DTH
TRAI report shows healthy growth in DTH subscriber base in Q1 FY21
KOLKATA: Witnessing two consecutive quarters of growth, India’s DTH subscriber base grew by 3.2 lakh during the April-June quarter, as per the Indian Telecom Services Performance Indicators April-June 2020 by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI). The sector saw better, albeit marginal growth compared to the January-March quarter.
Currently, pay DTH subscriber stands at 70.58 million, compared to 70.26 million in the previous quarter.At the end of 2019, pay DTH subscriber base was 69.98 million.
Tata Sky has retained its leadership position in the segment clocking in a market share of 32.09 per cent . During last four quarters, the DTH operator has gained 7.5 lakh subscribers in line with the growth of the DTH sector. Among other players, the leader is followed by Dish TV India (28.67 per cent), Bharti Telemedia (23.83 per cent), Sun Direct (15.41 per cent)
“We remain the No. 1 DTH and No.1 Pay TV platform having increased the lead over our nearest competitor. It is heartening to see the overall DTH sector maintain its resilience even in this quarter,” a Tata Sky spokesperson commented.
While the TRAI report indicates healthy growth of the DTH sector in FY21, a recent Crisil report also said DTH operators have added a significant number of subscribers and could register a 4-6 per cent revenue growth this fiscal. In the last financial year, DTH sector had declined by 2 million.
A total number of 909 private satellite TV channels have been permitted by the ministry of information and broadcasting (MIB) for uplinking only or downlinking only or both uplinking and downlinking, as on 30 June 2020. There are 332 pay channels, which include 235 SD (standard definition) pay TV channels and 97 HD (high definition) pay TV channels.
Currently, there are 1666 MSOs registered with MIB. Moreover, there are 12 MSOs and one HITS operator who have subscriber base greater than one million.
The latest TRAI report has also stated that the total number of internet subscribers increased from 743.19 million at the end of the last quarter of FY20 to 749.07 million at the end of the first quarter of FY21, registering a quarterly growth rate of 0.79 per cent. In addition to that, wired Internet subscribers increased from 22.42 million at the end of Mar-20 to 23.06 million at the end of Jun-20 with quarterly growth rate of 2.86 per cent.
DTH Operator
JC Flowers withdraws NCLT plea against Dish TV over EGM demand
Move eases pressure on DTH firm as long-running shareholder dispute cools
MUMBAI: In a breather for Dish TV India, JC Flowers Asset Reconstruction has withdrawn its petition before the National Company Law Tribunal seeking directions to convene an extraordinary general meeting.
The development was disclosed by Dish TV in a regulatory filing, confirming that the petitioner chose to withdraw the case during a hearing at the Mumbai bench of the tribunal. A detailed order from the bench is still awaited.
The petition, originally filed under Sections 98 to 100 of the Companies Act, 2013, sought to push for an extraordinary general meeting to address governance issues at the company. The case had its roots in a prolonged shareholder tussle dating back to 2021, when Yes Bank, then the largest shareholder, was at odds with the promoter group led by Subhash Chandra over board reconstitution.
JC Flowers had stepped into the picture as an assignee of Yes Bank’s stressed assets, effectively continuing the legal push initiated earlier. The withdrawal now signals a pause, if not a closure, to that chapter of dispute.
While the reasons behind the withdrawal have not been formally detailed, the move reduces immediate legal pressure on Dish TV, which has been navigating both operational and regulatory challenges in recent years.
For now, the focus shifts back to the company’s business fundamentals, even as the legal dust settles, at least temporarily, on one of its more closely watched shareholder battles.
