Mumbai: Private direct-to-home (DTH) television providers in India are expected to witness a moderated revenue decline of 3–4% in the current fiscal, compared with approximately 5% in the previous year, as operators expand into Internet Protocol television (IPTV) and promote bundled offerings. Rising marketing income and the scaling back of customer acquisition incentives, such as subsidized set-top boxes (STBs), by select players are also expected to support revenue and profitability.
An analysis of all private DTH companies in the country, covering around 53 million subscribers as of September 30, 2025, reflects these trends. Subscriber churn continues as more affluent users migrate to over-the-top (OTT) media services, while budget-conscious viewers shift to DD Free Dish. The subscriber base of private DTH providers has declined from 7.2 crore in fiscal 2019 to 6.19 crore by fiscal 2024, slipped a further 9% in fiscal 2025, and is projected to drop below 5.1 crore by the end of the current fiscal.
Says Ankit Hakhu, Director, Crisil Ratings, “Although cord cutting has put pressure on DTH companies, leading to secular revenue degrowth over the past six years, operators are making inroads in new areas such as IPTV to drive bundled services (OTT, broadband, live TV). IPTV services have gained significant traction, with their customer base almost quadrupling to 21.3 lakh as of September 2025 from ~5.7 lakh in fiscal 2024. This has provided significant upselling opportunities to operators. By enabling delivery of both OTT and live TV through broadband without a dish, operators are likely to limit the subscriber churn.”
There are pockets of resilience amid challenges to linear TV. In south India, the pace of cord cutting has been limited, with the leading DTH operator managing to increase market share by keeping subscriber numbers largely intact despite industry-wide declines.
Says Gauri Gupta, Team Leader, Crisil Ratings, “Though the revenue of private DTH players will be impacted by the reduction in subscriber base, this will be partially offset by income from marketing on the player’s own OTT aggregator platforms offered via hybrid boxes. Furthermore, reduction in customer acquisition incentives by select players, through elimination of discounts on STBs for new subscribers, will add to the support.”
Margins, which fell from 48% in fiscal 2023 to 45% in fiscal 2025, are expected to remain stable at 44–45% this fiscal due to milder revenue degrowth. Greater consumer stickiness in certain regions, aided by stronger regional content and limited offerings from DD Free Dish, continues to benefit DTH players. Additionally, monthly OTT subscription charges bundled with broadband remain more than twice as expensive as DTH packs, limiting their adoption among value-conscious users.
That said, tariff hikes by DTH operators and growing competition from digital alternatives could pose risks to overall TV viewership and will require careful monitoring.
