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Indiantelevision.com's interview with Bharat Business Channel [COLOR=blue! important][COLOR=blue! important]Ltd[/COLOR][/COLOR] CEO Anil Khera 'A price war will expand the DTH market'
Posted on 28 July 2008 Venugopal Dhoot sees opportunity in the direct-to-home (DTH) business as he plans to push Videocon's Plasma, LCD and premium TV sets.
As part of Dhoot's backward integration strategy, the consumer electronics giant will also manufacture the set-top boxes (STBs) in the Aurangabad factory.
Bharat Business Channel Ltd (BBCL), a separate company for the DTH venture, will have a war chest of Rs 10 billion over two years as it readies to enter a turf that will see intense price competition.
DTH in India, with players like Dish TV, Tata Sky, Reliance ADAG and Bharti, will be a low ARPU (average revenue per user), high volume game.
Dhoot, not new to price wars, believes that the DTH market will expand and his distribution network will provide the pipeline for him to mop up one million subscribers in the first year.
Heading the DTH venture is Anil Khera , who was earlier in charge of Videocon's Sansui and Kelvinator brands.
In an interview with Sibabrata Das, Khera talks about BBCL's plans to quickly penetrate the DTH market across the country.
Excerpts:
Why does Videocon want to enter into the DTH business when the market has too many players and the race for subscriber acquisition is going to be led by a huge subsidy element?
The total number of television households is pegged at 125 million and is growing at 12-15 per cent. The DTH subscriber base, which is currently a little over six million, is expected to touch 15 million by 2010 with the entry of new players like Reliance ADAG, Bharti and us. The DTH market will expand rapidly and there will be enough space for all the players. India will become the world's largest pay-TV market by the stretch of numbers.
Is Videocon entering the market because it sees DTH as an integrated business model with its consumer electronics business?
We will be pushing our plasma, LCD and premium TV sets through our DTH service. Though we will firm up our offer plans closer to the time of launch, there will be some packaging done with subscription pricing, STBs and the TV sets. In many models, we will have in-built STBs. Unlike other DTH operators, we are a TV manufacturing company and will be making the STBs ourselves.
Will Videocon [COLOR=blue! important][COLOR=blue! important]Industries[/COLOR][/COLOR] have any holding in BBCL and how much is being pumped into the DTH business?
BBCL is a new company that has been floated for this purpose by the Videocon promoters. D2H+ is the brand name under which the service will be offered. We have already budgeted an investment of Rs 10 billion in this venture over the next two years.
Is BBCL in talks to rope in an equity partner?
No comments at this stage.
How many subscribers are you targeting in the first year and at what ARPUs (average revenue per user)?
We are looking at one million subscribers. We will be a premium service and expect our ARPUs to be Rs 200 in the first year.
Indiantelevision.com's interview with Bharat Business Channel Ltd CEO Anil Khera
Posted on 28 July 2008 Venugopal Dhoot sees opportunity in the direct-to-home (DTH) business as he plans to push Videocon's Plasma, LCD and premium TV sets.
As part of Dhoot's backward integration strategy, the consumer electronics giant will also manufacture the set-top boxes (STBs) in the Aurangabad factory.
Bharat Business Channel Ltd (BBCL), a separate company for the DTH venture, will have a war chest of Rs 10 billion over two years as it readies to enter a turf that will see intense price competition.
DTH in India, with players like Dish TV, Tata Sky, Reliance ADAG and Bharti, will be a low ARPU (average revenue per user), high volume game.
Dhoot, not new to price wars, believes that the DTH market will expand and his distribution network will provide the pipeline for him to mop up one million subscribers in the first year.
Heading the DTH venture is Anil Khera , who was earlier in charge of Videocon's Sansui and Kelvinator brands.
In an interview with Sibabrata Das, Khera talks about BBCL's plans to quickly penetrate the DTH market across the country.
Excerpts:
Why does Videocon want to enter into the DTH business when the market has too many players and the race for subscriber acquisition is going to be led by a huge subsidy element?
The total number of television households is pegged at 125 million and is growing at 12-15 per cent. The DTH subscriber base, which is currently a little over six million, is expected to touch 15 million by 2010 with the entry of new players like Reliance ADAG, Bharti and us. The DTH market will expand rapidly and there will be enough space for all the players. India will become the world's largest pay-TV market by the stretch of numbers.
Is Videocon entering the market because it sees DTH as an integrated business model with its consumer electronics business?
We will be pushing our plasma, LCD and premium TV sets through our DTH service. Though we will firm up our offer plans closer to the time of launch, there will be some packaging done with subscription pricing, STBs and the TV sets. In many models, we will have in-built STBs. Unlike other DTH operators, we are a TV manufacturing company and will be making the STBs ourselves.
Will Videocon [COLOR=blue! important][COLOR=blue! important]Industries[/COLOR][/COLOR] have any holding in BBCL and how much is being pumped into the DTH business?
BBCL is a new company that has been floated for this purpose by the Videocon promoters. D2H+ is the brand name under which the service will be offered. We have already budgeted an investment of Rs 10 billion in this venture over the next two years.
Is BBCL in talks to rope in an equity partner?
No comments at this stage.
How many subscribers are you targeting in the first year and at what ARPUs (average revenue per user)?
We are looking at one million subscribers. We will be a premium service and expect our ARPUs to be Rs 200 in the first year.
Indiantelevision.com's interview with Bharat Business Channel Ltd CEO Anil Khera