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DTH united: (From left): Mr N. Arjun, Executive Director, Bharti Telemedia; Mr Vikram Kaushik, CEO and MD, Tata Sky; Mr Prakash C. Bajpai, President & CEO, Home and Enterprise Business, Reliance Communications; Mr Jawahar Goel, MD, Dish TV India, and Mr Tony D’Silva, CEO, Sun Direct, at a press conference in the Capital on Wednesday.
There was good news for DTH operators even before they could announce their new association — the DTH Operators Association of India or DOAI —formed today. The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India had supported the Government’s decision to reduce the licence fee for DTH operators from 10 per cent to 6 per cent of gross revenues.
Welcoming the move, the new body, formed by the three existing private DTH players, Dish TV, Tata Sky and Sun Direct, along with Bharti’s and Reliance’s soon-to-be-launched DTH ventures, announced the arrival of the digital age in television.
According to Mr Prakash Bajpai, President and CEO, Home and Enterprise Business, Reliance Communications, the industry compared well to that of the mobile industry in India and would have place for six-seven strong players in what is set to be one of the largest DTH markets in the world.
“Together with support from the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting as well as TRAI, we will evolve appropriate regulatory framework for healthy growth of this start-up sector in the next three years,” said Mr Manoj Kohli, President and CEO, Bharti Airtel, who was there along with Mr N. Arjun, Executive Director, DTH Services.
One of the priority issues for DOAI was the steep tax levied on it. According to Mr Vikram Kaushik, CEO and Managing Director, TataSky, the incidence of tax cumulatively amounted to 56 per cent of the price the consumer paid. The other issue which is believed to have brought about the unison between operators is the standoff between DTH operators and broadcasters over pricing of channels.
The DTH industry has been arguing that its platform was both transparent and accountable unlike the analogue cable industry whose audience is hugely under declared. Having so far had to work out deals with individual networks, operators are now expecting the TRAI to intervene.
Announcing the yet to be registered DOAI, Mr Jawahar Goel, Managing Director, Dish TV, welcomed the regulator’s efforts to bring in an a la carte, or allow them the option to buy individual channels from broadcasters. Although TRAI has clarified that it would not regulate or control broadcasters’ channel prices nor retail prices of DTH service providers, it expected the broadcasters to bring prices down. “What we are expecting from the broadcasters is that they make their Reference Interconnection Offer to DTH operators transparent and non- discriminatory,” Mr Nripendra Misra, Chairman, TRAI, told Business Line. “We would also like the TDSAT benchmark judgment of fixing the prices of channels in addressable environments at 50 per cent of those in non- addressable environment,” he said, adding that these were the authority’s “expectations” and not regulations. Broadcasters, who are expected to put up the offer on their Web sites, have argued that the consumer was already benefiting from a competitive last mile scenario where DTH operators were offering services at prices closing in on cable in some areas.
No price reduction
At the press conference today, no operator committed to reducing prices at the consumer’s end. “As an industry we are already bleeding like hell. This will help us lessen our burden,” said Mr Vikram Kaushik adding that the losses from subsidising new consumer were “budgeted” or planned. Others agreed that, once freed from the compulsion of carrying bundled channels, they would be able to offer greater number of bouquets or choice to consumers, or in other words offer more value for money.
“DTH was not an elitist product but a common man’s product,” said Mr Tony D’ Silva, CEO, Sun Direct, which is the only player to completely subsidise equipment and offer its services at only Rs 75. Currently available only in the southern States, Sun is expecting to launch services in North India in a few months’ time, said Mr D’Silva.
The Hindu Business Line : TRAI supports reduction in licence fee on DTH
DTH united: (From left): Mr N. Arjun, Executive Director, Bharti Telemedia; Mr Vikram Kaushik, CEO and MD, Tata Sky; Mr Prakash C. Bajpai, President & CEO, Home and Enterprise Business, Reliance Communications; Mr Jawahar Goel, MD, Dish TV India, and Mr Tony D’Silva, CEO, Sun Direct, at a press conference in the Capital on Wednesday.
There was good news for DTH operators even before they could announce their new association — the DTH Operators Association of India or DOAI —formed today. The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India had supported the Government’s decision to reduce the licence fee for DTH operators from 10 per cent to 6 per cent of gross revenues.
Welcoming the move, the new body, formed by the three existing private DTH players, Dish TV, Tata Sky and Sun Direct, along with Bharti’s and Reliance’s soon-to-be-launched DTH ventures, announced the arrival of the digital age in television.
According to Mr Prakash Bajpai, President and CEO, Home and Enterprise Business, Reliance Communications, the industry compared well to that of the mobile industry in India and would have place for six-seven strong players in what is set to be one of the largest DTH markets in the world.
“Together with support from the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting as well as TRAI, we will evolve appropriate regulatory framework for healthy growth of this start-up sector in the next three years,” said Mr Manoj Kohli, President and CEO, Bharti Airtel, who was there along with Mr N. Arjun, Executive Director, DTH Services.
One of the priority issues for DOAI was the steep tax levied on it. According to Mr Vikram Kaushik, CEO and Managing Director, TataSky, the incidence of tax cumulatively amounted to 56 per cent of the price the consumer paid. The other issue which is believed to have brought about the unison between operators is the standoff between DTH operators and broadcasters over pricing of channels.
The DTH industry has been arguing that its platform was both transparent and accountable unlike the analogue cable industry whose audience is hugely under declared. Having so far had to work out deals with individual networks, operators are now expecting the TRAI to intervene.
Announcing the yet to be registered DOAI, Mr Jawahar Goel, Managing Director, Dish TV, welcomed the regulator’s efforts to bring in an a la carte, or allow them the option to buy individual channels from broadcasters. Although TRAI has clarified that it would not regulate or control broadcasters’ channel prices nor retail prices of DTH service providers, it expected the broadcasters to bring prices down. “What we are expecting from the broadcasters is that they make their Reference Interconnection Offer to DTH operators transparent and non- discriminatory,” Mr Nripendra Misra, Chairman, TRAI, told Business Line. “We would also like the TDSAT benchmark judgment of fixing the prices of channels in addressable environments at 50 per cent of those in non- addressable environment,” he said, adding that these were the authority’s “expectations” and not regulations. Broadcasters, who are expected to put up the offer on their Web sites, have argued that the consumer was already benefiting from a competitive last mile scenario where DTH operators were offering services at prices closing in on cable in some areas.
No price reduction
At the press conference today, no operator committed to reducing prices at the consumer’s end. “As an industry we are already bleeding like hell. This will help us lessen our burden,” said Mr Vikram Kaushik adding that the losses from subsidising new consumer were “budgeted” or planned. Others agreed that, once freed from the compulsion of carrying bundled channels, they would be able to offer greater number of bouquets or choice to consumers, or in other words offer more value for money.
“DTH was not an elitist product but a common man’s product,” said Mr Tony D’ Silva, CEO, Sun Direct, which is the only player to completely subsidise equipment and offer its services at only Rs 75. Currently available only in the southern States, Sun is expecting to launch services in North India in a few months’ time, said Mr D’Silva.
The Hindu Business Line : TRAI supports reduction in licence fee on DTH
