GROWING PREFERENCE OF DTH OVER CABLE TV

Submitted in the partial fulfillment for the award of the degree of

BACHELOR OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION

TO

Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University, Delhi

UNDER THE SUPERVISION SUBMITTED BY:-AND GUIDANCE OF: -

GARIMA WADHAWAN PROF. RAJESH BAJAJ BBA-VI(M)

0621701708

SESSION: 2008 – 2011

TECNIA INSTITUTE OF ADVANCED STUDIES

(Approved by AICTE, Ministry of HRD, Govt. of India)Affiliated To Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University, Delhi

INSTITUTIONAL AREA, MADHUBAN CHOWK, ROHINI, DELHI- 110085E-Mail:director@tecniaindia.org, Website: www.tecniaindia.org

Fax No: 27555120, Tel: 27555121

CERTIFICATE

1

I, Ms. GARIMA WADHAWAN, Roll No. 0621701708 certify that the Project

Report/Dissertation (BBA-310) entitled “GROWING PREFERENCE OF DTH

OVER CABLE TV” is done by me and it is an authentic work carried out by me at

TECNIA INSTITUTE OF ADVANCED STUDIES. The matter embodied in this

project work has not been submitted earlier for the award of any degree or diploma to

the best of my knowledge and belief.

Signature of the Student

Date:

Certified that the Project Report/Dissertation (BBA-310) entitled “GROWING

PREFERENCE OF DTH OVER CABLE TV” done by Ms. GARIMA

WADHAWAN, Roll No.0621701708, is completed under my guidance.

Signature of the Guide

Date:

Name of the Guide:

Designation:

Address:

Tecnia Institute of Advanced Studies, New Delhi

Countersigned

Director/Project Coordinator

2

ACKNOWELEDGEMENT

I , GARIMA WADHAWAN, student of Bachelors of Business Administration,

Tecnia Institute of Advanced Studies ,Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha

University(GGSIPU) with great sense of satisfaction I would like to express profound

sense of gratitude and respect those who helped me throughout the duration of this

project report

Certainly, this project could not have completed without the valuable suggestions

from various sources.

I would like to express my earnest gratefulness to Prof. RAJESH BAJAJ, faculty,

Tecnia institute of advanced studies, Rohini for giving me an opportunity to undertake

this research project under his expert guidance and for helping me in understanding

and completing the same in a fruitful manner.

This acknowledgement is incomplete without thanking and expressing a profound and

earnest gratitude to all the respondents who gave me their time and patience for

carrying out this research and helped me in finding out conclusion in a better and

significant manner.

I would also like to thank my institute Tecnia institute of advanced studies for giving

me an opportunity to work on this project. I would also like to thank my friends for

their support.

.

GARIMA WADHAWAN

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CONTENTS

S No Topic Page No1 Certificate (s) 22 Acknowledgements 33 List of Abbreviations 54 Chapter-1: Introduction 6-439 Chapter-2: Data Reduction & Presentation 44-5310 Chapter-3: Data Analysis 54-6211 Chapter-4: Summary and Conclusions 63-6912 References/Bibliography 7013 Appendices 71-74

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LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS

S No Abbreviated Name

Full Name

1 DTH Direct to home2 TV Television3 CAS conditional access system4 STB Set top box5 IPTV Internet Protocol television

6 AV Audio video

7 CPE Customer Premise Equipment

8 ISRO Indian Space Research Organisation

9 NSS New skies satellite

10 DVD Digital Versatile Disc

11 EPG Electronic programmer guide

12 SV-O-D Subscription video on demand

13 KU Name of the band

14 DD Doordarshan

15 LCD liquid crystal display

16 LED light-emitting diode

17 SWOT Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats

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1.1AIM OF THE RESEARCH

“To show that DTH is growing in preference over Cable TV”

1.2 OBJECTIVE OF THE RESEARCH

Every research work undertaken is completed with some objective in mind which is in

accordance with the significance of the study. Objective of the study is the main

purpose towards which the study is directed and it is important for undertaking any

research work in the right direction.

To determine how many people use Cable TV.

To determine how many people use DTH.

To give the interactive features of various DTH services.

To show the growing preference of DTH over Cable TV.

To understand purchase criteria of customers for selecting DTH or Cable Services

To understand competition between various players

To Find Out Opportunity & Threats In Indian DTH Industry.

To Study The Reason Behind Growth Of DTH Market.

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1.3 SCOPE OF THE RESEARCH PROBLEM

“The growing preference of DTH over Cable TV”- is a recent phenomenon and has

not been extensively researched.

Moreover, the research being primary in nature itself describes the newness of topic. I

feel that there is indeed a vast scope for research in this field keeping in mind the

advancement of technology day by day.

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1.4 OVERVIEW OF DTH INDUSTRY:

DIRECT TO HOME/ SATELLITE TELEVISION

DTH: stands for Direct-To-Home television. DTH is defined as the reception of

satellite programmes with a personal dish in an individual home.

DTH is a new technology that circumvents the cable operators by directly delivering a

bundle of channels to the end user. DTH involves transmission of encoded audio/

video signals (Ku band) via satellite. The end user needs an antenna to receive the

signals and a decoder (set top box) to unscramble the encrypted signals. DTH services

elsewhere in the world are Echostar and DirecTV (USA) and B sky B (Europe).

Rupert Murdoch of Star TV fame owns BskyB.

The size of the antenna in DTH will be 1.5-2 ft in diameter, shortly. In the meantime,

DD has sought to be the exclusive licensee for providing DTH services. The license

will be for a period of 15 years, the first 5 being exclusive and in the balance 10; DD

will be exposed to competition.

The DTH market in India, according to Star TV reports, is estimated at 0.1mn

households. Another issue that will impact valuations will be local program content.

In India, given the diversity and differences in tastes, regional content is critical for

success. This has been proved by the success of Sun TV in Chennai.

DTH will result in restructuring of the cable television industry. It will become

imperative to have cash reserves to withstand the technology threat. Upgradation to

fiber optic backbone will become necessary. A fiber optic network will cost about

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Rs0.5mn per km as compared to Rs0.1mn per km for coaxial cable. The stage is now

ripe for consolidation.

DTH services were first proposed in India in 1996. But they did not pass approval

because there were concerns over national security and a cultural invasion. In 1997,

the government even imposed a ban when the Rupert Murdoch-owned Indian Sky

Broadcasting (ISkyB) was about to launch its DTH services in India.

Finally in 2000, DTH was allowed. The new policy requires all operators to set up

earth stations in India within 12 months of getting a license.

DTH licenses in India will cost $2.14 million and will be valid for 10 years. The

companies offering DTH service will have to have an Indian chief and foreign equity

has been capped at 49 per cent. There is no limit on the number of companies that can

apply for the DTH license.

Since its inception in 2003, the Indian Direct-To-Home (DTH) TV industry has been

growing at a rapid pace. This growth has been supported by huge investments by the

existing and new players. Defying the global trend of economic crisis, DTH industry

posted significant growth in 2008 and 2009.

The DTH market acquired around 16 Million subscribers by the end of 2009, an

increase of approximately 44% over the 2008 levels. With the entry of new players in

the Indian DTH industry, competition is getting intense. Due to this intensifying

competition, installation prices are declining and subscribers have a wide range of

options to make choices.

