August 14, 2025

Dish TV India is facing a bumpy ride! The company posted a tough consolidated net loss of Rs 95 crore for the quarter ended June 30, 2025. This is a big jump from last year’s small loss of Rs 2 crore in the same quarter. The main reason behind this heavy loss is a sharp drop in revenue and ongoing problems in the direct-to-home (DTH) television business. The company’s earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation (EBITDA) fell sharply by 56% to Rs 73 crore. Competition, rising inflation, and rupee depreciation squeezed profits and pushed margins down. Revenue from operations also took a hit, dropping 28% year-on-year to Rs 329 crore. Subscription income skipped 11% to Rs 273 crore, showing the tough times for Dish TV. To fight back, Dish TV plans to focus on new and spicy offerings. This includes hybrid plans combining traditional and internet TV, connected devices, and value-added products like content bundles with TV makers. The company is also aiming to get better quality subscribers, cut down on customer churn, and save money on set-top boxes. The cash saved will flow into exciting digital ventures like the Watcho and FLIQS platforms. Watcho OTT Super App has already dazzled with over 96 million downloads and 11 million paid subscribers as of June 2025. It offers more than 24 apps filled with a variety of entertainment to keep viewers hooked at competitive prices. FLIQS offers select, original, and premium digital content in many languages, including movies, web series, and short videos. However, Dish TV and its subsidiary Dish Infra Services took a hard look at the value of several key assets, including Watcho and assets from Videocon d2h. Independent valuations revealed a sharp fall in value due to fewer subscribers and tough business conditions. Dish Infra wrote down Rs 798 crore in intangible assets under development, Rs 202 crore in capital advances, and Rs 120 crore in other advances related to new tech like Watcho. It also slashed Videocon d2h assets by Rs 2,364 crore in goodwill, Rs 70 crore in customer relationships, and Rs 401 crore in property and equipment. In Dish TV’s own books, Videocon d2h assets were reduced by Rs 3,911 crore (goodwill), Rs 1,029 crore (brand), Rs 498 crore (customer relationships), and Rs 28 crore (property and equipment). Meanwhile, the company is locked in a long-running battle with the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting over DTH licence fees. This high-stakes dispute has been in the Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh High Court since 2015, with interim relief still protecting Dish TV. Other DTH players have similar cases in the Supreme Court. Dish TV has set aside a huge Rs 4,680 crore as of June 2025 for possible interest liabilities, slightly up from Rs 4,613 crore in March. Back in April, the ministry demanded a staggering Rs 6,736 crore in licence fees and interest covering from when Dish TV first got its licences up to FY24, a demand the company firmly disputes. Adding fuel to the fire, the company challenged a proposed audit by the Comptroller and Auditor General of India in 2023 and got a court stay that still holds. As of June 2025, Dish TV’s losses piled up to more than its equity capital, plunging the company into a negative net worth zone. Management warns that this mainly stems from the licence fee dispute and says, “an unfavourable outcome could raise doubts about its ability to continue.” How will Dish TV’s drama unfold next? Stay tuned!

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Tags: Dish tv india, Net loss, Dth business, Watcho ott, Licence fee dispute, Asset write-down,