Category: Broadcast

The Ministry of Communications has on September 3 released the total number of internet subscribers in India for the March-June 2025 quarter, in Telecom Regulatory Authority of India’s ‘Indian Telecom Services Performance Indicator Report’.

The total number of internet subscribers in India has jumped 3.48 per cent in the quarter from 96.91 crore at March 2025 end, to 100.28 crore subscribers by June 2025 end, data from TRAI’s report showed.

Further, of these over 100 crore subscribers, 4.47 crore had wired internet connections, while 95.81 crore have wireless connections.

India internet subscribers data — Key Highlights

• The total number of internet / broadband subscriber in India as per TRAI data is 100.28 crore till June 30, 2025.
• This is an increase of 3.48 per cent over the previous quarter.
• Among the total subscribers, 2.31 crore are narrowband subscribers; while 97.97 crore are broadband subscribers.
• Further, 4.47 crore are subscribers of wired internet services; while 95.81 crore subscribers use wireless internet services.
• In terms of demographics, urban internet subscribers number around 57.94 crore, while rural internet subscribers are not far behind at 42.33 crore.
• The data showed that revenue and usage parameters in terms of the monthly Average Revenue per User (ARPU) of wireless services is ₹186.62; while the average Minutes of Usage (MOU) per wireless subscriber each month is 16.76 hours (1006 minutes).
• In terms of data usage, the average Wireless Data Usage per subscriber each month was recorded at 24.01 GB; with average revenue realisation per GB for wireless data usage during the quarter being ₹8.51.
• With a net addition of 71.20 lakh subscribers during the quarter, the total wireless (mobile + 5G FWA) subscriber base increased from 116 crore at the end of Mar-25 to 117 crore at the end of Jun-25, registering a rate of growth 0.61 per cent over the previous quarter.
• Further, with a net addition of 60 lakh subscribers during the quarter, the wireless (mobile) subscriber base increased from 115 crore at the end of Mar-25 to 116 crore at the end of Jun-25, registering a rate of growth 0.52 per cent over the previous quarter.

LiveMint

As the short-content format catches on with global social media and video-on-demand streaming platforms, Indian production houses are also betting on micro-dramas while continuing to invest in longer shows and films.
The low cost and speed of creating these five-to-seven-minute episodes lures these companies that can see attention dipping for longer, slow-burn content, often in regional languages, mirroring the trend for mainstream languages like English or Hindi.

“We’re actively exploring shorter storytelling formats, including micro-dramas and snackable content, as part of our evolving content strategy,” a ZEE5 spokesperson said. “Audience consumption patterns have shifted significantly, with mobile-first, time-sensitive and on-the-go viewing becoming a core behaviour, especially among younger, urban and regional viewers. We see a clear opportunity in creating original, high-impact narratives that deliver emotional payoffs within a shorter runtime.”

These micro-dramas will be mobile-first, fresh, standalone stories and will be available via Bullet’s micro-drama app, which will be integrated into ZEE5, the spokesperson added. This new offering will be creator-led, gamified and AI-personalised, offering vertically shot, episodic content in multiple languages.

Nitin Burman, chief revenue officer of Balaji Telefilms Ltd, said the company launched micro-dramas under the brand Kutingg in May, currently available on the ALTT app. Over 400 episodes are live, including one show made entirely using AI.

About 15% to 20% of ALTT’s content budget is allocated to micro-dramas and the company is looking to cast actors with a strong following on social media to amplify reach and engagement, Burman added.

Dhruvin Shah, founder and CEO of JOJO, a Gujarati video streaming service, said the company is thinking along these lines and has carved out a name for the same—JO, which is a short version of the name JOJO.

Here to stay
Short-format content lends itself to the small windows of engagement and low attention spans that are prevalent currently, according to Sukhpreet Singh, chief revenue officer of Dish TV. Evolving consumer behaviour and lifestyles, coupled with increasing screen penetration in the country, ensure this is a trend that’s here to stay, Singh added.

Some experts said going by the success of micro-dramas in China, which is currently the only established proof of concept for this format of shows, it would be a mistake to see shortening attention spans as the only influencing factor.

