DTH
Videocon D2H to merge with Dish TV; serve 28 million subscribers
MUMBAI: The Board of Directors of Dish TV and Videocon d2h Limited today approved a scheme of arrangement for the amalgamation of Vd2h into Dish TV and the execution of definitive agreements in relation to such amalgamation.
Following the closing of the proposed transaction, the merged entity will be renamed as Dish TV Videocon Limited. Pursuant to the Scheme, Dish TV Videocon shall issue 857.791 million shares as consideration for the scheme and the Vd2h shareholders shall be allotted 2.021 new shares of Dish TV Videocon for every one share held in Vd2h (subject to certain adjustments as set out in the Scheme), which would result in Dish TV shareholders owning 1,066.861 million existing shares or 55.4% of Dish TV Videocon, and Vd2h shareholders owning 857.791 million new shares or 44.6% of Dish TV Videocon.
The fully diluted share count of Dish TV at 1,066,863,665 shares, which will lead to 857,785,766 shares of Dish TV Videocon being issued to Vd2h shareholders. Exchange ratio rounded off to two decimal places. One Vd2h ADS represents four equity shares of Vd2h.
Dish TV EBITDA are reported EBITDA figures, while Vd2h EBITDA are reported adjusted EBITDA figures; EBITDA is not a standardized term, hence direct comparison between companies using the same term may not be possible. Other companies may calculate EBITDA differently from Dish TV and Vd2h, limiting their usefulness as comparative measures
Dish TV Videocon will be led by Jawahar Lal Goel as the chairman and managing director, combining the strength of senior and operating management teams while offering further career growth opportunities for employees of the two merging companies. The Vd2h principals shall have the right to nominate two directors on the Dish TV Videocon Board, one of whom shall be the vice chairman and the other a deputy managing director.
The proposed transaction is expected to create a leading cable and satellite distribution platform in India. Dish TV Videocon would serve 27.6 million net subscribers in India, as of September 30, 2016, on a pro-forma basis, out of a total of 175 million TV households in India highlighting significant room for growth. The combined entity would have revenue of Rs. 59,158 million and EBITDA2 of Rs. 18,262 million on a pro-forma basis for the fiscal year ended 31 March 2016 positioning it as a leading media company in India. The proposed transaction is expected to provide better synergies and growth opportunities and enable Dish TV Videocon to provide differentiated and superior service to all customers through deeper after-sales, distribution and technology capabilities, and also become a more effective partner for TV content providers in India.
Goel said: “This transaction, that brings together two powerhouse brands of the cable & satellite Industry in India, will provide us with a gateway to harness growth opportunities in an ultra-competitive multi player environment. This combine will enhance value for all stakeholders – consumers, government, employees and shareholders. Dish TV has been a pioneering and path breaking company which has taken the pain and responsibility of establishing many new processes, like the electronic & digital payments system that were the business need of the initial years and went on to become the industry norm of a dynamic and throbbing Industry. Now we take the next leap in our very exciting and exhilarating journey.”
Vd2h executive chairman Saurabh Dhoot said: “Today, we are very excited about this strategic combination to create a solid platform with decisive and proven leadership at the front would lead Dish TV Videocon to create value for all stakeholders, our customers, employees, and our shareholders.”
At the close of the proposed transaction, the current promoters of Dish TV shall continue as promoters of Dish TV Videocon. The Dish TV principals are also in discussion with the Vd2h principals to purchase some of the Vd2h principals’ shares in Dish TV Videocon post the amalgamation, details of which are likely to be finalised soon.
Upon closing of the proposed transaction, Dish TV Videocon shall continue to be listed on the National Stock Exchange of India and the BSE Limited in India and on the Luxembourg Stock Exchange in the form of GDRs. In the Scheme, holders of Vd2h ADRs will receive their new shares in the form of GDRs, unless they elect to receive and hold new shares directly.
The proposed transaction remains subject to approvals, including from the Securities and Exchange Board of India, the stock exchanges, shareholders and creditors of both companies, the Competition Commission of India, the High Court of Bombay and the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting. The proposed transaction is expected to close in the second half of 2017.
Morgan Stanley is acting as the exclusive financial advisor to Dish TV, and YES Securities (India) Limited is acting as the lead financial advisor to Vd2h. The other advisors involved are — EY, SR Batliboi & Co. LLP, Luthra & Luthra Law Offices for Dish TV, and KPMG, Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas & Co., and Edelweiss Capital for Vd2h. Shearman & Sterling is acting as international legal advisor to both Dish TV and Vd2h in respect of the, US federal securities law and related aspects of the proposed transaction.
