Dish DTH to offer free set-top boxes

[icar]

Move aimed at impending entry of Reliance, Bharti services. The price-war has begun in the direct-to-home (DTH) market with the country's largest DTH company Dish TV — with over 3 million subscribers —getting ready to offer its connection virtually free. Any consumer who wants to buy a Dish TV connection will not have to pay for the set-top box, the hardware essential to access DTH services and normally costs Rs 2,500. This move is in anticipation of the launch of services from Reliance Communications' Big TV and Bharti's DTH services and also to take on its competitor Tata Sky, which has now crossed the 2 million subscriber mark. This step is also expected to add to the monthly losses of Dish TV, currently estimated to be over Rs 450 crore. According to sources, Dish TV is set to undertake a massive branding exercise centred on a \"free Dish TV connection\" featuring its brand ambassador Shah Rukh Khan at an estimated budget in excess of Rs 50 crore.

According to the plan, a Dish TV set-top box is likely to come free with every Dish TV connection as the consumers will just have to make an annual one-time payment of Rs 4,000 towards the monthly subscription fees. Recently, Big TV had announced its DTH connections for its employees at only Rs 1,000 plus the monthly subscription fees of about Rs 300 (see table). According to industry experts, this move is likely to benefit Dish TV increase its overall DTH market share, from 59 per cent to over 65 per cent, within a month. A free set-top box is likely to increase Dish TV's losses as every DTH company heavily subsidises the cost of its set-top boxes. A DTH set-top box normally costs Rs 3,200 to Rs 3,500 to the DTH company but is offered to consumers at Rs 1,500 to Rs 2,500.

Dish DTH to offer free set-top boxes

Company : Cost of STB Monthly + subscription

Dish TV Free* Rs 300 +taxes
Tata Sky Rs 1,500 +installation Rs 300 +taxes
Big TV (soft launch only) Rs 1,000 +installation Rs 200 +taxes

* expected to announce shortly

 

[~Hami~]

According to the plan, a Dish TV set-top box is likely to come free with every Dish TV connection as the consumers will just have to make an annual one-time payment of Rs 4,000 towards the monthly subscription fees.

Earlier they used to give free subscription of say 6 months or 12 months where the STB cost some 3500 i think.. Now they are asking for a one time payment of Rs.4000 for annual subscription and stb free :hysterical::rofl:

 

[dishtv_info]

NO new channels what's the use for free stb This states that no new branded channels will be comming to dishtv instead they are giving stb for some period This is a plan to give stb free since big tv launch is near so this is to boost their service during the launch of bigtv..

 

[neelnnish]

Hi All, If u ask me Reliance should think to take-over DishTV as almost all Dish TV customers are ready to switchover to Big TV. What is your opinion?

 

[icar]

^

http://cellbharat.com/dish-tv-offers-free-set-top-boxes/

 

[dhoni]

Earlier they used to give free subscription of say 6 months or 12 months where the STB cost some 3500 i think.. Now they are asking for a one time payment of Rs.4000 for annual subscription and stb free :hysterical::rofl:

Dish tv aleast now changed their plan. Why should we pay for a locked stb? For annual subscripiton we can discontinue after a year and they will take back the stb. But we can save on the stb costs. Eg. In Tata Sky we need to pay 2400 for nothing but a locked box and a simple installation. Additional cable charges etc., :wall: No use if we stop subscribing. It will be a waste of money.

 

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[appus]

it is nonsense ! we used to get 12 months subscription free for 3950 (includes installation + 12months free) STB is given free for 5 years !! (rent included in 3950) ! i think that was better than paying 4000 and just getting everything only for an year !! if that was just 300 or what ever monthly plan we choose, then it is worth !! suppose pay 3 months rental like 600 for freedom, and welcome for 450 (3 months) .. then it would have been worth going for it ! in this, the package may be maxi. if we want sun network, another 50rs everymonth.. it may cost more than what they offered previously !!lots of fools will jump into this for sure !!:hysterical: :hysterical:

 

[world_of_dth]

DISH TV ROCKS, Good offer by DISH TV.U will get FREE STB + 12 MONTH FREE SUBSCRIPTION + FREE INSTALLATION + FREE MOD WORTH RS 4000.:yahoo::yahoo::yahoo::yahoo::yahoo::yahoo::yahoo::yahoo:

 

[~Hami~]

Free STB's: Dish TV hopes to double its subscribers
May 12, 2008

Dish TV, the Essel group promoted direct-to-home (DTH) service provider, will be providing free set top boxes (STBs) to its subscribers on paying a year's maxi subscription and installation/activation charges.

