Indian pay TV market takes a dip

The Indian pay TV market lost almost a million subscribers in the third quarter of 2021.

According to new statistics published by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), the DTH sector ended Q3 with a total active subscriber base of around 68.89 million. This was down from 69.86 million at the end of Q2 2021, and down from 70.70 million year-over-year.

The Indian DTH market peaked in Q1 2019, when it had a total of 72.44 million subscribers.

The market is dominated by four pay DTH services operating in the country. Tata Sky is by far the largest, with 33.34% of the market. It is followed by Bharti Telemedia with 26.11% of the market, Dish TV India with 22.65% and Sun Direct TV with 17.91%.

The report goes on to note that India has achieved 100% digitization of Cable TV network, making it “the only large country where 100% digital cable has been achieved through mandatory regulations.”

As on 30th September 2021, there are 1,745 (includes 2 provisional registered) MSOs registered with MIB. Further, as per the data reported by MSOs and HITS operators, there are 12 MSOs & 1 HITS operator who have a subscriber base of greater than one million.