India to overtake US DTH mkt

“India will become the largest DTH market in the world in terms of subscribers by 2012,overtaking the United States,” it said.

The industry sales is expected to grow to USD 12.1 billion by 2014 and touch USD 18.5 billion by 2020,it said adding that most DTH players will start making money after 2013.

The DTH operators today are toiling under a heavy tax regime and subsidies given to customers on the new set-top boxes.

The Indian pay-TV sector (DTH and cable) generated sales of USD 6.5 billion in the last financial year ended March 2010,which is expected to grow to USD 12.1 billion by 2014 and USD 18.5 billion by 2020,MPA said.

“We are more positive on India’s DTH opportunity than previously,especially when anchored to consolidation and improved pricing power with continued growth,” MPA Executive Director Vivek Couto said.

“We suspect the DTH market will consolidate from six to four platforms within three to five years,and the estimate four will be making money at the EBITDA level by financial year ended March 2013,” he added.

MPA expects competition to remain intense as the tug-of-war for customer acquisition shifts to regional markets.

“The major risk to all our growth assumptions is regulation,which continues to commoditise and destroy industry value,” Couto said.

Pay-TV subscriber base is projected to grow from 105 million in 2009 to 149 million by 2014 and 173 million by 2020.

While cable will retain 70 per cent market share by 2014,it is expected to decline to 64 per cent by 2020,with DTH scaling up to almost 35 per cent share in the long-term.