016. For the Indian economy too, the worst seems to have come to an end and things should gradually start looking better from hereon with a bumper Kharif crop harvest expected to further boost sentiments.”
“The Indian television distribution sector is not completely out of the woods though. With more than 14 months passed post the rollout of Phase I of mandatory digitization, billing and other critical requirements have not yet been fully put in place by majority of the MSOs. Though far too delayed, we remain optimistic about the completion of digitization in its true sense,” he added.
“Sticking to fundamentals, Dish TV continued to pursue its strategy of self-funded profitable growth. The third quarter was witness to Dish TV announcing some industry leading initiatives that look promising enough to weed out inefficiencies from the television industry,” said Mr. Chandra.
Mr. Jawahar Goel, Managing Director, Dish TV, said, “It was an eventful quarter for Dish TV with the rollout of the first of its kind ‘On Request Ala-carte’ (ORA) scheme on its platform. While a reasonable content cost payout is well adopted, an unjustified increase in payment for content can jeopardize the existence of DTH in the country. With DTH continuing to contribute bulk of the subscription revenue to the broadcasters, it is high time they get started on collecting their share of revenue from close to 5,000 cable companies apart from rationalization of carriage fee payout.”
“Further to the ‘ORA’ scheme, we successfully completed the migration of 22 channels of a content aggregator from respective packages to a-la-carte with effect from January 1. Henceforth these channels would be available, without any extra charge, to only those subscribers who specifically request for them. The current trend of demand for these channels makes us confident of significantly rationalizing our payout for content going forward,” he added.
“Dish TV added 220 thousand net subscribers in the quarter and continued to maintain its leadership share. Notwithstanding the festival period, the overall additions for the industry remained muted largely due to the sluggishness in the economy as compared to the corresponding period last fiscal,” said Mr. Goel.
“A relatively strong currency resulted in a translational loss, due to foreign exchange fluctuation, of Rs. 70 million on foreign deposits. This along with an exchange rate adjustment demand worth Rs. 54 million, for transponder payments, negatively impacted the EBITDA for the quarter. In line with expectation, higher promotional and marketing expenses and a sports driven content payout also put pressure on the EBITDA of Rs. 1,355 million. ARPU for the quarter increased to Rs. 166 from Rs. 165 in the previous quarter. Subscriber Acquisition Cost (SAC) was recorded at Rs. 1,889 while churn was maintained at 0.6% p.m. Dish TV paid off debt to the tune of Rs. 5,631 million in the nine months ended December 31, 2013,” Mr. Goel added.
“Our Sri Lanka subsidiary project is on track and test signals are planned for February end. On the digitization front, TRAI and the government have already started the process for implementation of DAS in Phase III and IV which should give us a significant opportunity going forward. We are confident of acquiring industry leading incremental share while still keeping a tab on the subsidy per box. We have planned a specific differentiated strategy to address these markets, details of which will be unveiled in the next quarter,” he added.
Dish TV India Limited continues to be the largest DTH Company in India and the Asia Pacific region and is one of the largest DTH platforms in the World.
