Tamil Nadu pay TV market hots up

The pay TV market in Tamil Nadu is hotting up and action is expected to intensify as new battlegrounds emerge for key players here.

On the heels of Kalanidhi Maran's Sun Network announcing its plans to introduce DTH services at a monthly subscription of Rs 75-plus taxes last week, Tata Sky has announced a new package to woo customers.

Tata Sky, a JV between Tata Group and Star TV, recently introduced a new package starting at a price of Rs 200 per month and a maximum price of Rs 350 per month.

Now, the company's package offering includes 140 channels "" 15 of Sun Network, Kalaignar TV, NDTV Good Times, UTV Bindas, Neo Sports and Neo Sports Plus.

Vikram Kaushik, managing director and chief executive officer, Tata Sky, said Tamil Nadu was the largest volume contributor for the company, which claims to have crossed the one-million subscriber mark recently.

He said the company's strategy would lay emphasis on offering value, content and interactive services. Tata Sky would not lower prices due to competitive pressures in the immediate future.

Considering the addressable market segments in India at present, it would not look at price slashing to gain greater penetration. The price cut option would be helpful in addressing the bottom of the market pyramid, but the time was not ripe for this, he added.

Sun Direct, the DTH service of Sun Network, will offer 75 TV channels and 15 radio channels for a monthly subscription of Rs 75 per month. The offer includes dish and set-top box free of cost. But the company has a one-time installation charge of Rs 1,000.

However, cable TV associations in Tamil Nadu raised their hackles in protest against the launch of Sun TV's DTH service alleging that their livelihoods would be affected by Sun Direct's low subscription offer. The cable operators are demanding that luxury tax be levied on Sun Direct by the state government for its DTH services.