This question has been lifted several times on the forum, and amongst all of the DTH consumers minds as of late. With the huge launches of Reliance Big TV and Airtel Digital TV, as well as Sun DTH going national, people have started to wonder, whether there are just too many DTH players for the market to handle now? So I thought of writing up an analysis on the same. Lets get a feel of the market first.
There are roughly around 70-80 Lakh DTH subscribers in India as of now, bear in mind this is just my own estimate though. Now this market will most likely go up over 3 Crore subscribers by 2012. Which means that the DTH market is only going to grow from here on. There is no saturation in hindsight and amongst the foray of new features, new providers, new untapped markets being opened up as well as new standards being set in the industry. DTH is here to stay.
The thing with the Indian market is, that there is just too much of a market in here. Lots of room for more players as well, I can even go so far as to say that even if 10 more players get themselves in at this point, they would have enough market to carry on nicely. Even now, Dish TV, Tata Sky, Big TV, Airtel Digital TV, Sun DTH etc. are operating quite well.
But what does this mean for you, the consumer? Nothing but benefits! Cut throat competition amongst DTH companies means nothing but good for the average consumer. With TRAI pushing for making STBs interoperable amongst providers, in the coming years it would be as easy switching between providers as it would be switching a sim card from your phone, which would result in a lot more conscious efforts by all DTH companies in providing the best product, the best services and the best deals on their packages, So if more companies step in, it means even more competition, even more ideas, more innovations and more for you!
Therefore, the healthy growth of the DTH market is totally positive, the companies are getting in because of the huge untapped markets, a lot of room for expansion and profits! For the consumers, it’s win-win all along.
Mr. Channel
A great analysis.. Thanks for the analysis Mr. Channel
yes there are too many players in the DTH market. If one does the analysis, everyone has its own positioning. Some are stronger in certain areas and some are weaker in certain. There is ebnough room to penetrate for everyone. But from what i have seen and what i have used I think overall Tata Sky (esp. Tata Sky plus) is a very evolved product in the market. Even their customer care is better than other players. TS is definitely worth buying if you like premium products
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Too many DTH Players is always good. I hope really they will meet the expectations of the consumers.
Creative competition will help us.
There will be more options to select.
There won’t be or shouldn’t be monopoly anymore.
Expect TRAI to regulate and monitor and direct them if they are going wrong way.
Yes, i agree with the article. There is always room for more players. But what is more important is the quality of service offered by these players. Are they leveraging their first mover advantage or are they getting complacent in offering top notch service. Amongst the existing players tata sky has undoubtedly the best service, but i think even airtel is now coming in competition with tata sky as a premium product.
accepted that currently there are too many DTH players in India. but in long run, only 2-3 DTH players can survive in a country. Given the population size of country like India, might be that 3 DTH players will survive here… but it is the survival of the fittest … even in the developed countries like US and UK, there are no more than 2 DTH providers… the economics of DTH is very hard to sustain given the investment and maintainance cost, which cannot be recovered just by divided subsriber base.
Airtel DTH is the best for now.
*Free for all customercare. (except BSNL…who uses it anyays !)
*USB feature allows scope for expansion even for old and new customers unlike tatasky(tatasky plus is available for new customers only)
*Excellent customer care. timely work progress.
*Best audio and video clarity according to SaveOnDish Comparison !(http://www.saveondish.com/comparison-of-dish-tv-tata-sky-digital-tv-big-tv-and-dd-dth/)