Private DTH players lost 1.6 million active pay subscribers in Q1 2022: TRAI report
The total active subscriber base of the pay DTH sector fell to 66.92 million in the JFM quarter compared to 68.52 million in the OND quarter
The pay direct-to-home (DTH) industry continues to see a decline in the active subscriber base. As per the latest Performance Indicator Report (PIR) from the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), the private DTH players have lost 1.6 million paid active subscribers in Q1 CY2022 compared to Q4 CY2021.
The total active subscriber base of the pay DTH sector fell to 66.92 million in the JFM quarter compared to 68.52 million in the OND quarter. In Q1 2021, the four private DTH operators had 69.57 million active subscribers.
In terms of market share, Tata Play's share declined to 33.23% for the quarter under review compared to 33.48% in the trailing quarter. Bharti Telemedia's (Airtel DTH) market share dropped to 26.24% from 26.37%. Dish TV managed to arrest the decline of its subscriber base with its market share increasing marginally to 22.10% from 22.04%. Sun Direct saw an increase in its market share to 18.43% from 18.11%.
Cable TV Sector
As on 31st March 2022, there are 1764 MSOs registered with MIB. As per the data reported by MSOs and HITS operators, there are 12 MSOs and 1 HITS operator who have a subscriber base greater than one million.
The cumulative active pay subscriber base of the Top 13 cable and HITS platforms rose to 4.59 crore from 4.58 crore in the trailing quarter. Barring GTPL Hathway, Kerala Communicators Cable Ltd (KCCL), and NXT Digital (HITS & Cable), the subscriber base of other platforms saw a decline.
GTPL Hathway added 3.25 lakh customers followed by NXT Digital (HITS) which acquired 2.1 lakh subscribers. NXT Digital (Cable) added 1.4 lakh subscribers while Kerala Communicators Cable Ltd (KCCL) saw a more modest growth at 0.32 lakh subscribers.
IPTV
As per information provided by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB), there are 20 IPTV Operators as on 31.03.2022. At present, Andhra Pradesh State Fibernet Ltd has reported a subscriber base of 7,50,306 at the end of March 2022.
Satellite TV Channels
The total number of private satellite TV channels permitted by the MIB for uplinking only/ downlinking only / both uplinking & downlinking has dipped to 885 in Q1 2022 from 893 in Q4 2021. The total number of pay channels has dropped to 540 from 543 while the free-to-air (FTA) channel count has fallen to 345 from 350.
There has been a drop in the number of pay SD channels. In Q1 2022, the total number of pay SD channels stood at 248 compared to 253 in the trailing quarter. The pay HD channel figure remained unchanged at 97.
FM Radio Services
Apart from the radio channels operated by pubcaster All India Radio (AIR), as per the data reported by FM Radio operators to TRAI. As on 31st March 2022, there are 386 operational private FM Radio channels in 113 cities operated by 36 private FM Radio operators. The ad revenue reported by 386 private FM Radio channels is Rs 362.63 crore in Q1 2022 as against Rs 421.74 crore in Q4 2021.
