A decade ago, DTH platforms were a major source of entertainment for Indian movie buffs and entertainment enthusiasts. However, the entertainment scenario in India witnessed significant changes after the advent of OTT platforms like Netflix and Amazon Prime Video in the second half of the 2010s period. And the situation seems to have worsened for prominent DTH players compared to last financial year’s performance.
As per a recent report (via The Economic Times), the combined revenue of the four major DTH companies operating in India (namely Tata Play, Bharti Telemedia, Dish TV and Sun Direct) has come down from last year’s Rs.12284 crores to Rs.11072 crores for the financial year 2023. This means that these DTH companies’ revenues have seen a decline of 10% compared to FY 2022.
Moreover, all these four DTH companies have shown a loss for the FY 2023 because of different reasons. While in FY 2022, three out of these four companies namely Tata Play, Airtel Digital TV, and Sun Direct showed a profit.
There isn’t any doubt that the arrival and penetration of OTT platforms in India has been a major concern for DTH companies. But interestingly, OTT platforms are not apparently the only reason behind the recent financial worries of DTH players.
Because only the top-tier segment of consumers of entertainment content have drifted towards over-the-top streaming platforms. On the other hand, the bottom-tier segment has ostensibly been shifting to DD Free Dish, which is owned by Prasar Bharti. In fact, the viewers’ migration to DD Free Dish has adversely affected the prospects and customer base of DTH companies in a bigger way than OTT.
Having said that, there is still a segment of Indian audiences, which mainly belongs to the 50+ age bracket, who still consume entertainment content through DTH service providers. It’s because this segment is more comfortable and used to this form of content consumption. Moreover, not everyone has a Smart TV and a fast, cheap, and reliable internet connection in many parts of the country. So, it looks like DTH services are here to stay, provided that they keep innovating to compete with popular OTT players.