Nivedita Mookerji

Mumbai: Films are likely to provide a good platform for competition for the direct-tohome (DTH) players.

As channel exclusivity over any media platform like cable TV and DTH is not allowed as per a ‘must-share’ clause set by the regulator Trai, DTH players are planning to increase their offerings under ‘movie-on-demand’ services to attract more customers.

Reliance group’s DTH platform Big TV, which is scheduled to be launched soon, would offer around 30 to 40 films at a time for its on-demand viewership, says Prakash Bajpai, president of Reliance Communications. The number of movies may be increased in the future, he said.

Current DTH players like Tata Sky (a JV between the Tatas and Rupert Murdoch’s Star) and Dish TV (of the Essel group) have fewer movies in their kitties for their ‘on-demand’ services.

Currently, Dish TV offers only 4-6 films on-demand at a given time and Tata Sky doesn’t have more than three choices. However, the two players are now keen to add more titles on their ‘on-demand’ list.

Dish TV is said to be planning to increase its on-demand bouquet to at least 12 films. Even regional films are likely to be added to its current offerings. Tata Sky is also said to be stepping up its movie initiative, but no company spokesperson was available for comment on the matter.

Reliance is likely to price its on-demand movies at anything between Rs 50 and Rs 150 each, depending on the kind of films being showcased. DTH players currently charge anything between Rs 50 and 75 for movies on demand.

Besides TataSky and Dish TV, Sun TV also has also entered the DTH platform recently. There’s also a free-to-air DTH platform from public broadcaster Prasar Bharati. The Bharati group is also planning to launch a DTH platform soon.

Recently, the information and broadcasting ministry decided to increase the foreign investment limit in DTH to 74% from the current 49%.

Source : DNA