Cashing in on the festive season, the direct-to-home industry (DTH) says that it has witnessed 40% growth due to the attractive low prices and packages offered to the customers.
Where most DTH players are continuing with their original entry-level price band, Reliance ADAG?s DTH arm Big TV has corrected its entry-level prices post the festive season, increasing it by Rs 200 in all its packages. With a focused strategy of targeting customers in 45 cities, the company says it has seen a 25% increase in average revenue per user (ARPU) during the festive season, and the price correction will help in long-term revenue growth .
The company is also looking for partnerships for its pay-per-view (PPV) content. Umesh Rao, senior vice-president, Reliance BIG TV, said, ?We are focusing on competitive advantages in sales and marketing campaigns and we aim to target profitable growth in the DTH business. Besides the various Hindi film content showcased, we are also seeing a major traction coming from consumers on the PPV platform, from the non-film side.? On back of these measures, Big TV says it is seeing an aggressive volume growth of 50%.
Seeing an increasing demand on the PPV platform, the company has decided to look beyond movie content and new releases, focusing more on sports, international and national music content. ?In July, we introduced the Michael Jackson?s concert on our PPV platform and saw a huge demand from the audiences. This was the driving factor for us to also focus towards the non-film content.?
The company will also be introducing two new interactive services in the next eight-ten days. ?We currently have six interactive services and are looking at coming up with two more, to focus on health and education. DTH service in the recent times has moved beyond watching television to entertainment packages. We believe that pricing alone can?t shake the DTH market unless a regular effort is made towards educating the consumer,? added Rao.