“Entertainment, whether bite-sized or a 120-minute movie, works because of the audience’s takeaways. So far, the success of micro-dramas has been driven by escapism and instant gratification. That, combined with commuting windows, has given them traction, particularly among women consumers. To convert this habit into successful monetizable opportunity will be a challenge for both Indian and foreign players,” said Saurabh Srivastava – chief operating officer – digital business at Shemaroo Entertainment Ltd.

Smaller and regional OTT platforms acknowledge that short-form content comes with its share of challenges. There are many free short-format content options in the market, Ujjwal Mahajan, co-founder of Chaupal, a platform specializing in Punjabi, Haryanvi and Bhojpuri content, pointed out.

While this format of content is very engaging, monetisation is a different ball game, he said, adding that the prospects for ad revenue in India are extremely low, so this strategy needs a subscription model.

Kaushik Das, founder and CEO of AAO NXT, an Odia language platform, added that one of the key challenges that regional platforms face is balancing quality with budget constraints. While global platforms have massive scale and resources, regional players must be more strategic.

Relevant content
However, their deep cultural insight, regional language strength and local audience understanding are their biggest assets—and that gives them an edge in creating relevant, resonant content, Das added.

“Attracting and retaining top talent for short-form content creation can be challenging… The Indian OTT market is becoming increasingly saturated, making it more challenging for regional platforms to stand out and attract subscribers,” said Rajat Agrawal, chief operating officer and director of Ultra Media & Entertainment Group.

These smaller platforms might also have limited distribution channels, making it harder to reach a wider audience.

“With so much content available, regional OTT platforms need to ensure their short-form content is discoverable and appealing to their target audience,” said Agrawal. Live Mint

Indeed, those discussions have gone on for years and, despite changes in ownership of DirecTV and enthusiasm from Charlie Ergen, founder of EchoStar/Dish Network, all of this activity has come to naught. However, comments last week within Investor’s Business Daily (IBD) suggest that TPG (the former Texas Pacific Group), which now controls DirecTV, says that a merger could be re-visited.

IBD quotes a couple of reliable sources: First, TD Cowan analyst Gregory Williams saying that it might make sense sooner rather than later to optimize the synergies that a merger would enable. Williams adds that the recent agreement for AT&T to spend $23 billion for EchoStar spectrum means that EchoStar is now in a far better position to stand alone.

Another quote comes from a Deutsche Bank report which also says the $23 billion pending sale, plus pressure from the FCC for EchoStar to sell more of its retained spectrum “will lead to further actions by EchoStar that will unlock shareholder value and propel the stock higher in the coming months. These include additional spectrum sales and revisiting a Dish Network-DirecTV merger.”

Bizarrely, perhaps, EchoStar is doing well with its Boost Mobile business. Even though its mainstream Dish Network saw revenues continue to decline (Q2, down 6 percent to $3.725 billion), its Boost Mobile division added a net 212,000 subscribers and ended the quarter-year with some 7.36 million subs. And in dozens of major U.S. markets its 5G cellular service was voted the best for reliability and coverage.

In other words, perhaps Ergen is correct to focus on 5G. Boost’s growing 7.36 million subs is more than a match for EchoStar’s Dish declining 7.11 million subscribers. As part of the $23 billion spectrum deal, Boost will tap into AT&T’s own cellular networks under a wholesale, networks services agreement.

Investors have enjoyed a spectacular week with EchoStar’s (DISH) shares rising 8.5 percent on August 28th and a significant 107 percent during the week to $61.79 per share. SatNews

Ahead of the GST Council meeting, television and digital news broadcasters have urged finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman to consider shifting the point of taxation on sale of advertising space to actual receipt of payments, from the current practice of charging the levy at the invoicing stage.

In a letter dated 28 August, Rajat Sharma, president of the News Broadcasters & Digital Association (NBDA), has also urged Sitharaman, who is also the chairperson of the GST Council, to allow input tax credit on certain expenditures, such as the hire of vehicles, food and beverages or outdoor catering, beauty treatments, and insurance coverage for employees. These are is currently restricted under the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017.

According to Sharma, addressing these two concerns in the existing GST regime will help improve the financial health and operational efficiency of the news broadcasting industry.

