DTH; Direct to Home or Don’t Try at Home?

The title of this post is inspired by the radio ad of DEN Digital Cable (a leading Multi System Operator in India). The advertisement goes like this:

Voice 1: O Bhai chhat par kya kar raha hai? (Hey bro, what are you doing on the terrace?)
Voice 2: Yaar aaj match hai, upar se yeh baarish, signal nahi aa raha hai (Dude, there is a match today, and this rain! there is no signal.)
Voice 1: Yeh DTH hai na? (Is this DTH?)
Voice 2: Haan (Yup)
Voice 1: Baarish mein DTH ka matlab, don't try at home, ghar le aa DEN digital cable, ye de behatreen digital quality, weatherproof signals aur bahut kuch, cable ke daam par, kya samjhe? (During the rains DTH means DON”T TRY AT HOME, bring home DEN digital cable, it gives better digital quality, weatherproof signals and lots more, that too at the price of cable, do you get it?)
Voice 2: Samajh Gaya (Ok)

Voice Over: Toh aaj hi call karein 1800 419 20 20 or call your cable operator now. DEN Digital Cable..aa dekehen zara. (Call today 1800 419 20 20 or your cable operator now. Come let’s see DEN digital cable)

*The words in italics are English translation of the radio ad for the international audience of this blog J
Source: afaqs.com

The campaign was also carried out in the Out-of-Home (OOH) media in Delhi, India.

Source: afaqs.com

Cricket and Bollywood are big in India and no doubt the above advertisements refer to the spur in sales of DTH during any major cricket tournament. It also refers to the DTH signal which is predominantly in the Ku-Band and is susceptible to absorption during rains thus affecting the seamless broadcast of the cricketing action from the field.

The ad also positions DEN digital cable as a viable option for DTH and hints that, it will be cheaper than DTH, as people still perceive cable to be cheaper than DTH.

The ad from the DEN digital cable can also be attributed to the Indian Government’s mandate to sunset analogue TV distribution in India by December 2014, and is indicative of the fierce competition that’ll fire up between DTH service providers and digital cable providers.

If you still wonder what is the digitization noise and hoopla all about, relax! Indian Broadcasting Foundation (IBF), an organization which represents television broadcasters and promotes the interest of Indian Television Industry is all set to launch a campaign on the benefits of digitization and what it means for the viewers. So keep tuned in.

The television households in India are estimated at 147 million. The share of DTH is 44 million, analog cable is 84 million and digital cable stands at 6 million.

No doubt mandatory digital distribution of television signals is an opportunity for both DTH and Digital cable providers with over 100 million television households up for grabs.

Though I am yet to come across an ad from a DTH service provider pooh pooh..ing the digital cable providers, but are we set to witness an advertising onslaught bought upon the television viewers of this country by DTH and digital cable providers to secure a larger pie of over 100 million television households? 

I hope to see a lot of advertising action from both broadcasters and distributors of broadcast signals (DTH/MSOs) in the upcoming IPL season 5, which theoretically is a cricketing extravaganza but practically a playground for brand launches, brand reinforcement, once in a lifetime offers from the owners of these brands, …..time to tune in.

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