How much are you willing to pay for a DTH package...

[SVK]

I voted for Rs. 300 option
I agree that PAY channels should have no adds or they should get converted to FTA channels and viewers should be able to watch them with their own STB's (or DD D+) like in UK, there are some channels downlinked by SKY which are FTA, so they earn their revenue from advertisements (which are many). We can receive this FTA channels by any FTA STB's or even by SKY STB even after contract with SKY expires.
I also agree that INDIAN MINDS work better outside India, but may be these minds have not really challenged to be productive in India or we haven't yet got that demand in some fields where these MINDS can be really utilised instead serving outside India in that field (like IT, Banking, Telecom, Medical, Space research) oh! it got somewhat offtopic

 

[jkd]

I won't mind paying upto Rs-300 for channels that I watch. I don't spend more than an hour or two in front of Tv and when you see cablewallah charging Rs-250 for same channels with picture and sound quality bit on the lower side you cannot help asking this question"Why are they charging more"?100 or 1000 channels,you cannot watch all of the all the time.

 

[kopindian]

300

 

[~Hami~]

Rs.300 :thumbsup:

 

[gregory house]

Just to clarify, my 'Indian brain' comment was not a moral take on the matter. I know precisely why Indians find it difficult to work in India and so do most people.

That apart, there are very few ad-free channels world-wide. These mostly include channels from the HBO and Showtime networks and some sports channels. You can find a basic list here.Category:Commercial-free television networks - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Let us forget the mess censorship in India creates and consider DirecTv USA. They too have their list of crap channels (apparently, everybody loves crap), but they also have channels with ad-free programming. Their packages range from Rs. 1000 (basic) - Rs. 4000 (premium) per month. It is cheaper if you pay the subscription for 3-4 months in one go. Their package-wise channel line-up is as follows:
List of DirecTV channels - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
http://www.directv.com/see/pdf/chnllineup.pdf (~400KB)
http://img237.imageshack.us/img237/9188/packagecomparisonchartvg9.jpg

Note that the rupee prices are approx ones. Consider the dollar ones as authoritative.

The only problem is the price. How do we get ad-free channels like the HBO group into India if we don't pay for the same. Considering the votes polled till now, Rs. 300 seems to be the price people are gravitating towards. But for such a price, nothing drastic can be expected. It is extremely difficult to get in premium channels for such a price. So, the ad-infested mess that is currently prevalent is apt to continue.

Considering the per-capita income difference between the two countries, Rs. 500 pm should get us a substantial boost in the quality of programming and service. See the graphic above and you will see that everything from STB's to DVR's are offered free depending on the subscription type and period.

DirecTv always ranks high in QoS surveys and that is because of their customer-oriented approach. Unfortunately, Indian companies have become used to behaving like feudal lords, their motto being - customers can go to hell. Indian broadcasters and DTH providers should learn from their American counterparts and improve their offerings and QoS. Coz, if the current experience is anything to go by, people might simply switch off. The internet is waiting, and it offers a lot more than tv does at present.

 

[maahkaal]

People expecting most of the quality channels in addition to the basic , for 300 Rs is laughable. Like Gregory said , 500 Rs should be more of an fairer reflection if we want to see some real good content.Now DTH companies do have their faults but the major culprit here is the government which always wants to actively regulate in such sectors. A simple introduction of La Carte basis on part of the consumers would have been a great thing. This would have stopped the DTH companies from coming up with stupid packages. It would also have brought down the price of other relatively less popular channels. But with the competition heating up in the coming 6 months , there is hope and i'm certain that it is going to work in the favor of common user. As for the Internet being a threat to T.V , it will never happen. Firstly bandwidth is major constraint and secondly it's only a matter of time before television companies and the government crack down on ISPs who allow users to watch illegal streams and this has already started in the U.S. The U.S government is being heavily pressurized by the big television and movie production companies to stop illegal streams on the web and is one of the reasons why they are looking to regulate the internet. But fortunately the European heavy weights have managed to block their efforts for the time being.

 

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[gregory house]

Indiantelevision.com's > Digital Edge > DTH transponder crunch: Industry calls for constellation of satellites

A step in the right direction.....

 

[Crazysah]

Yes. Exaclty.

 

[gregory house]

Current TS packages max out at INR 350. Since they are going to introduce two 'gold' packages pretty soon, the complete deal might cost INR 400 per month. And we have not even begun talking premium here. Very bad news for DTH subscribers. INR 400 for bad-to-decent-programming is an insane idea.

 

[~Hami~]

🙁 cable wala is better 🙁

 

[avinds]

FTA channels are free to air coz of adverts. And adverts interrupt programming. And that will mean watching 5-ball overs in the 20-20 World Cup Final Match.


not really a good argument..... ESPN is a paid channel..... ans still it was hopeless ....... no replay of wickets...... banner ads during the matches.... ringtones ringing between the match

 

[SVK]

Current TS packages max out at INR 350. Since they are going to introduce two 'gold' packages pretty soon, the complete deal might cost INR 400 per month. And we have not even begun talking premium here. Very bad news for DTH subscribers. INR 400 for bad-to-decent-programming is an insane idea.
What are 2 new packages - anything related to Lifestyle & sports package?
What can be its cost, any idea?

 

[gregory house]

@kedarisvYes. I was talking about the Lifestyle and sports gold packages. And I was predicting that the complete package would be priced at INR 400.@avindsESPN is not a 'real' pay channel. It is similar to Sony, Zee or Star Plus in the sense that it has a dual revenue source. A 'real' pay channel relies solely on subscription revenue and has no adverts.