Dish TV, India's third-largest direct-to-home provider, has been grappling with challenges like high subscriber churn rates and significant changes in its board. However, it's now shifting its focus towards profitability and expanding its subscriber base.
With a current subscriber count of 15 million, DishTV is employing strategies to attract more users, including the introduction of new products and enticing offers. One notable initiative is the introduction of bundled TV and over-the-top (OTT) platform packages, allowing consumers to select from 21 streaming platforms of their preference in addition to their choice of TV channels.
"We are giving one subscription for both TV and OTT. The consumer doesn't need to pay anything additional. Consumers will have the flexibility also to change the streaming platforms. One week it can be ZEE5 while the user can switch to Disney Hotstar the next week," said Dish TV CEO, Manoj Dobhal who launched Dish TV Smart+ for higher subscriber retention.
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Customers don't want to buy multiple subscriptions and they want everything on a single platform, he added. "Subscription retention would be high and we have seen thousands of customers already taking this up."
Dish TV has plans to roll out 4-5 such initiatives every quarter to increase the propensity to get more customers on board. "At least 50 percent of my customers will transition from traditional DTH towards smart technology. We aim to minimize customer churn on the DTH platform. Our target audience includes customers using free dish TV services and those on other DTH platforms lacking our Smart+ product, presenting an opportunity for customer acquisition," Dobhal said.
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The DTH player has seen its market share decline 18 percent since FY19, according to brokerage firm CLSA. It has also pointed out that the top two players, Tata Play at 32.4 percent market share and Airtel DTH at 27 percent share, have increased their combined market share by 12 percent since FY19.
In FY25, Dish TV's focus is the judicial use of capex, cutting down the need for credit requirements for hardware and growing the bottom line by introducing new consumer products. Currently, the capex on the set-top boxes is around Rs 400 crore.
"We had a debt that was cleared in the previous fiscal year (the final installment of outstanding loans worth Rs 72.5 crore was settled in Q1 FY24), which previously constrained our investment capacity in technological advancements. Now, we've begun investing in tech upgrades. Previously, a significant portion of our capital expenditure was directed towards hardware. However, we're now focusing on developing technological innovations and collaborating with international firms to minimize hardware-related capex. This strategic shift will bolster our bottom line, leading to improved profitability," stated the CEO.
As the company looks to gain incremental subscriber market share, it is counting on its regional DTH brand called Zing which was revamped with extended set-up box lifespans to four from 2 years.
Dish TV is adding 50,000-60,000 customers every month and have got on board 1.2 million subscribers for the offering, said Dhobhal in an interview to Mint. He also said that the customers opting for Zing are Free Dish users.
The company is making all efforts to gain the lost ground due to competition as well as the tussle between its promoters led by Jawahar Goel and other investors, including Yes Bank, which has now transferred its around 24 percent shareholding to JC Flowers. Jawahar Goel, the younger brother of Essel group chairman Subhash Chandra, has a 4.04 percent stake in Dish TV. Former Chairman Goel and CEO Anil Dua along with 16 directors have been ousted since September 2021.
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