MUMBAI: Direct-to-home (DTH) television providers will continue to see revenue decline this fiscal, but at a reduced rate of 3–4% compared to 5% last fiscal, as they expand into the internet protocol television (IPTV) and push bundled offerings along with the continuing decline in subscribers. Rising marketing income and scaling back customer acquisition incentives in terms of subsidized set top boxes (STBs) by select players will also support revenue and cushion profitability, Crisil Ratings said in a note, which is based on an analysis of all private DTH companies covering 53 million subscribers as of September.
The subscriber churn continues as more affluent users switch to over-the-top (OTT) media services and budget-conscious ones switch to DD’s free dish. The subscriber base of private DTH providers has come down from 7.2 crore in fiscal 2019 to 6.19 crore in fiscal 2024. This further slipped 9% in fiscal 2025 and is expected to drop below 5.1 crore by the end of current fiscal.
According to Ankit Hakhu, a director with the rating agency, although cord cutting (which is cancelling of DTH services and switching to other modes of content consumption) has put pressure on DTH operators, leading to secular revenue degrowth over the past six years, operators are making inroads in new areas such as IPTV to drive bundled services (OTT, broadband, live TV).
IPTV services have gained significant traction, with their customer base almost quadrupling to 21.3 lakh as of September 2025 from 5.7 lakh in fiscal 2024. This has provided significant upselling opportunities to operators. By enabling delivery of both OTT and live TV through broadband without a dish, operators are likely to limit the subscriber churn. There are pockets of resilience amid the challenges to linear TV, which refers to broadcasting television services in a predetermined schedule typically via satellite or cable.
For instance, in the South, the pace of cord cutting has been limited, with DTH operators there managing to increase market share by keeping its subscriber numbers largely intact amid declining subscribers across the industry.
According to Gauri Gupta, a team leader at the agency, though the revenue of private DTH players will be impacted by the falling subscriber base, which will be partially offset by income from marketing on the player’s own OTT aggregator platforms offered via hybrid boxes. Furthermore, reduction in customer acquisition incentives by select players, through elimination of discounts on STBs for new subscribers, will add to the support.
As a result, margins, which fell from 48% in fiscal 2023 to 45% in fiscal 2025, are expected to remain stable at 44–45% this fiscal on account of milder revenue degrowth, she said. Greater stickiness of consumers in certain parts due to stronger focus on regional content and limited offerings by competing DD free dish that offers only three of the top 10 most viewed channels will remain an advantage for DTH players. Also, monthly OTT subscription charges with broadband continue to be more than twice as expensive as DTH packs, thus limiting their adoption by the more value conscious populace.