‘DTH – a ‘game-changer’ for broadcast media’

MIAN ABRAR

With the bidding for Direct to Home (DTH) licensing next week, an injection of $400 million is expected into the country’s broadcast media, including $150 million direct investment while $250 indirect investment, Pakistan Today has learnt reliably. A well-placed source in the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) told this scribe that the DTH would enable a major shift of the country’s old analogue communication, helping the system transform and join the mainstream digital media. “It would prove to be a game-changer for the broadcast media of the country. The new bidding for DTH licenses, scheduled for November 23, would help create 1500 direct jobs for local youth while the incoming industrial boom would generate around 15000 indirect jobs,” the official said. “Each company winning the license would have to invest at least $50 million minimum. Each licensee would be able to get at least five lakh consumers minimum,” the official said and added that with the investment coming in, a new business activity would generate, making waves in the country’s economic boom. Asked about the base amount for the new licenses, the official said that the PEMRA had introduced a very meagre base amount for the licensees. “We have asked the contenders to pay at least Rs 200 million as base amount for bidding. Now the license would be sold in open bidding and we have no idea about how the bidding goes,” the official added. The official said that the DTH would prove to be a bad news for the illegal Indian DTH. “We have been allowing illegal Indian DTH to mint billions out of Pakistan. There are around 30 lac illegal Indian DTH. Even cable operators have admitted to the PEMRA that there were at least 15 lac illegal Indian DTH. Our own DTH would help remove illegal Indian content,” the official said. Asked whether or not the DTH would be a facility for the middle class and the poor, the official said that the DTH would be a better system but would come with a cost. “I don’t think poor would avail it. The box would cost at least Rs five thousand which would be a one-time investment. Then they would have to pay at least Rs 500 monthly. So it is for upper middle class and rich,” he added. When asked how would the poor and middle class survive, the official said that the old cable system would be there to serve the people at large. “It’s not a cup of tea for all. The poor may stay on the cable operators. Only 15-25 percent consumers would shift on the digital. This is why we say that the digitalisation would not affect the cable operators’ business. Rather, it would be an introduction of quality for the rich and upper middle class,” the official added.  ‘The competition from DTH will put some pressure on existing TV operators and will have a positive impact on the services they offer. For instance, it could well motivate operators to invest more rapidly in a digital infrastructure, both for increasing the number of channels in their offering and to leverage the return path for advanced services’, the official maintained. The official said that a leading Chinese company had already applied for investment in the DTH by offering services to set up factory for new set-top boxes. “We have issued a no objection certificate to Chinese company for setting up set top boxes factory.  The official said that there was no need for cable operators to worry about the DTH as still they would have leverage to work along with DTH. For example, the total households in India were 270 million while the total TV households were 169 million. The official said that 72 per cent Indian household used cable TV out of which 52 per cent are on analogue system while only 20 per cent have moved to the digital.