Shrinking screens: Why would a customer pay Rs 250 a month for cable?

From Rs 27,000 crore in 2010, cable's share of subscription revenues is now estimated at Rs 13,000 crore

Vishal Vijayrao Khodke is unhappy. The 38-year-old owner of RCN Digital in Amravati, Maharashtra, had 14,000 homes on his cable TV network in 2015. That is when the region began digitising. People who did not want to spend on set-top boxes dropped out, leaving him with 11,500 homes. In 2019 came the New Tariff Order that complicated channel choices and increased prices, pushing him down to 8,000 homes. Khodke’s average revenue per user, or ARPU, from cable is now Rs 118 a month, down from Rs 150. He has had to reduce his staff from 130 to 60.

“Broadcasters repackage