Nature of Product:

We compared the features provided by the two market leaders, Dish Tv and
Tata Sky.The product is differentiated in the following aspects :-

Hardware :

Tata Sky Set Top Box comes with a 500 Gb hard disk to store recordings of
television programmes liked by the user.It gives enough space to record
favorite television serials and movies. On the other hand, Dish Tv does not
gives any internal hard disk in the set top box. It provides a 4 Gb usb pen
drive to attach into the STB but its very small in size. You can attach another
pen drive if the existing pen drive is full.Tata Sky STB contains three light
indicators to show recording progress. Dish TV STB doesn't contain
indicators.So in hardware Tata Sky is better than Dish Tv.

Channel count and Picture quality:

In HD channels count, Tata Sky gives more than Dish TV. Tata Sky
provides 91 Hd channels, on the other hand Dish Tv provides 72 Hd
channels.In SD channels, both Tata Sky and Dish Tv provide almost equal
number of SD channels.Regarding picture quality, it is same in Dish Tv and
Tata Sky. Channels look sharp and clear on both.

Channel recording:

Tata Sky gives better channel recording feature. Dish Tv provides pen drive
option so users can't record as many TV shows or movies as they can record in
Tata Sky which comes with hard disk.

DTH Set Top Box UI (Use Interface) :

Tata Sky is better than Dish TV in user interface. Tata Sky’s user interface
looks better and is easy to use. On the other hand Dish Tv’s UI looks old. Tata
Sky UI fonts look clear on Tv screen.Using Tata Sky menu is easier than Dish
TV. Menus in Tata Sky are well arranged and easy to locate but Dish TV is
comaparatively difficult to operate.
Entry barriers in the DTH industry :-
1.High setup costs for satellite, transponder and other machinery:
the original setup costs for broadcaster are enormous, so it functions as a major
entry barrier.The price of the installation box in households is still very big and
the price of a set top box is an important entry barrier.

2. DTH is a low margin sector:

DTH is a profitable business but it is a high-volume, low-
margin sector. In order to make profit a new company should ensure that it soon
builds a big customer base else it won't be feasible to create profit.

3. Pricing is very competitive :

Cable operators and established dth operators are a big competition to a new
company in the dth industry.

4. Customer Service:
A main differentiator will be the quality of customer service. Indian customers
are used to calling the cablewalah whenever there is a problem. A fresh entrant
will face difficulties on two fronts: one to guarantee better customer service
than local cable carriers, and the other to provide better customer service than
current DTH providers.

5. Geographical diversity:
Since India is a multicultural, multilingual society, ensuring that the fresh entran
t maintains a fine balance between regional and national flavour is very crucial.

6. Long break even period:

Stabilizing and growing in this sector requires a lot of time for a fresh entrant. It
is comparatively high even to achieve the break period. Zee's Dish TV introduc
ed in 2003 achieved break even in 2009(6 years).This lengthy break even period
is a major obstacle for fresh entrants.

7. High Cost of content:

In DTH sector, the price of content is high, posing a severe challenge to the serv
ice provider.
Companies in the DTH market that have entered or
left the business in last 10 years:
The DTH market structure can be classified into three categories; Market
leaders, Market challengers and Market followers.

Market Leader:-

Dish TV:

The market leader is Dish TV. It is India's first DTH service provider launched
in October 2003. Dish TV remains to be a market leader with a significant sales
and distribution infrastructure of more than 650 retailers and 45,000 retailers
across 6,500 cities–once again the biggest in the category. This reach to far-
flung markets allows a varied subscriber base to be built across consumer
sections, backed by its rich content of regional channel offers.

Market Challenger:-

TATA Sky:

Occasionally opportunities arise in India's huge consumer market that can create
amazing growth and profit , provided those who seek to capture it ,can move
fast enough. TATA wanted to take advantage of this chance, as the DTH market
presently has only one player,Dish TV. Leveraging on the TATA brand and
strong brand recall, it was the second mover. Tata Sky, which was established in
2004, is a JV between the TATA Group and STAR.
Through its satellite television service, Tata Sky aims to give Indian viewers a
worldclass viewing experience. In a nation like India, the main company challen
ge is meeting client demands which are highly dynamic under the country's
regulatory jurisdiction.

Market followers:-

Reliance Big TV(now Independent TV) / Airtel Digital Tv /Videocon d2h :

The approach being followed is of Market Follower as they are late entrant and
their primay objective is to attract max subscribers in shortest span of time.
Independent TV (formerly Reliance Big Tv) :

Independent TV, formerly Reliance Big TV, is an Indian direct to home (DTH)
television operator. It was a subsidiary of Reliance Communications. Reliance
Big TV was sold to Pantel Technologies and Veecon Media and Television in
2018. It was rebranded and relaunched as Independent TV.

Videocon d2h:

Videocon d2h is a DTH satellite TV supplier based in Mumbai, India, using digi
tal compression technology from MPEG4 with DVB S2. Videocon d2h introduc
ed on May 1, 2009, came up with a very nice approach to sell both of its electro
nic products such as TV's DVDs along with the new set top box.

Airtel Digital TV:

Airtel Digital TV is Bharti Airtel's DTH (Direct to Home) service. It utilizes

DVB-S2 technology for MPEG-4 digital compression. Airtel Digital introduced
a 360-degree mega-campaign'Come Home to the Magic in October 2008. Since
then, two other campaigns have been introduced:' Starscome home' (March
2009) and' DTH Picture Clarity (August 2009) has expanded its channel base to
183 + channels. Airtel digital TV is now one of the country's fastest increasing
DTH brands and is accessible in over 5000 cities across India. It has also been
listed by "Living Digital" magazine as the best DTH service. Airtel chief Sunil
Mittal said Airtel Digital TV and other DTH players have a bright future on the
Indian market as individuals are becoming more drawn to DTH due to its
quality and affordability.