Four More Companies Mull Foray Into Dth Services

Four more companies are planning to venture into Direct To Home (DTH) services. Their entry is expected to broaden the horizon of the satellite service market.

Modi Entertainment group, Himachal Futuristic along with a Thailand-based company, Chennai-based Siva Sankaran in alliance with Sun TV and Singapore Telecom, and the former Doordarshan alliance partner Measat are mulling an entry in the DTH services market.

Kiran Karnik, the chief operating officer, Discovery Channel India told Business Standard: There are a number of DTH providers and we are talking to all of them. But our stand is clear, we will only tie up with somebody when the government makes DTH legal. Right now, the government has not given its approval. He added: I think they will finally clear it but it will take another three months at least.

Karnik also pointed that Star TV had badgered them to add Discovery Channel in their recent publicly announced DTH service. But, we told them to get all their government approvals first, Karnik observed dryly. Star TV had recently published advertisements calling for subscribers even before the DTH services had obtained government okay.

Karnik, who felt that DTH helps in expanding viewership and getting the more sensitised digital signal, pointed out that Discovery would not enter into any alliance with a DTH service provider on an exclusive basis. Thats our policy worldwide, he added. Karnik said encrypting their signal had not harmed their viewership in any way. They had made alternate arrangements to provide cable TV operators with a new decoder box at a subsidised rate of around Rs 5,300. However, 4,000 such decoder boxes, normally costing around Rs 24,000 would be distributed. Karnik announced they would definitely not become a pay channel till January 1999.

Discovery is also planning to introduce a new India Hour on Saturdays at 8 pm and increase their Hindi audio feed to 15 hours. Refusing to divulge any financial figures, he said it would take a channel around three to four years to breakeven in a market that has yet to mature.

He, however, clarified that the company was investing around $220 million for new programmes.