A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF DIGITAL CABLE TV WITH DIRECT TO HOME (DTH) SERVICE

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International Research Journal of Management and Commerce (IRJMC) ISSN: (2348-9766) 130 | P a g e International Research Journal of Management and Commerce Vol. 3, Issue 4, April 2016 IF- 3.861 ISSN: (2348-9766)

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A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF DIGITAL CABLE TV WITH DIRECT

TO HOME (DTH) SERVICE

Astha Joshi

Research Scholar, International Institute of Professional Studies Devi Ahilya University Indore, MP.

ABSTRACT

The growth of TV channels & Digital Cable TV operators created a big industry and market

opportunities. There were as many as 1, 00,000 Digital Cable TV operators across India

until few years back. However the services provided by cable operators were poor. The

strikes, increase in tariff plan, selective broadcast and poor services were major cause of

dissatisfaction among the customers. This has created an opportunity for DTH, which serves

an immediate threat to the high end cable networks India has about 130 million TV homes of

which, Cable & Satellite (C&S) services are present in 97 million (74%) of the home.

It is a comparative study of Digital Cable TV network with direct to home (DTH) service with

special reference to customers in Indore City. This research is about the preference of

customers between local cable operator and DTH service providers are they satisfied with

the service there operator is providing. It also includes the reason why more customers are

shifting towards DTH service. The study was focused on the customers of DTH service and

Digital Cable TV connection in Indore. Customers of age 18 to 47 and above were

approached to know their preferences. Total 117 respondents were recorded.

Keywords: Digital Cable TV, DTH, Picture Quality, After sale service

___________________________________________________________________________

Conceptual framework:

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International Research Journal of Management and Commerce (IRJMC) ISSN: (2348-9766) 131 | P a g e connection to DTH service providers due to their better picture quality and variety of channels, still some people are using local cable connection but the number of users has decreased to a great extent.

With the Indian economy booming at a GDP growth rate of 9.4%, there is a sense of growth prevailing everywhere. The average Indian‟s disposable income and purchasing power has risen to never before levels. The Indian Entertainment & Media industry is also not far behind. It is currently estimated at a worth of Rs. 450 billion with a CAGR of 18% over the next 5 years. Terms which were alien to Indians like DTH, Digital Cable, IPTV are suddenly finding presence in the country‟s journals.

Cable television is a system of providing television programs to consumers via radio frequency (RF) signals transmitted to televisions through coaxial cables or digital light pulses through fixed optical fibers located on the subscriber's property. In earlier days there was only one TV channel in India the “Doordarshan”, Channel Doordarshan was owned and operated by government of India. In this era, every home which had a TV set used to have its own antenna to capture the signals. The Cable Television Ordinance Law was passed in January 1995. This enabled cable operators to feed channels and later on private companies were allowed to air their own channels and this led to the explosive growth in number of TV channels and number of cable operators.

The growth of TV channels & Digital Cable TV operators created a big industry and market opportunities. There were as many as 1, 00,000 Digital Cable TV operators across India until few years back. However the services provided by cable operators were poor. The strikes, increase in tariff plan, selective broadcast and poor services were major cause of dissatisfaction among the customers. This has created an opportunity for DTH, which serves an immediate threat to the high end cable networks India has about 130 million TV homes of which, Cable & Satellite (C&S) services are present in 97 million (74%) of the home.

Satellite television:

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International Research Journal of Management and Commerce (IRJMC) ISSN: (2348-9766) 132 | P a g e Plus, Dish TV, Sun Direct DTH, Tata Sky and Videocon D2H. DishTV was the first one to come up in Indian Market, others came only years later.

DTH stands for Direct-To-Home television. DTH is defined as the reception of satellite programmes with a personal dish in an individual home. DTH does away with the need for the local cable operator and puts the broadcaster directly in touch with the consumer. Only cable operators can receive satellite programmes and they then distribute them to individual homes. The way DTH reaches a consumer's home is different from the way cable TV does. In DTH, TV channels would be transmitted from the satellite to a small dish antenna mounted on the window or rooftop of the subscriber's home. So the broadcaster directly connects to the user. The middlemen like local cable operators are not there in the picture. The DTH market in India comprises 11% of the total market with almost 15 million homes.

