Direct-to-home television operator
Tata Sky today launched a new application that allows watching live television programmes on mobile phones as the company looks to popularise its brand further. Tata Sky says the app, meant for both Android and iOS, will be coming soon, and will be released during the festive season.
Named 'Everywhere TV', the company said it will charge Rs. 60 per month from its existing customers, who can initially watch over 50 channels on their mobile phones.
"The idea is to let our subscribers watch TV while they are travelling or when they are out of home. All that they need is a good 3G mobile connection or a Wi-Fi connectivity," Tata Sky Chief Commercial Officer Vikram Mehra told PTI. He said the move is part of the company's plans to popularise the Tata Sky brand further in tune with the ever evolving customer demands.
"We started the 'a la carte' option to let customers choose what channels they want to watch, we introduced the recording option so that they can watch programmes later. Now, our next step is to let them watch live while on the move via mobiles," Mehra said.
Bullish on the new offering, he said the company had done a research and found that the amount of time subscribers spend on commuting is 76 minutes every day.
"Most of the people travelling in train or by car watch some kind of video content on their phone. This shows that there is a huge potential for Everywhere TV," he said.
Further, it was found that 88 per cent of subscribers had either a smartphone or tablet or both. Also, they have either an Apple or an Android smartphone, which shows that there is a huge potential for TV on the go, Mehra added.
"In the next three months, we will double the number of channels on offer on the 'Everywhere TV'," he said, adding the future plan was to get over 200 channels on it.
Initially, most of the Hindi and English channels will be available on Everywhere TV but later on regional channels will also be included, the company said.
On the potential customers, he said apart from the usual adult Tata Sky subscriber, the mobile TV will also attract attention from students who are in hostel as this would offer them a cheaper option to access live TV.
Tata Sky is investing Rs. 900 crore this fiscal on upgrading technology as it targets a 30 percent growth in subscribers.
Dish TV had in September introduced a similar live TV streaming service,
called DishOnline.