Dish TV India adds 42,000 subscribers in 3Q 2019

Thursday, November 14th, 2019
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Earnings Release For The Quarter Ended September 30, 2019

  • 42 thousand net subscriber additions during the quarter. Closing net subscriber base of 23.94 million

NOIDA, India — Dish TV India Limited (BSE: 532839, NSE: DISHTV, LSE: DTVL) today reported second quarter fiscal 2020 consolidated unaudited subscription revenues of Rs. 7,920 million and operating revenues of Rs. 8,932 million. EBITDA for the quarter stood at Rs. 5,205 million.

The seasonally weak second quarter came bundled with other external challenges this time. Slowing subscriber additions due to a not so robust macro-economic environment, price undercutting by peers, along with heavy rains and flooding in many parts of the country made subscriber acquisitions and retention a challenging task. Dish TV India Limited however chose to be resilient making the best of every opportunity coming its way.

The Company, notwithstanding any of these, added 42 thousand subscribers at a net level during the second quarter. Churn, though higher, was on expected lines. Total net subscriber base at the end of the quarter was 23.94 million.

During the quarter, Dish TV’s OTT platform, Watcho, won the ‘Best Content in an Influencer Marketing Campaign’ award for the original comedy show ‘Vote The Hell’, under the best co-created content category. The company intends to carve out a niche for itself in the fast growing OTT space and is aiming to launch select original web series in the coming months on its OTT platform.

Dish Smart Connected Devices

With an aim to enhancing the TV viewing experience and strengthening its product portfolio, Dish TV India launched a range of smart connected devices recently.

The Company launched Dish SMRT Hub, an Android TV 9.0 powered hybrid HD set top box at an offer price of Rs. 3,999 for new and Rs. 2,499 for existing subscribers. The set-top-box can convert an ordinary TV into an Android powered smart-TV to enable online content, games and smart services through the Google Play Store. Built-in Chromecast allows users to stream content from any device directly on the big screen without any lag.

Available with native support for video content OTT platforms, the Integrated Google Assistant converts this box into a smart home hub, enabling users to control their smart homes with a single remote and do a lot more with their TV.

Dish TV India also launched Dish SMRT Kit, with built-in Amazon ALEXA at an introductory price of Rs. 1,199. The device is the first ever Alexa enabled device for a DTH platform in India and can transform an existing Dish TV set-top-box into an Alexa enabled connected box to access popular OTT apps, 30,000 plus Alexa Skills and smart home functionalities.

For its d2h customers, Dish TV India launched a voice enabled search and information access skill for Amazon Alexa. The d2h skill will allow subscribers to use voice commands through Alexa to surf a wide range of content, get up-to-date information of their d2h account, set reminders for their favorite programs, get recommendations on trending programs, do basic trouble shooting and a lot more through Alexa enabled devices.

The Company also launched ‘d2h Magic’ streaming device for its d2h subscribers with an introductory price of Rs. 399 and a nominal subscription price of Rs. 25 plus taxes per month post three months of free preview period. It will allow customers to access digital video streaming and OTT apps on their existing d2h set-top-box.

Commenting on the launch of connected devices, Mr. Anil Dua, said, “We are delighted with the launch of the most advanced Android powered set-top-box and the Alexa built-in smart kit for our existing as well as potential customers. These devices eliminate the hassle of switching between linear TV and OTT Apps by effectively combining the two through a single entertainment device. With the launch of these devices, Dish TV India now has the best range of connected devices, apps and services in the industry enabling it to give more choice, quality and value to its customers.” “We plan to make it big in the connected devices space by leveraging our distribution strength and operational efficiencies,” added Mr. Dua.