The T.R.A.I initiatives have energized mangers of country’s first DTH service, No sooner broadcast regulator issued Dish TV invited Star India and Sony Entertainment TV India to join the platform within 30 days. 6 months have passed by but still no sign of Either Sony or Star. Dish TV approached Star and Sony for providing their content/channels to its DTH platform. But they were to respond positively within a period of 30 days,
Star TV
Star India CEO Peter Mukerjea, said that Dish TV’s request is an old one and Star would study Trai recommendations further before taking a stand on the issue.
SET India
Chief executive officer Kunal Dasgupta said ’’If it is non-discriminatory, there is no problem.’’
But I still have no Idea as what is still stopping them by opening their channels for DTH Users.
Competition: - Dish V/S Cable T.V
’’The DTH services have to compete with Cable TV. If a popular content is available on cable TV and not on the DTH platform, then it would not be able to effectively give competition to the cable networks. Moreover if a popular content is available on the cable network and is not available on the DTH platform, it would never be able to give an effective alternative to the cable services. Competition between cable and DTH will be enhanced if all the content is available on both platforms.’’
DISH TV:-
Essel Group promoted Dish TV is India’s first DTH service provider offering close to 100 television channels spread across different genres of programming. But still for subscribers for Dish TV is the non-availability of Star and Sony bouquet of channels. This DTH service ( http://www.dishtvindia.com) from the Zee group offers access to several pay channels. There is, however, a big problem on content. Several popular channels are not available on this platform. Channels from the Star and Sony group and the popular ones, such as Discovery, Animal Planet, AXN, Ten Sport and MTV are missing on this service.
Why DTH?
This facility will increase the number of channels you receive. More important, you will enjoy picture and audio quality of a kind that your present cable connection or antenna cannot provide. You can also play video games and watch movies telecast exclusively by the DTH- service provider. Over time, the DTH console could also provide you round-the-clock link to the Internet, customized content and pay-per-view options, to name a few of the range of services possible.
Sun Direct, Space TV, or Dish TV:-
By next year, Sun Direct (a Sun Network offering) and Space TV (a joint venture between the Tatas and the Star group) will also offer DTH services, adding to the choice. In the UK, the Rupert Murdoch group, which owns Star, distributed the dish at a nominal price and built a mass base. Space TV could adopt a similar strategy in India to seed and expand the market.
Spoiling the DTH party?
Why has the government been sitting so long on the Tata-Star TV direct-to-home venture application and on Sun TV’s application to launch a DTH venture?
A Star source puts the total DTH market size in India at Rs 200 core in the first year for everyone put together. This is the revenue that is expected to be generated from approximately four million households. In seven years, the DTH market is expected to explode to cover 12 million homes.
The fate of the Tata-Star (80:20) joint venture plans is contained in the government files that are shuttling between the information and broadcasting ministry and department of company affairs.
The only commercial DTH venture operating in the country today is the Zee group’s Dish TV; Zee has been squarely, though privately, blamed for lobbying against Star. “You can’t say whether Zee is responsible for Star’s DTH application debacle, but if Star comes in Zee DTH will be wiped out.”
Is it in Zee’s interest that Star does not get the license? That was before the Star group roped in the Tatas as its partner. Zee group vice chairman Jawahar Goel does not lose his cool about the allegation. But still the fact remains that the Tata-Star application was meticulously scanned by the government.
Hope all things that start good end well. If all keep to their ethics and do not bend as we see cables in the air. The next thing we will each house having 3 to 4 Dishes around their house. One dish for each Operator as Zee TV , Star TV, DD, Set India, Sun TV and so on. My request to all of them as whatever they decide but please think for their customers and open all channels on a single Dish.