The reason for high growth in DTH subscriber base can be attributed to the fact that

quality of service delivered by DTH is superior as compared to cable or any other

medium. Since DTH TV industry is currently in growth phase, it is expected to attract

a large number of subscribers in near future. As per our new research report “Indian

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DTH Market Forecast to 2012”, the number of DTH subscribers is projected to grow

at a CAGR of around 18% during 2010-2013 to 39 Million by 2013. In 2008, the

DTH subscribers accounted for only a small proportion (less than 10%) of total

number of TV households in India, which were 119 Million, representing a huge

future growth potential.

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CURRENT SCENARIO

Currently, the Indian DTH market is being served by six private players - Dish TV,

Tata Sky, Sun Direct, Big TV, Airtel Digital TV and Videocon D2H. For the purpose

of research, we have not included Doordarshan which is a free DTH service provider.

The report contains comprehensive information about all the DTH service providers

in India, with focus on in-depth analysis of their strengths and weaknesses. It also

explains the reason why all the incumbent players have been investing huge amounts

in the promotion and marketing of DTH services in the country.

In the early 2008, five major players, Zee‘s Dish TV, Tata Sky, Reliance ADAG, Sun

Direct and Bharti Telemedia formed an umbrella body – DTH Operators Association

of India (DOAI). Dish TV is the largest DTH provider with a subscriber base of

around 5 million, Tata Sky, a DTH joint-venture Company between Star (owned by

Rupert Murdoch) and the Tata Group (20:80), now has around 3.4 million

connections and the forecast for 2012 is that it will further increase to eight million,

Sun Direct, the 80:20 JV between the Maran family and the Astro Group of Malaysia,

over 2.3 million, Big TV about 1.2 million and Airtel Digital TV about 0.3 million

subscribers (Source: Business Standard, May 1, 2009).

According to sources, DD Direct Plus has a subscriber base of about 3-4 million

subscribers, mostly in the remote corners of the country not connected by terrestrial or

cable television. DTH operations in India could be enhanced if the dearth of satellite

capacity is removed by increasing the number of available Ku-band transponders that

at present is 12 on Insat 4A, which in turn would mean more channels for viewing.

Tax burdens on DTH are another area of complaint for operators. Around 40 per cent

of revenues are siphoned off to pay taxes and license fee and another 12 per cent for

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services imposed by the Central government. Apart from this, there are entertainment

taxes that differ from state to state.

DTH stands for Direct to Home which is a direct mode of transmission between

Broadcaster‘ and Subscriber’ through satellite.

Broadcast centre collects the signals from different programming sources (like Sony,

Zee, and Star). It processes the Signals and beams it to the Satellite. (16.1)

The first commercial DTH service, Sky Television plc (now BSkyB), was launched in

1989. Sky TV started as a four-channel free-to-air analogue service on the Astra 1A

satellite, serving the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland. By 1991, Sky had

changed to a conditional access pay model, and launched a digital service, Sky

Digital, in 1998, with analogue transmission ceasing in 2001. Since the DTH

nomenclature is rarely used in the UK or Ireland, the popularity of Sky's service has

caused the terms "minidish" and "digibox" to be applied to products other than Sky's

hardware. BSkyB is controlled by News Corporation.

PrimeStar began transmitting an analog service to North America in 1991, and was

joined by DirecTV Group's DirecTV, in 1994. At the time, DirecTV's introduction

was the most successful consumer electronics debut in American history. Although

PrimeStar transitioned to a digital system in 1994, it was ultimately unable to compete

with DirecTV, which required a smaller satellite dish and could deliver more

programming.

DirecTV eventually purchased PrimeStar in 1999 and migrated all PrimeStar

subscribers to DirecTV equipment. In 2003, News Corporation purchased a

controlling interest in DirecTV's parent company, Hughes Electronics, and renamed

the company DirecTV Group.

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In 1996, EchoStar's Dish Network went online in the United States and, as DirecTV's

primary competitor, achieved similar success. AlphaStar also launched but soon went

under.

Dominion Video Satellite Inc.'s Sky Angel also went online in the United States in

1996 with its DTH service geared toward the faith and family market. It has since

grown from six to 36 TV and radio channels of family entertainment, Christian-

inspirational programming and 24-hour news. Dominion, under its former corporate

name Video Satellite Systems Inc., was actually the second from among the first nine

companies to apply to the FCC for a high-power DTH license in 1981 and is the sole

surviving DBS pioneer from that first round of forward-thinking applicants. Sky

Angel, although a separate and independent DTH service, uses the satellites,

transmission facilities, & receiving equipment used for Dish Network through an

agreement with Echostar. Because of this, Sky Angel subscribers also have the option

of subscribing to Dish Network's channels as well.

How it works

Direct to home technology is quite a sea change from what the cable network offers.

Here’s a step-by-step guide to the new system, including some potential snag you are

likely to encounter.

Satellite

Satellite beams the channels to the mini dish fixed in your balcony, outside the

window or on the terrace.

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Service provider

Service provider uplinks all channels to its dedicated satellite.

Apartments

For apartment blocks, the entire building can use a single big dish and carry

connections to different set top boxes on individual TVs.

Dish size depends on distance between it and the TV; 60 cm dishes are most common.

For Delhi, you need to align it in south east direction.

Set Top Box

Mini dish relays the channels to your set top box, where they are decrypted and sent

to you TV.

Viewing Card

Viewing card like a mobile sim card carries you unique ID number with your

subscription details. You can access DTH only when this credit card sized card is

inserted in the set top box.

You can watch DTH without disturbing you cable connection if you choose to, with

cable feed in normal TV mode and DTH in AV mode.

Remote Control

Your remote comes with the DTH kit. It interacts with the set-top box instead of the

TV. If you plan to install DTH, get ready for handling complex options on your

remote like multi-lingual choices etc

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Payment

You pay your subscription in advance (like a pre-paid cell connection) through credit

cards, smartcards, cheques or cash. Your viewing card is updated automatically.

Dth in India have three major competitors basically:

TATA SKY

DISH TV

AIRTEL

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1.5 PORTER’S ANALYSIS OF DTH INDUSTRY

1.5.1 THREAT OF SUBSTITUTES:

DTH faces stiff competition from the terrestrial, cable and IPTV. As per the industry

estimates, there are 130 million TV homes of which 85 million are served by cable

and around 16 million by DTH with the remaining taken by terrestrial transmission.

Terrestrial Television

Doordarshan is the world‘s largest terrestrial broadcaster with over 1400 terrestrial

TV transmitters. The reach provided by this route is phenomenal with Doordarshan

covering 88% of India‘s geographical area. Covering the remaining 12% area required

substantial capital investments which does not outweigh the benefits. The

transmission was done originally in Analog mode but beginning from 2002,

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Doordarshan has partnered with BBC resources – the consulting wing of BBC, in

offering digital terrestrial TV. The transmission could be received using a low cost

Yagi antenna. However, due to lack of attractive content it does not seem to be a

formidable threat for DTH.

Cable TV

Cable TV currently operates in 2 modes viz. through CAS covering cities like

Chennai, Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkatta, and through non-addressable system in the rest

of the country.

As seen from the above diagram Cable TV enjoys the maximum share as compared to

other medium. In case of CAS controlled areas, the subscriber has to buy Set Top Box

(STB) to see the pay channels. On the other hand, in areas where non-addressable

system is used, nearly all the channels are available without the need of any separate

receiver by paying anywhere between Rs 100 to Rs 350 per month depending on the

place.

Due to phenomenal reach of Cable TV, it poses a serious threat to the growth of DTH

industry.