NBDA has requested that the point of taxation for GST in the case of the TV and digital news broadcasting industry for the sale of advertising space, particularly to government agencies including DAVP (Directorate of Advertising and Visual Publicity), PSUs (public sector undertakings), and state governments, should be shifted from invoicing to the collection and receipt of payments.

Tax liability
“At present, the liability to pay GST on the sale of advertising spaces arises on the date of issuance of the invoice or receipt of advances. The time of supply presents significant challenges, where extended credit periods and payment delays exceeding 120-180 days are common,” the letter said. It added that this creates severe cash flow mismatch where the broadcaster must pay a tax on revenue it has not yet collected. Further, TV and digital news broadcasters may face difficulties in collection if there is a change in government. To bridge this mismatch, they are often forced to borrow funds at higher interest rates.

“At present, there are certain business expenses for which ITC is blocked and not available against the full amount of GST paid,” the letter added. These include GST paid for motor vehicles hired for the pan-India movement of news reporters, insurance policies for employees and so on. Allowing ITC on such expenses will foster a more equitable business environment and support the growth and sustainability of the news broadcasting sector,” the letter said.

The GST Council will meet on 3-4 September to consider the Centre’s proposals to rationalise rates under GST with two main rates of 5% and 18% along with a higher rate of 40% on sin and luxury goods. LiveMint

As the demand for reliable, high-speed internet surges across India, especially in remote and underserved regions, a fierce competition is emerging in the satellite broadband space. At the forefront is Elon Musk’s SpaceX Starlink, the established leader with thousands of satellites already in orbit, facing a new challenger in Amazon’s Project Kuiper, which aims to launch its satellite internet services commercially in India by 2026.

Starlink entered the global satellite internet market early, deploying over 8,000 low Earth orbit (LEO) satellites and building a substantial user base worldwide, including providing services in India. However, Amazon is quickly catching up, having launched multiple batches of its Kuiper satellites and aggressively working on regulatory approvals and infrastructure in India. Amazon’s Project Kuiper plans to deploy a constellation of over 3,200 satellites globally, offering high-speed broadband focused on delivering connectivity to areas traditional networks can’t reach.

One of Kuiper’s key strategic advantages is its integration with Amazon’s vast ecosystem, including AWS cloud services and logistics network. This could enable seamless connectivity paired with cloud computing solutions, plus efficient last-mile user terminal delivery through Amazon’s extensive supply chain. Kuiper aims to offer competitively priced hardware and bundled services, targeting price-sensitive markets like India, where affordability is critical.

Starlink, though the market leader, faced regulatory challenges in India early and had to secure specific spectrum licenses. Kuiper is taking a more cautious and collaborative approach with Indian regulators, aiming to align with data localisation, network control, and security requirements upfront to avoid delays. This regulatory navigation is crucial given India’s strict policies on satellite communications and national security.

While Starlink benefits from its large, mature constellation and early mover advantage, Kuiper’s substantial financial backing, strategic partnerships, and cloud infrastructure open opportunities for rapid growth. Other competitors like Bharti-backed OneWeb and the Reliance Jio-SES partnership are also intensifying the competition, promising a multi-player market battle.

Experts believe the coming years will not just be about who has more satellites but who offers better value through lower latency, wider coverage, faster speeds, and economic pricing. Starlink currently dominates the consumer market with superior speeds and global rollouts, but Kuiper’s edge in enterprise integration and potential pricing could shift market dynamics. For Indian consumers and businesses, this competition translates into improved service options and accelerated efforts to bridge the digital divide.

In sum, Amazon Kuiper’s entry into India’s satellite internet sector marks a pivotal moment in the escalating space race with Starlink, promising innovation, competition, and enhanced connectivity options for millions. Mathrubhumi English

Direct-to-home operator Dish TV has been penalised again by leading bourses BSE and National Stock Exchange (NSE) over composition and lack of quorum on its board, according to a regulatory filing by the company.

Dish TV, which has been embroiled in a tussle at the board level for the last few years among its promoters, was fined by the bourses in 2023 and 2024 for the same reason.

It has received a latest notice on August 29 from the bourses, wherein a fine has been imposed on the company, for non-compliance of Regulations 17(1) and 19 (1)/(2) of the SEBI (Listing Obligations and Disclosure Requirements) Regulations, 2015 (‘Listing Regulations’), for the quarter ended June 30.

