India’s pay-TV channels now total 254


Details

Rebecca Hawkes

| 19 February 2016




India has 819 registered private satellite TV channels, with 254 of these being pay-TV channels, according to data from the broadcasting regulator.



The number of India’s registered channels fell by seven to the quarter ending September 2015, although three new pay channels - Colors Infinity HD, Colors Infinity, and Zee Café HD - were launched during this period. The MGM channel was temporarily suspended in the quarter, while the transmission of VH1 and Comedy Central was changed from standard to high definition.

The maximum number of pay-TV channels carried by cable operators in non-conditional addressable system (CAS) areas rose from 214 to 233 in the same period.

The maximum number of free-to-air (FTA) TV channels carried by cable operators in non-CAS areas in the three months to September 2015 increased from 179 to 197, according to data collected by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI).

Multi-system operator (MSO) Hathway Cable & Datacom reported carrying 458 digital channels, the highest number reported to TRAI, in areas where non-addressable systems are now prevalent. Cable operator Ortel Communications reported carrying the maximum 100 analogue channels in the same areas.

At 197, Hathway Cable & Datacom is also thought to carry the highest number of FTA channels in these regions, plus the largest number of pay-TV channels (233) and local channels (28), according to the TRAI data.

By 30 September 2015, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting had granted 226 MSOs permanent registration and provisional registration to 173 MSOs to provide cable TV services in India through digital addressable systems (DAS). Some 90 teleports had been permitted by the end of the same period.

The total number of registered subscribers registered to India’s six private direct-to-home (DTH) satellite operators reached 81.47 million, while active DTH subscriptions stood at 41.05 million as of 30 September 2015.