1.5.2 BARGAINING POWER OF SUPPLIERS:

DTH industry relies on three major supplies: Customer Premise Equipment (CPE)

comprising of the satellite dish, Set Top Box with the necessary Access card, the Ku

band transponders in the orbiting satellites and content. With India overtaking Japan

as Asia‘s largest DTH, the bargaining power of Indian DTH operators with CPE

supplies have increased.

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However, the availability of transponders is increasingly becoming difficult. The Ku

band transponder is generally provided by Astrix, the commercial wing of ISRO

either through its own satellites or by leasing transponders from suppliers. With only

two domestic satellite launches between 2007 and 2010 an d increasing DTH players,

Astrix is in a better position to use DTH as its cash cow for the next 5 to 10 years.

Also the crash of INSAT 4C and NSS-8 has worsened the situation of DTH players.

As there is not much of regulation particularly in terms of channel pricing, acquiring

content from the broadcasters is also difficult. DTH vendors are at the mercy of the

broadcasters.

1.5.3. BARGAINING POWER OF BUYERS:

With enough options to choose both from the pont of alternate mediums like Cable,

IPTV and Terrestrial broadcast and from the point of increasing DTH operators, the

consumer is at his will to decide.

Customers will continue to have a high bargaining power until DTH platforms try to

differentiate them as superior players with better content and clarity

1.5.4. INTER FIRM RIVALRY:

With 6 operational players, the inter firm rivalry is quite high. The competition from

state owned DD-Direct to private players is negligible from the content point of view

as. Between Dish TV and Tata Sky there is an intense rivalry exhibited by price wars

and discount schemes offered to new Other than price wars and intense competition in

increasing customer base, there is also a competition at acquiring the content. Dish

TV, Tata Sky and Sun Direct are part of big groups that also have popular bouquet of

channels like Zee, Star and Sunrespectively. The channels indirectly refuse content

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fexorbitantly or mandating that all the channels of their bouquet to be transmitted

when the vendor is already capacity constraint.

1.5.5. THREAT OF NEW ENTRANTS:

With already 6 players in the DTH space, threat of new entrants is relatively low.

There is already enough competition which will discourage new firms to enter this

business. While getting a license is relatively easy, the barriers to entry are high when

it comes to pricing of CPE and getting the connections. Being the first mover, Dish

TV has price.

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1.6 VARIOUS DTH SERVICE PROVIDERS IN INDIA

1.6.1 TATA SKY

Inception and Heritage

Incorporated in 2004, Tata Sky is an 80:20 JV between TATA and STAR. Tata Sky

endeavors to offer Indian viewers a world-class television viewing experience through

its Satellite Television service.

TATA Brand

The Tata Group is one of India's largest and most respected business conglomerates.

It comprises 93 operating companies in seven business sectors: information systems

and communications; engineering; materials; services; energy; consumer products;

and chemicals. The Tata Group has operations in more than 40 countries across six

continents, and its companies export products and services to 140 nations. The Group

and its enterprises have been steadfast and distinctive in their adherence to business

ethics and their commitment to corporate social responsibility. This is a legacy that

has earned the Group the trust of many millions of stakeholders in a measure few

business houses anywhere in the world can match.

SKY Brand

The SKY brand, owned by the UK-based British Sky Broadcasting Group, brings to

Tata Sky the reputation of more than 20 years experience of satellite broadcasting.

SKY is well known for the innovative products and services launched by BSkyB,

such as DTH broadcasting in 1989, digital satellite broadcasting in 1998, interactive

television services in 1999 and the SKY+ personal video recorder in 2001. Tata Sky

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joins an international group of DTH businesses that includes platforms as far apart as

the UK and Italy in Europe, and Mexico and Brazil in Latin America

Revolutionize television viewing

Tata Sky is set to revolutionize television viewing in India through its superior digital

quality picture and sound. The service aims to empower the Indian viewer with

Choice, Control and Convenience through its wide array of programming and

interactive features.

Tata Sky offers viewers a variety of channels ranging from entertainment, sports,

movies and music to news and documentaries in DVD picture quality and CD quality

sound.

Extensive Customer Service Network

Tata Sky has established an extensive customer service network across the country. It

has engaged a field force of approximately 3000 service engineers, who will be

complemented by high-end 24x7 call centers, manned by multi-lingual customer

service associates, trained to solve all customer problems.

Tata Sky takes direct responsibility for hardware installation at subscribers’ homes, as

well as for providing after-sales service.

Tata Sky will also retail its hardware and prepaid recharge vouchers through popular

consumer electronic stores to enhance customer convenience.

Partners

Tata Sky has invested in state-of-the-art digital infrastructure and has partnered with

global leaders in digital technology for the pay television market.

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Satellite

Tata Sky has leased all 12 Ku-Band transponders on ISRO’s Indian satellite, INSAT

4A, which is the most advanced and high-powered KU-Band communication satellite

in the region and is developed keeping in mind local requirements. The satellite

enables Tata Sky to offer superior picture and sound quality with a wider range of

channels.

Business Support Software

Siebel: Tata Sky has selected Siebel, leaders in Customer Relationship Management

(CRM) software, to support operations across the areas of call centre and field service

operations, customer order management and product configuration.

Kenan: Comverse’s Kenan FX billing software has been selected to support billing

for all residential, institutional and commercial customers. The Kenan software has

been enhanced specifically for Tata Sky, to support a first in industry pre-paid billing

capability which will provide customers with the ability to pay as you go.

SAP: SAP the leading Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) application suite, has

been selected by Tata Sky to support the company’s materials management, sales and

distribution, finance and control and human resources requirements.

IT:

Sun Microsystems: Tata Sky has selected Sun Microsystems to provide world-class

technology infrastructure, which helps the company to deliver high-level service

standards for its Satellite Television service. The servers ensure maximum up-time,

fault recovery and load management. Sun has also provided Tata Sky with

installation, engineering expertise and support.

Dig comp:

Tata Sky has partnered with Thomson and Hum ax, world leaders in digital broadcast

terminology, for building top-of-the line dig comps, customized specifically for the

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Indian markets. The technology’s feature rich design will enable Tata Sky to deliver

multiple programming, pricing packages and interactive services to its customers.

Our Offering:

In addition to new channels and exciting interactive features, Tata Sky offers all

popular television channels, thus becoming a one-stop shop for all the television

entertainment needs of customers.

Vision:

Tata Sky plans to launch its Satellite Television service with top-of-the-line

infrastructure. It aims to revolutionize Indian entertainment by offering superior DVD

quality picture and CD quality sound.

Channels offered:

Star World

Star Utsav (Hindi)

Star Movies

Star Gold

Star Plus

Star News (Hindi)

Star Vijay (Tamil)

Star Sports

Star One (Hindi)

DD Bangla

DD Malayalam

DD 8 Telugu

DD Sports

DD 5 Tamil

DD Marathi

ESPN

Channel V

MTV

National Geographic

AXN

Ten Sports

History Channel

Sony Entertainment

Television (Hindi)

SAB TV (Hindi)

Sony PIX

SET MAX

Animal Planet

Discovery Channel

Discovery Travel and

Living

Sahara one

Sahara filmy

Hungama TV

Aastha

Jaya TV (Tamil)

Aaj Tak (Hindi)

Headlines Today

NDTV Profit

NDTV 24x7

NDTV India (Hindi)

DD News

Times Now

Asianet (Malayalam)

Asianet news

(Malayalam)

Kairali (Malayalam)

DD 1

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MH1

1.6.2 DISH TV

Vision of the company:

To be the leader in changing the way the world communicates by providing innovative technology, quality products and dynamic services.

