DTH

GTPL Hathway is gearing up to make a major HIT

GTPL bets big on HITS tech to reach TV-dark homes beyond DTH and OTT’s current coverage.

Published

12 months ago

June 29, 2025

MUMBAI: In India’s noisy and fragmented cable TV business, where margins are wafer-thin and infrastructure is patchy, a quiet revolution is taking place above our heads. Quite literally. India’s largest cable and broadband heavyweight ) GTPL Hathway is choosing to break free from the grid by betting Rs 100 crore on a satellite-led future—launching a full-scale headend-in-the-sky (HITS) operation designed to reach the parts of India that cable lines and fibre have long ignored.

This isn’t just an upgrade—it’s a strategic reinvention. One that could upend the rules of TV distribution across Bharat.

From a sleek new uplink facility in Ahmedabad, GTPL is readying to transmit up to 900 encrypted, multiplexed channels using 12 leased C-band transponders from Indonesian satellite operator Telkomsat. The satellite signal is then beamed directly to local cable operators (LCOs), who deliver the final mile using existing coaxial or fibre lines.

It’s a model that minimises capital investment on the ground while maximising reach—especially in India’s 130–135 million “TV-dark” homes, a figure larger than the total households of Japan and the UK combined.

GTPL’s move brings it squarely into competition with the Hinduja-owned Nxt Digital, India’s sole HITS player until now, with a subscriber base of 2.4 million. Nxt has played a steady game—providing shared uplink infrastructure, cost-effective Cope (cable operator premises equipment) units priced between Rs 10.6–14 lakh, and STBs from Chinese OEMs like Changhong and Telesystems.

Its model helped reduce per-subscriber costs dramatically—from Rs 17 to just Rs 7 in some cases—offering a lifeline to smaller MSOs (multi-system operators) struggling to comply with the regulatory shift to digital. But Nxt’s footprint, while impactful, has remained modest.

GTPL is playing a different hand: scale. With 9.6 million cable TV subscribers already on its rolls and strongholds in Gujarat, Maharashtra, West Bengal and Bihar, the company intends to transition its entire base to HITS delivery over the next 24–36 months.

The vision? To be India’s largest HITS network—leapfrogging not only NXT, but also traditional satellite and cable architectures in one swoop.

This pivot is part of GTPL’s broader Rs 350 crore capex outlay for FY25, which also includes new broadband infrastructure and set-top boxes. The numbers make a compelling case: annual bandwidth costs, currently pegged at Rs 85–90 crore, are expected to drop by half.

Projected revenues from the satellite platform are equally promising. At 750,000 subscribers, GTPL expects to generate Rs 99 crore annually. That rises to Rs 132 crore with 1 million users. Add Rs 12 crore more from leasing infra services to 50 smaller MSOs (each paying Rs 2 lakh per month), and the business case becomes hard to ignore. Even under conservative adoption rates, the Rs 100 crore investment could be recouped within 12 months.

GTPL’s HITS play isn’t just about broadcast—it’s also about backend tech. The company is deploying a hybrid business model: retailing bundled TV channel packs to consumers via LCOs while offering platform-as-a-service tools to smaller MSOs. These include uplinking, encryption, conditional access system (CAS) and subscriber management system (SMS) solutions—effectively turning GTPL into a SaaS player for the cable industry.

In a sector plagued by fragmentation, opaque billing, and outdated infrastructure, this modular model could be just the reset smaller operators need to stay compliant, competitive, and cost-efficient.

India’s content delivery puzzle has long had three flawed pieces. OTT remains hobbled by poor last-mile broadband in rural areas, with even state-run BharatNet struggling to scale. DTH, while more pervasive, has long suffered from weather interference, installation costs, and churn. Cable TV, once the lifeline of urban India, is now chafing under regulatory pressure and infrastructure bottlenecks.

Enter HITS—a model that combines the robustness of satellite delivery with the flexibility of LCO-based distribution. It’s weather-resistant, quick to deploy, and doesn’t require laying new wires in hard-to-reach zones.

As a middle path, HITS may well become the delivery standard for Bharat—the vast, value-driven, and still under-connected expanse of Indian television.

Surprisingly, GTPL’s skyward expansion has not been met with resistance. The All India Digital Cable Federation (AIDCF) has raised concerns around broader issues like OTT content regulation and fair play by broadcasters—but not specifically about the HITS model. Major networks such as Zee, Sony, and Disney Star have voiced concerns over the pricing dynamics introduced under TRAI’s NTO 3.0 framework, but formal objections to GTPL’s satellite platform are absent.

The company, for its part, holds a valid grant of permission agreement (GOPA) from the ministry of information & broadcasting (MIB) and has participated in various TRAI and MIB consultations, signalling alignment with the regulatory ecosystem.