“The above-mentioned non-compliances in respect to reduction in the board strength was on account of non-approval of shareholders for the appointment of directors and that the same was beyond the control of the board or the company,” Dish TV said.

Moreover, the company has also been advised by the bourses to “inform the promoters about the non-compliance and place the said communication before the board at its next meeting” and the comments made by the board shall be informed to the exchange.

Both the NSE and the BSE have imposed fines of ₹5.69 lakh each on Dish TV for violation of listing rules and has directed it to pay within 15 days from the date of the stock exchange communication.

Dish TV said it “shall be making the payment of the fines as levied on the company” and added that “there is no impact on financial, operational or other activities of the company, other than the monetary fine amount payable”.

As per the information available on the Dish TV portal, its board consists of seven persons. They include its Executive Director-Chairperson-CEO Manoj Dobhal, four independent directors, CFO, and the company secretary.

Subhash Chandra’s family-led promoter and promoter group holds around 4 per cent share and was in a tussle with YES Bank over the reconstitution of the board.

YBL, which was earlier Dish TV’s largest shareholder, has sold its 24.2 per cent in the company to JC Flowers Asset Reconstruction Pvt Ltd.

Over the past few occasions, Dish TV shareholders have jostled down the company’s proposals to approve new appointments on the board in the EGM.

On three previous occasions, shareholders had rejected several proposals, including the re-appointment of Jawahar Lal Goel as the managing director in June 2022 and the adoption of financial statements for 2020-21 (Apr-Mar) and 2021-22 in September 2022. The Hindu Businessline

South Korea has halted broadcasts of a propaganda radio program into North Korea in the latest reconciliatory gesture to mend strained ties with Pyongyang, a local media report said Monday.

The move follows South Korean President Lee Jae Myung’s peace overtures aimed at restoring inter-Korean ties and resuming dialogue with North Korea, Yonhap News Agency reported, citing South Korea’s Defense Ministry.

“The Defense Ministry has halted the ‘Voice of Freedom’ broadcast as part of efforts to ease inter-Korean military tensions,” the ministry said in a statement.

This marks the first suspension of the radio program in 15 years.

South Korea resumed the radio program in May 2010 following North Korea’s deadly attack on the South Korean naval corvette Cheonan.

South Korea had aired K-pop and news into North Korea through the radio program. Last year, it broadcast news on North Korea’s deployment of troops to Russia in support of its war against Ukraine.

Lee, who assumed the presidency in June, ordered the military to stop the propaganda broadcasts and urged activists to stop sending balloons across the border in an effort to reduce tensions.

Pyongyang has rebuffed Lee’s peace overtures. AA

Streaming continues to grab market share from traditional television, but cable isn’t going anywhere just yet. A blending of the two worlds that offers greater simplicity appears to be one reason why.

According to the research firm Nielsen, streaming accounted for 47.3% of the time spent watching TV in July, while cable had 22.2%, and broadcast had 18.4%. Fewer people are signed up to cable. IBISWorld, a second research firm, says the number of cable TV subscriptions in the U.S. has fallen to 66.1 million in 2025 from the peak of 105 million in 2010.

“Streaming platforms provide the most diverse content and quality original programming, driving growth in viewership market share and limiting consumer appetite for traditional TV,” Mark Boidman, head of media and entertainment at the investment bank Solomon Partners, told Barron’s.

Part of the problem for cable is that traditional media companies want their content to be where viewership is. As a result, some popular programs that were originally available on traditional channels have gone to streaming in a vicious cycle that further chips away at viewership on cable.

Love Island USA, which attracted record views this summer, was once available on CBS but now appears only on Comcast’s Peacock streaming service. The soap opera Days of Our Lives, which spent more than 50 years on NBC, can now be seen only on Peacock.

A second issue is that the new TV shows that spark “water cooler conversations,” now tend to come from the major streamers, Anthony Palomba, assistant professor of Business Administration at the University of Virginia Darden School of Business, pointed out to Barron’s. Examples include HBO Max’s White Lotus and Netflix’s Stranger Things.

Cable providers and their investors are keenly aware of this shift. Shares of Comcast have dropped 9.6% this year and Charter Communications stock is down 20%.