Mission of the company:

To place our satellite dish in every home, school and business throughout the world.

Dish Tv is an Essel Group venture. Essel Group has a vast range of national and

global business interests that include media programming, broadcasting &

distribution, packaging, entertainment, online gaming and telecom, in close synergies

with ventures active in the areas of content, distribution and infrastructure.

Essel Group has always been a pioneer - Zee TV the first Indian satellite channel,

Siticable the first MSO, Esselworld the first theme park, Play win the first online

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lottery, Essel Propack, which is the world’s No. 1 in packaging - were all

revolutionary concepts in their respective fields.

Continuing with the same path-breaking tradition, the group now brings to you a new

era of digital quality TV viewing.

Dishtv uses NSS-6 (communication satellite) to broadcast its programmes. NSS-6 was

launched on 17th December, 2002 by European-based satellite provider, New Skies

(one of the only four fixed satellite communications companies with truly global

satellite coverage)

Dishtv - India's first KU-band DTH entertainment service, hopped on to NSS-6 at

from an INSAT satellite in July 2004. The change in the satellite was to increase the

channel offering as NSS 6 offered more transponder capacity.

Going the DTH way has a lot of benefits. You are automatically upgraded to a host of

world class features that makes television viewing a pleasurable experience. Have a

look at some of the key add on benefits that DISH TV brings to your home.

Digital Picture Quality

The exceptional digital and direct-to-home transmission ensures you watch all your

favorite programmes in true DVD quality.

Stereophonic Sound

The Direct-to-Home satellite transmission treats your ears to a true theatre experience

by providing awesome stereophonic sound.

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Geographic Mobility

No matter which part of the country you are in or moving to, DISH TV with its all

India coverage ensures direct signals where ever you are.

Uninterrupted Viewing

With DISH TV at your home, as long as your equipment is connected to a power

source you can enjoy uninterrupted transmission of your favorite programmes.

Capacity up to 400 Channels

DISH TV can offer you up to 400 entertaining channels. And that's not all, every

month more channels will be added to provide complete entertainment to your family.

MARKET POSITION

Dish TV India‘s first DTH service provider launched in October 2003 is the market

leaderwith 6.4 million subscribers. Dish TV continues to be a market leader with 30%

market share in 7 player scenario on date, with sizeable sales and distribution

infrastructure of over 650distributors and 45,000 dealers across 6500 towns – once

again, the largest in the category.

These reach into far flung markets enables building of a diverse subscriber base

across consumer segments, which are supported by its rich content of regional

channel offerings.

Dish TV has maintained its leadership position through an improved market share of

all DTH subscribers. New offers, extensive marketing campaigns have contributed to

impressive subscriber acquisition and are committed to provide the best value to our

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customers and investors by enhancing operational efficiencies and by leveraging

economies of scale.

1.6.3 AIRTEL DIGITAL TV

Airtel digital TV’s standard definition broadcasts are in MPEG-4 with Interactive

Service (it) and 7-day EPG (electronic programme guide). Interactive Service (it) of

Airtel digital TV includes a add-on service which allows a user to shop, book movie

tickets etc. A universal remote is included in the package which can, over IR

frequencies control both the TV and the DTH box. Like other DTH service providers

it also provides a Video on demand interactive service which includes a catalogue of

movies in Hindi, English and other regional languages which can be ordered on

demand.

Airtel digital TV was launched on 8th October, 2008 with a 360 degree mega

campaign "Come Home to the Magic". Since that it has launched 2 other campaigns

'Stars come home' (March 2009) and 'DTH Picture Clarity' (August 2009) has

increased its channel base to 183+ channels.

Airtel digital TV is now amongst the fastest growing DTH brands in the country and

is available across 5000+ towns in India. It has also been ranked as the best DTH

service by "Living Digital" magazine

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1.6.4 RELIANCE BIG TV

Reliance BIG TV limited is a part of Reliance Communications Ltd., a subsidiary of

Reliance.Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group [2] founded by the Late Dhirubhai Ambani,

the Indian Business tycoon and owned by his son Anil Ambani. BIG TV started

operations from 19 August 2008 with the slogan "TV ho Toh BIG Ho" ("If you have a

TV, make it BIG"). It currently offers close to 240 channels and many interactive

ones, 32 cinema halls (i.e. Pay per View Cinema Channels) as well as many Radio

channels. The company plans to increase the number of channels in the near future to

400 and begin High Definition (HD) broadcast. It is the first Pan-India DTH provider

that uses MPEG-4 for broadcasting. There are also plans to introduce services like i-

Stock, i-News and other such interactive services in the future.

Reliance BIG TV's retailer network is spread across 100,000 outlets in 6,500 towns in

India. This was literally unheard of in the DTH industry. They had effectively out-

stripped the competition here. When it came to pricing – packaging, their introductory

offer stood at Rs. 1,490/- with 3 to 6 months of free subscription. They also

introduced 32 Pay-Per-View Movie Channels, the highest by any DTH player. Not

just that, while other players made subscribers pay for each movie, Reliance BIG TV

introduced the unique concept of Subscriber-Video-On-Demand (SVOD) under which

the subscriber paid a monthly subscription of Rs. 50/- to get a 24 x 7 access to the 21

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PPV channels showing Hindi and Regional Films. We were also the first to introduce

dedicated PPV channels for Marathi, Gujarati and Bhojpuri films.

1.6.5 VIDEOCON D2H

Videocon d2h is a DTH satellite television provider in India based in Mumbai, using

MPEG-4 with DVB S2 digital compression technology. Videocon Leasing &

Industrial Finance Limited was incorporated on 4th September, 1986 as Adhigam

Trading Private Limited. In terms of the necessary resolutions Passed under Sec. 21 of

the Companies Act, 1956, the name of the Company was changed to Videocon

Leasing & Industrial Finance Limited on14th February; 1991.The Company received

a fresh certificate of incorporation from the Registrar of Companies, Gujarat at

Ahmadabad on 14thFebruary, 1991. Videocon d2h launched May 1, 2009. it came

with a very good strategy for selling both of its electronic products like TV‘s DVD‘s

along with the new set top box. This is offering direct to TV without any set top box

also. Only the antenna is enough, it also came with DVD which is connected directly

to the TV or antenna is connected to DVD which gives a best quality of output

30

1.6.6 APNA DTH

General:

Doordarshan is the world's largest terrestrial broadcaster with over 1400 terrestrial TV

transmitters located throughout the country covering approx. 88% of India's

geographical area.

Doordarshan has setup a DTH platform to carry 33 FTA TV channels and 12 All

India Radio channels on its DTH platform which can be received throughout India on

Free-to Air (FTA) basis by consumers. The number of TV channels will be increased

to 50 and All India radio channels to 40 in due course of time as per 'A Doordarshan

press release'.

NSS-6 India Subcontinent KU Band Spot Beam

Satellite & Coverage

31

Doordarshan is using New Skies Satellite (NSS) series NSS-6 Ku-band high power

satellite with a footprint covering India and neighboring region and located at 95° E.

