New rules kicking in from April put Dish TV at an advantage

New rates seen boosting direct-to-home players; Dish TV's union with Videocon D2H is positive

Dish TV stock has gained more than 12 per cent over the last week on upgrades by brokerages, thanks to new rate rules proposed by the regulator. 

Direct-to-home (DTH) players such as Dish TV are seen as benefitting from them.

Kicking in from April 1, the new rules will break up subscriber payments into capacity charge and pay-TV revenues. 

The mandated capacity charge is Rs 130 for the first 100 free-to-air channels, and an additional Rs 20 for every incremental 25 channels. 

Pay channel subscription revenue (in addition to capacity or distribution charge) is split up between broadcasters and distributors, with the latter getting