[mukeshgoel]

Nearly 20 million viewers opt out of DTH services as bills start to pinch

Drop in active subscriber base coincides with regulator TRAI’s new tariff order

An increase in cable bills have started to have an impact on the direct-to-home market with DTH operators witnessing an unprecedented 25 per cent fall in subscribers in the April-June quarter.

According to a report by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India, DTH services had an average active subscriber base of 54.26 million in the quarter ended June 30, a 25 percent drop from 72.44 million active subscriber base reported in January-March quarter. This coincides with the new tariff order implemented by the regulator from April 1.

Source

[carboy]

Are there any online PPV services for latest Hindi movies? Movies which have been released recently & not yet premiered on TV. If it supports Chromecast, then it would even be better.

[Sebring]

I sense a lobby at work. Else it is plain suicidal for DTH prices to go up just when everyone is opting for streaming services.

Originally Posted by mukeshgoel

Nearly 20 million viewers opt out of DTH services as bills start to pinch. Drop in active subscriber base coincides with regulator TRAI’s new tariff order

[adg_andy]

I have cut the chord more than a year ago. Hotstar, Zee5, SonyLiv, Netflix, Hoichoi (for regional content) and Amazon Prime through Fire Stick take care of all my viewing.
Recently I got a Samsung smart Tv. Apart from Hoichoi, everything else is available there. I am reasonably satisfied.

[PPS]

Cutting the cord & ditching Cable TV is not an option in our household since my parents require their dose of news & entertainment programming and at the moment would not be comfortable surfing the streaming platforms. Their TV is more than a decade old, so its not a Smart TV either!
I may explore the same as currently we are paying more than Rs 700 per month for both tv's.

Btw, what internet speeds are required for streaming content on the Smart TV? I'm making do with 3mbps since I don't spend much time at home.

[mayankk]

Originally Posted by PPS

Btw, what internet speeds are required for streaming content on the Smart TV? I'm making do with 3mbps since I don't spend much time at home.

You'd need a 15-30 mbps plan, at least. But bandwidth is quite cheap nowadays, isn't it.
Turning parents away from dth to streams, though, that's an an almost insurmountable barrier. For all its benefits, my parents still haven't switched to amazon or hotstar, even though everything they want is right there!! To the extent that I've given up getting dth out of their house.

[naveenroy]

Originally Posted by Sebring

I sense a lobby at work. Else it is plain suicidal for DTH prices to go up just when everyone is opting for streaming services.

I love seeing these small, subtle (or not so subtle) connections. Me thinks it is a push by (ahem) one of the Internet Service Providers to move customers to streaming platforms.

[BoneCollector]

I've a question for the subscribers of Hotstar. What's the difference between Hotstar VIP and Premium subscriptions? Can I use Hotstar on my Amazon Fire Stick if I subscribe on mobile?

I've recently stopped my multi-TV connection. So looking at various options before I ditch TataSky completely.

[ajmat]

Originally Posted by BoneCollector

I've a question for the subscribers of Hotstar. What's the difference between Hotstar VIP and Premium subscriptions? Can I use Hotstar on my Amazon Fire Stick if I subscribe on mobile?

I've recently stopped my multi-TV connection. So looking at various options before I ditch TataSky completely.

I subscribed from my laptop and use on my fire stick. Tried from the mobile but it tries to make you pay again via iTunes

[Ithaca]

Originally Posted by BoneCollector

I've a question for the subscribers of Hotstar. What's the difference between Hotstar VIP and Premium subscriptions? Can I use Hotstar on my Amazon Fire Stick if I subscribe on mobile?

I've recently stopped my multi-TV connection. So looking at various options before I ditch TataSky completely.

Hotstar Premium subscriber here.
Yes you can use Hotstar with your Fire Stick. I use Hotstar via the app on my smart TV but use it via the Fire Stick on my non-smart TV. All you need to do is download the Hotstar App on your Fire Stick.
I do not believe Hotstar VIP gives content in HD.
Disney Plus premium channel is going to be offered to Hotstar Premium subscribers when it launches here.

Walt Disney Co. announced the November 2019 launch of its highly anticipated, ad-free video streaming service, Disney+, in the US. However, the company is unlikely to launch the platform in India and, instead, route the original content created for the new OTT (over-the-top) service, and its movie library, to Indian audiences through Hotstar, the video streaming service owned by Star India, people familiar with the development said.

To be sure, the decision to bring Disney+ content under Hotstar is based on the latter’s wide reach, besides the potential of the Indian market.
According to Disney’s own estimates, Hotstar clocked in 300 million monthly active users (MAU) in March. It is also the number one entertainment app in the country in terms of MAU, downloads and revenue, according to the FICCI-EY media and entertainment industry report 2019.

VIP subscribers will not have access to premium English content as mentioned in the article linked below.

However, the new pack will not have premium English content from the HBO, Disney, Hooq or even 21st Century Fox.

For Rs 999 pa, I find it cheaper to subscribe to content via Hotstar for Star sports rather than paying Rs 22.02 pm for each Star Sports channel on Tata Sky.

For HD content and Disney Plus alone, I would recommend you shift to Hotstar Premium.

Hotstar VIP

Disney Plus

[BoneCollector]

Originally Posted by ajmat

I subscribed from my laptop and use on my fire stick.

Originally Posted by Ithaca

Hotstar Premium subscriber here.

Just another quick question, how many devices can be simultaneously logged in and on how many can it be viewed at the same time?

[Ithaca]

Originally Posted by BoneCollector

Just another quick question, how many devices can be simultaneously logged in and on how many can it be viewed at the same time?

You can log into your Hotstar premium account on multiple devices with same login id but.....

As per below Hotstar FAQ & Quora reply, you can only watch one premium program while simultaneously watching a non-premium program using the same id.

Are there any restrictions on my membership?

At this point in time, only one premium video is playable from one subscriber account. This is to ensure that your premium membership is not misused.
In case you see an error that says you are trying to access premium videos from more than one device, please check if you are already streaming another premium video at the same time from another device. To continue watching the current video, make sure you have stopped the earlier video. Refresh on current device to continue watching the premium video.

Netflix allows you to have 4 separate accounts for the same membership but Hotstar allows only one account for each Id.

Hotstar FAQ

Quora Reply

This answer by Pratik Barjatiya, in the same Quora post.

You can watch premium content over multiple devices but not simultaneously. Eg. You can watch a non premium content on device A and watch premium content on device B with same credentials simultaneously.
You can have upto 5 devices for some premium contents like Disney, Fox, etc When you exceed the number of devices oldest device is unregistered and new is added.

[murillo]

Is there a way to sign up for Hotstar Premium without them having my card or account details?

[Ithaca]

Originally Posted by murillo

Is there a way to sign up for Hotstar Premium without them having my card or account details?

Hotstar allows Paytm. Safest way to pay since your bank account is not exposed to their servers.

[sumathindra]

Originally Posted by mukeshgoel

Nearly 20 million viewers opt out of DTH services as bills start to pinch Drop in active subscriber base coincides with regulator TRAI’s new tariff order

I wonder why the DTH providers are not taking any action on this revenue loss due to the foolhardiness of TRAI. Unless this is part of a bigger grand plan. In my opinion not all would have access to internet and depend on the DTH services and in the earlier days this was the most affordable way of entertainment in many homes. Having to lean on the internet for everything may not be the optimal way as far as this segment is concerned!