Doordarshan's DTH Bouquet

DTH platform is known as DD Direct Plus. This bouquet comprise of following:

TV channels:

» DD CHANNELS » EDUCATIONAL CHANNEL

1. DD - NATIONAL 1. GYANDARSHAN

2. DD - NEWS

3. DD - SPORTS » PRIVATE CHANNELS

4. DD - BHARTI 1. KAIRALI

5. DD - INDIA 2. SUN TV

6. DD - MALAYALAM 3. ETC PUNJABI

7. DD - BENGALI 4. AAKASH BANGLA

8. DD - ORIYA 5. JAIN TV

9. DD - GUJARATI 6. AAJ TAK

10. DD - PUNJABI 7. HEADLINES TODAY

11. DD - NORTH EAST 8. STAR UTSAV

12. DD - PODHIGAL 9. TV 9

13. DD - SAPTHAGIRI 10. BBC WORLD

14. DD - CHANDANA 11. ZEE MUSIC

15. DD - SAHYADRI 12. SMILE TV

16. DD - KASHIR 13. MH 1 - Music Channel

17. DD - RAJYASABHA 18. DD - LOKSABHA

32

» RADIO

1. AIR VBS 7. AIR TAMIL

2. AIR MARATHI 8. AIR KANNADA

3. AIR GUJARATI 9. AIR HINDI

4. AIR BANGLA 10. AIR PUNJABI

5. AIR NE 11. FM RAINBOW

6. AIR TELUGU 12. FM GOLD

Initially, it provides 33 channels and will add 20 more channels after 4-6 months.

The formal launch of Doordarshan's DTH has been made by Dr. Manmohan Singh,

Prime minister of India.

Ground Network Doordarshan has deployed 10,000 DTH terminals comprising 120

cms, 90 cms and 60 cm antenna and associated hardware.

1.7 MARKET SEGMENTATION

1.7.1 Geographic segmentation

In terms of geographical location, North India and Western India together contribute

over 8million DTH subscribers, while the southern market contributes 3 million. The

33

states of Maharashtra, Goa, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, and Rajasthan are the leaders in

DTH subscription, contributing over 6.5 million DTH connections to the overall base.

1.7.1.1 Urban and Rural:

In order to cater to the diverse taste and needs of both urban and rural people

operators provide entirely different range of services and offerings. In rural areas,

fleet of vans for demos, installation as well as selling hardware and pre-paid vouchers

are being used. Most players are building up their subscriber base by targeting

viewers outside the big cities, which suggests that about 60 per cent of DTH

subscribers reside in rural areas and towns with a population under a million.

1.7.1.2 Region and States:

DTH service providers give special offers where regional and sports channels are

viewed the most. Silver subscription available in Tamil Nadu, Kerala Karnataka &

Pondicherry only, ultimate sports bonanza offer - Rs 2490 with 12 Months of Silver

subscription available in Andhra Pradesh only.

1.7.2 Demographic segmentation

1.7.2.1 AGE and GENDER:

Most of the players in DTH offer niche channels to create a unique and exciting

offering for its viewers of every age and gender segment. DTH industry mainly

concentrates on women who don’t like missing their daily soap and news more ever

34

women are able to learn English speaking which is a very special feature of DTH.

DTH also concentrates on children also by providing them games, dictionary, some

discovery videos specially inbuilt, math’s, and science and social knowledge. It also

focuses on old people as it has updated videos of various holy and religious places.

Example- Dish TV recently launched ‘Children Films

Festival’ with a bouquet of over 25 super-hit films across various categories priced at

Rs. 25/- per movie. thus targeting the children segment. Besides this value added

services like Games Active, Bhakti active services etc carters to needs of customers

from various age groups and gender.

1.7.2.2 INCOME:

DTH service provider gives various recharge options to consumer according to the

income like silver pack, golden pack, diamond pack etc.

1.7.3 Behavioural Segmentation

1.7.3.1 OCCASIONS:

DTH operators come out with new offers of channels or new buyer schemes at

relatively cheaper rates on occasions of festivals or major sports events. For example

it offers benefits to customers like: In a cricket match choosing the language of the

commentary, camera angles, know player statistics and watch match highlights at our

will.

35

36

1.8 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

It basically refers to the way in which a specific task or research is carried out and the

general principles guiding an investigation respectively.

1.8.1 RESEARCH DESIGN

Research design as such is a framework within which research is conducted and

contains a blueprint for collection, measurement and analysis of data.

The design, which is basically followed by my research, is DESCRIPTIVE

RESEARCH DESIGN.

Descriptive research studies are those studies in which a researcher is able to define

clearly what he intends to do along with a clear definition of the ‘population’ he wants

to study.

My research follows descriptive research design because of the following reasons

mentioned:

It specifies the objective with sufficient precision to ensure that the data

collected is relevant.

The technique used for collection of data is questionnaire method.

It specifies the sample size being used.

Lastly the data is processed and analyzed to give results.

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1.8.2 TYPE OF RESEARCH

Primary research: The research methodology for this topic involves survey methods

thus type of research can be defined as primary.

Primary research is also called field research which involves the collection of data

that already does not exist. This method is almost used as first technique which may

further lead to other methods. Various ways of conducting a primary research may

involve observation, experiment, surveys and consumer panel methods.

Popularity and its methods for any field can be researched using primary method at

any time of year. The plus point in DTH is that it is rather a new field and needs

research to be conducted before it can be accepted as source of entertainment.

This research is not utilizing any case study or earlier researches conducted on the

topic rather the research gathers the data from general public, analyze it, and gives a

conclusion based on that analysis.

The results of the data may not give the real picture of the story but a hypothesis is

generated which leads to further research problems and scope. The data generated

from this research will prove as secondary data for upcoming researches.

Secondary research: is also carried out on the concept of DTH and the Govt. policies

about the Cable operators and CAS, secondary research is also form an essential part

of the thesis as various newspaper and magazines are used to validate the data given

by the researcher.

38

1.8.3 RESEARCH APPROACH

Why Research Approach?

Adopting a valid research philosophy is important for at least two reasons:

1. Different approaches may give different answers not all of which maybe correct i.e.

using an inappropriate technique may give false results.

2. On a pragmatic level most researchers invest a lot of time, money and effort in their

work and desire that the results of their research be accepted as valid e.g. to pass

examination; to obtain a postgraduate award or to have their work accepted for

publication or judged a valid by their peer group.

Qualitative approach: It is concerned with the subjective assessment of attitude,

behavior and opinion. In such a type of research, a researcher goes into insights and

impressions. Such an approach to research generates results either in non- quantitative

form or in the form which are not subjected to rigorous quantitative analysis.

Generally the techniques of focus group interviews, projective techniques and depth

interviews are used.

1.8.4 RESEARCH METHOD

Exploratory Research method: The topic has to be deeply explored in the research

as the problem is not clearly defined. Before deciding the tool for data collection the

researcher should first gain ample amount of knowledge about the field and the

system running it all.

39

In this research researcher needs to go through the minds of people using DTH and

what are the reasons of using or not using it as a source of entertainment. And then

further data can be collected to gain insight into the people’s opinion more precisely

and generate a conclusion for the report.

1.8.5 TOOLS OF DATA COLLECTION

Individuals and organizations collect data because the information is needed, they

may want information to keep records for administrative purposes, make decisions

about important issues or they may be required to pass information onto others.

Whatever be the specific reason, data has to be collected to provide information.

1.8.5.1 Primary Data Collection

The research being the primary in nature involves primary methods of data collection

for analysis. Out of the various methods available Questionnaire method is selected

for collecting the data.

Primary data collection is necessary when a researcher cannot find a data needed is

secondary sources. Researchers are interested in primary data about demographic

socio economic characteristics, attitudes or interest or opinions, awareness or

knowledge, intentions, motivations, or behavior.

