Bharti Airtel and Tata Group To Explore Potential DTH Business Merger

New Delhi is home to the headquarters of the international Indian Punjabi telecom company Bharti Airtel Limited. In addition to the Channel Islands, it operates in 18 South Asian and African nations. In India, Airtel currently offers 4G, 5G, and LTE Advanced services.

Discussing with Tata Play For Merger

Bharti Airtel has confirmed engaging in “bilateral discussions” with Tata Group regarding a potential merger of their direct-to-home (DTH) businesses—Bharti Telemedia and Tata Play.

Bharti Airtel stated, “We wish to submit that Bharti Airtel and Tata Group are in bilateral discussions to explore a potential transaction to achieve a combination of Tata Group’s DTH business housed under Tata Play with Bharti Telemedia, a subsidiary of Airtel, in a structure acceptable to all parties.”

DTH sector is Struggling 

This development comes at a time when India’s DTH sector grapples with a dwindling subscriber base as viewers increasingly gravitate towards more flexible digital content alternatives, leading to a decline in revenue streams. Industry analysts collectively suggest that consolidation is the most viable pathway for the DTH segment’s survival.

According to the latest Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) Performance Indicators Report, the total active subscriber base shrank from 62.17 million in June 2024 to 59.91 million in September 2024. However, amidst the industry-wide contraction, Bharti Telemedia’s Airtel Digital TV has bucked the trend by witnessing an upsurge in its subscriber count.

Statement From Bharti Airtel

“In the DTH segment, we gained 29,000 new customers this quarter,” revealed Gopal Vittal, Vice-Chairman and Managing Director of Bharti Airtel, in a recent earnings call. “Our unwavering focus on a streamlined pricing structure, compelling content offerings, and an integrated approach has led to consistent market share expansion.”

Share Price Performance 

At 11:34 AM on February 27, 2025, Bharti Airtel Ltd shares traded a 0.51% up at ₹1,649.80 per share on the NSE.

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