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Dish TV slips into net loss, adds 0.83 mn subs in Q3
MUMBAI: Dish TV, India‘s largest direct-to-home (DTH) operator, has again slipped into quarterly net loss and performed below market expectations despite showing remarkable growth in subscriber numbers.
The company posted a net loss of Rs 448.8 million in the fiscal-third quarter, compared to a net profit of Rs 550.90 million in the trailing quarter, as content and other costs surged.
Dish TV‘s operating profit for the three-month period ended 31 December declined 11.5 per cent to Rs 1.38 billion compared to Rs 1.5 billion in the previous quarter. Ebidta margin for the quarter stood at 24.7 per cent.
"The content cost rose partly due to Media Pro which distributes the Star, Zee and Turner group of channels. The selling and distribution expenses also went up," said a media analyst.
Dish TV‘s expenses jumped to Rs 5.9 billion from Rs 5.3 billion as programming/content and other costs rose to Rs 1.63 billion from Rs 1.42 billion in the preceding quarter. Cost of goods and services grew 11.2 per cent to Rs 2.8 billion from Rs 2.5 billion in the preceding quarter, amounting to 51 per cent of gross revenue. Advertising and promotional expenditure rose 6.8 per cent to Rs 237 million from Rs 222 million. Selling and distribution expenses rose 26.6 per cent to Rs 661 million from Rs 522 million.
Operating revenue for the quarter stood at Rs 5.58 billion, recording a growth of 4.5 cent as compared to Rs 5.3 billion in the preceding quarter. Total income for the quarter increased to Rs 5.7 billion from Rs 5.4 billion in the previous quarter.
Subscription revenues for the quarter were Rs 4.9 billion, up from Rs 4.72 billion .
The company’s other income jumped 118.7 per cent to Rs 175 million from Rs 80 million in the previous quarter.
Subscriber additions
Dish TV added 829,000 new subscribers during the third quarter achieving a total of 14.7 million gross and 10.5 million net subscribers at the end of the period. In the previous quarter, the company had added 477,000 subscribers.
"Dish is looking at adding 2.5 million subscribers this fiscal. It continues to have a strong subscriber growth and has added 1.8 million new customers so far in this fiscal," the analyst said.
Subscriber acquisition cost falls
Subscriber Acquisition Cost (SAC) during the quarter declined to Rs 2,201 compared to Rs 2,273 in the preceding quarter. "While the subscriber growth was much higher than the previous quarter, the marketing expense did not go up as much. This led to a fall in SAC," the analyst added.
Dish TV MD Jawahar Goel said, “While the distribution industry remained on tenterhooks preparing for digitization, the third quarter saw the much debated compulsory switch off of analog television signals take place in key metro markets. Although lack of execution in Chennai and Kolkata was a dampener, festival demand coupled with mandatory conversion in Delhi and Mumbai brought the DTH industry back to the 1 million plus monthly run-rate. DTH garnered around 35 per cent share of incremental additions post the sunset date.”
“In line with our expectation, we witnessed significant subscriber uptake around the sunset date of 31st October. Dish TV achieved the largest share of 28 per cent amongst DTH platforms in the digitization territories. ‘Dish+’, India’s first standard definition recorder, played its part in differentiating and attracting consumer interest in a crowded market,” he added.
ARPU improves
The company‘s Average Revenue Per User (Arpu) grew marginally by a rupee to Rs 160 due to a price hike in the third quarter, up from Rs 159 in the previous quarter.
Goel said, “A larger base did create pressure on the average revenue per user which, primarily supported by price hike in the second quarter, increased marginally to Rs 160. In the third quarter, apart from the usual additional spends typically experienced due to the festive season, additionally this year the company’s investments to capitalize on the digitization opportunity are also reflected in higher costs during the quarter. A seasonally higher marketing expense was as per budget. Content cost for the year is expected to be within the guided range of 12 per cent increase over the previous fiscal.”
Dish TV recently launched India’s first Standard Definition Recorder, ‘Dish+’, with unlimited recording facility. ‘Dish+’ comes equipped with a USB slot and is positioned at a competitive price compared to non recorder ready boxes. ‘Dish+’ was initially launched in the 42 cities covered under Phase I and Phase II of digitization and is now available across India as a value for money differentiator over other boxes in the market.
In a first within the television distribution industry, Dish TV has launched recharge option through Interbank Mobile Payment Service (IMPS) through which the subscriber can recharge his Dish TV account securely and conveniently through an instant, interbank electronic fund transfer service that can be initiated only through mobile phones.
Considering the deep penetration of cell phones in the country, money transfer through them is likely to emerge as a popular mode of transacting for daily services in the days ahead, the company said.
Shares of Dish TV fell 4.96 per cent to close Tuesday at 73.7 on the BSE.
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With 57 per cent single new users, Ashley Madison rebrands as discreet dating platform
Platform says majority of new members now identify as single
INDIA: Ashley Madison is shedding the “married-dating” label that defined it for two decades, repositioning itself as a platform for discreet dating in what it calls the post-social media age.
The rebrand, unveiled in India on 27 February, 2026, marks a structural shift in business model and identity. Once synonymous with married dating, the company now describes itself as the “premier destination for discreet dating” under a new tagline: Where Desire Meets Discretion.
The pivot is data-driven. Internal figures show that 57 per cent of global sign-ups between 1 January and 31 December, 2025 identified as single: a notable departure from the platform’s married core. The company argues that its community has already evolved beyond its original positioning.
“In an age where our lives have been constantly put on public display, privacy has become the new luxury,” said Ashley Madison chief strategy officer Paul Keable. He framed the platform’s offering as “ethical discretion” for singles, separated, divorced and non-monogamous users seeking private connections.
The shift also taps into wider digital fatigue. A global survey conducted by YouGov for Ashley Madison, covering 13,071 adults across Australia, Brazil, Canada, Germany, India, Italy, Mexico, Spain, Switzerland, the UK and the US, found mounting discomfort with hyper-public online lives.
Among dating app users, 30 per cent cited constant swiping and messaging as a source of fatigue, while 24 per cent pointed to pressure to curate public-facing profiles and early personal disclosure. Some 27 per cent said fears of screenshots or information being shared contributed to exhaustion; an equal share cited unwanted attention.
The retreat from oversharing appears broader. According to the survey, 46 per cent of adults actively try to keep most aspects of their life private online. Only 8 per cent feel comfortable sharing most aspects publicly, while 35 per cent say they are becoming more selective about what they disclose.
Ashley Madison is betting that this cultural recalibration towards controlled visibility can be monetised. By doubling down on privacy infrastructure and reframing itself around discretion rather than infidelity, the company is attempting to convert reputational baggage into a premium proposition.
