Dish TV to boost efficiency with lower capex
Dish TV India, the country’s first direct-tohome (DTH) service provider, has embarked on an ambitious journey to streamline its business operations, focusing on reducing capital expenditure, enhancing customer retention, and minimising customer acquisition costs, its top executive said.
The DTH operator, boasting over 11 million active subscribers, on Monday announced its new initiative, Dish TV Smart+, which will provide built-in over-the-top (OTT) services alongside linear TV subscriptions to all its customers at no additional cost.
Dish TV Smart+ enables both new and existing subscribers of Dish TV and sister brand d2h to stream OTT apps seamlessly across devices.
While OTT aggregator apps are not novel in the market, with competitors like Tata Play and Airtel Digital TV offering Tata Play Binge and Airtel Xstream, respectively, customers have to incur extra charges for OTT bundles on these platforms.
“We wanted to do something disruptive,”saidManojDobhal, CEO of Dish TV India. “Our aim is to provide a seamless enterdedicated tainment experience that integrates traditional linear television with the burgeoning world of OTT content.”
Dobhal elaborated on the financial rationale driving this innovation, emphasising the potential for enhanced customer retention and organic growth.
“Our industry has been witnessing customer attrition. However, we have observed that adding layers of service enhances retention rates significantly,” Dobhal stated. “Even a modest improvement in retention, say by 0.5% per month, could translate into a substantial gain of around 1 million customers annually.”
As of now, there are 20+ OTT apps available to select from, including regional as well as top apps like Sony LIV, Zee5 and
Disney+Hotstar.
Despite facing challenges at the promoter level due to invoked pledged shares, Dish TV remains resolute in its operational focus. Dobhal assured stakeholders that business operations continue unabated, with strategic steps taken to reduce capex, particularly on set-top boxes.
“Our business continues to be strong, and we are taking steps to cut capex on the settop-boxes, which is around ₹400 crore at present,”
The DTH service provider also seeks enhanced customer retention and lower acquisition costs
he said.
Looking ahead, Dish TV India envisions a future without traditional set-top-boxes, signalling a fundamental shift in its operational paradigm. “In the next year or so, you will see us moving away completely from set-top-boxes,” Dobhal revealed.