Price is a major deterrent in the CAS case, says TAM

Of the 79.6 lakh cable homes across Mumbai, Delhi and Kolkata, 16.3 lakh cable homes fall under CAS-mandated zones. According to a set top box penetration study by TAM, out of these CAS homes, 2.77 lakh homes have taken up an STB/DTH connection to access pay channels.

Mumbai witnessed the highest penetration, 25 per cent, compared to Delhi (14 per cent) and Kolkata (10 per cent). About 1.98 lakh homes were reported as having subscribed to pay TV services but awaiting installation.

In Mumbai, 20 per cent of homes were awaiting installation, while in Delhi and Kolkata the figures were 6 per cent and 11 per cent, respectively. In the three metros taken together, 17 per cent homes had set top boxes installed, while 12 per cent were awaiting installation.

TAM also observed the trend across SECs. The highest off-take was observed in the higher SECs and the figure fell at lower rungs on the SEC ladder. However, penetration levels varied significantly across markets. The highest was observed among SEC A in Mumbai, whereas in SEC D and E sections of Kolkata, the off-take was zero. At the same time, the response of Mumbai's SEC C was almost on par with that of SEC A from Delhi & Kolkata.

Lack of consumer awareness has been cited as a key reason for low penetration in certain areas. Three areas were probed to check for awareness levels – knowledge of CAS-mandated areas, requirement of a STB for viewing free-to-air channels, and rental schemes for STBs.

The major reason for people not buying into CAS was the price. As high as 83 per cent of non-STB subscribers in Kolkata felt that these services were expensive. Another reason was that these people were satisfied with the channels they were receiving without STBs.

The study was conducted through face-to-face interviews using structured questionnaires. A total of 2,250 respondents in Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata were sampled.

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