There's barely a month-and-a-half left to move on to the digital TV platform. But 30 per cent of households in metros are not even aware of the Digitisation Bill, according to a recent study. And many of those who are aware, remain undecided about the switch.

Despite a series of ads across media by the Government, broadcasters' association, DTH and cable TV players, a study conducted by a leading service provider in the industry, finds that awareness is limited. As much as 70 per cent of the households in the metros know only to the extent that they “have to buy a set-top box”, but not in detail.

While the Government is unlikely to relent on its stand on the June 30 deadline, the big question now is how many TV homes will switch to digital mode by then.

No significant momentum

Representatives of a few major cable TV service providers say that most of the operators are yet to finalise their offerings. DTH (direct-to-home) players too say subscriber acquisition in these cities has not gained any significant momentum. “The industry did not see any spurt in subscriber addition in these cities in the last two-three months,” says Mr Harit Nagpal, Managing Director of Tata Sky.

Mr Shashi Arora, CEO (DTH), Bharti Airtel, says that the offtake may gain momentum as the day draws closer. However, he says, going by the current trend, the churn will, by and large, be in favour of the DTH industry. Considering that the DTH industry is better geared to take any number of households on board without much hassle, many would prefer DTH to cable in the first phase. “While the cable TV operator has to ensure optical fibre cable network in place, all that the DTH operator has to do is to fix up an antenna and connect – no matter where the house is,” he says.

Recharge outlets

In order to address complaints such as ‘difficulty in recharging' and availability of retail outlets in the vicinity, DTH operators are expanding their retail network and outlets.

Besides, it will take some time for cable operators to set up the necessary back-end to offer interactive channels, pick-and-choose (of channels) option, games and video-on-demand, says Mr Nagpal. “It took us years to develop this infrastructure.”

However, he says, the more important question here is “whether, collectively, are we geared to meet the requirement well on time, rather than analysing in whose favour it will swing”.

rravikumar@thehindu.co.in

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