Hybrid DTH + OTT plans show promise, but enough to revive industry?

India’s DTH industry is in the middle of a structural shift, pressured by a maturing pay-TV market, rising cord-cutting, and the rapid acceleration of OTT consumption. In response, operators have bet heavily on hybrid models that blend traditional broadcasting with integrated OTT apps, launching smart set-top boxes and packaging streaming services alongside linear TV. 

Yet even as smart TVs become ubiquitous and OTT viewing explodes across demographics, the question remains: has this convergence helped DTH players regain momentum, lift ARPU, or slow churn, or is the industry still far from reversing its decline?

According to the latest TRAI report, the total active subscriber base of pay DTH services fell from 56.07 million in June 2025 to 52.78 million in September 2025. The four pay DTH providers—Dish TV, Tata Play, Airtel Digital TV, and Sun Direct—collectively held 52.78 million active users, in addition to the viewers of DD Free Dish, Prasar Bharati’s free-to-air DTH service.

Recent Crisil Ratings says private DTH operators are likely to see a slower revenue decline of about 3–4 per cent in FY26, compared with roughly 5 per cent last year. The improvement is expected to come from bundled IPTV offerings, better marketing income, and reduced subsidies by some players.

While cord-cutting continues to weigh on the sector and has kept DTH revenues shrinking for six years, companies are now expanding into areas like IPTV to build combined service packages that include OTT apps, broadband, and live TV.

IPTV, in particular, has grown strongly — its user base has jumped from around 5.7 lakh in FY24 to 21.3 lakh by September 2025. This growth is giving operators more room to upsell by pairing broadband connections with OTT and live TV services.

Crisil has also noted that in certain markets, a sharper focus on regional content and the relatively limited options available on platforms like DD Free Dish could work in favour of private DTH players.

DTH operators have introduced a range of new products, including hybrid boxes and dedicated OTT apps, aimed at winning back subscribers. But despite predictions of a turnaround in the next two to three years, the ongoing slide hints that recovery is still distant.

While DTH players say they have seen better retention and ARPU in bundled hybrid content packs with the response being positive, some industry observers believe that the model is not financially viable.

Sukhpreet Singh, Chief Revenue Officer, Dish TV & VZY TV, said early traction for hybrid DTH+OTT products has been strong. “In Dish TV, we have seen better retention and ARPU in bundled hybrid content packs. On our newly launched VZY TV—which comes with built-in DTH and OTT content—the response has also been good. The impact on ARPU won’t be immediately visible because most customers are on bundled year-long plans,” he said.

Singh added that the lifetime value of hybrid customers is significantly higher. “When we provide hardware integrated with DTH and OTT subscriptions, the chances of customers staying longer with us go up,” he said, noting that experience and engagement indicators are already improving.

However, broadcast consultant Rajiv Khattar said the DTH–OTT model is essentially a retention effort, but has not delivered meaningful results. “The DTH–OTT model is essentially an effort to retain customers, but it hasn’t been very effective. We continue to see churn across operators, and the model has added financial pressure because the cost recovery simply isn’t there. There has been no visible ARPU lift,” he said.

He added that urban consumers have already shifted to OTT on connected TVs and moved away from DTH long ago. In semi-urban and rural areas, OTT is largely consumed on personal mobile devices, while DTH remains a family-oriented medium. 

“So hybrid boxes or hybrid services don’t have much impact,” he noted.

Another industry expert argued that bundling OTT with DTH does not fundamentally change consumer behaviour. OTT platforms control most of the value and pricing, and users who want streaming services simply subscribe directly. As a result, OTT add-ons through DTH do not meaningfully increase revenue and may even accelerate the shift away from pay-TV. Many households are opting for a low-cost combination of DD Free Dish plus select OTT apps, bypassing the DTH ecosystem entirely.

While TRAI figures show stagnant TV time spent over the past two to three years, Dish TV is seeing incremental viewing on Watcho, indicating that users are consuming both linear TV and OTT. Singh also noted that the addressable market—particularly in the so-called Freedish universe—is likely smaller than widely estimated and that a platform shift is underway. “In the next one to two years, the overall trend may reverse,” he said, referring to potential stabilisation or expansion of the DTH universe as hybrid models scale.

In September 2025, Dish TV launched VZY Smart TV, a fully integrated smart television designed to unify live TV, OTT streaming, smart features, and immersive design. VZY Smart TVs combine QLED displays, Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos, built-in Google TV (Android 14), voice-enabled remotes, Chromecast, AirPlay, and in select models, even an inbuilt set-top box.

Dish TV also unveiled “FLIQS,” an exclusive digital content segment on its Watcho app, launched at WAVES 2025 in May. The initiative aims to democratize content distribution and offer monetisation opportunities to creators across India and globally.

Tata Play, meanwhile, expanded the Tata Play Binge content portfolio by onboarding WAVES, Prasar Bharati’s OTT platform. This collaboration enhances its appeal among diverse audiences by adding culturally rich, family-oriented programming. Tata Play Binge first launched for DTH users in 2019–20 through devices like the Amazon Fire TV Stick, then expanded significantly in October 2022 as a standalone app for all smartphone users, offering bundled OTT content.