GTPL’s pricing strategy will be region-specific, with affordability and adaptability built in. Final LCO-facing Cope and channel package rates will be finalised once broadcasters declare new pay channel prices. While margins may initially be tight, the long-term play is rooted in volume, retention, and backend monetisation.

This isn’t a short-term stunt—it’s a structural realignment of India’s content delivery infrastructure.

GTPL’s satellite push is more than just a tech upgrade—it’s a masterstroke of timing, vision, and market understanding. With one eye on underserved consumers and the other on the backend tech stack, the company is positioning itself as both a broadcaster and a platform.

As India’s media future heads skyward, GTPL’s HITS move may well become the blueprint for digital inclusion across Bharat.

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Related Topics:cable TV business Changhong Digital TV GTPL Hathway Telesystems

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DTH

Dish TV Q3 revenues fall 20 per cent, Ebitda turns negative

Published

4 months ago

February 7, 2026

indiantelevision.com Team

NOIDA: When the remote stops working, you don’t throw it away, you change the batteries. Dish TV is trying something similar. Faced with falling subscription revenues and a fast-shrinking DTH universe, India’s once-dominant satellite broadcaster is flipping channels, betting on smart TVs, OTT aggregation and a hybrid future even as the numbers flash red.

For the quarter ended 31 December, 2025, Dish TV India reported operating revenues of Rs 2,991 million, down 19.8 per cent year-on-year from Rs 3,730 million. Subscription revenues, still the backbone of the business, fell sharply by 32.2 per cent to Rs 2,245 million, reflecting industry-wide cord-cutting and persistent churn. The pain shows up clearly below the line.

Ebitda swung to a loss of Rs 415 million, compared with a profit of Rs 1,227 million a year earlier. Total expenditure climbed 36.1 per cent to Rs 3,406 million, pushing costs to nearly 114 per cent of operating revenues. The quarter closed with a loss before tax of Rs 2,762 million, weighed down further by exceptional items of Rs 700 million. Yet the company insists this is not a business stuck buffering, but one deliberately loading a new format.

Dish TV is repositioning itself from a pure DTH operator into what it calls a connected-home entertainment platform, stitching together live television, OTT apps and smart devices. The centrepiece of that strategy is the nationwide rollout of VZY smart TVs, offering a unified DTH-plus-OTT experience.

Amazon Prime Video has now been integrated across Dish TV’s ecosystem, including Watcho and VZY. Watcho, the company’s in-house OTT super app, has crossed millions of downloads and paid subscribers, aggregating more than 25 content apps.

Fliqs, its creator-driven content platform, is being pitched as a home for premium regional and international programming. Brand visibility has also been boosted through splashy partnerships with Bigg Boss Hindi and Bigg Boss Kannada: high-decibel bets in a crowded attention economy.

“Indian home entertainment is undergoing a structural shift,” said CEO and executive director Manoj Dobhal arguing that Dish TV’s hybrid model improves convenience while keeping customers within a single ecosystem. The revenue mix shows early signs of diversification, even if it is not yet compensating for falling subscriptions.

Marketing and promotional fees rose 27.3 per cent to Rs 399 million, while advertisement income, still small, nearly doubled to Rs 48 million. Other operating income surged 267.6 per cent to Rs 298 million, softening the overall revenue decline.

On costs, the company is tightening the screws. It has renegotiated transponder contracts, rationalised call-centre and general expenses, and improved asset discipline by boosting set-top box recovery beyond 30 days, reducing swap frequency and replacement capex.

New customer activations are being driven through a no-subsidy Rs 999 set-top box, a move management says materially improves unit economics and cash flow. Still, risks remain stubbornly in view. Churn continues to shadow the business, and scaling Watcho while balancing content spend will demand execution discipline.

Cost cuts, the company admits, must not erode service quality: a delicate act in a market where customer loyalty is already thin. For now, Dish TV’s numbers tell a story of strain.

DTH

Tata Play deepens Odia push with ad-free ‘Odia Manoranjan’ platform

Published

5 months ago

January 29, 2026

indiantelevision.com Team

MUMBAI: Tata Play is doubling down on regional loyalty. India’s leading DTH player has launched Tata Play Odia Manoranjan, a new value-added service that corrals Odia entertainment into a single, ad-free destination, available on television and the Tata Play mobile app.

Powered by Sidharth TV, one of Odisha’s most popular Odia-language GECs, the platform serves up a hefty catalogue: over 180 movies, 100+ Jatras, around 20 television shows and a library of more than 12,000 songs spanning devotional, folk, film and non-film genres. From vintage favourites to contemporary titles, the mix is pitched squarely at Odia-speaking households, with particular pull in tier-3 and tier-4 markets.

