Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) recently commissioned Centre for Media Studies (CMS) to update its earlier survey on cable subscription charges. The survey findings are interesting. Cable subscription charges have dropped, on a national average basis households are paying Rs. 185 per month in 2010 against Rs. 185 paid in 2007. Cable operators have had to offer more content and charge a lower price in response to the DTH digital onslaught.

The number of cable and satellite homes in India is now estimated to be around 103 million, out of a total market of around 135 million TV homes. DTH homes are estimated at around 20 million and this is a tremendous performance from an industry that is only a few years old. However, cable has managed to hang in and grow as well, even though at a much slower rate than DTH.

Rural markets in India are the key to the future and this is where DTH appears to have an advantage over cable in terms of reach. Digital, which is at around 20 percent nationally at present, is likely to proceed at a much faster pace in rural areas. Indeed, there appears to be low willingness to pay cable operators more for digital in urban areas as per the CMS survey, and the market is clearly headed for a divide with the digital thrust riding solely on DTH unless the Government comes up with major policy changes in the cable area.

Meanwhile, DTH operators continue to reinforce digital with players deploying interactive television solutions (iTV), digital video recorder (DVR), and high-definition services (HD). DVRs are becoming popular as they allow more flexibility to the consumer. On a financial basis the DTH industry is bleeding with a negative industry EBIDTA of 84 percent but most operators see this as an initial investment as they build subscribers.

BroadcastAsia 2010 is scheduled to be held from June 15-18, 2010 in Singapore and will provide a platform to equipment manufacturers for customer interaction and introduction of new technologies. We invite you to visit the Broadcast & CableSat booth at the show.