(16 October 2008 11:59 pm)

MUMBAI: The fight for customers is being fought by direct-to-home (DTH) operators on price. Barely two months old, Reliance Communications' Big TV has brought down the entry price of its service by Rs 1000 to Rs 1490.

The offer includes installation and a three-month free subscription. The package, providing for 64 channels, also includes one month free subscription video-on-demand (Svod). Earlier, customers had to pay an installation charge of Rs 1000.

Says Big TV president Arun K Kapoor, “This very special festive offer, valid for a limited period, will further accelerate the growth momentum by making DTH services more affordable and appealing to the 125 million TV Households in the country. The package includes Star, Sony and ESPN Star Sports' channels.”

Big TV has also introduced a new price point at Rs 2190. The offer will have free subscription for 12 months and Svod for three months. "Since the customers under this scheme are being tied up for a longer period, we are offering Svod free for three months. The channel offerings will be similar to the Rs 1490 scheme," says Kumar.

For the six-month premium pack of 99 channels, Big TV has cut down the price from Rs 2990 to Rs 2690. The offer will include 120 movies free.

Under the Rs 100 monthly subscription scheme for free-to-air channels, Big TV has added 10 pay channels including Star and Sony.