DTH
Despite lower ARPU, Videocon d2h posts higher Q3 profit
BENGALURU: The Saurabh Dhoot-led Indian DTH player Videocon d2h reported profit after tax (PAT) at Rs 30.85 crore for the quarter ended 31 December 2017 (Q3 2018, quarter under review). The company had reported PAT of Rs 16.78 crore for the immediate trailing quarter Q2 2018 and PAT of Rs 21.77 crore for the corresponding year ago quarter Q3 2017. Adjusted EBITDA increased 9 per cent yoy in Q3 2018 to Rs 291.41 crore from Rs 267.24 crore. Adjusted EBITDA less capex increased 62.9 per cent yoy to Rs 188.50 crore during the quarter under review as compared to Rs 115.70 crore.
Videocon d2h revenue from operations increased 7.2 per cent yoy during the quarter under review to Rs 833.6 crore from Rs 777.39 crore. Subscription and activation revenue increased 7.3 per cent yoy to Rs 763 crore in Q3 2018 from Rs 711.20 crore.
Subscriber matrices
The company’s subscriber base increased by 1.6 lakh (1 crore = 10 crore = 100 lakh) during Q3 2018 to 134.1 lakh from 132.5 lakh in the immediate trailing quarter Q2 2018. The company had a subscriber base of 127.7 lakh in Q3 2017. Videocon d2h reported a quarterly subscriber churn of 1 per cent, higher than the churn of 0.62 per cent reported for Q2 2018. Subscriber churn for Q2 2017 was 0.87 per cent. The company has reported lower average revenue per user of Rs 208 for the quarter under review as compared to Rs 212 for the immediate trailing quarter, but higher than the Rs 205 for the corresponding year ago quarter.
Let us look at the other numbers reported by Videocon d2h
Total expenses increased 6.5 per cent yoy to Rs 726.59 crore in Q 2018 from Rs 681.97 crore. Operating expenses increased 8.9 per cent yoy to Rs 423.61 crore in Q2 2018 from Rs 407.38 crore. Administration and other expenses reduced 14 per cent yoy to Rs 18.89 crore during the quarter under review from Rs 21.97 crore. Employee benefits expenses declined 4.3 per cent yoy to Rs 28.92 crore in Q2 2018 from Rs 30.21 crore. Selling and distribution expenses reduced 3.5 per cent yoy to Rs 50.84 crore in Q2 2018 from Rs 52.69 crore.
Company speak
Videocon d2h executive chairman Dhoot said, “I am pleased to report that we continued to deliver a strong quarterly result with our adjusted EBITDA being our highest ever quarterly adjusted EBITDA at Rs 2.91 billion. Our adjusted EBITDA per subscriber continued to improve further and came in at Rs 73 per subscriber per month.”
“We continue to see a recovery on the ground and expect overall business prospects to improve driven by several factors including lower content availability on the FreeDish platform and the Indian government’s focus on increasing affordable housing and improving rural income levels in the recent budget,” he added.
“During the quarter, the company received all the necessary approvals relating to its amalgamation with and into Dish TV India. The two companies now intend to file the relevant intimations / e-forms with the Registrar of Companies, Ministry of Corporate Affairs, Maharashtra, Mumbai in the last week of February 2018, which filing date will become the effective date for the proposed merger. The company will issue the relevant timelines and other mandatory notices in relation to the merger in due course,” concluded Dhoot.
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DTH
DD Free Dish e-auction heats up with 26 MPEG-2 slots sold in two days
Hindi movies, GEC and news dominate; Star Utsav Movies tops Day 2 at Rs 213.45 crore
MUMBAI- The bidding war on DD Free Dish is turning into a blockbuster and the slots are selling faster than popcorn at interval. Prasar Bharati’s 8th annual MPEG-2 e-auction delivered another strong day on Tuesday, with 18 more channels securing spots across movies, regional music and news buckets, taking the two-day total to 26.
Day 2 belonged to the movies and news categories. In Bucket A (Hindi Movies), Star Utsav Movies led the pack at Rs 213.45 crore, pipped only narrowly by Zee Action at Rs 213.4 crore. Goldmines landed at Rs 13.35 crore and Zee Anmol at Rs 13.3 crore, showing razor-thin price bands and fierce competition. Bucket B saw Zee Bioscope top at Rs 10.6 crore, Bhojpuri Cinema Rs 10.5 crore, B4U Bhojpuri Rs 10.2 crore, while Showbox, Unique TV and B4U Music each closed at Rs 10.25 crore.
News channels in Bucket C stayed tightly bunched: NDTV, Aaj Bharat, Zee News and India TV all secured slots at Rs 8.6 crore, with News Nation and ABP News slightly higher at Rs 8.65 crore. Bucket D rounded out with Russia Today at Rs 9.75 crore and GTC Punjabi at Rs 7.92 crore.
Day 1 had already set a premium tone, with eight slots snapped up – six in Bucket A+ (Hindi/Urdu GEC, starting reserve Rs 15 crore) and two in Bucket A (Hindi/Urdu Movies, starting Rs 12 crore). Sony PAL topped Day 1 winners at Rs 16.55 crore, Star Utsav Rs 16.25 crore, Shemaroo TV Rs 16.35 crore, Zee Anmol, Colors Rishtey and Sun Neo at Rs 16.40 crore each. Sony WAH took a Bucket A slot at Rs 13.95 crore and Zee Anmol Cinema at Rs 13.45 crore.
The surge reflects broadcasters’ hunger for DD Free Dish’s estimated 43–45 million rural and semi-urban households, where Hindi GEC and movies remain advertising goldmines.
The auction runs under the revised E-auction Methodology 2025 (amended 9 January 2026), with escalating reserves – Round 2 Bucket A+ at Rs 16 crore, Round 3 Bucket A at Rs 13 crore – and stricter eligibility to weed out speculative bids. Channels must be operational, available in the relevant language, and already carried on at least one private DTH, DD Free Dish or registered MSO.
With premium genres flying off the shelf, the coming rounds will test how deep pockets really are as reserves climb and tactical down-bidding gets harder. In India’s largest free-to-air universe, these auctions aren’t just about slots – they’re about who gets to stay on the screen that reaches deepest into the heartland.