Still, cable is hanging on by offering content such as live sports that generally isn’t streamed, as well as by making changes to its business strategies. This includes offering bundled cable packages that include access to streaming services.

Spectrum TV’s Select Signature plan at around $100 a month includes streaming services like HBO Max, Peacock, Paramount + and Disney +. Optimum gives its customers access to a bundle that includes Disney + and Hulu for six months. Verizon’s myHome customers can choose to add streaming services for a discounted price to their internet plans. With Fios TV, customers can choose to add select streaming services like Paramount+ and MGM+.

“We see the traditional cable TV and streaming worlds living together for the foreseeable future,” a spokesperson for Optimum told Barron’s.

Bundling works, Scott Kessler, the global sector lead for tech, media and telecom at the investment research company Third Bridge, told Barron’s. “People feel like they’re getting value and they stick with it over time,” he said. “And I think that’s something that the cable companies have been at the forefront of, and I think you’re going to see more and more of that.”

Live sporting events are another major reason cable companies are holding on. Sports accounted for 75 of the shows on Variety’s list of the 100 Most-Watched Telecasts of 2024.

“Live sports coverage is one of the last remaining linchpins for traditional TV in the eyes of the consumer, particularly within older demographics,” Solomon Partners’ Boidman said.

Streamers are taking a piece of the action. Amazon.com is the only place NFL fans can watch Thursday Night Football, and viewers will need access to a Netflix account to catch all of the Christmas games this year. Disney, which launched a new ESPN app last week, said this month that ESPN will acquire NFL Network and other media assets owned and controlled by the NFL in exchange for a 10% equity stake in ESPN.

Another factor working in cable’s favor is the variety of streaming services that have emerged, and the vast range of content they offer. Third Bridges’ Kessler says that things have just gotten too complicated, and that could be stopping traditional cable customers from cutting the cord.

“The economics aren’t quite as favorable, because people kind of do the math and they say, ‘well how much do all these services add up to versus what I’m paying for cable?’” Kessler said.

Streaming providers have scope to fight back. Palomba, the Darden School professor, thinks one move that could benefit streamers would be to come together and make their own bundles of programming.

“Netflix, Amazon, and YouTube are flush with cash, tech oriented, future facing, and have unlimited resources,” Palomba said. “The best thing that Comcast, Warner Brothers, and Disney could do, frankly, is band together and figure out a bundling where everybody has access to all of it.”

Streamers are taking a piece of the action. Amazon.com is the only place NFL fans can watch Thursday Night Football, and viewers will need access to a Netflix account to catch all of the Christmas games this year. Disney, which launched a new ESPN app last week, said this month that ESPN will acquire NFL Network and other media assets owned and controlled by the NFL in exchange for a 10% equity stake in ESPN.

Another factor working in cable’s favor is the variety of streaming services that have emerged, and the vast range of content they offer. Third Bridges’ Kessler says that things have just gotten too complicated, and that could be stopping traditional cable customers from cutting the cord.

“The economics aren’t quite as favorable, because people kind of do the math and they say, ‘well how much do all these services add up to versus what I’m paying for cable?’” Kessler said.

Streaming providers have scope to fight back. Palomba, the Darden School professor, thinks one move that could benefit streamers would be to come together and make their own bundles of programming.

“Netflix, Amazon, and YouTube are flush with cash, tech oriented, future facing, and have unlimited resources,” Palomba said. “The best thing that Comcast, Warner Brothers, and Disney could do, frankly, is band together and figure out a bundling where everybody has access to all of it.” Barrons

YouTube has announced an expansion of its Hype program, which is designed to help boost emerging creators, while it’s also expanding access to its AI-generated video summaries, and launching new templates in its “YouTube Create” app.

Some interesting additions to consider.

First off, YouTube is expanding its Hype program to more regions, which will give more YouTube users the capacity to help promote eligible videos by allocating them Hype points.

As you can see in this example, where the program is active, YouTube viewers are given a weekly allocation of Hype points (you can Hype three videos per week), while they can also buy more if they like.

You can then give Hype points to videos that are less than a week old, from creators who have fewer than 500k subscribers.

Each video’s collective Hype points are then added to a leaderboard, to help showcase the best up-and-coming creators.

It’s an interesting concept to boost YPP participants. And now, users in more regions will be able to try it out.

