The Hindu Business Line : Tata Sky poised to hit 1.5 m connections by year-end

Direct-to-Home (DTH) services provider Tata Sky of the Tata Group, is poised to cross the 1.5-million subscriber base mark before the end of this year, thereby, reaching a significant milestone, and adding the last half-a-million in five months of operations.

The company is poised to kick off yet another marketing campaign next week that offers six months free connection along with the purchase of access box and antenna. The offer is valid for 40 days.

The Chief Marketing Officer of Tata Sky, Mr Vikram Mehra, told Business Line “the DTH subscriber base is fast expanding. A year ago, when we said that we would hit the million mark within 12 months, people would not take it seriously. But the numbers are showing.”

“The growth momentum is such that we expect rapid growth of DTH connections just like the growth of mobile phones. While referrals have played a big role in number additions, with about 1,35,000 new connections coming through this promotional scheme. Both the customer who referred and the one who purchased a new connection, benefited,” he said.

The usage pattern shows that Active Astrology, Active Learning and Active Cookery have become popular attracting more customers to opt for DTH.

Estimates vary, but some reports suggest that there are about 6 million DTH connections in India, and the stage is set for next phase of growth.

Asked about the possibility of competition from IPTV services providers, Mr Mehra said “whenever these services get offered, we will take them head on. All the DTH platforms are powered by News Corp, which is accustomed to compete with IPTV services.”

Refraining to comment on the possibility of prices going down further as more people switch to DTH services, Mr Mehra said, “Already, the cost is quite low. For about Rs 200 a customer gets most of the popular channels, and this compares well with the local cable operator”.