As we know, pay TV has two major segments — cable TV, where a cable operator takes a connection from a wholesale signal distributor firm or MSM and takes the signal to individual TV sets at homes through cable. Another pay TV is DTH or direct to home through a satellite dish. The total pay TV market was 160 million homes in 2020, which has now reduced to 100 million homes.

There is leakage at both the ends. Viewers are going to streaming platforms through broadband internet (OTT channels). These channels are offered by Jio and Airtel. At the other end, there is free DTH of Prasar Bharati through DD Freedish.

It means TV watching is done more through streaming platforms received through broadband connection or through freedish. The DTH or cable connection suffer in the process.

You should have a smart TV connected to broadband to watch both OTT channels and regular TV.

Subscriptions of DTH channels are falling down. To counter this, Tata Play in 2020 launched Binge offering Netflix and 20 other OTT channels in bundles. They provide a special set-top box for this . Airtel Xstream also provides 18 OTT channels.

Aggregation of OTT services is a natural transition to improve average revenue per user.

There are wired broadband homes in India. Many of them have smart TVs. A bulk of viewing happens on smart phones. These consumers do not bother about smart TVs and wired broadband.

TV screens ad rates are four to six times than those of the mobile screens. TV screen could be of ordinary linear TV or smart TV. Tata Play used Tata Broadband to operate in the last mile connectivity to reap the benefits, but the big players have realised that fibre laying costs are very high, and the payback period is long. That is the reason why cable operators are used for last mile pipe. Still in bigger cities operators do provide last mile connectivity, as the quality of fibre is good.

DTH industry has stabilised and would recover, but it may not have double digit growth.