(18 June 2008 8:30 pm)

MUMBAI: Zee’s direct-to-home (DTH) service provider company Dish TV has posted a net loss of Rs 1.15 billion for the quarter ended 31 March 2008, compared with a net loss of Rs 1 billion in the year ago period. The service provider has added 285,000 new subscribers in the fourth quarter.

The company’s gross operating revenue, however, jumped 21 per cent to Rs 1.36 billion as it added 285,000 new subscribers in the quarter. DTH revenue fetched Rs 1.29 billion, teleport services earned Rs 31 million while trading contributed Rs 37 million in the fourth quarter of FY'08.

Dish TV’s expenditure surged 11 per cent from Rs 1.76 billion to Rs 1.95 billion during this period.

Cost of goods and services at Rs 1.11 billion is 44 per cent of Dish TV’s total expenses. In the quarter ago period, this stood at 46 per cent (Rs 1.05 billion). Dish TV has spent Rs 203 million on advertisement, which is 8 per cent of the total expense of the fourth quarter.

For the full fiscal, Dish TV has posted a net loss of Rs 4.13 billion, up 64 per cent from a net loss of Rs 2.52 billion in the prior year. Operating revenue stood at Rs 4.12 billion, up 116 per cent from Rs 1.91 billion year-on-year.

During the year, Dish TV earned Rs 3.89 billion from DTH subscribers. Gross subscriber base stands at 3 million while net subscriber base is at 2.5 million as on March 31, 2008.

Dish TV targets Rs 500 million as carriage fee this fiscal. The DTH operator plans to charge Rs 40 million as carriage charge from fresh contracts with broadcasters.

Gaming will also become a paid service in the current year. Key Arpu (average revenue per user) drivers will be higher channel offerings, launch of niche channel bouquets, VAS (value-added service) and efforts to market higher tier packages. "Expansion of Dish Care Centre, service franchisee, Dish Shoppe and Collection Agency will receive lot of attention and focus this year,” the company said.