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Paul Noronha

(From left) Mr Sanjay Behl, Group Head (Brand & Marketing), Reliance Communications; Mr Mahesh Prasad, President (Application Services Group); and Mr Arun Kapoor, CEO, Reliance BIG TV Ltd, at the launch of the company’s DTH service in Mumbai on Tuesday. —

Our Bureau

Mumbai, Aug. 19 Reliance Big TV, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Reliance Communications is targeting a 40 per cent share of the DTH market in the next 12 months.

Offering over 200 channels, Reliance Big TV would initially be made available at 1 lakh outlets and across 6,500 towns. The 6 million DTH market with four players today is expected to add another 10-11 million subscribers with Reliance Big TV DTH joining the fray.

At a press conference, Mr Arun Kapoor, Chief Executive Officer, Reliance Big TV, said, “Today DTH is less than 5 per cent of the total TV market, which we are waiting to capture. There is enough room for the players to grow profitably in the future.”

Reliance Big DTH would be tapping into the customer base of the ADA Group’s other companies to build its subscriber base in the business. This would comprise the 50-million customer base of Reliance Mobile, 5 million customers of Reliance Energy, the 4 million of Reliance ADA Group shareholders and the 2 million partners of the Reliance PCO channel.

“We would be building on the existing customer base of our group companies and giving them ‘value’ offerings with our DTH package,” stated Mr Sanjay Behl, Group Head (Brand and Marketing), Reliance Communications.

The new DTH brand is planning to tap into every type of media — ranging from the net, hoardings, radio, print, and television along with special experience zones to demo kiosks at TV outlets.

There would be new features, including subscription video on demand and a 32 cinema hall to play movies according to the customers’ convenience.

“We have decided to get the biggest TV stars to endorse our campaign and have already bought 15,000 spots on television for the next three weeks,” added Mr Behl. Drawing up other synergies, Reliance Big TV would also use the ICC Champions Trophy beginning in September to showcase its new DTH services as Reliance ADA Group is already one of the sponsors of these matches. Besides, once Reliance Big Broadcasting starts its own channels, it would offer the same on its DTH platform as well.

At the same time, Reliance ADA Group is also ready with its IPTV services. “We are ready with IPTV and it will come soon,” stated Mr Kapoor, CEO, Reliance Big TV.

Offering competitive pricing, Reliance Big TV would be made available at Rs 1,490, which would include a three-month complimentary subscription.

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