EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Tata Sky is a joint venture between the TATA Group and STAR. Tata Sky satellite television service was launched on 8th August, 2006. Vikram Kaushik, managing director, Tata Sky, is deservedly proud of its fledgling company's achievements Tata Sky has become a millionaire in less than one year. The company has had the distinction of notching the fastest one million direct-to-home (DTH) connections in the history of the industry anywhere in the world. This achievement has been made possible because Tata Sky paid close attention to every aspect of the service, from the first call made to the call centre or the purchase of a set top box to the installation and the subsequent quality of service. Every detail reflected the consideration paid to consumer interest and convenience. Considering the above aspects the Company presented an interesting scenario, which needed to be studied. Indian Customer has already been categorized as a price conscious customer , but is it true when it comes to Services ??

The researcher undertook this study to recognize basic and secondary needs of an average Indian customer when it comes to satellite television. Satellite television was a new concept a few years ago , popularized primarily due to increasing demand for the entertainment coupled with sense , logic , information and reflection of current social trends. Present study tries to empirically review the purchase behavior , perception and customer satisfaction for Tata Sky DTH Services in Aurangabad, Dhule and Shahada areas of Maharashtra state. The researcher has also tried to collect and analyze information regarding the popularity of DTH Brands, Service Quality provided by them , factors influencing DTH Sales and Customer Expectations from DTH Service Providers.

BRAND HISTORY DTH stands for Direct To Home which is a direct mode of transmission between

Broadcaster and Subscriber through satellite.

Tata SKY is a joint venture between the Tata group that owns 80% and STAR Group that owns a 20% stake. Tata Sky was incorporated in 2004 but was launched only in 2006. It currently offers close to 264 channels (As of August 2010) and some interactive ones; this count includes some numbers off HD channels offered by Tata Sky (as Tata Sky - HD) and interactive services also. The company uses the Sky brand owned by British Sky Broadcasting. In October 2008, Tata Sky announced launching of DVR service Tata Sky+ which allowed 90 hours of recording in a MPEG-4 compatible Set Top Box. The remote is provided with playback control keys and is being sold with special offers for existing subscribers. In 2008, Singapore-based Temasek Holdings picked up 10% stake in Tata Sky from the Tata Group. This has diluted Tata's stake in the venture to 75%.STARs parent company, News Corporation, owns an International group of DTH businesses that include Sky Italia in Italy and Foxtel in Australia. Tata Sky+ Tata Sky+ is a premium set-top box-cum-Personal Video Recorder or even known as DVR Digital Video Recorder that allows recording up to 130 hours of live TV, recording one programmer while watching another, pause, fast-forward and rewind a live telecast and review a TV programme. Also Tata Sky+ provides service using MPEG-4 digital compression technology. Tata Sky HD Tata Sky HD was launched on June 14, 2010, and has channels in their native resolution of 1080i or 720p. The STB is compatible with 5.1 CH surround sound as well. The service currently offers four HD channels - National Geographic Channel HD, Discovery HD,

Showcase HD (Pay Per View) & Star Plus HD. More channels such as Star Movies HD and other popular sports channels in HD format are expected to be added soon. Target Customers Isko laga dala to life zingalala was the tag line or Brand Mantra of TATA SKY from 2008 to 2010.Now it has changed to Ab channel package wohi lo jo pasand ho which is being promote by Actor Amir Khan. This brand function on principle that consumer satisfaction is must if there is consumer satisfaction then there will be overall growth of business .considering this mantra they are focusing on youth market by means of co branding like games, music etc .

BRAND MANTRA USED BY COMPANY Isko laga dala toe life zingalala This brand function on principle that consumer satisfaction is must if there is consumer satisfaction then there will be overall growth of business .considering this mantra they are focusing on youth market by means of co branding like games musics etc . Factors they primarily focus on Physique: Access to entertainment World class technology from SKY Light weight box

Personality: Tata sky completely focuses on Fun and young generation and subsequently Enhances Trustworthy Relationship: Making life Zingalala(complete and fun)Developing Reliability Simplicity Trustworthy: Trust and Innovation is the key mantra of Tata sky. Having Family Oriented concept Self image: It is presumed that Tata sky technologies are up-to-date so as a consumer everybody like the updated technologies. Various services provided by TATA Sky include: Active Services, Active Cooking, Active Stories, Active Newsroom, Active Wiz Kids, Active Sports, Active Learning, Active Games, Active Astrology, Parental Control, Search and Scan Banner Guide (including Hindi Display), Customer Service- 24 x 7 help. Support in 11 languages. Looking Beyond DTH in India has many miles to go. Although there are several issues regarding content and quality of service offered by the cable service providers, most of the TV households in India still prefer cable service to DTH. In such a scenario, DTH operators have no option but to offer the service at the lowest cost possible to pull customers towards them. This would encourage mass subscription and result in increased ARPU. Currently, the market is dynamic with a lot of introductory bonanzas and free offers from companies like Sun TV. If other DTH players are ready to compromise a little of their profits and offer simpler packages targeting the average Indian households, the industry will become more competitive and achieve its goals. Moreover looking at the speed with which the DTH Industry is growing , no wonder within next 2-3 years the Cable System of watching television will start becoming obsolete and outdated, also the comfort of recharging with voucher for subscription renewal has provided customers with a hastle free way of getting uninterrupted Service .Due to mass demand and mass consumption the DTH market has very soon reached a growth stage which is normally not observed so soon after launch in other Services. Chart shown below depicts the rate at which people in India would subscribe (in millions) to satellite television in coming years making it one of the prime entertainment service. Also the factors like Customer Satisfaction and Service Quality , then would become to tools for survival in this booming Industry.

The DTH category is expected to grow by 80% in the next 5-6 years.

Source: - AC Nielsen Customer Satisfaction study, April 2010

OBJECTIVES OF STUDY
The objectives of the study are -

To measure the Satisfaction level of Customers for (Satellite Television) Service Provider

Tata

Sky Brand of

DTH

To identify various factors influencing the purchase decision for DTH (Satellite Television).

y y y

To identify the most preferred brand of DTH currently present in the market. To study different Marketing Strategies followed by Tata Sky. To measure the overall performance of the Tata Sky against competitor brands of DTH Services.