As on 30th September 2021, there were 1745 multi system operators (MSOs) registered with Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB). Further, as per the data reported by MSOs and headend in the sky (HITS) operators, there are 12 MSOs & 1 HITS operator who have a subscriber base greater than one million. The total loss to cable sector is around 15 lakh connections since the loss to the top 13 MSOs is 6 lakhs.
According to TRAI, the top players in the cable TV industry saw a drop of 6 lakh active subscribers during the quarter ending September 30th, 2021. The total active subscriber base of 9 MSOs & 1 HITS operator has dropped to 4.55 crore in September 2021 from 4.61 crore in June 2021. Of the 12 MSOs, Thamizhaga Cable TV Communication, Kerala Communicators Cable, and VK Digital Network were the only ones to see a growth in subscriber base.
The pecking order in the cable TV sector has also seen a change with GTPL Hathway overtaking Siti Networks to become the number 1 player in terms of total active subscriber base. GTPL Hathway had 7.79 million subscribers compared to 7.64 million subscribers of Siti Networks. However, both the MSOs lost connections but the loss to Siti networks is more and hence the change in the ranks.
As on 30th September 2021, the active subscriber base of top MSO and HITS operators is as follows: GTPL Hathway (7,799,167), Siti Networks (7,649,554), Hathway Digital (5,505,062), Den Networks (4,670,618), Thamizhaga Cable TV Communication (3,762,040), Kerala Communicators Cable (2,935,006), Tamil Nadu Arasu Cable TV Corporation (2,789,971), Fastway Transmissions (2,149,610), KAL Cables (2,123,566), NXT Digital – HITS (2,005,747), VK Digital Network (1,906,348), Asianet Digital Network (1,175,658), and NXT Digital – Cable TV (1,056,902).
In the previous quarter ending June 2021, the subscriber base of the top operators was as follows: Siti Networks (7,861,314), GTPL Hathway (7,833,694), Hathway Digital (5,603,942), Den Networks (4,862,741), Thamizhaga Cable TV Communication (3,693,943), Kerala Communicators Cable (2,889,439), Tamil Nadu Arasu Cable TV Corporation (2,885,583), Fastway Transmissions (2,195,619), KAL Cables (2,081,801), NXT Digital – HITS (2,025,202), VK Digital Network (1,845,823), Asianet Digital Network (1,208,681), and NXT Digital – Cable TV (1,105,650).