Condensed statement of operations
The table below shows the condensed statement of operations for Dish TV India Limited for the third quarter ended December ‘13 compared to the quarter ended September ‘13:
| Rs. million | Quarter ended Dec. – 2013 |
Quarter ended Sept. – 2013 |
% Change Q o Q |
| Operating revenues | 6,128 | 5,926 | 3.4 |
| Expenditure | 4,773 | 4,447 | 7.3 |
| EBITDA | 1,355 | 1,479 | (8.4) |
| Other Income | 97 | 210 | (53.8) |
| Depreciation | 1,534 | 1,504 | 2.0 |
| Financial expenses | 301 | 345 | (12.8) |
| Profit / (Loss) before tax | (382) | (160) | – |
| Provision for tax | 0 | 0 | – |
Key movements:
| Rs. million | Quarter ended Dec. – 2013 |
Quarter ended Sept. – 2013 |
% Change Q o Q |
| Programming and other cost |
1,989 |
1,864 |
6.7 |
| Transponder lease |
398 |
342 |
16.4 |
| Advertisement expenses |
141 |
113 |
24.8 |
| Other expenses: | |||
| Foreign exchange fluctuation | 70 | – | – |
| EBITDA | 1,355 | 1,479 | (8.4) |
Expenditure
Dish TV’s primary expenses include cost of goods and services, personnel cost, administrative cost, advertisement expenses and selling expenses. The table below shows each as a percentage of total revenue:
| Rs. million | Quarter ended Dec. – 2013 | % of Gross revenue | Quarter ended Sept. – 2013 | % of Gross revenue | % Change Q o Q |
| Cost of goods & services |
3,384 | 55.2 | 3,187 | 53.8 | 6.2 |
| Personnel cost | 215 | 3.5 | 223 | 3.8 | (3.6) |
| Other expenses | 323 | 5.3 | 300 | 5.1 | 7.7 |
| Advertisement expenses | 141 | 2.3 | 113 | 1.9 | 24.8 |
| Selling & distribution expenses | 710 | 11.6 | 624 | 10.5 | 13.8 |
| Total Expenses | 4,773 | 77.9 | 4,447 | 75.0 | 7.3 |
DTH
DD Free Dish e-auction revenue dips to Rs 642 crore as slot sales fall
Revenue dips as revised norms reshape bidding in 94th round
NEW DELHI: Prasar Bharati’s DD Free Dish has closed its 8th annual, and 94th overall, e-auction for MPEG-2 slots with total collections of Rs 642 crore for the period April 1, 2026 to March 31, 2027.
That is lower than last year’s Rs 780 crore haul, with 55 slots sold compared with 61 in FY25–26. The softer topline reflects both a slimmer inventory and a recalibrated auction framework.
This was the first auction conducted after amendments to the e-auction methodology, including tighter eligibility norms and a revised reserve price structure for MPEG-2 slots. The stated aim was greater transparency and more serious participation. The immediate outcome appears to be more measured bidding in certain categories.
Day one set the tone. Eight slots were sold, six in the premium Bucket A+ and two in Bucket A. The strong early action in A+, which typically houses Hindi GECs and movie channels, reaffirmed the enduring appeal of mass Hindi programming on the platform.
Among the broadcasters securing slots in the initial rounds were Zee Entertainment Enterprises, Sony Pictures Networks India, Viacom18’s Colors network, Sun Network and Shemaroo Entertainment. Their continued presence signals that, despite the pull of digital platforms, Free Dish remains a strategic must have for legacy networks chasing scale in price sensitive markets.
The final bouquet of 55 channels leans heavily towards Hindi news, movies, devotional fare, Bhojpuri and regional programming.
In Hindi news, familiar heavyweights such as Aaj Tak, ABP News, India TV, News18 India, Republic Bharat and Zee News made the cut. Entertainment and movie offerings include Colors Rishtey, Star Utsav, Dangal TV, Sony Pal, Shemaroo TV, Goldmines, B4U Movies and Zee Biskope. Devotional viewers will find Aastha, Sanskar and Sadhna Gold among the selected channels.
Regional representation includes Sun Marathi, Fakt Marathi, PTC Punjabi and GTC Punjabi.
Equally telling were the absences. Broadcasters such as Big Magic, Filamchi Bhojpuri, India News, Bharat Express, Movieplex Maithili, TV9 Marathi, Shemaroo Marathibana, Zee Chitra Mandir and Satsang did not participate. The pullback is particularly visible across Marathi, Bhojpuri, Maithili and spiritual programming. Industry observers point to the revised reserve prices, tighter eligibility norms and a reassessment of commercial viability as possible factors.
DD Free Dish continues to beam into over 40 million homes, largely in rural and semi urban India. For advertisers and broadcasters alike, it offers efficient access to Bharat markets where pay TV penetration remains uneven and OTT subscriptions are limited.
The moderation in revenue this year may be read as a pause rather than a retreat. Fewer slots, a reworked auction playbook and evolving broadcaster strategies have clearly shaped outcomes. Yet premium Hindi entertainment retains its pull, and the platform’s mass reach remains hard to ignore.
As the FY26–27 line-up settles in, the mix of winners and walkaways will define the private satellite channel landscape on DD Free Dish for the year ahead.
