For the fourth or fifth time in the last six to eight months, Tata Sky reduced the price of its HD Set-Top Box. Right after the Trai tariff regime fully became effective on April 1, 2019, Tata Sky brought down the prices of its Set-Top Boxes by Rs 400. Later on, the prices were reduced even further to make them competitive in the industry. In October last year, the DTH operator introduced a special offer as part of which the HD Set-Top Box was available at just Rs 1,199. Tata Sky has reduced the price of its HD Set-Top Box again and it is now available at Rs 1,399 as part of a 'Special Offer.' While the company did not reveal how long the offer will last, we are expecting it to be a limited period one and the price will go back to original after a few weeks.
Tata Sky New Users Can Avail HD Connection at Rs 1,399
Tata Sky is currently the country's largest DTH operator with a market share of 31.61% and it is marginally ahead of Dish TV. We can safely say that Tata Sky has the cheapest Set-Top Boxes on offer right now, albeit the condition applies to only SD and HD STBs. The recently launched Tata Sky Binge+ Android TV STB is priced on the higher side at Rs 5,999 when compared to the same Android TV boxes from rival operators.
As part of the latest 'Special Offer' from Tata Sky, the HD Set-Top Box will retail at Rs 1,399, which is the same price of SD STB. This move from Tata Sky will likely boost the overall HD connections number. The Tata Sky SD or Standard Definition Set-Top Box is also available at Rs 1,399. Do make a note that these are just the connection charges and there will be additional installation and engineer visit charges as well on top for new connections. The SD to HD Box upgrade charges would be Rs 1,199 for the STB itself.
Other Set-Top Boxes from Tata Sky like the Tata Sky Binge+, Tata Sky 4K and Tata Sky +HD are retailing at the same prices of Rs 5,999, Rs 6,400 and Rs 9,300, respectively. It would have been great for new users if Tata Sky had slashed the price of its Android TV box.
Tata Sky vs Other DTH Operators: Set-Top Box Prices Compared
As mentioned above, Tata Sky has the cheapest Set-Top Boxes right now in the industry. The SD and HD variants of Tata Sky are priced at Rs 1,399 now, whereas other DTH operators are charging slightly more. Starting with Dish TV which is currently the second-largest DTH operator in India, the DishNXT HD STB costs Rs 1,590, whereas the DishNXT SD box can be picked up for Rs 1,490. Unlike Tata Sky, Dish TV is bundling one month of channel pack with new connections. D2h STBs are priced on the higher side at Rs 1,699 for the HD Set-Top Box, Rs 1,599 for the basic SD Box and Rs 1,799 for the HD RF Set-Top Box.
Moving onto Airtel Digital TV, it's charging Rs 1,100 for SD connection and Rs 1,300 for HD connection. That said, an additional Rs 450 charges would be applicable as installation and engineer visit charges. Airtel Digital TV is bundling one-month of free channel pack with new Airtel Xstream Box connection, but not with the basic SD and HD connections.
Lastly, we have Sun Direct on the list which is currently providing SD+ Box at Rs 1,799 and HD+ Box at Rs 1,999. Surely, Sun Direct is charging premium amount from the users, despite being popular in just South Indian states.
