Reliance Big TV – DVR Service & HDTV Channels in India

India’s leading DTH service provider Big TV crosses 500,000 subscription marks in just 50 days after commercial launch of their service and they are taking 10,000 customers each day which is highest among any DTH and they are eyeing for 5 million at the end of 1 year in operations. According to press release, they roped almost 50 per cent of their subscribers from the South Indian market.

Reliance BIG DTH is coming with some good plans to attract new customers and complete 5 million marks within 1 year. As part of its future plans, Reliance has also tied up with India’s leading Television maker LG to offer its DTH service at Rs 700 for those customers who buy 29-inch television sets. The offer is valid till 31 October. They are hoping a good response and in fact our source suggests that offer is running with great response from customers.

One of big plan is from Reliance is that Big TV will be launching its DVR service this year end which allow to viewers to record programmes on one channel while watching another channel. This digital video recorder (DVR)-enabled set-top boxes (STBs) is expected to be priced at Rs 6,500-7,000 for BIG TV Users. It has 160 GB in-built hard disk that can record up to 100 hours of programming.

They are also coming with more then 200 channels in next 1 year according to BIG TV President Arun Kapoor. He told that BIG TV also plans to offer 200 more channels by the end of next year on its DTH platform, which is already offering 200 channels and makes total numbers of channels to 400. They have currently eight transponders and will get four more at the end of the year and it will allow to BIG TV to carry over 400 TV Channels with help of MPEG-4 technology.

Reliance BIG TV is also planning to launch HDTV Channels in India. They are planning to offer high definition (HD) content in India by buying thousands of hours of programming from international channels and packaging them here into one new channels. With wide screen, crystal clear cinematic picture and surround sound, HD content is expected to attract niche viewership once it catches on in the country. Such content is created through special cameras and high-end technology. Big TV is hoping to showcase 15-20 HD channels in India. They also working to bring international channels in India and they are eyeing on 3 HDTV Channels Nat Geo HD, Discovery HD and one leading Sports channel in HD Mode.

In next two months they are also coming with interactive service on sports and news and as from our information it will be called iNews and iSports. This value added service will help to attract new customers.

BIG TV has made a good impact on Indian DTH industry and with these kinds of plans will surly give a new dimension for DTH market. If they archive 5 million DTH users in 1 year then it will make BIG TV, India’s no.1 DTH operators.