Direct-To-Home (DTH) operator Tata Sky, having a presence in 36,000 towns and cities with over 14 million connections, is all set to penetrate further into the Indian rural and semi-urban market with what it calls the “smallest denomination” of daily recharge voucher of Rs 8 in the television viewing sector globally.

Launching the scheme, Malay Dikshit, Chief Communications officer, Tata Sky, said here on Friday that the scratch coupon—also available in higher denominations of Rs 10, 20, 50 and 100—will be effective for a maximum of 24 hours, midnight-to-midnight, and will be available even at general stores and small kiosks, including grocery (kirana) stores, across the country.

Currently, the total DTH subscription base of all six operators in India is 6.2 crore, with Tata Sky’s share being 1.4 crore. The cable TV network is still the largest with 14 crore subscribers, which mostly operates in urban and semi-urban areas with low-income groups. Tata Sky is trying to penetrate this bulk base as also rural areas with improper electricity supply where the DTH subscriber is forced to pay monthly subscription without availing the service. The Rs 8 recharge scheme will enable them to avail of bite-size usage, with convenience and value for money.

Dikshit said the Rs 8 daily recharge would also benefit those subscribers who do not watch TV regularly for some reason or the other but are still forced to pay regular subscription to keep the service. Any unused value on their scratch card will be carried forward. The smallest regular recharge package is worth Rs 140 for 180 channels.

The daily recharge is expected to enable Tata Sky to make inroads into untapped markets of smaller towns and villages where demand for bite-size consumption exists. “Moreover, with digitization phase III still a year away, this plan should help accelerate acceptance of DTH sector in India.”

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