The home-entertainment space is dominated by OTT as people prefer watching their favourite shows and movies within the comfort of their homes. This is one of the reasons that several DTH providers have started offering OTT subscriptions as part of the deal to their customers. However, if you are a regular consumer of DTH (direct to home) services, watching TV might just get costlier for you in the coming weeks. Even though the change will not be too drastic and will unfold in several phases, it can be felt soon.
Why will your DTH bill go up?
So why exactly are DTH bills expected to go up in the next few weeks? It is because of the new tariff order 3.0 that has been implemented from February 1. The order had faced some resistance from DTH operators, who argued that if implemented, it would cause great losses to them since the entertainment space is already dominated by OTT. Members of the All India Digital Cable Federation had filed a petition in the Kerala High Court against the New Tariff Order 3.0. However, on January 6 2023, the Kerala HC had refused to grant a stay on the new regime.
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Thus, Telecom operator TRAI implemented the order from February 1 and its effects will be felt soon. According to reports, around 80 per cent of DPOs have already signed up with the broadcasters and have given the nod to the latest NTO.
By what amount will the bills rise?
The DTH subscribers will pass on the added cost to the viewers. However, this will be done in a systematic manner and won’t be all at once. In other words, the DTH bills will slowly go up instead of a major increase suddenly.
According to an Economic Times report, the DTH subscribers will see an increase of around Rs 25 to Rs 50 in their DTH bills. The report also quotes a spokesperson from Tata Play saying that the prices will be ‘increased in steps over the next four to six weeks’.
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The rise of the OTT
Even though OTT platforms have been around for quite some time, they saw a huge rise in subscribers during the coronavirus lockdown More and more people subscribed to OTT channels during that time to watch their favourite shows and films. Since theaters were shut, a lot of movies were released on OTT and thus, their popularity increased massively.