Digital Cable TV is through cable networks and DTH is wireless, reaching direct to the consumer through a small dish and a set-top box. Although the government has ensured that free-to-air channels on cable are delivered to the consumer without a set-top box, DTH signals cannot be received without the set-top box.

The DTH industry growth lagged to 10.3% in 2008 from 16.7% a year earlier. But industry players agree that the digitization drive is expanding by 35-40% annually. However, industry estimates DTH to touch 35-40 million subscribers by 2012, and that‟s the number that every DTH brand has set its sights on.

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International Research Journal of Management and Commerce (IRJMC) ISSN: (2348-9766) 133 | P a g e

Current Scenario:

Cable digitization in India is an enormous task and a complicated endeavor. According to the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), there are over 200 broadcasters and about 600 television channels. Among service providers, there is a large roster of over 6000 cable MSOs, with 60,000 LCOs, alongside 7 satellite television operators and many IPTV providers. The number of private satellite TV channels has grown astronomically over the years, from 1 TV channel in 2000 to 394 TV channels in 2009.The number of non-news & current affairs TV channels has grown from 0 to 183 and that of news & current affairs TV channels has grown from 1 to 211.

Digital mode of delivery of content to television viewers has been given a thrust by Introduction of Conditional Access System (CAS) in parts of four metros using Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai. The Government is now engaged in the process of drawing lessons from the first phase of implementation and laying down a path for their expansion in other areas. Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) in its recent recommendations on restructuring of cable services has proposed to prescribe a time period of 5 years within which the existing and new Multi System Operators (MSOs) and Local Cable Operators (LCOs) will have to digitalise with some incentivisation from the license fee as also support from Universal Service Obligation Fund (USOF) for setting up two way cable networks for providing broadband services in rural areas. Beyond the five year period no new license for cable operation will be given for analog services. Government is also working on extending the Conditional Access System (CAS) area firstly to the remaining parts of the three metros of Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata and then to the 55 cities as suggested by the TRAI group.

LITERATURE REVIEW:

The following literatures were reviewed before initiating this research work:

 DTH Industry in India – Future Prospectus

By R. Srinivasan (Lecturer in Commerce, Sengunthar Arts and Science College,

Tiruchengode, Namakkal District, Tamil Nadu, India)

DTH is one of the new technologies providing varied facilities to its viewers. Today,

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International Research Journal of Management and Commerce (IRJMC) ISSN: (2348-9766) 134 | P a g e increasing. Television holds an important place in our lives. Its impact being seen

amongst all sections and groups of the society. Digital Television is rural India is

three-fold higher than in urban areas. Nearly 80 percent of households in urban areas

have television sets, more than double the 38 per cent in rural areas, the adoptation of

technology has been much faster in the latter. Nearly 90 per cent of the digital Tv

market has dominated by Direct To Home (DTH) service providers. The rest were

being catered to by digital cable operators. The Indian DTH market has reached the

inflextion point and is set to overtake the United States earlier than expected, in

another two months.

 Customer satisfaction with DTH services in India. By RagaSravanth

Vemulavada & R Muthukumar

It talks about the satisfaction level among the users regarding various services provided to the customers. The satisfaction level is higher in comparison to the cable users.

 Market structure: Indian DTH industry. By Sivasundaram Umapathy

With existing regulatory restrictions, increasing content costs and lack of transponders, DTH industry is on boom. DTH industry differentiates on the basis of service and cost levels. The increasing customer expectations, it is difficult to satisfy the consumer. Today‟s customer is sensitive to price as well as quality.