India’s DTH sector continued to face pressure in Q2 FY26, with financial performance mirroring subscriber declines and the structural shift toward connected TV and OTT.

Dish TV’s operating performance remained weak in Q2 FY26. Total income fell to ₹299.2 crore from ₹400 crore in Q2 FY25—a decline of 25.2 percent. Airtel Digital TV posted relatively stable numbers, reporting revenue of ₹753 crore in Q2 FY26 versus ₹758 crore last year, a marginal decline of 0.66 percent.

For H1 FY26, Dish TV’s income dropped sharply to ₹633.4 crore from ₹861.5 crore in H1 FY25, a fall of 26.5 percent. Airtel Digital TV reported H1 FY26 revenue of ₹1,516 crore, slightly lower than ₹1,535 crore a year earlier, a dip of 1.24 percent.

Tata Play’s most recent disclosed financials show FY25 revenue falling to ₹4,109 crore from ₹4,327 crore in FY24, a decline of 5.05 percent. Sun Direct’s quarterly FY26 revenue figures were unavailable, but its operating income for the first nine months of FY25 fell to ₹939 crore from ₹1,042 crore in FY24, a drop of 9.88 percent.

Earlier quarterly filings further highlight the difficult environment. Dish TV’s Q1 FY26 income fell 27.7 percent year-on-year to ₹329.4 crore, while losses widened sharply. Airtel Digital TV’s Q1 FY26 revenue of ₹763 crore represented a 1.8 percent year-on-year dip. Tata Play’s consolidated net loss jumped to ₹510 crore in FY25, with subscriber numbers dropping to 18 million from a peak of 23 million.

The financial strain is clear at the sector level as well. According to the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, non-tax revenue from DTH services fell to ₹648.73 crore in FY25, down from ₹692 crore in FY24 and far below the ₹859.96 crore recorded in FY23.

Some industry experts argue that the latest numbers show the DTH business entering a phase of irreversible churn. Even the stronger operators are struggling to maintain revenue as subscriber losses accelerate. The industry now depends heavily on hybrid and bundled models for survival, as traditional pay-TV growth has flattened and connected TV adoption accelerates.

The decline in DTH subscribers is part of a larger shift in how Indian households consume video content. TRAI’s subscriber data reflects the cumulative effect of OTT adoption, rising connected TV penetration, and growing appeal of DD Free Dish among price-sensitive households. Broadcasters themselves have slowed the launch of new satellite channels, with the total count stagnating between 912 and 918 over the past year, signalling a strategic pivot toward digital-first content investments.

TRAI data shows that the active DTH subscriber base of the four players fell sharply from 62.17 million in June 2024 to 56.07 million in June 2025—a loss of more than six million users in 12 months.

The decline was steady across each quarter:

• June 2024: 62.17 million
• September 2024: 59.91 million
• December 2024: 58.22 million
• March 2025: 56.92 million
• June 2025: 56.07 million
• September 2025: 52.78 million

This persistent downward trajectory highlights the deepening structural transformation in television consumption, particularly in urban markets where broadband is widespread.

Despite the contraction, the relative market shares of Tata Play, Airtel Digital TV, Dish TV, and Sun Direct have remained largely unchanged. As of June 2025, Tata Play led with 31.42 percent, followed by Airtel Digital TV (29.33 percent), Sun Direct (20.13 percent), and Dish TV (19.13 percent. This stability shows the challenge is industry-wide, not operator-specific.

Dish TV reported a sharp decline in Q1 FY26 revenue, falling 27.7 percent to ₹329.4 crore from ₹455.3 crore a year earlier. Subscription revenue fell 10.8 percent, and advertising income dropped by more than half. Losses widened from ₹1.6 crore to ₹94.5 crore.

Airtel Digital TV reported a smaller decline, with Q1 FY26 revenue at ₹763 crore, down 1.8 percent year-on-year, maintaining a customer base of 15.7 million. For FY25, Airtel’s Digital TV business posted revenue of ₹3,060 crore, broadly flat year-on-year. Bharti Airtel MD Gopal Vittal noted that the company has achieved a record-high market share and is eliminating subsidies to strengthen cash flows.

Tata Play saw FY25 revenue fall 5.46 percent to ₹4,082 crore, while losses widened to ₹529.43 crore. Its subscriber base shrank to 18 million from a peak of 23 million. Analysts at CRISIL expect no revenue growth in FY26, due to DD Free Dish’s popularity in smaller towns and a rapid shift to digital streaming in urban areas.

Operators are increasingly experimenting with hybrid set-top boxes, bundled OTT offerings, and rural expansion. But as consumer habits evolve—with more viewers migrating to smartphones, smart TVs, and high-speed broadband—the DTH industry is under unprecedented pressure to reinvent itself.

The next few years will determine whether satellite television can remain relevant in India’s media ecosystem or whether it will be steadily sidelined by digital platforms. What is clear is that the era of uninterrupted growth for DTH is over, and future survival depends on meaningful innovation and structural transformation.