MediaWorldBuzz: How many HD channels can we expect by the end of this year?
Jawahar Goel: As per my estimates, there will be around 30 to 40 HD channels beamed out by various broadcasters in the country by the end of next financial year. We would try to accommodate as many of these channels depending upon their capacity to interest our viewers.

MediaWorldBuzz: What is your sales target for these HD boxes?
Jawahar Goel: Well we have just launched (laughs) but yes by the end of this financial year we expect to sell around 60,000 set top boxes. And by the end of next year we expect a sale of 2,50,000 HD boxes.

MediaWorldBuzz: As far as HD goes, how profitable do you think they will be for Dish TV?
Jawahar Goel: Like I said we have just launched and have target of selling 60,000 boxes… there won’t be much difference on profitability as of now. We have 2.5 million DTH subscribers. What difference will 60,000 subscribers will make to the profitability of the company? Nothing significant as of now!

MediaWorldBuzz: You have currently launched the boxes at the introductory price of Rs. 5,990. How much is the box costing you? Do you see the price of HD set-top-boxes going down like it did for DTH, once the competition gets intense?
Jawahar Goel: The box is costing us around Rs. 8000 per unit. And as far as the price of these boxes are concerned, we are not going to reduce it because it will not make sense business wise. More or less, the price of HD boxes will be in this range only and will not go down further.

MediaWorldBuzz: So how do you see the competition in the HD space evolving?
Jawahar Goel: I would not look at it as competition. I would say multiple players will actuallycomplement each other. Because, this is a new concept and a new concept or technology needs to be popularized and marketed well to customers. So with more competition coming in, there will be more awareness about the HD platform and technology. Thus more people will be keen on buying it. Imagine, today all DTH operators put together spend around Rs. 800 crore on educating the customer that obviously helps the entire industry. When I launched Dish TV I sold 30,000 units in a month. When Tata Sky came together we were able to sell 2 lakh units a months. Today when there are six DTH players the monthly sale of DTH box is roughly 10 lakh units. What I am trying to say is that competition in a growing market actually helps to expand the market and thus is good for the industry.

MediaWorldBuzz: So, Shahrukh stays as the brand ambassador for HD TV too?
Jawahar Goel:  Yes. We have had a three year long association with Shahrukh and it’s been good. Three years ago when Shahrukh was not our brand ambassador we were the number one player. Obviously, at that we were the only player (laughs). And today, there are six players in the industry and we are still number one. So obviously, Shahrukh’s association has helped our brand and also our offering has been best in the industry. So, the two things combines has kept us ahead in this race.

MediaWorldBuzz: When is the new campaign going to be launched and what are the details of the marketing plan?
Jawahar Goel: We will be launching the campaign in the next 10 to 14 days. It will be a mix of both BTL and ATL activities. But right now I cannot share more details as we are still finalizing them.

MediaWorldBuzz: When it comes to expansion of HD market in the near future, what do you think will be the key challenges?
Jawahar Goel: First will be the availability of HD ready television sets at more affordable prices. Second, will be the availability of content i.e. how quickly more HD channels are launched by broadcasters?