"HD Content on the rise": Chrome media study

Findings show HD consumer count to be over nine million; Tata Sky tops subscriber base.

With affordable HD television sets entering the market half a decade ago, it seems the industry is finally catching up and optimising content for the discerning audiences. The research and data company Chrome DM has recently carried out a study which shows that Indian television audiences are moving towards consuming more HD content on television, reflecting the changing pattern of content consumption.

According to the findings made available by Chrome DM's proprietary Subscriber Establishment Survey, which is used by broadcasters to optimise distribution study, the HD subscriber base stands at an impressive count of over nine million out of the 168 million TV households in India. Of this, the number of DTH HD subscribers is 8,338,741, and digital cable HD is 1,002,891.

The overall HD penetration for all India TV households stands at 5.6 per cent. And, as per the Chrome study, in all India DTH households, which stands at 75 million, HD penetration almost doubles at 11.1 per cent, while paid DTH households show the highest penetration at 15.7 per cent.

On breaking down the subscriber base by each DTH platform, Chrome DM reports Tata Sky as the market leader, with Big TV at the bottom of the charts.

Commenting on the change seen in content consumption, Pankaj Krishna, managing director, Chrome DM, says, "The numbers show a huge upswing for HD penetration, and that's a positive sign for the Indian television universe. The trend shows a more mature and discerning audience, something content creators will have to take into consideration."

The sample size of the survey is one in every 110 households.