 DTH Industry in India : Past, Present and Future

India has a total television population of close to 135 million, out of which 80% have access to cable and satellite (i.e. 108 million). The total DTH subscribers are close to 22 million. Thus the DTH has a market share of approximately 20%. The subscriber base for DTH in 2006 was 1 million. The DTH industry is expected to grow at a CAGR of close to 24% .The future of DTH industry will largely depend on innovative marketing tactics adopted by the DTH players.

 Why New Movers for Direct Marketing & what to look for when acquiring lists -

White Paper Published By: LSSiDATA

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International Research Journal of Management and Commerce (IRJMC) ISSN: (2348-9766) 135 | P a g e "People who are moving spend more during the 3 months surrounding their move than non-movers spend in 5 years."

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

The Study:

It is a comparative study of local cable network with direct to home (DTH) service with

special reference to customers in Indore City. This research is about the preference of customers between local cable operator and DTH service providers are they satisfied with the service there operator is providing. It also includes the reason why more customers are shifting towards DTH service.

The study was focused on the customers of DTH service and Digital Cable TV connection in Indore. Customers of age 18 to 47 and above were approached to know their preferences. Total 117 respondents were recorded.

Objectives:

 To study the quality of service provided by DTH service providers and Digital Cable TV provider.

 To know which DTH service provider is preferred by the consumers of Indore.

 To study the reason of the shift of consumers from Digital Cable TV network to DTH service.

Hypothesis:

Hypothesis 1: The service provided by the DTH service provider is better than that of Digital Cable TV providers

 H0 =The quality of service provided by Digital Cable TV providers is better than that

of DTH service provider

 H1 = The quality of service provided by DTH service provider is better than that of

Digital Cable TV providers.

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International Research Journal of Management and Commerce (IRJMC) ISSN: (2348-9766) 136 | P a g e  H0 =Picture quality is not one of the main reason of shift of consumers from Digital

Cable TV connection to DTH service providers

 H1 = Picture quality is one of the main reason of shift of consumers from Digital

Cable TV connection to DTH service providers

Research design:

This research is completely an exploratory kind of research it includes the comparison of Digital Cable TV operator and DTH service provider on the basis of various factors. Primary data was collected through questionnaires and Secondary data was collected through websites and other internet resources. After this, the target participants were approached to get the questionnaires filled. The respondent included students, house wife, working group, senior citizens. They were approached directly in colleges or by visiting their home some respondent also replied through mail. Before filling the questioner each respondent was informed about the topic of research and the reason behind it.

The sample size for this research was taken as 120. Simple random sampling was used as the sampling technique for this study. The choice of customer between Digital Cable TV operator and DTH service is the sampling frame. The cable users are the control in this research. Primary Data collection through Sampling via questionnaires was used as the sampling tool in this research. Secondary data collection through internet resources. Data analysis was done through testing of hypothesis. Tests applied were test of significance (z test) and test for uniformity of data (goodness of fit- chi square test).

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION:

Hypothesis 1: The service provided by the DTH service provider is better than that of Digital Cable TV providers

 H0 =The quality of service provided by Digital Cable TV providers is better than that of DTH service provider

 H1 = The quality of service provided by DTH service provider is better than that of

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International Research Journal of Management and Commerce (IRJMC) ISSN: (2348-9766) 137 | P a g e Satisfaction level of Digital Cable TV users Satisfaction level of DTH users

Yes(satisfied) No(not satisfied) Yes(satisfied) NO(not satisfied)

[image:8.595.74.529.492.764.2]

30 14 61 2

Table 4.1: Satisfaction level of users

Through this table we can say that among the total Digital Cable TV users i.e. 44, 30 of them says they are satisfied with the service and 14 of them are not satisfied with the service. Whereas out of 62 users of DTH service 61 are satisfied and 2 are unsatisfied. Thus amongst Digital Cable TV users 68% are satisfied whereas 96% of DTH users are satisfied.

