Private DTH operators lost 1.6 million active subscribers in Q1 2022: TRAI report

Since the introduction of DTH Sector in the year 2003, Indian DTH (direct-to-home) services have displayed a phenomenal growth.

During the QE 31st March 2022, there were 4 pay DTH service providers in the country.

Pay DTH has attained total active subscriber base of around 66.92 million in QE 31st March 2022. This is in addition to the subscribers of the DD Free Dish (free DTH services of Doordarshan).

Apart from the radio channels operated by All India Radio – the public broadcaster, 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.

Pay DTH has attained total active subscriber base of around 66.92 million. This is in addition to the subscribers of the DD Free Dish (free DTH services of Doordarshan). The total active subscriber base has decreased from 68.52 million in December 2021 to 66.92 million in March 2022.

Satellite TV channels
A total of approximately 898 private satellite TV channels have been permitted by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB) for uplinking only/ downlinking only / both uplinking & downlinking.

Pay TV channels
As per the reporting done by broadcasters in pursuance of the Tariff Order dated 3rd March 2017 as amended, out of 885 permitted satellite TV channels which are available for downlinking in India, there are 345 satellite pay TV channels as on 31st March 2022. Out of 345 pay channels, 248 are SD satellite pay TV channels and 97 are HD satellite pay TV channels. Apart from these pay channels reported to TRAI, all other channels, available for downlinking in India, are considered as Free to Air (FTA) channels. A list of pay TV channels offered by broadcasters for subscribers as reported to TRAI.

Cable TV sector
As on 31st March 2022, there are 1764 MSOs registered with MIB. As per the data reported by MSOs and HITS operator, there are 12 MSOs & 1 HITS operator who have subscriber base greater than one million. BCS Bureau