Mumbai: Bharti Airtel has launched list of channel packages offered by the DTH platform effective from 1st February 2019. With rollout of 270 different packs, Airtel Digital TV has emerged as the DTH provider most gracious to the Broadcasters.
The DTH operators would carry 533 channels in total, excluding its own services, on its platform.Out of these Channels, 78 would be in HD, including all eleven HD Movie channels in English.
Airtel Digital has listed 64 from Star;While Dish TV supports 58 packages. It offers 52 TV 18 packs against Dish TV’s 50. On the other hand, Dish TV offers 27 packs from Sony against 25 packs being offered by Airtel DTH.
Airtel’s channel composition makes it a strong contender for the urban market, though it is slightly behind Sun Direct when it comes to its HD offerings in South Indian languages. However, reflecting its strong subscriber base in the South, Airtel Digital also supports 26 packs from Sun Direct against 13 by Dish TV and 20 from D2h.
With each MSO, DTH Operators and Broadcasters announcing their packs and a-la-cart rates, the consumer is on a head spin unable to deicide on which pack to choose and which not to.
On the other hand the a-la-cart rates announced by the Broadcasters are turning out to be an eyewash, as the consumer expects these channels to be priced in the range of Rs 1-5 per month. But broadcasters have priced most of the popular channels at Rs 19 that translate to Rs 22.42 with GST. They priced individual channels at a high rate, hoping that customers will therefore not buy their channels on a-la-cart basis and go for their packs instead.
Meanwhile, due to pressure from DTH and cable operators, several channel owners have come out with cheaper and smaller packs compared to their initial offering, including Sony. However, with TRAI withdrawing the SLP on 15% bouquet discount cap from Supreme Court, the hope of drop in a-la-cart rates of the channels looks very slim.
Most of the Broadcasters have started high decibel campaigns to promote awareness to consumers and attract them towards choosing their packs.
