The proposed merger of Videocon d2h and Dish TV India has received approval by the Competition Commission of India. The new entity will be called Dish TV Videocon and the merger will create a subscriber base of 27.6 million households and will have a 16% share of the 145-million pay-TV subscriber market.
Videocon d2h offers its subscribers a line-up of more than 650 channels and services, 62 HD channels and a host of regional channels. It offers a wide range of active including smart English and smart games. The other active services include d2h Hollywood HD, d2h music, d2h spice and d2h cinema all being available in both SD and HD.
Analyst Comment
Videocon made an attempt to get into the European TV business, when it bought the Thomson CRT and CRT TV business. It tried to set up a serious TV set production facility in Italy, which I visited, and there was even talk of making PDPs in the region. Later, the company also looked at building a G6 LCD fab between Rome and Naples, but the bank that was coordinating the finance hit some problems and the project evaporated. One of the last conversations I had with my main executive contact was “Bob, how do we get into the satellite business?”. It looks as though they worked it out! (BR)
