TV subscription market remains strong in the region due to affordability, while Hindi belt switches to online platforms
Javed Farooqui (THE ECONOMIC TIMES; March 8, 2025)

The south Indian market has remained resilient amid pay TV's decline, especially in the Hindi-speaking market (HSM), driven by strong consumption habits, affordability and innovative content, said industry experts. HSM has been experiencing a steep decline in its pay-TV subscriber base due to the rise of OTT, YouTube and DD Free Dish, the free direct-to-home (DTH) service from Prasar Bharati.

However, OTT platforms and DD Free Dish have yet to make a significant impact on the south Indian pay-TV market, as television remains an affordable medium in this region, driven by low average revenue per user (ARPU), experts note. Pay-TV APRU in south is Rs. 200- Rs. 250 against Rs. 250-Rs. 300 in the HSM, said industry experts.

According to industry estimates, south India accounts for almost half of the pay-TV market despite having a smaller population than HSM. They add that the number of pay-TV homes in the country has declined to 84 million in recent times from 120 million, primarily due to churn in HSM. "HSM has a higher ARPU compared to the south, but the churn there is very high. The south, on the other hand, has low ARPU due to local government interventions. However, the TV subscription market remains strong due to affordability," said a top TV broadcast executive, speaking on condition of anonymity.

South India's TV market comprises Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam and Kannada language markets, with Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh-Telangana traditionally having significantly higher pay-TV penetration compared to HSM. The key players in the south market include JioStar, Zee Entertainment and Sun TV Network, which is the regional powerhouse.

According to FICCI-EY 2024 report, TV viewership in south India averaged 4 hours a day in 2023 vs 3 hours and 30 minutes in HSM. TV advertising spend across the four south Indian languages is estimated to be close to $1 billion. Apart from a loyal audience base and strong regional content, south market benefits from a robust retail advertising sector, reducing dependency on national advertisers.