40

In primary data collection, to collect the data yourself using methods such as

interviews and questionnaire, the key point here is that the data you collect is unique

to you and your research and until you publish it no one has access to it.

There are many methods of collecting primary data:

Observation

Survey

Experiment

Questionnaire

Interviews

Focused group interviews

Case study method

Primary Data Collection:

Research

Approach

Contact Method Sampling Plan Research

Instrument

Survey Personal Probabilistic Questionnaires

41

QUESTIONNAIRE METHOD

Questionnaire are an inexpensive way to gather data from a potentially large number

of respondents, often they are the only feasible way to reach a number of reviewer

large enough to allow statistical analysis of the research. A well designed

questionnaire that is used effectively can gather information on both, the overall

performance of the test system as well as information on specific components of the

system.

It is important to remember that a questionnaire should be viewed as a multistage

process beginning with definition or the aspect to be examined and ending with

interpretation of the result.

Questionnaire is a good method if

(a) The problem is well defined (perhaps as a hypothesis) and it will not be modified

during the project,

(b) All the questions to be answered are known in advance, resp. additional clarifying

questions are not necessary.

(c) The range of possible answers is known in advance,

(d) The questions involve mostly facts, quantities or easily definable physical matters,

(e) There are questions that some respondents might prefer to answer anonymously

and

(f) You are keen on numerical analysis.

42

UNIVERSE OF STUDY

The whole group from which the sample is to be selected is technically called

universe or population of study. Thus in order to draw the sample we must first of all

have a clear idea of the universe from which the sample is to be drawn.

The universe of study of our research comprises of ‘all the residents of Flag staff

road, civil lines’.

SAMPLE SIZE

The size of the sample is an important problem to be decided. This is because the size

has direct bearing upon accuracy, time, cost and administration of the survey.

An optimum sample size is one, which fulfils the requirements of efficiency,

representativeness, reliability and flexibility.

The sample size of our research comprises of ‘50 houses of Flag staff road, civil

lines.

SAMPLE UNIT SAMPLE SIZE

Sample unit comprised of the people from

all the Spheres:

It included:

Students

Housewives

Working Employee

Sample size used for the project is as

follows:

10

22

18

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TYPE OF SAMPLING

Sampling technique plays an important part in determining the size of the sample. The

main reasons why samples are taken are as follows:

How accurate must the final results be in order to make the type of decision

required in the particular situation?

What is the cost to the organization if the wrong decision is made?

How much more information must be added to reach that level of accuracy?

What kinds of data are needed? How much does it cost to acquire data?

Can we afford the extra cost.?

If the purpose of your research is to draw conclusions or make predictions affecting

the population as a whole then you must use a Probabilistic sampling approach, on

the other hand if you are only interested in seeing how a small group or a

representative group is doing for purposes of illustration or explanation then you can

use a Non- Probabilistic sampling approach

The type of sampling used in this research is Probability sampling. This is so

because in this type of sampling procedure the items for the sample are selected

randomly by the researcher i.e. his choice concerning the items is not supreme. In this

research we have randomly chosen 50 houses in our sample size which justifies that

the sampling technique of this research is Probabilistic in nature.

44

45

2.1 DATA PRESENTATON

1. Your Full Name = …………………………………………..

2. How many T.V sets are there at your home?

2

3

4

More than 4

2 3 4 More than

4

30 12 4 4

60%24%

8% 8%

no.of T.V sets2 3 4 more than 4

INTERPRETATION

Out of All the people who were questioned mostly 60% have 2 T.V sets. Only few

said they 3 sets at their home.

46

3. Which type of T.V sets you use?

Normal CPT television

LCD Television

LED Television

Others

Normal CPTV LCD LED OTHERS

24 10 8 4

52%

22%

17%9%

Type of T.V sets

normal CPTV LCD LED OTHERS

INTERPRETATION

52% of people have normal CPTV sets, 22% people have LCD sets, and 17% people

have LED sets while 9% have other sets like 3-D

4. Do you watch Television using DTH or Local cable connection?

47

DTH

LOCAL CABLE

DTH LOCAL CABLE

34 16

68%

32%

DTH or local cable

DTH CABLE TV

Interpretation

68% of viewers view television using DTH, while 32% of them watch using Cable.

More than half a population has shifted towards DTH, which is a large share.

5. If you have a DTH connection, which among you use? *

48

Dish TV

Tata Sky

Airtel

Others

DISH TV TATASKY AIRTEL OTHERS

16 24 6 4

32%

48%

12% 8%

DTH CONNECTION

TATA SKY DISH TV AIRTEL OTHERS

INTERPRETATION:-

DISH TV is the market leader with 48% of market share, followed

by TATA SKY and Airtel respectively

49

6. If you get a chance to buy another/new DTH connection which one will you

choose? *

Dish TV

Tata Sky

Airtel

Reliance Big

Other

TATA SKY DISH TV AIRTEL RELIANCE

BIG

OTHER

20 24 4 1 1

40%

48%

8%2% 2%

NEW DTH CONNECTION

TATA SKY DISH TV AIRTEL RELIANCE BIG OTHERS

INTERPRETATION:-

Out of All the people who were questioned mostly said if given the chance to buy new

DTH they will opt for DISH TV because of its promotional strategies n new schemes,

followed by TATA SKY, followed by Airtel, reliance and others

50

7. Why you choose DTH over Local Cable?

Because of the Picture quality

You want more channels with clarity

Connection problem with Local cables/ Cost is Less

Other

PICTURE

QUALITY

MORE CHANNELS

WITH CLARITY

CONNECTION

PROBLEM WITH

LOCAL CABLES

OTHERS

18 16 16 0

36%

32%

32%

DTH over Local Cable

PICTURE QUALITY MORE CHANNELS WITH CLARITYCONNECTION PROBLEM WITH LOCAL CABLES OTHERS

INTERPRETATION:-

36% respondents choose DTH because of better picture quality, 32% gave reason of

more channels, while 32% choose because of connection problem with local cables.

51

8. Why you choose Local Cable over DTH? *

Because price is less in Cable

You need Local News content which is missing in DTH

Too many choices in DTH

Other

price is less in

Cable

You need Local News

content which is

missing in DTH

Too many choices

in DTH

Others

28 4 10 4

61%9%

22%

9%

local cable over DTH

price is less in CableYou need Local News content which is missing in DTHToo many choices in DTHothers

INTERPRETATION:-

61% respondents choose Local cable because of fewer prices, 22% gave reason of

more channels in DTH which make it confusing for some people, 08% told need of

local news content which is missing in DTH, 9% said others

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9. What is the price you currently pay to your cable operator (Monthly)?

If you are DTH user kindly jump to Next Question/

100-200

200-300

300-400

Other

100-200 200-300 300-400 other

9 16 20 5

18%

32%

40%

10%

Price given to cable operator

100-200 200-300 300-400 other

INTERPRETATION

Out of All the people who were questioned mostly pay 300-400rs to their cable

operator, while others pay less than 300.

53

10. What is the price you currently pay to your DTH operator (Monthly)*

100-200

200-300

300-400

Other

100-200 200-300 300-400 other

12 23 8 7

24%

46%

16%

14%

Price given to DTH

100-200 200-300 300-400 OTHER

INTERPRETATION

Out of All the people who were questioned mostly pay 200-300rs to their DTH

operator, only few pay above 300.