The new shares of Dish TV Videocon to be issued pursuant to the Scheme have not been and will not be registered under the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”), and may not be offered or sold in the United States absent registration or an applicable exemption from the registration requirements of the Securities Act. New shares of Dish TV Videocon to be issued pursuant to the Scheme will be issued pursuant to the exemption from registration provided by Section 3(a)(10) under the Securities Act.
Neither the SEC nor any U.S. state securities commission has approved or disapproved of the new shares of Dish TV Videocon to be issued pursuant to the Scheme, or determined if this announcement is accurate or complete. Any representation to the contrary is a criminal offence in the United States.
Dish TV and Vd2h are incorporated under the laws of India. In addition, most their respective officers and directors reside outside the United States, and some or all of their assets are or may be located in jurisdictions outside the United States.
DTH
Prasar Bharati’s WAVES earns Rs 2.9 crore in first year
Platform scales content, users but monetisation gaps limit revenue growth.
MUMBAI: Big waves, small ripples at least for now. When Prasar Bharati launched its OTT platform WAVES at the 55th International Film Festival of India in November 2024, it pitched a bold vision: a homegrown rival to global and domestic streaming giants, blending video, audio, gaming and commerce into a single digital ecosystem. Five months into FY2024–25, however, the platform’s revenue stands at just Rs 2.90 crore, a figure that underscores the gap between ambition and monetisation.
On paper, WAVES looks anything but modest. The platform has ingested 13,608 titles, totalling 9,495 hours of content, with over 13,000 titles already live. It has streamed more than 575 live events from the Mahakumbh Amrit Snan and the 76th Republic Day parade to the Hockey India League, Kabaddi World Cup and Mann Ki Baat while offering 74 live TV channels and 12 radio channels. With over 10 lakh registered users and more than 200 content partners onboarded, the scale resembles that of a fully operational streaming service rather than a pilot project.
The architecture supporting this scale is equally robust. Built under Prasar Bharati’s Central Archives vertical, WAVES runs on a cloud-based infrastructure with DRM, encryption and an integrated analytics dashboard. It includes dedicated units for content ingestion, quality control, publishing, graphics, marketing and billing, and is distributed across platforms such as OTTplay, Tata Play and BSNL. The offering extends beyond video to include audio-on-demand, e-games and even e-commerce via ONDC integration.
Yet, the numbers reveal a core disconnect. Despite its scale, WAVES generated just Rs 2.90 crore in a market where India’s OTT industry crossed Rs 23,000 crore in 2024. A key bottleneck lies in monetisation infrastructure: subscriptions cannot currently be purchased within the app and must be completed via an external website. In a mobile-first country where over 95 per cent of OTT consumption happens on smartphones, this extra step creates friction that most users are unlikely to overcome.
Ironically, content is not the problem, it is the platform’s biggest strength. Prasar Bharati holds one of the world’s richest broadcast archives, including 45,154 hours of digitised Akashvani programming and 35,723 hours from Doordarshan. For WAVES alone, over 3,800 hours of archival content have been made OTT-ready, including classics such as Ramayan and Shaktimaan, alongside rare cultural recordings and historical broadcasts.
There are early signs that this library holds commercial potential. Revenue from archival content licensing rose sharply to Rs 3.38 crore in FY24, up from Rs 67 lakh the previous year. Meanwhile, free digital platforms continue to drive massive reach, the PB Archives Youtube channel clocked 119.78 million views and added 4,02,000 subscribers in FY2024–25, crossing 1.7 million in total, while DD News has over 5.84 million subscribers.
That, however, presents a strategic dilemma. While free distribution builds scale, it also conditions audiences to expect content at zero cost making it harder to transition to paid models. WAVES, designed as a hybrid AVOD-SVOD platform with advertising and subscription layers, is yet to fully crack this balance.
The broader challenge is not technological but strategic. In an ecosystem dominated by platforms offering seamless payments, aggressive pricing and high-budget originals, WAVES is still bridging the gap between being a content repository and a commercially viable product.
For now, the platform reflects both promise and paradox. It has the scale, the content and the infrastructure but until monetisation catches up, WAVES remains less a revenue engine and more a digital showcase of what India’s public broadcaster could become.
