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 TV | |
| Formerly | Airtel Digital (2006–2010) |
| Company type | Subsidiary |
| Industry | Satellite television |
| Founded | 30 November 2006 |
| Founder | Sunil Mittal |
| Headquarters | Bharti Crescent, 1 Nelson Mandela Road, Vasant Kunj, , India[1] |
Area served | India |
Key people |
|
| Services | |
| Revenue |  ₹3,100 crore (US$370 million)[3] (FY22) |
 ₹2,100.6 crore (US$250 million)[3] (FY22) | |
| Parent | Bharti Airtel |
| Website | www |
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
editBharti 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
editAirtel 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
editAirtel 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
edit- ^ a b "Bharti Telemedia Limited: Private Company Information". bloomberg.com. Retrieved 3 August 2018.
- ^ "Leadership". www.bharti.com. Retrieved 22 May 2023.
- ^ a b "Bharti Airtel's DTH biz reports 27% increase in Q4 revenue". Exchange4media. Retrieved 18 July 2021.
- ^ "The Indian Telecom Services Performance Indicators, Oct – Dec, 2022" (PDF).
- ^ "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.
- ^ "Bharti Website: Press Release 2007-2008". www.bharti.com. Retrieved 22 May 2023.
- ^ "Bharti Airtel launches DTH service". The Financial Express. 7 October 2008. Archived from the original on 4 December 2010. Retrieved 12 August 2010.
- ^ "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.
- ^ "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.
- ^ "Quarterly report on the results for the second quarter and six months ended September 30, 2014" (PDF). Bharti Airtel.
- ^ "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.
- ^ "Warburg Pincus To Buy 20% Stake In Airtel DTH For Rs 2,310 Crore". NDTV.com. Retrieved 22 May 2023.
- ^ 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) - ^ "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.
- ^ Guha, Ishita (17 February 2021). "Airtel to acquire 20% stake in Bharti Telemedia from Warburg Pincus". mint. Retrieved 22 May 2023.
- ^ www.ETTelecom.com. "Airtel dilutes 0.664% stake to Warburg Pincus' Lion Meadow - ET Telecom". ETTelecom.com. Retrieved 22 May 2023.
- ^ "Airtel DTH ad misleading complains Tata Sky". Economic Times. Archived from the original on 8 December 2015. Retrieved 28 November 2015.
- ^ "Airtel Universal Remote Setup for Your Television". techupdatesindia.com. Retrieved 28 November 2015.
- ^ "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.
- ^ "Airtel Digital TV to Bring Dolby Digital Plus Surround Sound to Indian Broadcast Television".
- ^ "Shemaroo launches movie premier service". Business Standard India. Business Standard. Press Trust of India. 2 November 2015. Retrieved 28 November 2015.
- ^ "Airtel live games". airtel.in. Retrieved 28 November 2015.
- ^ "Airtel Interactive services". airtel.in. Retrieved 28 November 2015.