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Source: Televisionpoint.comIt may be one of the latest entrants in the DTH arena, but don't be surprised if Reliance Big TV reports a break even by end-2009 itself, slightly more than a full year after launch of operations.Although the Reliance ADA group entity is unwilling to give out exact numbers, Reliance Big TV's aim of having 4-5 million subscribers by August 2009 is a good indication of it being quietly confident of scoring over its competitors in reaching the break even point earlier.Industry experts say that break even in the DTH business in India is possible when a company acquires 7 million subscribers as the ARPUs (average revenue per user) of different operators are unlikely to show huge variations.Currently, Reliance Big TV has slightly over 0.5 million customers. Although a high-profile business with enormous long-term growth potential, the cost of launching a DTH business, unlike telecom, calls for much less money. Putting the DTH infrastructure in place normally costs around Rs 70-80 crore. The bulk of the expenditure comes in the form of advertising costs."The combined advertising costs of all DTH players is likely to be Rs 1200-1500 crore in the next 12 months." Arun Kapoor, president, Reliance Big TV said.Elaborating on Reliance Big TV's strategy, Kapoor said the firm is banking on reach and be available at all places where customer acquisition is a possibility to consolidate its position.For starters, it is targeting a presence in 10,000 towns and cities by August 2009. "It's early days for the DTH business in India and customer acquisition is now the name of the game. We don't want to lose out on any opportunities," Kapoor said.With competition in the DTH arena set to increase once Videocon enters the fray, Reliance Big TV is clearly conscious that it would be unwise to put all its eggs in one basket and concentrate only on the top 200 towns and cities.Although Reliance Big TV, like some of its major competitors, expects the top 100 cities to contribute 50% or more to its revenue, and the top 200 towns and cities about 70%, it wants to grab the biggest chunk of the rest of India market.
