DTH BUSINESS CONSOLIDATION
CCI approves Tata Sons' acquisition of 10% stake in Tata Play from Temasek
The Competition Commission of India (CCI) has approved Tata Sons' acquisition of a 10% stake in Tata Play from Baytree Investments, increasing its stake to 70%. Tata Play is also in discussions with Bharti Airtel to merge their DTH businesses. The merger could value the combined entity at approximately ?6,000-7,000 crore, with Airtel projecting a majority stake.
Tata Play, Airtel Digital TV near merger plans as DTH industry struggles amid streaming boom
Tata and Bharti groups are finalizing a merger of their DTH businesses, Tata Play and Airtel Digital TV, due to consumer shifts to digital platforms. The merger, structured through a share swap, will boost Airtel's revenues and is to be managed by Airtel's senior management.
Bharti Airtel stocks jump nearly 4% in early trade after strong Q3FY
Bharti Airtel shares surged 3.6% after reporting a nearly six-fold jump in Q3FY25 net profit to Rs 14,760.7 crore, driven by Indus Towers consolidation and tariff hikes. Revenue grew 13% YoY to Rs 46,878 crore, while ARPU improved to Rs 245. Airtel added 4.95 million subscribers, boosting its 4G/5G base.
Bharti Airtel Q3 net profit zooms 6-fold on Indus Tower consolidation, rate hikes
Bharti Airtel’s consolidated net profit for the fiscal third quarter has more than doubled on-year, on account of one-time gain incurred by consolidation of majority stake in Indus Towers.
BBC Studios weighs exiting India content production business amid challenges
BBC Studios, a subsidiary of BBC Group, is exploring options for its India content production business, including a potential exit, due to issues like consolidation and reduced content budgets from TV broadcasters and OTT platforms. This scenario has intensified competition among content producers.
DTH players' FY24 revenue down amid major subscriber loss
Indian private DTH operators Tata Play, Bharti Telemedia, Dish TV, and Sun Direct experienced a 5% revenue decline amid a consumer shift to digital platforms. Bharti Telemedia was the only provider to show revenue growth. The industry faced significant subscriber losses, and consolidation discussions have intensified.
- Go To Page 1
DTH operators stem churn in June quarter with 0.2 million subscriber addition
India's DTH industry shows signs of recovery in the June quarter, adding 200,000 active subscribers driven by major cricketing events like IPL and the T20 World Cup. Bharti Airtel and Tata Play remain the top players in a consolidating market, while cable TV and MSOs face subscriber losses.
Bharti Airtel in advanced talks to acquire Tata Play to boost digital TV segment
Bharti Airtel is in advanced talks to acquire Tata Play, India’s largest DTH business. This move aims to bolster Airtel’s position in the digital TV segment. If successful, it will be the second major deal between Airtel and Tata Group. This acquisition would help Airtel compete with Jio’s aggressive market strategies.
CCI approves Airtel's buyout of Warburg Pincus affiliate's stake in DTH arm
In October 2023, the telecom company sought the competition watchdog’s approval for the transaction that also involved Lion Meadow Investment, an affiliate of Warburg Pincus, acquiring a stake in Bharti Airtel, one of the persons cited above said. The CCI approved the transaction recently.
Broadband, OTT may keep Tata Play in good stead amid DTH dip
Tata Play's revenue from its core direct-to-home (DTH) business is expected to decline in the medium term due to a slowdown in its subscriber base. However, this decrease is anticipated to be balanced by growth in broadband and over-the-top (OTT) businesses. Operating margins may face pressure in FY24 and FY25 due to the subscriber base moderation, although partly offset by improved metrics from Tata Play Binge and expected breakeven from Tata Play Broadband.
