Chennai: Sun Network owned DTH service platform Sun Direct has unveiled three new HD subscription plans that make it the cheapest HD TV services provider in India.
Sun Direct has priced at Rs 51, 101 and 150, including taxes. The cheapest pack provides 23 HD channels with the exact composition depending on the language chosen by the subscriber.
The 101 rupee pack offers 45 HD channels and the Rs 150 pack includes all 55 HD channels currently available on the service.
Sun Direct used to have only a dozen HD channels beamed from a single INSAT 4B transponder till early this year. But after getting three additional transponders on India’s new GSAT-15 satellite the DTH platform is able to add additional channels in its HD offering and it is now more or less at par with Airtel Digital TV and second only to Tata Sky in its collection of non-Hindi HD channels.
For Rs 150 including tax, a subscriber can get 55 HD channels including practically all the HD English movie channels, English entertainment channels and infotainment channels available in India. The pack also includes seven HD sports channels that doesnot include Star Sports HD3 and HD4.
With the new packs, Sun Direct has replaced Dish TV as the cheapest option for those looking for non-Hindi HD broadcast content in India. Prior to this, Dish TV’s 56 HD channels for Rs 220 was the most affordable.
Besides the price, the key difference between DishTV’s bouquet and that of Sun Direct is language composition.
Dish TV’s Rs 220 pack includes a large number of North Indian HD channels, while Sun TV’s offer includes comparatively more English and South Indian HD channels. Dish TV has also leased two transponders on GSAT 15.
As for the other operators, charges for HD packs are far higher than either of these operators.
To get all the HD channels offered by Sun Direct in its Rs 150 pack, a subscriber on other DTH platforms will have to pay between Rs 550-900 per month due to the way the packs are structured. Wheras, on Sun Direct, they will have to spendRs 250 for the basic pack and Rs 150 for the ‘Ultra HD’ pack.
When compared with Airtel Digital, the later offers only 24 HD channels in its top-of-the-line ‘Jackpot’ package that costs Rs 1,890 for three months, going by the data available on its website.Its biggest HD addon, ‘Max HD’ with 35 channels, is priced at Rs 225.
