Cord-Cutting Won’t Cut Dish TV Out: Manoj Dobhal on Surviving India’s Streaming Shift with its Smart TV Play

There was a time when Dish TV and its peers defined how India watched television—via the humble set-top box perched beside every living-room screen. But the streaming tide has since rewritten habits, leaving traditional DTH operators racing to reinvent themselves. For Dish TV, the answer isn’t to abandon its legacy, but to stretch it. By stepping into the Smart TV market, the company is positioning hardware as a gateway to an integrated entertainment ecosystem—a diversification play that mirrors the larger pivot all broadcasters are being forced to make. In conversation with Manoj Dobhal, CEO & Executive Director, Dish TV India Limited, we decode the strategy behind this shift. (Edited Excerpts)

Dish TV is entering the already competitive Smart TV market dominated by Xiaomi, Samsung, LG, and OnePlus. What’s the core business rationale behind this move, and how do you see it impacting your revenue mix?

The initiation of the VZY (Vibe, Zone and You) integrated Smart TV lineup is part of our plan to diversify and provide a 360-degree entertainment platform—from TV panels to linear channels to OTT video streaming in a single destination. Our aim is to leverage Dish TV’s DTH experience and integrate it with OTT streaming into one device to match the changing consumption patterns of Indian households. We expect to penetrate a new market and monetise a non-DTH revenue base, targeting incremental revenues from these sources in the next 18 to 24 months. This marks our pivot from a pure DTH subscription revenue base to a broader home entertainment play.

How will Dish TV leverage its existing DTH subscriber base to drive adoption of VZY Smart TVs? Do you have specific bundling or cross-sell strategies in place?

We plan to leverage Dish TV’s existing large base of DTH subscribers by offering VZY Smart TVs integrated with their satellite channel lineup, eliminating the need for separate set-top boxes. The TVs come preloaded with Dish TV’s DTH service and OTT apps, including our Watcho platform, allowing seamless access to live TV and streaming content. We will offer bundled subscription packages that combine DTH and OTT content for a full entertainment experience, pushing cross-sell between the TV hardware and content services.

Integrated DTH + OTT TVs have been attempted before but didn’t scale. What gives you confidence that consumer demand and infrastructure readiness are now aligned for success?

Indian households are increasingly expressing a preference for digital-first, hybrid content consumption that seamlessly integrates live TV and streaming. This is supported by increased smart TV penetration and much better Internet infrastructure that makes it easy and convenient to access all content onto one device. By starting with the trusted Google TV platform and with a vision to have our own OS proprietary within 18-24 months, we are confident technology is maturing, and feedback from early consumers of the initial VZY range has been quite positive, indicating readiness and acceptance from the market for this integrated entertainment solution. I think timing now is just right for this integrated customer preposition.

What market share are you targeting in the Smart TV segment in the first 2–3 years, and how does this align with Dish TV’s long-term growth strategy?

We aim to acquire a 3-5% market share in the smart TV space during the first 2-3 years. This comes in line with Dish TV's long-held vision of transitioning from a regulated DTH broadcaster to a fully-fledged home entertainment company incorporating both satellite TV, OTT content, and hardware. This should shelter DTH users from the challenges brought about by cord cutting while capturing OTT-first users ultimately ensuring the longevity of the business.

Could you share the expected price positioning and margins for VZY compared to your core DTH business? Will Smart TVs become a profit centre or more of a customer retention play?

The price range for VZY smart TVs is quite competitive and spans from ₹12,000 (32-inch HD) to ₹45,000 (55-inch 4K UHD QLED) in the entry-to-mid-premium segments. Although hardware margins are expected to be tighter than traditional DTH service, smart TVs may act as a potential profit centre and a key device to improve customer retention. Bundled subscriptions and monetization of content are inherently important to improving overall margins.

How do you plan to penetrate Tier 2 & 3 markets where affordability and distribution are key challenges? Will VZY compete with budget Chinese brands or stay premium?

We aim to address metropolitan areas and Tier 2/3 cities with careful price and method of funding so it can be affordable, with some options having zero down payments and no-cost EMIs. We will also target price via a wide retail availability, as well as an online presence and experience centers, with the distributed dealer network being a key asset. The strategy emphasises not as much on low-cost ultra-budget Chinese brands but offers strong content integrations and services for a mid-premium Indian household.

Given the rise of cord-cutting and pure OTT consumption, how does this integrated model future-proof Dish TV’s relevance in India’s evolving entertainment ecosystem?

We have created a hybrid solution encompassing traditional DTH and OTT streaming in one device to ensure relevance as consumers' habits change. The combined model retains live linear TV viewers and attracts OTT-first consumers, while putting us in a position to benefit from the increase in digital content consumed on large screens. This is an approach to limiting churn to a cord-cutting service without fully abandoning the awesomeness of core DTH services.

What is your broader view on the convergence of broadcast and digital in India—do you see traditional DTH operators eventually becoming full-stack home entertainment providers?

In my view, the fate of home entertainment is to amalgamate broadcast and digital ecosystems, with traditional DTH providers transitioning into full-stack providers of complete content and device solutions. The launch of VZY is a sign of this combination happening, where content, technology, and consumer convenience are brought together through a unified platform. Dish TV is focusing on its hybrid ecosystem, or content flow, and is adding personalization enabled through AI, regional content, and partnerships with innovative platforms to create a deeper relationship with consumers.