Bharti Airtel’s DTH business lost 3.4 lakh subscribers in Q2 FY26

Bharti Airtel’s DTH satellite TV business lost 3.4 lakh subscribers in Q2 FY26, said Gopal Vittal, Managing Director, Bharti Airtel on Tuesday.

The telecom operator which released its financial results for the second quarter of FY26 ending September 30, 2025, reported a revenue of Rs 753 crore from digital TV services in Q2, marginally down by Rs 5 crore from the same quarter last year.

For H1 FY26, (Q1 + Q2), the company reported a revenue of Rs 1516 crore from digital TV, down by 1.24 % in H1 FY25, when it was Rs 1535 crore.

It said, “Digital TV recorded revenues of Rs 753 crore with a customer base of 15.4 million. Our IPTV offering continues to gain traction with strong adoption by customers.”

However, the DTH service reported a loss of Rs 60.6 crore before tax in Q2 FY26, while it had reported a profit of Rs 1.2 crore in the same quarter previous year. For H1 FY26, the company reported a loss of Rs 58.3 crore, compared to a profit of Rs 84.5 crore in H1 FY25.

During the quarter, Bharti Airtel entered into partnership with Perplexity to offer 12-month Perplexity Pro subscription free of cost to all its Mobile, Homes and Digital TV customers. “This collaboration brings the powerful AI-powered search and answer engine that offers real-time and deeply researched responses to users in a conversational language, at no extra cost, offering convenience and value to the users,” it said.

Among the market share for the quarter ending June 30, 2025, out of the four DTH players, Tata Play retained leadership with a 31.42 percent share of the total subscriber base. Bharti Telemedia Ltd. (Airtel Digital TV) followed closely with 29.33 percent, while Sun Direct TV Pvt. Ltd. held 20.13 percent and Dish TV India Ltd. accounted for 19.13 percent.

Market share figures for the quarter ending March 31, 2025, tell a similar story, with Tata Play steady at 31.42 percent, Airtel Digital TV at 30.20 percent, Sun Direct at 19.32 percent, and Dish TV at 19.06 percent. These numbers indicate that while the overall pie has shrunk, the competitive balance among players has not shifted dramatically, though the race between Tata Play and Airtel Digital TV remains especially close.

Airtel Digital TV, by contrast, reported a more modest dip. In the first quarter of FY26, the company posted revenue of Rs 763 crore, down 1.8 percent year-on-year, with a customer base of 15.7 million.

For the entire fiscal year 2024–25, its revenue stood at Rs 3,060.8 crore, nearly flat compared to the previous fiscal. Vittal had earlier said that despite headwinds, Airtel Digital TV had achieved a record high market share. He had emphasized that the company is implementing structural changes by eliminating subsidies in its DTH business, a move expected to strengthen cash flows even as competition intensifies.