DTH cos eye foreign channels to woo subscribers

As competition hots up in the direct-to-home (DTH) space, operators, including Dish TV and Sun Direct, are now turning to foreign language channels to build their content bouquet in a bid to take themselves ahead of other players.

Even though the viewership remains small, DTH players are looking at adding more foreign channels such as Fox, DW and Warner Brothers' WB to their portfolio with increasing demand.

"The viewership remains mostly in metros and tier I and II cities. However, these channels add to the content offering and with more channels coming in, the demand certainly has gone up," Salil Kapoor, chief operating officer, Dish TV told PTI.

The Essel Group firm currently offers TV5 Monde (French), DW TV, NHK (Japanese), MGM and WB.

Asked if the company would bring in more such channels, Kapoor said, "To broadcast foreign channels in India, we have to obtain licence from the Information and Broadcasting ministry. With that in mind, we would look at bringing in more foreign channels depending on their availability and if there is viewer demand".

Sun Direct is also actively looking at offering foreign channels to its subscribers.