I was constantly apologetic to shareholders: Dish TV Chairman

India's first DTH service provider, Dish TV, has started making profi ts after a long wait of 11 years. The Chairman of the Rs 2,733-crore company, Jawahar Goel, tells Ajita Shashidhar about the company's challenging journey. Edited Excerpts:

Q- Were you prepared for such a long gestation period?

A- No businessman will knowingly get into a business with such a long gestation period. We were a victim of policy paralysis. We were subject to all kinds of taxes. Over 35 per cent of our revenue was paid as taxes. Also, TAM never reported the weightage of DTH. We didn't get high carriage fee from broadcasters that cable companies got. I was constantly apologetic to my shareholders as I wasn't able to give them good enough returns.

Q- Did you ever want to get out of the business?

A- There was no going back after investing so much in the business.

Q- The DTH industry has been registering robust growth. Has the delay in third and fourth phases of digitisation helped?

A- Digitisation will always be a slow process. For third and fourth phases, no cable company has the wherewithal to invest. In Phase I and II, most DTH companies overestimated conversions. We invested just 10 to 15 per cent more than we usually do. I can't really attribute our growth to the delay in digitisation. We grew more due to our efforts to expand the market.

Q- Will 4G be a threat to DTH companies?

A- I don't think so. I am in the business of 'push content' while 4G will be more about 'pull content' (user-generated content). When it comes to 'push content', DTH can offer content for as low as 50 paise per day.