FY20 has been a whirlwind for the Direct-to-Home (DTH) broadcasting industry in India. As per a December 2020 report by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), in association with the Boston Consulting Group, the lockdown initially saw a surge in the number of DTH subscriptions. However, the CII report estimates that the growth rates of the DTH segment were dwarfed by SVoD (subscription video-on-demand)/OTT (over-the-top) services, which registered a 55-60% year-on-year growth. This is largely because, currently, internet penetration that is key to OTT penetration is low in comparison with that of the DTH industry.
As the year ended, the Cabinet approval of a long-pending proposal to revise the guidelines for providing DTH services in India has brought cheer for the industry. The Cabinet’s decision was quickly followed by the announcement of the revised guidelines for obtaining a licence to provide DTH services, which were notified on December 30, 2020. Further, the government has withdrawn the cap on FDI, the intention being to attract more investments to the sector.
Please click here to read the full article by Sidharrth Shankar, published in Financial Express.
Sidharrth is the Co-Chair of the Corporate Practice at JSA. He specializes in General Corporate Commercial, Mergers & Acquisitions and Private Equity.