Previously we came up with the names of cable operators which have complied by the new Trai regime. However, that time the DTH operators had not published their new channel and packs pricing thus arousing doubts about whether the companies would further resist the new mandate charted out by the industry regulator. However, now two of the biggest DTH operators of India, Dish TV and Airtel Digital TV have also published their channel prices thus joining the leagues of the operators and other DTH providers which have complied by the new Trai tariff regime.
Dish TV Lists Channel Pricing and Channel Packs
The first DTH provider in this news is Dish TV, which has published its channels pricing and the provider has mostly stuck to the pricing listed by the channel owners like Star and Zee Entertainment. This has also crushed the hope of subscribers who were looking forward to some discount from the DTH providers over the MRPs listed by the channel owners. Dish TV has listed 27 packs from Sony priced between Rs 12 to Rs 90 per month, which it will suggest to its subscribers per month. There are also 50 packs of TV18 group, which are priced in the Rs 8 and Rs 50 range. The provider will also ship 24 packs from Zee, 13 packages from Sun TV and 58 packages from Star India, with this new rollout.
Speaking of the pricing of the channels, Dish TV has mostly decided to stick to the pricing of the original channels itself, for example, Star’s value pack of Rs 49 or Sony’s Happy India HD pack at Rs 90 per month. You can visit this portal to check the new prices.
Previously channel owners used to force the hand of DTH providers and subscribers alike by limiting them from forming their own channel packs by pricing the individual channels higher than in the bouquet. This was done to increase the viewership of the particular channel owner’s channel. However, now under the new Trai regime, people will be able to choose each and every channel in their 100 channels base pack without affecting the billing.
Airtel Digital Lists Individual Channel Prices, Leaves Out Channel Packs
Airtel Digital TV is next in this list of DTH providers which have listed their new channel pricing. However, Airtel Digital has only listed the prices for its individual channels and has not laid out any information about the prices of its channel packs or add-ons. Also, since now the new regime limits the max cost of channels to the MRP listed by the channel owner, some of the channels have seen huge corrections overnight. Airtel Digital, which was charging as much as Rs 65 for channels like Star Sports and Ten Sports will now only be charging Rs 20-22 per month.
Also, in the coming days, Airtel Digital is expected to include the newly formed packs by the broadcasters like Star Value, Sony Happy India and more. Also, it is worth noting that the broadcasters have formed their packages in such a manner that now it is hard for the DTH providers to come up with their own packs. This has been done to push the broadcaster’s “weaker” channels to the subscribers to retain viewership. You can check out Airtel Digital TV new channel packs by heading over here.
Now among all the DTH providers, Tata Sky and Sun Direct are the only significant players who have held back compliance with the Trai order. However, Tata Sky has also been backed by TDSAT (Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal), so Trai won’t be able to slap the provider with a penalty in case of any inaction till January 10. It is also not clear how the two DTH providers think of complying with the new Trai mandate. In the meanwhile, Trai has asked the DTH providers to migrate at least 30% of their subscribers onto the new Trai regime by January 7 and also to collect their preferred channel information. The regulator further wants the DTH providers to reach 60% customers by January 14.
