Decrease in the number of DTH subscribers
India is witnessing a decline in the number of Direct To Home (DTH) subscribers. There has been a significant decline in active customers of subscription based DTH companies. Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has said in its Indian Telecom Services Performance Indicator report that this number was 4.909 crore in March 2026, which has now come down to 4.856 crore at the end of June.
customer shortage figures
There has been a decline of about 5.3 lakh customers in the quarter ending June 30, 2026. This figure is between April 1 and June 30, 2026. The report also mentioned that advertising revenue of private FM radio channels has also declined. It stood at Rs 376.16 crore in the June quarter, while it was Rs 414.03 crore in the March quarter.
Status of DTH operators and customers
There are currently four pay-DTH operators operating in the country, with 4.856 crore active customers. This number is separate from subscribers of Prasar Bharti's free DTH service, Doordarshan Free Dish. The number of pay-DTH subscribers in the March quarter was 4.909 crore. The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting has given permission for uplinking or downlinking of a total of 915 private satellite TV channels.
Status of FM radio channels
As of March 2026, there were 31 private FM operators in the country running 390 channels in 120 cities. In the June quarter, permission of five channels was surrendered with effect from June 14, 2026. Now 30 operators run 386 channels in 121 cities.
Telephone and broadband subscriber growth
According to TRAI, the total number of telephone subscribers in the country increased from 133.058 crore in March to 134.808 crore in June, showing a growth of 1.31 per cent. The number of broadband subscribers has also increased by 2.03 percent to 108.750 crore.
due to lack of customers
Vivek Shukla, an official associated with the DTH supply chain, said that the main reason for the lack of pay-DTH customers is the move of viewers towards OTT and connected TV. The impact of increased OTT adoption and connected TV is evident in TRAI data.