Transponder shortage hits DTH subscription

At least 45 more transponders needed to accommodate the spate of new channels, say experts.

Direct-to-home (DTH) service providers are falling short of growth targets. These services are dependent on Ku-band transponders hosted on satellites.

Depending upon the technology used, each transponder can host 12 to 15 channels. With the growing number of popular channels, DTH companies are unable to host them all, thereby losing subscribers.

For April and May, Tata Sky and Dish TV (the two leading DTH companies) had set a target of 180,000 additional subscribers.

They managed to rope in 150,000.

Tata Sky recently dropped about 15 channels for want of space. Dish TV is also not carrying a number of regional channels for the same reason, sources said.

"There is a marked drop in subscriber acquisition in Punjab and Haryana for Tata Sky in the absence of the popular Punjabi channel, ETC Punjabi," a DTH dealer from Ludhiana said.

Dish TV has been slow in acquiring subscribers in Orissa, West Bengal and Assam, sources added.

Shortage of transponders will hit both existing players as well as new entrants like Sun Direct from Sun TV,

Anil Dhirubhai's Reliance Bluemagic, Bharti and Videocon.

"In order to attract new subscribers, DTH players will need at least 45 additional transponders for carrying 200-odd channels," an industry expert said.

Apart from the scheduled launch of Insat 4R that will carry transponders for Reliance Bluemagic, there are no proposed launch plans for enhancing transponder strength for DTH companies.

Currently, Tata Sky offers 108 channels to its 700,000 subscribers, while Dish TV offers 170 channels to its 2.1 million subscribers.

Both Tata Sky and Dish TV are finding it tough to carry all the channels, even as at least 70 new channels are waiting for a launch by the year-end.

Tata Sky did not comment on plans to expand its channel offerings or on the trend of fewer new subscribers.

However, Dish TV Chief Executive Officer Arun Kapoor said that the shortage in transponders does affect subscriber acquisitions.

"We will get five more transponders soon. These will help us offer about 225 channels to our consumers," Kapoor said.

Tata Sky, according to experts, can only add up to 30 new channels and there are no plans to enhance its transponder capacity soon.