Rupe's Indian bird takes to Sky
Satcaster carries channels from Star, Sony, Doordarshan
At a glittering bash in New Delhi, Tata Sky execs announced a monthly subscription of 200 rupees ($4.20) for the basic tier of 100 channels, including 17 from Star, 14 from Sony, 19 from pubcaster Doordarshan.
Star's foray into India's satellite market, first conceived almost 10 years ago but held up by government regulations regarding foreign players, was launched simultaneously across 300 Indian cities and towns.
The 80/20 joint venture between Tata and Star is eying rural and urban markets, according to Tata Sky CEO Vikram Kaushik.
"Today, 63 million Indian homes have cable television while 47 million get terrestrial and we estimate 110 million homes do not have TV access -- and that's a massive opportunity," Kaushik says.
The other players in the burgeoning satcaster market are DD Direct Plus, managed by Doordarshan, and Dish TV owned by Zee TV mogul Subhash Chandra.
The two between them have a reach of about 2 million subscribers.
Anil Ambani's satcaster venture Reliance Bluemagic is also planning to launch in India, where analysts estimate the market will grow to some 10 million subscribers by 2010.
But Kalanithi Maran's Sun Group bid went up in smoke when the rocket carrying India's heaviest communications satellite Insat-4C exploded in a ball of flame seconds after lift-off in July.
Maran had booked six high power KU band transponders on the satellite for its Sun Direct and is now looking for other satellite access.
Satellite has "its strength in rural areas where cable access is difficult," says Shivaji Sarkar, analyst with the Indian Institute of Mass Communication. "It would have to fight hard to find a niche in urban households."
But Kaushik said he intends to target urban areas and India's 300 million-plus middle-class market.
"We will aim to connect every TV home in India and change the mass market," he says.
