Public Relations
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Airtel, Act II
Star TV and Sony but channels that play Gurbani (verses from the Guru Granth Sahib). Movie channels are popular in Haryana, and IBN Lokmat is in huge demand all over Maharshtra. “We have customised packages for various regions with regional channels,” says Puri. This means that Airtel DTH needs to have a large bouquet of channels in its portfolio. “We have as many as 212 channels, which is next only to Dish TV,” says Puri. After Dil titli, the width and quality of the content could be at the core of Airtel DTH’s campaigns in the future. Puri also claims that market research agency IMRB has independently rated Airtel DTH on top in customer service. The survey was carried out amongst existing and prospective customers as well as channel partners. The parameters used were installation, call-centre and after-sale services. “Our benchmark was Tata Sky. We had to do better than it because we came to the market five years after it,” says Puri. Profits ahead? The DTH industry is carrying on its books losses worth Rs 5,000 crore, on account of the subsidy to the consumer on the set-top box. (With rising volumes, set-top box prices have come down 30 per cent in the last one year. Yet, the subsidy remains high.) As Airtel has a 10 per cent share of the market, it is reasonable to assume that it carries 10 per cent of these losses as well, or around Rs 500 crore. Of all the industry players, only Dish TV has reported quarterly operating profits so far. (It expects cash profits in the last quarter of 2009-10.) On the positive side, Puri claims, Airtel DTH manages to get more out of its consumers. Its average revenue per user is close to Rs 200, says he. The industry average is known to be between Rs 120 and Rs 130. But the losses cannot be sustained for long. The DTH Operators’ Association of India, the lobby group for the industry, has asked the government to reduce the tax on DTH. This includes a licence fee of 10 per cent (of revenue), 5 per cent customs duty on all imports and entertainment tax levied by some states. The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India, which also regulates DTH, has said that DTH service operators should pay for content 50 per cent of what is paid by cable operators. “This is based on the assumption that there is under-declaration of subscribers by cable operators. But the under-declaration is significantly higher. We want TRAI to bring the cost for us down to 15 to 20 per cent of what cable operators pay,” says Puri. On his part, Puri is confident that these concessions will be granted to the DTH industry. But to be really profitable, he knows his job is to build scale. “With eight to ten million customers, the business will look very different,” says he. The question is, how quickly can he get there?Pages: 1 [2]