Subscribers get 24×7, full-screen SD viewing without ad breaks on channel number 1755, with live TV and VOD access across screens. The price point is deliberately sharp: Rs 2 a day.

Pallavi Puri, chief commercial and content officer at Tata Play, framed the move as a bet on language and culture. “India’s strongest viewing loyalties are rooted in language and lived culture. Tata Play Odia Manoranjan brings together the many expressions of Odia entertainment—from films and Jatras to devotional programming and music—into one clearly defined destination. With this launch, Tata Play further elevates its regional content offering by giving Odia audiences a single, definitive home for their stories and traditions.”

For Sidharth TV Network, the partnership is about reach without compromise. Sitaram Agrawalla, owner and chairman, said: “For decades, Odia families have trusted our entertainment platforms for stories that feel like home, and for moments that bring us together. Tata Play Odia Manoranjan builds on this trust by placing a diverse range of Odia films, theatre, devotional music and shows into a single, accessible space. This collaboration isn’t just about wider distribution—it’s about honouring the preferences of Odia viewers with a seamless, ad-free viewing experience that reflects their language, culture and the way they choose to engage with content.”

The new service slots into Tata Play’s expanding portfolio of entertainment and infotainment platform services across genres including entertainment, kids, learning, regional and devotion, catering to all age groups.

In short: one language, one screen, zero ads—and a clear signal that regional is where the real viewing power lies.

DTH

Binge strikes play as Tata Play adds Times Play to its OTT universe

Tata Play Binge expands its streaming galaxy plus adds Times Play’s movies, series and live TV.

Published

7 months ago

December 2, 2025

indiantelevision.com Team

MUMBAI: If streaming had galaxies, Tata Play Binge just opened a wormhole. In its latest move to become India’s most sprawling entertainment universe, the platform has now folded Times Play, Times Network’s digital-first OTT service, into its all-in-one subscription bouquet bringing Hollywood hits, snackable shorts, live news, lifestyle, entertainment, Pickleball and 11 live TV channels under a single roof.

The new addition means subscribers no longer need to hop between apps in Olympic-level finger gymnastics, Binge now pulls Times Network’s entire digital catalogue into one screen, one login, one bill. And in the era of attention overload, that’s practically a public service.

Times Play brings with it a distinctive blend of premium Hollywood cinema, web series, short-format videos, and Times Network’s formidable news muscle. Viewers can flip seamlessly between Romedy Now, Movies Now, MNX, MN+, Zoom, Times Now, Times Now Navbharat, ET Now, ET Now Swadesh, and even Pickleball Now, mirroring the growing Indian appetite for niche sporting entertainment.

On the long-form front, hits like Reunion, India’s Story, True Story of Angeline Jolie, Orphan First Kill, The November Man, Barely Lethal, Southpaw, The Hurt Locker, Transporter Refueled, and The Holiday sit alongside Times Network factual and current-affairs staples including Frankly Speaking, Sawaal Public Ka, and News Ki Paathshaala.

Describing the partnership, Tata Play chief commercial and content officer Pallavi Puri, said the aim remained unchanged to make content discovery effortless and reduce the modern curse of app overload. She noted that integrating Times Play enriches Binge’s already deep catalogue with a broader mix of premium films, originals and news programming “without juggling multiple apps or subscriptions”.

Times Network echoed the sentiment, calling the collaboration a natural extension of its mission to deliver credible entertainment and journalism at scale. It emphasised Tata Play’s reach, reliability and reputation as a key driver in bringing Times Play’s digital catalogue to diverse Indian households.

With the addition of Times Play, Tata Play Binge now boasts 30 plus OTT platforms on a single interface, a list that includes Prime Video, JioHotstar, Zee5, Apple TV+, Lionsgate, SunNXT, Discovery+, BBC Player, Aha, Fancode, ShemarooMe, Hungama, ManoramaMax, Nammaflix, Tarang Plus, Travel XP, Animax, Fuse+, ShortsTV, Curiosity Stream, and DistroTV, among others.

Notably, Netflix remains available as part of combo packs for DTH subscribers, while Amazon Prime Video can be unlocked as an add-on for Binge users with a Tata Play DTH connection. And for large-screen loyalists, all 30 plus apps can be streamed via LG, Samsung and Android Smart TVs, the Tata Play Binge+ set-top box, Amazon FireTV Stick – Tata Play edition, or through TataPlayBinge.com.

The expansion comes on the heels of recent integrations, including WAVES by Prasar Bharati and BBC Player, reinforcing Tata Play Binge’s ambition to remain India’s most diverse, most unified, and most fuss-free entertainment destination.

With Times Play now in the mix, Binge isn’t just aggregating content, it’s quietly aggregating the future of how India watches.