Dish TV

Dear Shareholders,
 
 It has been a landmark year which has seen your company making
 excellent progress, marked by impressive financial achievements. In the
 current context of the economic slowdown, the Direct to Home (DTH)
 industry in India is in the throes of multifarious challenges and
 opportunities. Direct to Home technology is emerging as the leading
 digital TV transmission platform. Enhanced picture quality and advanced
 video services have become catalysts for driving demand for DTH TV
 services throughout India.
 
 At present, there are 135 million TV households in India, out of which
 only a little over 12 million have DTH. Since the penetration of DTH is
 just 9%, there is a huge untapped potential. The DTH category
 experienced 300% growth in FY’09, with over 7 million new subscribers
 committing themselves to DTH revolution. The outlook for the industry
 remains positive and the year ahead promises to be an exciting one for
 dishtv.
 
 In FY’09 dishtv achieved the landmark of 5 million subscribers, which
 is not just a significant one for your company but also symbolizes the
 successful growth of the Indian Pay TV market. dishtv added 2.06
 million new subscribers in FY’09 as compared to 1.04 million
 subscribers added during the previous year, hence registering an
 increase of 98%.  Your company consolidated its leadership position
 with a very strong 42% market share despite launch of two new major
 players and with one existing regional player spreading its presence
 pan India.
 
 With dishtv continuing to sustain its strong growth momentum, India is
 now set to become Asias leading DTH market.  Unprecedented subscriber
 acquisition at dishtv is a testimony of our distribution network as
 well as our focus on providing affordable services to all.
 
 It is my pleasure to report your company’s robust performance, for the
 year ending 31st March, 2009, in the face of extreme competitive
 environment. The total revenues for FY’09 stood at Rs.7390 million, an
 increase of 79% over the previous year. The increase in revenue coupled
 with a stringent control on costs, lead your company to break even at
 the operating profit level by the fourth quarter of the year.
 
 This zeal to excel and outdo competition was successfully demonstrated
 by launch of aggressive and innovative marketing initiatives, the
 volumes increased tremendously from interplay of Set To p Box Free,
 Recharge Free, Happy Home etc.
 
 In the true spirit of a pioneer and market leader, your company drives
 the growth through several path breaking consumer friendly yet
 profitable initiatives. A-la-carte Packs is one such initiative that
 empowers the customer with choice and provides the ability to customize
 their content consumption, while adding up to the ARPU for the company.
 These packs have been designed genre-wise for subscriber convenience
 and offer maximum entertainment options, at every price point.
 
 Your company’s focus on ensuring customer delight through continuous
 innovation has led to evolution of value-added services, a potent tool
 for consumer engagement. Your company launched a Premiere Channel on
 its Movie on Demand Service to broadcast Hollywood and Bollywood movies
 within weeks of their theatrical release. The innovative Interactive
 Banking Service enables dishtv viewers to access information on Bank’s
 products and services, from the convenience of their home. Combining
 education and fun through Quizzy and other interesting games, Value
 Added Services at dishtv have truly come of age.
 
 Working further on the consumer convenience and delight factor your
 company added many new payment modes like drop box, easy bill, ITZ Cash
 Cards, online payment, recharge free now website, banking portals,
 credit card, etc.
 
 With brand strength and a strong pan-India distribution network, we are
 confident of continuing to lead the DTH growth story. Further keeping
 consumer support on top priority, the management has introduced rigid
 performance-metrics to manage service delivery through a highly task
 and consumer oriented field service team. The field service team is in
 turn supported at the backend by 1600 call center agents speaking 11
 different languages from 7 different locations.
 
 Your company is associated with the business that has positive impact
 on many lives, especially on those subscribers who are in cable dry
 areas. For this population, DTH is the best last mile connectivity
 solution. We not only provide them entertainment but also information
 and news to help them stay connected with the outside world, thus,
 playing a vital role in an all inclusive growth of the society.
 
 Going forward, times will no doubt be more demanding. But with our
 growth-oriented strategies complemented with execution excellence, we
 at dishtv have prepared well to lead the digitization of TV
 entertainment in India. On this positive note, I would like to thank
 all stakeholders for their continuing support and encouragement. I
 assure you that our commitment remains towards building a strong,
 sustainable and value-creating company.
 
 Subhash Chandra 
 Chairman