An analysis of all private DTH companies, covering roughly 53 million subscribers as of September 30, 2025, indicates continued subscriber churn as affluent users shift to over-the-top platforms and budget-conscious households switch to DD Free Dish. The subscriber base of private DTH operators has already reduced from 72 million in FY19 to 62 million in FY24 and is projected to fall below 51 million by the end of the current fiscal.
“Although cord cutting has put pressure on DTH companies, leading to secular revenue degrowth over the past six years, operators are making inroads in new areas such as IPTV to drive bundled services (OTT, broadband, live TV),” said Ankit Hakhu, Director, Crisil Ratings.
IPTV services have gained traction, with the customer base almost quadrupling to 21.3 lakh as of September 2025 from around 5.7 lakh in FY24. This has opened up upselling opportunities by bundling OTT and live TV with broadband connections.
There are, however, pockets of resilience. In south India, where the pace of cord cutting has been slower, the leading DTH operator has managed to grow market share and maintain subscriber numbers despite an industry-wide decline.
“Though the revenue of private DTH players will be impacted by the reduction in subscriber base, this will be partially offset by income from marketing on the player’s own OTT aggregator platforms via hybrid boxes,” said Gauri Gupta, Team Leader, Crisil Ratings. A reduction in customer acquisition incentives through lower discounts on set-top boxes for new subscribers will also support margins.
Margins, which slipped from 48% in FY23 to 45 percent in FY25, are expected to stay stable at 44–45% this fiscal on the back of cost controls.Crisil added that in some regions, stronger focus on regional content and limited offerings on competing platforms such as DD Free Dish may remain an advantage.
However, the higher cost of OTT subscription charges bundled with broadband has capped adoption among more value-conscious consumers.
The rating agency said tariff hikes by DTH players and growing competitive digital alternatives could pose a threat to overall TV viewership and will require monitoring.