As explained by YouTube:
“Last year, we created Hype to give fans a unique way to help their favorite emerging creators get noticed, because we know how hard it can be for smaller channels to break through. Today, we’re thrilled to announce that hype is now live in 39 countries – including the U.S., the U.K., Japan, Korea, Indonesia, and India – so fans worldwide can help creators grow.”

To be clear, from today, the Hype initiative is now expanding to 17 additional markets, bringing it up to that 39 region total. YouTube expanded access to the program in March (after launching it in November last year), then in April, and again in July. So it’s gradually bringing it to more markets, with this latest expansion being the most significant increase in access yet.

And again, it seems like an interesting experiment, with potential to help wannabe YouTubers gain traction with a wider audience.

YouTube says that Hype will be activated by default for eligible channels, while it’s also looking to add more Hype features this fall, including category leaderboards (as shown in the image above) and the ability for viewers to create posts to help spotlight the videos that they’ve Hyped.

On another front, YouTube’s also expanding its AI-generated video summaries to more users globally on select English-language videos.

YouTube’s been testing this since 2023, with brief overviews of video clips that are designed to help guide discovery and engagement.

So you may have seen them already, but now more videos will be getting these AI overviews, which could help to refine your viewing experience.

YouTube notes these summaries won’t replace or affect your ability to write your own video descriptions, but they’re designed to give YouTube more context to go on, in order to help users find what they’re after, while also refining YouTube’s own video understanding.

How? By enabling channel managers to correct any errors in these AI overviews.

“Like all features, feedback from both users and creators is crucial, so if you see an AI-generated summary on one of your videos or anywhere else on YouTube, check it out and let us know what you think.”

The more feedback YouTube gets to help correct these summaries, the more it can improve its entity recognition and content recognition systems, which will then enable it to build a broader corpus of video-sourced data to fuel its own language models.

Finally, YouTube’s also adding new video templates to its YouTube Create app, which will help creators get started on their video projects.

The new templates will include easy-to-follow guides, and add-on features, like royalty-free music to match your project.

“Templates give creators full flexibility and customization within the YouTube Create app, so they can add their own unique spin on videos. In YouTube Create on Android devices, you can find templates on the homepage, or on the templates tab at the bottom menu.”

It’s another way to simplify the creation process, and get more people uploading more content to YouTube. And the better-looking such content is, the more engaging it will be, and the more likely that it will help creators build their audience.

YouTube says that it’s looking to gradually roll out its templates to all YouTube Create users, which is currently available on Android “in a handful of markets.”

Some handy additions, which could help in your YouTube creation and promotion efforts. Yahoo

Telecom major Airtel has flagged the issue of fiber cutting in Hyderabad to the Telecommunication Department, seeking its intervention to resolve the issue, even as the Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI) alleged that the indiscriminate cutting of fiber across Hyderabad by the Telangana power utility continues unabated.

Acting on a complaint from Airtel and others, the local Telecom officials wrote a letter to Sunita Chandra, Director-General Telecom, Department of Telecom, explaining to her the disruptions being caused to telecom and Internet services in Hyderabad.

“We kindly request your office to address this matter with the Secretary (Telecom) for immediate intervention with the Government of Telangana,” the letter said.

“The Telangana Government has decided to remove the dangling wires from all the electric poles, following the electrocution incident that resulted in the death of five persons during a (religious) procession,” the letter said.

After receiving representations from Airtel and other stakeholders, the local Telecom officials had taken up the issue with the Special Chief Secretary (Information Technology, Electronics and Communication), Govt of Telangana,” he said.

He said the department requested the State Government to give sufficient time to telecom service providers to remove the cables from the electric poles.

COAI condemnation
Meanwhile, the COAI strongly condemned the continued and unlawful fiber cuts being carried out by the TGSPDCL (Telangana State Southern Power Distribution Company Ltd) personnel in different parts of the city.

“These acts persist in defiance of the High Court’s ruling on August 22. The ruling restrained such destructive measures,” SP Kochhar, Director General, COAI, has said in a statement here on Tuesday.

“This severing of telecom fiber has led to widespread disruption of essential internet services. Over the last few days, this has worsened the situation and is affecting critical connectivity in both urban and rural areas,” he said. The Hindu BusinessLine