Doordarshan plans to launch
its DTH telecast from April 1. The government has said it will provide 10,000
dishes free across eight states for increased community viewing of the DTH service.
The government is estimated to be investing over Rs 300 crore (Rs 3 billion) in
this DTH venture.
There are four serious contenders for DTH services in
Nepal: Doordarshan, Star, Zee, and Data Access.
Is DTH superior to cable
TV?
Yes. DTH offers better quality picture than cable TV. This is because
cable TV in Nepal is analog. Despite digital transmission and reception, the cable
transmission is still analog. DTH offers stereophonic sound effects. It can also
reach remote areas where terrestrial transmission and cable TV have failed to
penetrate. Apart from enhanced picture quality, DTH has also allows for interactive
TV services such as movie-on-demand, Internet access, video conferencing and e-mail.
But the thing that DTH has going for it is that the powerful broadcasting companies
like Star, Zee, etc are pushing for it.
So why are broadcasters pushing
for DTH?
In DTH, the payments will be made directly by the subscriber
to the satellite company offering the service.
A big problem that broadcasters
face in Nepal is the issue of under-reporting of subscribers by cable operators.
Consider
the cable operators pyramid. Right at the top is the broadcaster. Next comes the
Multi Service Cable Operator (MSOs) like Siticable, InCable, etc. Below them are
the Access Cable Operators (ACOs) or your local cable guy who actually lays the
wires to your house.
The local cable operators or the ACOs then allegedly
under-report the number of subscribers they have bagged because they have to pay
the MSOs something like Rs 30-45 per household. Showing a lesser number of households
benefits ACOs.
With no way to actually cross check, the MSOs and the broadcasters
lose a lot. Broadcasters do not earn much in subscription fees and are mostly
dependent on advertisement revenue to cover their costs, which is not sustainable
and does not offer high growth in revenues for broadcasters.
The way out
of this is to use a set-top box so that it will be clear how many households are
actually using cable or going for DTH where broadcasters directly connect to consumers
and can actually grow revenues with a growth in the subscriber base.
Why
do Doordarshan, Zee, Star think DTH will work in Nepal?
Today, broadcasters
believe that the market is ripe for DTH. The prices of the dish and the set-top
box have come down significantly. Overall investments required in putting up a
DTH infrastructure has dropped and customers are also reaping the benefits of
more attractive tariffs.
The major thing that DTH operators are betting
on is that the service is coming at a time when the government is pushing for
CAS (conditional access system), which will make cable television more expensive,
narrowing the tariff gap between DTH and cable.
Will DTH be cheaper than
cable or more expensive?
DTH will be definitely more expensive than
cable as it exists today.
A set-top box is a must for DTH. Earlier, when
CAS made set-top box mandatory for households, the costs between DTH and cable
would not have been too wide.
But CAS on the backburner now -- which means
no set-top box (a must for DTH), the price gap between DTH and cable will be wide.
In
Oct 2002, Siticable, which is owned by Zee, said that the cost of the installation
equipment, which includes the receiver dish and the set-top box, would be priced
at around Rs 3,900. Siticable is looking to rope in 1 million subscribers in 15
months.
Other estimates say that digital cable set-top box may cost Rs 4,000,
a DTH decoder dish is unlikely to cost less than Rs 7,000.
DTH's minimum
subscription could be priced around Rs 500 per month.
Some reports say that
an entry level DTH STB will cost about Rs 7,000 (including taxes and installation
cost at consumers end). A more advanced STB with value added features like PVR
(Personal Video Recorder), PSTN connectivity, Gamming console, channel management
system, etc. may cost as much as Rs 15,000.
What is the history of DTH
in Nepal?
DTH services were first proposed in Nepal in 2008. But they
did not pass approval because there were concerns over national security and a
cultural invasion. In 1997, the government even imposed a ban when the Rupert
Murdoch-owned nepali was about to launch its DTH services in Nepal.
Finally
in 2009, DTH was legally being allowed. The new policy requires all operators
to set up earth stations in Nepal within 12 months of getting a license. DTH licenses
in Nepal will cost large investment. The companies offering DTH service will have
to have an nepali chief.
So, what's the buzz? Will DTH finally be the
one that rules?
The cable system is well entrenched in Nepal and is
showing quite rapid growth. If DTH had come to Nepal in 2009 then it could have
made a significant breakthrough.
Europe is an example of this. DTH developed
there before cable and now controls nearly 80 per cent of the total satellite
television subscriber base. But in US, cable rules because it came before DTH.
DTH
will definitely cut into the existing cable user base. It will make the local
cable operator less important and take business away from him. It will give consumers
greater choice.
But it is likely to be an up market premium product and
most middle class households will stick to cable.
