Airtel digital TV

Airtel Digital TV
Airtel digital TV
FormerlyAirtel Digital (2006–2010)
Company typeSubsidiary
IndustrySatellite television
Founded30 November 2006; 18 years ago (2006-11-30)
FounderSunil Mittal
HeadquartersBharti Crescent, 1 Nelson Mandela Road, Vasant Kunj,
Delhi
,
India[1]
Area served
India
Key people
Services
RevenueIncrease ₹3,100 crore (US$370 million)[3] (FY22)
Decrease ₹2,100.6 crore (US$250 million)[3] (FY22)
ParentBharti Airtel
Websitewww.airtel.in/dth/

Airtel Digital TV is an Indian subscription based satellite television provider owned by Bharti Telemedia Limited, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Bharti Airtel.[1] It launched DTH satellite television service in India on 9 October 2008.

Airtel Digital (2006–2010)
Also known as Airtel Digital

Airtel Digital TV is India's second largest DTH operator second largest DTH operator in India by number of subscribers. As of 31 December 2022, it had a market share of 26.35%.[4]

History

Bharti Telemedia Limited was incorporated on 30 November 2006 as a subsidiary of Bharti Airtel.[5] The company announced plans to launch direct-to-home satellite television services across India on 7 August 2007.[6] The service was launched on 9 October 2008 under the brand name Airtel Digital TV.[7]

On 18 November 2010, Airtel Digital is rebranded in to Airtel Digital TV

On 4 May 2011, Airtel digital TV announced the launch of its first high-definition digital video recorder (HD-DVR) priced at ₹3,990 (equivalent to ₹8,200 or US$99 in 2023) and ₹4,490 (equivalent to ₹9,300 or US$110 in 2023) for existing and new customers respectively.[8] On 24 May 2011, Airtel announced that its HD and HD-DVR boxes were software-enabled to view standard-definition content up-scaled to 1080i HD.[9] Airtel digital TV had a total subscriber base of 10.07 million as on 30 March 2015.[10][11]

On 12 December 2017, Bharti Airtel announced that it would sell a 20% stake in Bharti Telemedia to American private equity firm Warburg Pincus for US$350 million.[12][13] The sale received approval from the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting on 28 August 2018.[14]

On 17 February 2021, Bharti Airtel announced that it would buy back the 20% stake in Bharti Telemedia that it had sold to Warburg Pincus at a cost of ₹3,126 crore (US$370 million).[15] The transaction was completed on 22 March 2021.[16]

Technical information

Airtel Digital TV's standard-definition broadcasts are in MPEG-4 with Interactive Service and 7-day Electronic Programmed Guide.[17] A universal remote is included in the package that can, over IR frequencies, control both the TV and the DTH box.[18][19] Airtel Digital TV HD provides channels of resolution 1080p pixel with a 16:9 aspect ratio. The set-top box is compatible with 7.1 Channel Dolby digital Plus surround sound and is the first HD set-top box in India to be compliant with the standard.[20]

Services

Airtel Digital TV provides Pay-per-view on connected boxes that includes a catalog of movies, TV series and other programmed across English and various Indian languages.[21] It also offers interactive services such as iDarshan, iKidsworld, iMusicspace and games.[22][23]

References

  1. ^ a b "Bharti Telemedia Limited: Private Company Information". bloomberg.com. Retrieved 3 August 2018.
  2. ^ "Leadership". www.bharti.com. Retrieved 22 May 2023.
  3. ^ a b "Bharti Airtel's DTH biz reports 27% increase in Q4 revenue". Exchange4media. Retrieved 18 July 2021.
  4. ^ "The Indian Telecom Services Performance Indicators, Oct – Dec, 2022" (PDF).
  5. ^ "Bharti Telemedia Limited Information - Bharti Telemedia Limited Company Profile, Bharti Telemedia Limited News on The Economic Times". The Economic Times. Archived from the original on 8 May 2019. Retrieved 22 May 2023.
  6. ^ "Bharti Website: Press Release 2007-2008". www.bharti.com. Retrieved 22 May 2023.
  7. ^ "Bharti Airtel launches DTH service". The Financial Express. 7 October 2008. Archived from the original on 4 December 2010. Retrieved 12 August 2010.
  8. ^ "Now enjoy the magic of HD on airtel digital TV's 3D ready HD Recorder!". Airtel.in. 4 May 2011. Archived from the original on 4 October 2012.
  9. ^ "Airtel Digital TV HD users to get free up scaled SD Channels". pcworld.in. 24 May 2011. Archived from the original on 25 December 2013. Retrieved 19 August 2013.
  10. ^ "Quarterly report on the results for the second quarter and six months ended September 30, 2014" (PDF). Bharti Airtel.
  11. ^ "Airtel Digital TV adds 1.06 mn subs in FY15, EBITDA sees strong growth". televisionPost.com. 29 April 2015. Archived from the original on 19 November 2015. Retrieved 28 November 2015.
  12. ^ "Warburg Pincus To Buy 20% Stake In Airtel DTH For Rs 2,310 Crore". NDTV.com. Retrieved 22 May 2023.
  13. ^ Pandey, Harveen Ahluwalia, Navadha (12 December 2017). "Airtel to sell 20% stake in DTH arm to Warburg Pincus for $350 million". mint. Retrieved 22 May 2023.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  14. ^ "Airtel gets govt nod to offload 15 pc stake in DTH arm to Warburg Pincus". The Asian Age. 29 August 2018. Retrieved 22 May 2023.
  15. ^ Guha, Ishita (17 February 2021). "Airtel to acquire 20% stake in Bharti Telemedia from Warburg Pincus". mint. Retrieved 22 May 2023.
  16. ^ www.ETTelecom.com. "Airtel dilutes 0.664% stake to Warburg Pincus' Lion Meadow - ET Telecom". ETTelecom.com. Retrieved 22 May 2023.
  17. ^ "Airtel DTH ad misleading complains Tata Sky". Economic Times. Archived from the original on 8 December 2015. Retrieved 28 November 2015.
  18. ^ "Airtel Universal Remote Setup for Your Television". techupdatesindia.com. Retrieved 28 November 2015.
  19. ^ "How to Program and Use Airtel Digital TV (ADTV), Tata Sky DTH and Videocon D2H Universal Remotes with your TV Set?". askvg.com. 10 November 2013. Retrieved 28 November 2015.
  20. ^ "Airtel Digital TV to Bring Dolby Digital Plus Surround Sound to Indian Broadcast Television".
  21. ^ "Shemaroo launches movie premier service". Business Standard India. Business Standard. Press Trust of India. 2 November 2015. Retrieved 28 November 2015.
  22. ^ "Airtel live games". airtel.in. Retrieved 28 November 2015.
  23. ^ "Airtel Interactive services". airtel.in. Retrieved 28 November 2015.