Further to verify the above hypotheses Z test is applied:

Service Provider Satisfied Users

DTH 61

Digital Cable TV operator 30

Total 91

Table 4.2: Number of satisfied users

Z = (61-91*0.5)/√91*0.5*0.5 = 3.2

The tabulated value of Z = 1.645 whereas the calculated value of Z = 3.2. As the calculated value is more than tabulated value, therefore H1 alternative hypotheses is accepted i.e. the quality of service provided by DTH service provider is better than that of Digital Cable TV providers.

Figure 5.1: Satisfaction Level DTH 67% Digital Cable TV

33%

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International Research Journal of Management and Commerce (IRJMC) ISSN: (2348-9766) 138 | P a g e As depicted in table 4.2 of chapter 4 it can be said that the satisfaction level in terms of

quality of service is more in DTH service rather than in Digital Cable TV connection.

Hypothesis 2: Picture quality is the reason of shift of consumers from Digital Cable TV connection to DTH service providers

 H0 =Picture quality is not one of the main reason of shift of consumers from

Digital Cable TV connection to DTH service providers

 H1 = Picture quality is one of the main reason of shift of consumers from

Digital Cable TV connection to DTH service providers

Factors No of Respondent Preference (%)

Picture Quality 20 32

Sound Quality 12 19

Movie on demand 13 21

Internet 2 3

Channels 16 25

After sale service 0 -

Price 0 -

Total 63 100

Table 4.5: Reason of shift of consumer from Digital Cable TV operator to DTH service

provider

The above table 4.5 clearly proves that null hypotheses rejected and alternative hypotheses is accepted i.e. Picture quality is one of the main reason of shift of consumers from Digital Cable TV connection to DTH service providers as 32% of consumers shifted from Digital Cable TV connection to DTH service providers do to Picture quality only.

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[image:10.595.74.527.42.257.2]

International Research Journal of Management and Commerce (IRJMC) ISSN: (2348-9766) 139 | P a g e Figure 5.3: Reason of the shift of consumers from Digital Cable TV connection to

DTH service providers.

As the above figure 5.3 shows most of the consumers shift from Digital Cable TV operator to DTH service provider due to better picture quality that counts for 32% followed by varity of channels i.e. 25%.

Objective 2: To know which DTH service provider is preferred by the consumers of Indore.

Figure 5.2: Preference of consumers among various DTH service providers

The consumers of Indore prefer Dish TV among various DTH service providers as it holds 40% of the total sample followed by Tata sky, airtel and reliance.

Picture Quality 32%

Sound Quality 19% Movie on

demand 21% Internet

3%

Channels 25%

Reason of shift

DD Direct

plus 1%

Dish tv 40%

Sun Direct 0% Reliance

13% Airtel

16% Tata Sky 28%

Others 2%

[image:10.595.75.528.421.645.2]

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SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS

Summary:

This study clearly draws a line between Digital Cable TV and DTH service; both have their own positive and negative side. On one hand were Digital Cable TV operators provide service at very low price, DTH service providers have very high tariff plans which goes above Rs. 400. In case of picture quality, sound quality and variety if channels Digital Cable TV connection is way behind.

Cable connection is the tradition system which is now being taken over by DTH service and IP TV due to their better picture quality and variety of channels. There is a tremendous shift of consumers from Digital Cable TV connection to DTH service.

Conclusions:

The topic for this research work was study comparative analysis of local cable operator and DTH service providers in Indore City. At the end of this research work, it can be concluded that the buying preferences of customers in Indore for cable transmission have shifted towards the DTH service provider completely this change has occurred in last 8-9 years, before it every household had local cable connection and no one opted for DTH service providers.

The reason of this shift is the picture quality, sound quality and variety of channels which the DTH service provider has. In this 21 century every individual wants better service and more output at low cost thus the former is being provided but the later is still to be done, as the price of DTH service providers are a bit high with stops some of the customers to shift from local connection to DTH connection. In coming years when the prices of the DTH service are reduced than every individual will shift to DTH service.

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