The company has announced a new scheme to drive business and expects to double the number of subscribers it adds every month. Based on the kind of package subscribers choose, the cost of an STB, which is currently priced at around Rs 2,500, will be either completely waived off or would be reduced some extent.

"Every month, the company adds around 90,000 subscribers to its current base of 31 lakh and with the new offer, we expect to double this number. The subscribers base in the DTH category is four and a half million. Subscribers would come from a mix of terrestrial and cable markets. We are focusing only in India. This apart, the Indian Railways is running a special train for ministers with Dish TV connection in it." said Jawahar Goel, Managing director, Dish TV

The scheme was expected to be on for at least 45 days. A subscriber would get a set top box free by paying Rs 4,000 for one year's subscription. There are also various other offers available. It would be advertised through a 360-degree initiative with Shah Rukh Khan involving print, TVC, outdoor, Internet, etc.

With the entry of Reliance, Videocon and Bharti, due very soon, entry prices to DTH were expected to be lowered. Already, Sun Direct is charging customers Rs 75 for its services, taking on the burden of a significant subsidy on its hardware.

The company, which is in the process of filing a rights issue to raise Rs 1,200 crore, is also carrying out a trial of a special microblade antennae acquired from an Israeli company on a train for the Ministry of Railways.

Free STB's: Dish TV hopes to double its subscribers | Televisionpoint.com News

 

[jpa007]

Dish tv aleast now changed their plan. Why should we pay for a locked stb? For annual subscripiton we can discontinue after a year and they will take back the stb. But we can save on the stb costs. Eg. In Tata Sky we need to pay 2400 for nothing but a locked box and a simple installation. Additional cable charges etc., :wall: No use if we stop subscribing. It will be a waste of money.


If anybody is going to unsubscribe the dishtv... do not throw away the set top boxes ( stb )... i heard that the reliance big tv have a secret plans to convert those stbs to their stbs.. actually thae have to just install their software to these stbs to use as big tv and we only have to buy the viewing card and an lnb from the reliance.....
And also we can use these stbs as the c band receivers for this we have to installl the c band software... ( ask the local deler for the same.. also if you go and askt eh dishtv stb service centers and ask them to install that old software they had in 2005 0r 2006 and we can use it as a c band receiver. They will do this for free..( the softawre installation).

 

[draog]

If anybody is going to unsubscribe the dishtv... do not throw away the set top boxes ( stb )... i heard that the reliance big tv have a secret plans to convert those stbs to their stbs.. actually thae have to just install their software to these stbs to use as big tv and we only have to buy the viewing card and an lnb from the reliance.....
And also we can use these stbs as the c band receivers for this we have to installl the c band software... ( ask the local deler for the same.. also if you go and askt eh dishtv stb service centers and ask them to install that old software they had in 2005 0r 2006 and we can use it as a c band receiver. They will do this for free..( the softawre installation).

R U ure about the Dishtv-stb to Big-TV stb conversion is just by software? I though Dishtv is on MPEG2 and Bigtv is going to be on MPEG4 and hence the hardware in STB also matters... What do you guys say?

 

[Dushie]

Well for some additional cost they will be able to do an upgrade which will make existing reciever , work with mpeg 4, how, when and the cost no one knows till now 🙁

 

[snpexim]

I was visited by Accts. Mgr of ANDROMEDA MARKETING PVT. LTD. near Pinky Theater, Andheri East, Mumbai 400 059 (tel: +22 6710 4168 / 3991) who is making special short time offers to those buildings where Tata Sky dishes have been installed some time back. The offer is: Rs. 1,499 for 'digicomp' box, installation and wiring free, 60 movies till 30th Nov free. All taxes inclusive, activation in 24 hours, with payment to be made by cheque to: M/s TALK MARKETING after activation.The best package of channels is: Rs. 260 per month for Super Saver Pack, which has 'Family Pack' plus some English channels, totalling altogether about 120 channels. They also have 'South Value Pack' for Rs. 260. The key is one has to phone in and book your code by noon on Monday 22nd June. This offer seems to be made for West Suburban Mumbai. It is not clear why cheque is made to Talk Marketing. What is their connection to TataSky Ltd, etc. It seems strange that offer is valid for such short time of ten days, says the officer. He reached my housing complex only yesterday and now says offer is valid for the two days left till Monday.Can anyone justify this? Is this gunuine? I am unable to logon to tatasky[dot]com right now, for some strange reason.