11. Your Age*

Contact Number=

54

55

DATA ANALYSIS

The data so collected by questionnaires and from secondary sources like newspapers

and websites are analyzed on the basis of SWOT analysis, which means:

Strengths

Weakness

Opportunity

Threat

The DTH and the Cable TV markets are analyzed by knowing customers responses in

favor of them and against them. The customer’s perceptions about the products helped

in devising the SWOT analysis.

The society where the survey is conducted for analysis is:

ALL THE RESIDENTS OF FLAG STAFF ROAD, CIVIL LINES, NEW

DELHI.

56

SWOT ANALYSIS: DTH INDUSTRY

Strength

Right products, quality and

reliability.

Superior product

performance vs.

competitors.

24 hrs after sales service

Direct delivery capability.

Product innovations

ongoing.

Better product quality and

reception

The viewers are empowered

as they control what they

watch and how much they

watch.

Management is committed

and confident.

Requires very low volts of

electricity

Various new content from

west would be added for the

viewers

Weaknesses

Less of value added service

The content offered is the

same when compared to

cablewallahs and even less.

The product is costly ,and

penetration would be difficult

as cable has already made its

entry long ago

Heavy rain and snowfall can

disrupt the signals for a Dth

Local cable channels cannot

be watched by viewers

57

Opportunities

Could bring in more value

added services with the

coming of 3G and could

build the internet

infrastructure through the

same network

Profit margins will be good.

End-users respond to new

ideas.

People are fed up with the

service and quality of cable

so that could be on factor

for the success of DTH

Threats

Legislation could impact

adversely making the scenario

for MSO’S even worse.

Could distract from the core

business

The emergence of IPTV and

WIFI TV can be mar in the

growth of DTH

The cablewallahs can indulge

in malpractices and can cause

damage to the wires and even

the dish

No barriers to the new entrants

in the market can be a serious

threat to the DTH operators

SWOT ANALYSIS: CABLE TV INDUSTRY

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STRENGTHS WEAKNESSES

Technology for the mass

No hardware costs

Very low and affordable monthly

expenses

Customized local content being offered

Old technology

Less no. of channels in view

Cost of upgrading the current network

to broadband is very high

Loss of revenue to service providers

Unable to provide value added services.

OPPORTUNITIES THREATS

Big market which is expected to grow

further

Presence of a huge middle class

population

DTH technology – biggest threat in

future.

WHAT GIVES DTH THE CUTTING EDGE

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PICTURES & SOUND

DTH signals are digital and beamed directly to your home via satellite. Hence, picture

quality is excellent and the sound stereophonic. By contrast, the cable feed is analog

(though they plan to go digital soon) which can’t match DTH’s picture and sound

quality even in ideal conditions

INTERACTIVITY

With DTH, you get programme listings for up to a week on your screen. Providers are

offering interactive news channels that let you choose between hard news and feature

programmes. You also have the option of watching four news channels

simultaneously in the Tata Sky package

MOVIES ON DEMAND

This paid feature allows you to watch a movie at the time of your choosing. The films

are listed for a couple of days on dedicated channels with staggered starts, typically of

45 minutes. If you wish to see the flick, just inform the provider through SMS,

internet or phone and you get access to the next ‘show’. Costs Rs 30-40 per movie

HINDI OR ENGLISH

Does watching Nat Geo or Discovery in Hindi get your goat? DTH gives you the

choice of watching these and other multilingual channels in your preferred language.

The language option doesn’t stop there. For instance, Dish TV will be giving the

option of watching the forthcoming one-day cricket series in Malaysia in five

languages

GAMING

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Both Tata Sky and Dish TV buy a digital video recorder you can download games

from the internet and play it on TV after transferring it to the DVR using a USB port

PLAY-PAUSE TV

If you never again want to miss the climax of a cricket match or a movie, record them

in a digital video recorder. An 80 GB DVR costs around Rs 16,000 and has enough

memory to record about 35 movies. With a DVR, you can record programmes in six

other channels even as you watch TV. You can also pause a programme and watch the

rest later or watch two channels simultaneously using picture-in-picture. DTH’s

digital feed enables the use of DVDs

DTH MARKET STRUCTURE

61

The DTH market structure can be classified into three categories; Market leaders,

Market challengers and Market followers. There is intense competition as some of the

leading players have not only succumbed in the sales for acquiring new customers but

has started losing existing ones to Tata Sky, Big TV and other new entrants.

MARKET LEADER:

Dish TV India’s first DTH service provider launched in October 2003 is the market

leader with 6.4 million subscribers. Dish TV continues to be a market leader with

32% market share in 7 player scenario on date, with sizeable sales and distribution

infrastructure of over 650 distributors and 45,000 dealers across 6500 towns – once

again, the largest in the category. This reach into far flung markets enables building of

a diverse subscriber base across consumer segments, which are supported by its rich

content of regional channel offerings.

Dishtv has maintained its leadership position through an improved market share of all

DTH subscribers. New offers, extensive marketing campaigns have contributed to

impressive subscriber acquisition and are committed to provide the best value to our

customers and investors by enhancing operational efficiencies and by leveraging

economies of scale.

MARKET CHALLENGERS:

The gap between the leader and the challengers is decreasing because of the

increasing competition and promotion strategy followed by each player.

TATA Sky

In the enormous consumer market that is India, occasionally an opportunity arises that

can create incredible growth and profit—provided those who seek to capture it can

move quickly enough. TATA wanted to capitalize on this opportunity as there was

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currently only one player in the DTH market. It was the second Mover after Dish TV

leveraging on brand TATA and high brand recall.

Incorporated in 2004, Tata Sky is a JV between the TATA Group and STAR. Tata

Sky endeavors to offer Indian viewers a world-class television viewing experience

through its satellite television service. The key business challenge in a country like

India is meeting customer demands—which are very dynamic— under the regulatory

purview of the country.

Sun DIRECT

Sun Direct is the fastest growing DTH service provider having garnered over 1.9

million subscribers since its launch in December 2007 and aims to become one of the

leading players in the DTH space. Sun Direct challenged the existing players by

involving them in the price war by acting as a discounted brand. It started offering

subscriptions at as low as Rs 99 to reach as much at the bottom of the market. The

biggest differentiator for the brand is the pricing point which is lesser than the other

brands.

MARKET FOLLOWERS:

Reliance BIG TV/ Airtel Digital/Videocon d2h

The approach being followed is of Market Follower (as they are late entrant and their

primay objective is to attract max subscribers in shortest span of time.

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64

RECOMMENDATIONS

Repackage: In a market like India, all a DTH player may need to do is

repackage existing channels that are not universally available. In sports, some

players have won an advantage through long-term rights purchases.

Broadcasting rights to cricket in India, for example, belongs to ESPN for the

next five years.

Content: The movies, news channels, sporting events, and/or general

entertainment features that constitute an offer to consumers.

Move First: In the DTH industry, a credible and well managed first-mover

service has a tremendous advantage over others. In India, a first mover may

effectively shut out competition.

Exploit Market Niche: In some markets, the segment of consumers who

desire highly specific content may be large enough to form the core subscriber

ship of a DTH service. An example of this could be again cricket in our

country.

Build an appropriate content offer: This is the single most crucial choice a

DTH company will make. In a remote town with no access to television, for

example, even a DTH bouquet of just two channels might seem attractive.