Dish TV posts Q4 net loss at Rs 1,720.62 cr, revenue down 21.45% to Rs 504.8 cr
Dish TV India reported a consolidated net loss of INR 1,720.62 crore for Q4 2023 due to impairments and deferred tax liability, compared to a net loss of INR 2,031.99 crore in the same period last year. The revenue also fell by 21.45% to INR 504.82 crore, with losses of INR 1,907.61 crore under exceptional items. For the fiscal year ended in March 2023, the company's net loss was INR 1,683.54 crore, with a decrease of 9.83% in revenue from consolidated operations. Dish TV's total subscriber additions were 0.50 million, which were greater than the previous fiscal year.
'Tata Play's DTH Ops expected to be under stress this fiscal year'
In its rating rationale report on the company, the agency noted that the company's consolidated revenue will be supported by Tata Play Binge and broadband businesses.
Structure of DTH industry remains attractive in mid to long term: Airtel CEO
Airtel, which added about 485,000 customers in Direct-to-Home (DTH) television segment and logged a sequential revenue growth of just under 5 per cent, said it is now number two player in the DTH space. Its Digital TV services customer base stood at 1.78 crore as on December 2020.
Dish TV, Airtel Digital TV merger announcement likely by month end
Airtel, Dish TV & Warburg Pincus have reached pact over merger, working upon modalities.
Airtel finds Dish TV appetising, signals interest for merger
Mittal has initiated talks with Dish TV, to merge his DTH business, under Airtel Digital TV.
Tata Sky seeks new partners as financial sponsors look to exit
Temasek was among the earliest investors in the venture in 2007 and has chosen to stay invested.
Dish TV plans to continue with Videocon D2H brand
The DTH market is currently estimated to have over 60 million subscribers and is growing at around 10% annually.
DTH arm stake sale to help Bharti fight Reliance Jio
This will enable Bharti Airtel fund its capital expenditure plan aimed at bolstering 4G network and combating Reliance Jio Infocomm, analysts said.
Post wireless merger, Bharti-Tata tango likely across telecoms & media space
Tata Communications on Thursday said that the Board had decided to appoint ?independent advisors to evaluate the strategic salience of the telco's enterprise business.
Bharti Enterprises disconnects call on mega telecom alliance with Tata Group
Bharti, burdened with debt of Rs 87,840 crore at the end of June, will instead focus on strengthening its books through a strategic stake sale in tower arm Bharti Infratel.
Acquiring voice-heavy entity not wise in data-driven market: Former Bharti Airtel CEO Sanjay Kapoor
Kapoor said that if Airtel looks at the data centre business, it could position itself as a big player in the market in the foreseeable future.
Reliance Communications, Sun Group in talks to merge their DTH businesses
The deal is still at a nascent stage but sources suggest that Sun Group is likely to own a majority stake while Reliance to own less than 26%.
Zee's sports division plays spoilsport
The stock of Zee Entertainment Enterprise has fallen by over 27% in the last 10 trading sessions, much steeper than the 9% drop in the Sensex.
DTH faces telecom pricing woes
Though India is set to overtake the US to become the world’s biggest DTH market, predatory pricing is eroding profitability. And the competition is only going to get tougher, say analysts
'New rates, inventories to drive growth'
ZEE Entertainment Enterprises has posted a net profit of Rs 216.3 crore for the September quarter. And Atul Das, executive vice-president of the company, who heads corporate strategy and business development, is positive about the company’s prospects.
ZEE Q2 net at Rs 216.3 cr
Total revenue stood at Rs 711.57 crore for Q2 FY'11 as against Rs 540.5 crore registered in the same quarter last fiscal.
Don't play Big Brother, cable TV guys tell TRAI
Cable TV operators associations, therefore, do not want the government to lay down financial and technical criteria to become a cable TV operator. Celeb circus on TV
'Digitalisation will improve quality'
Sanjiv Kainth, country manager, India and head-South Asia, Irdeto, shares his thoughts with ET on a wide range of issues on content business and the need for security.
BPCL shelves DTH foray plan
Bharat Petroleum Corporation's (BPCL) entry into the direct-to-home (DTH) satellite broadcasting venture in India will remain a distant dream after the oil major decided to pull the plug on the project.
Load More
