'Dish sawaar hai' now offers free HD recorder, Dish truHD+

As an extension of its latest 'Dish sawaar hai' campaign, Dish TV has launched the truHD+ DVR, being offered free to its HD customers.

Dish TV has launched a high-definition digital video recorder (DVR), which is compatible with USB devices. Called truHD+, the DVR will be provided free of cost to all customers who opt for HD set top boxes. It is also offering a free upgrade to its consumers who already own an HD set top box. Dish TV has designed a 360 degree marketing plan for its DVR, which is part of the 25 crore ad spends earmarked for its 'Dish sawaar hai' campaign.

Two television commercials that feature its brand ambassador, actor Shah Rukh Khan, promote the new product, and are expected to go on air in a day or two.

R C Venkateish, chief executive officer, Dish TV India, says, "While most DVRs charge a premium, our idea is to expand the DVR market by making it accessible at the price of a normal HD box. Furthermore, this box lends a huge advantage over other DVRs in the market by offering 'unlimited recording capacity'. This is possible due to a breakthrough technology that enables any external storage device to be plugged into the USB port of the Dish truHD+ box."

Salil Kapoor, chief operating officer, Dish TV India, says, "Dish TV brings a unique innovation, which introduces the concept of unlimited recording through Dish TV truHD+. The benefits of latest technology provide the flexibility in terms of choice to decide on the recording capacity. Also, this demonstrates Dish TV's customer-centric approach as both new and old HD customers will get this technological upgrade at no extra cost. Dish truHD+ also introduces the concept of 'build your own library' (genre based)."

Speaking about the marketing of the product, Anjali Malhotra, executive vice-president, marketing, Dish TV India, says, "We are mainly targeting the larger cities in the initial stage. Television makes a major component of the complete plan. The new TVCs maintain the idea of passionate TV watching habits. We have also touched base through print so as to increase product education.

"As for outdoor, we will initially concentrate on the Tier 1 and Tier 2 cities. There are a series of initiatives coming up as an extension of the 'Dish sawaar hai' campaign. However, we will run the DVR offer for some time before bringing out anything new, so that it gets its own fair time to establish its existence."

As June 2012/02// is the deadline set for complete digitisation of the cable networks in the metros, Dish TV expects a rise of about a million new customers from this market.

Kapoor adds, "The potential customer base for digitisation is about seven million in the metros. Out of that, if about 40-50 per cent is expected to go for the digital cable network connections, we expect to retain our 30 per cent market share among the rest of the customer base."

For the record, Dish TV offers more than 330 channels and services, including 21 audio channels. The company claims that it has more than 12.5 million subscribers.