Standardized the price plans and avoid frequency changing: Frequent

changes in price and offers is proving no good for Dish TV as it is in way

frustrates the customers with changes in offers without being informed about

it. So Dish TV needs to watch out for this and should pre inform the customers

about the offers and changes well in advance. This in a way, I feel would

create more brand loyalty and preference.

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FINDINGS

More than half a population has shifted towards DTH, which is a large share.

Dish TV is the market leader with more market share, followed by TATA SKY and

Airtel respectively.

Out of All the people who were questioned mostly said if given the chance to buy new

DTH they will opt for Dish TV because of its promotional strategies n new schemes,

followed by Tata sky , followed by Airtel, reliance and others

36% respondents choose DTH because of better picture quality, 32% gave reason of

more channels, while 32% choose because of connection problem with local cables.

Customer care service is considered to be very poor as dealers often complain of

problems in recharge process managed by DTH.

Many persons say they recommend Tata Sky and Airtel because they get the

installation done much faster in comparison to Dish TV. With Dish, it takes up to 3-4

days sometimes.

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CONCLUSION

DTH VS CABLE

Over the years many adjectives have been prefixed to this breed arrogant and

unprofessional to name cable wallah. Missing out on a major football match or being

unable to watch the slog over of an important cricket international has often resulted

in loud curses and abuses. And, yet there is often an overwhelming sense of

helplessness. The cable guy is irreplaceable; he controls the remote of entertainment

in our lives

In the wake of the opening up of the earth and skies (literally) to private operators,

India is all set to see a "war of the accesses". With very few large players, a

widespread geography and an extremely rowdy and unorganized cable operator set-

up, the options between DTH and Cable as access modes are both set to woo the ever

increasingly discerning Indian consumer. Finally, there’s life without the

intermediary. In millions of homes across the country, home entertainment is getting

redefined and revolutionized as DTH (direct to-home) companies move into top gear.

The DTH technology has been available in India since Dish TV started offering its

service back in October, 2003. But the scene warmed up early with the coming of

Tata Sky on August 8. Now with regulations on channel sharing gradually falling in

place, size of the bouquet (number of channels on offer) has grown huge making DTH

an attractive proposition for the consumer.

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Many players like AIRTEL digital TV, Dish TV (Essel Group) and Tata Sky (a joint

venture between Tata and Star) etc is making a bold pitch for the 110 million

television homes: 63 million cables and 47 million terrestrial. Other DTH aspirants

include the Anil Ambani group and Sun TV, both planning to enter the fray.

With 7 operational players, the segment rivalry is quite high. The competition

from state owned DD-Direct to private players is negligible from the content

point of view as the number of channels offered by DD-Direct is very limited.

However, DD-Direct does not charge any monthly subscription fee which poses

a threat to the private players. Between Dish TV and Tata Sky there is an intense

rivalry exhibited by price wars and discount schemes offered to new connections.

Being the first mover, Dish TV has price advantage in both the STB as well as

procuring the transponders. On the other hand, Tata Sky claims its STB having

superior DVD quality video. There is also a competition at acquiring the content

The private players are offering a lip-smacking fare. Apart from the much sharper

picture quality you got to see it to believe it there’s stereophonic sound, interactive

television, gaming, break-free cinema, multi-audio programming. You can also store a

programme and watch it later. Tata Sky has also engaged 3,000 engineers to cater to

customer problems.

However, the truth is that there are more choices before the consumer than ever

before. Healthy competition between the two technologies will ensure that cable

operators, including those in the final mile, improve their quality of service. The

customer finally has the option to think beyond the cable guy.

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The DTH system of broadcasting scores over its cable counterpart in the following

areas:

Higher subscriber accountability since the system eliminates the cable service

provider in the distribution chain. Thus there would be no under-reporting of

subscribers as is prevalent in the current cable system.

Premium quality service can be made available through the DTH system. The

quality of transmission in the case of DTH system is much better than that of

the conventional cable system.

DTH would be more accessible in remote areas where the cable's excessive

length may make the system expensive or technically un-acceptable.

DTH is good news for smaller channels because the digital technology allows

a provider to compress between eight and 10 channels on a single transponder.

So most big broadcasters are likely to be left with plenty of unutilized

transponder space.

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SUMMARY

Over the last seven years, the direct-to-home (DTH) satellite industry has come on

strongly worldwide. It has grown from a niche delivery mechanism into a mainstream

business. The spread of subscription-based DTH satellite TV promises to enhance

choices for many households in developing countries.

With the Government throwing open the DTH sector in the country, a handful of

players have come up with grandiose plans to enter the market. Given the stiff level of

competition this premium services will face from the existing multi-channel cable

network, possible entrants need to clearly grasp a few of the winning rules of the

game.

Direct to home (DTH) television service, more popularly known as direct broadcast

satellite service, is coming to India after a government ordained delay of three years.

The other advantage of DTH is the availability of satellite broadcast in rural and semi-

urban areas where cable is difficult to install.

Due to digital compression techniques, many more niche channels are available than

can be provided by cable operators.

The services are more reliable vis-à-vis repeated breakdowns that can occur in cable

transmissions as against satellite broadcast.

One of the great advantages of the cable industry has been the ability to provide local

channels, but this handicap has been overcome by many DTH providers using other

local channels or local feeds.

DTH also offers digital quality signals which do not degrade the picture or sound

quality. It also offers interactive channels and program guides with customers having

the choice to block out programming which they consider undesirable.

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BIBLIOGRAPHY

BOOKS:

Kothari C.R., Research Methodology Methods & Techniques, New Delhi,

WISHWA Publications, Second Edition (reprint) 2004

Mcnabb David E., Research Methods of Political Sciences, New Delhi,

Prentice Hall of India, 2005

Buddenbuan Judeth M. Applied Communication Research, New Delhi, Surjeet

Publications.

WEBSITES:

www.google.com

www.humanlinks.com

http://www.nrf.ac.za/yenza/research/resmeth.htm

http://www.fh-vorarlberg.ac.at/res/weitere/phd/methodology_programme.pdf

http://polish.krakow.usconsulate.gov/krakow-pl/online.html http://www.firstmonday.org/issues/issue6_10/deuze/

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INDIA TODAY

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FRONTLINE

THE OUTLOOK

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QUESTIONNIARE

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It included questions as follows:-

Respected Sir/Madam,I am conducting a research on DTH and Cable connection.Please give your opinions regarding the sameThank YouRegards

1. Your Full Name = …………………………………………..

2. How many T.V sets are there at your home?

2

3

4

More than 4

3. Which type of T.V sets you use?

Normal CPT television

LCD Television

LED Television

Others

4. Do you watch Television using DTH or Local cable connection?

DTH

LOCAL CABLE

5. If you have a DTH connection, which among you use? *

Dish TV

Tata Sky

Airtel

Others

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6. If you get a chance to buy another/new DTH connection which one will you

choose? *

Dish TV

Tata Sky

Airtel

Reliance Big

Other

7. Why you choose DTH over Local Cable?

Because of the Picture quality

You want more channels with clarity

Connection problem with Local cables/ Cost is Less

Other

8. Why you choose Local Cable over DTH? *

Because price is less in Cable

You need Local News content which is missing in DTH

Too many choices in DTH

Other

9. What is the price you currently pay to your cable operator (Monthly)?

If you are DTH user kindly jump to Next Question/

100-200

200-300

300-400

Other

10. What is the price you currently pay to your DTH operator (Monthly)*

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100-200

200-300

300-400

Other

11. Your Age*

Contact Number=

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