Sun Direct

Sun Direct
Company typePrivate
IndustrySatellite television
FoundedAugust 26, 2007; 17 years ago (2007-08-26) )
Headquarters73, MRC Nagar Main Road, MRC Nagar, Chennai, India
Area served
India
Key people
Kalanithi Maran (Chairman)
ProductsSatellite television, pay television, pay-per-view
RevenueIncrease ₹1,845 crore (US$220 million) (FY 2021)[1]
Increase ₹738 crore (US$88 million) (FY 2021)[1]
Owners
Websitewww.sundirect.in

Sun Direct is an Indian subscription based satellite television service provider, owned by Sun Group. It was launched in December 2007.[2] It transmits digital satellite television and audio to households in India. Sun Direct uses MPEG-4 digital compression, transmitting HD Channels and SD Channels on MEASAT-3 at 91.5°E.[3] Sun Direct Max, an Android set-top-box from Sun Direct, which supports 4K with Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos is expected to launch in 2024.

History

Sun Direct is a joint venture between the Astro Group of Malaysia and the SUN Group of India. Sun Group entered into an MoU with the Astro group on 27 January 1997, when Aircel was not in existence. But, since the government of India did not allow the use of KU band transponders for DTH services, the project was put on hold, the firm said in a statement. After the DTH policy was announced by the government in December 2007, Astro picked up a 20% stake in Sun Direct TV. The stake was valued at approximately $115 million.[4] Sun Direct TV was registered on 16 February 2005.[5] However, the failed launch of Sun Direct INSAT 4C resulted in Sun Direct's lack of transponders, delaying the launch.[6] The service was finally launched on 18 January 2008, after availability of transponders from Indian National Satellite System.[7]

In December 2009, Sun Direct was launched in Mumbai, the country's financial capital, and announced its pan- India launch. By 2009 it became the leading DTH provider with 3 million subscribers.[8]

INSAT-4B glitch and satellite change

On 7 July 2010, a power glitch in the Indian National Satellite System[9][10] satellite turned down the DTH system partly and SUN Direct announced that the service would be free till all the services were restored. Partial service was restored on Indian National Satellite System Sun Direct with 193 channels. Meanwhile, SUN Direct is now transmitting 173 channels on MEASAT-3 for an uninterrupted transition of Sun Direct customers from the Indian National Satellite System at 93.5°E.[11] to MEASAT-3 at 91.5°E.[12]

As of 2017, Sun Direct uses eight transponders equally split between MEASAT-3 and GSAT-15, with three being added in that year itself. HD channels are being beamed from the four transponders on GSAT-15.[13][14]

Sun Direct GO

In 2023, the company announced the forthcoming launch of Sun Direct GO, a subscription video on-demand and over-the-top streaming service.[15] The platform was expected to offer a variety of content, including movies, TV shows, web series, live TV channels, and original content.[16]

References

  1. ^ a b "Kalanithi Maran's Sun Direct reports 22% growth in FY21 revenue". Exchange4media. Retrieved 18 July 2021.
  2. ^ "About Sun Direct". www.sundirect.in. Retrieved 2 January 2019.
  3. ^ "Sun Direct - LyngSat". Sun Direct. Retrieved 9 September 2017.
  4. ^ Sun, Astro deny media reports of impropriety in deal. The Economic Times. 16 February 2011
  5. ^ PIL plea against Sun DTH services. Hindu.com. Retrieved on 17 January 2012.
  6. ^ Lack of transponders hits DTH expansioN. Rediff.com. Retrieved on 17 January 2012.
  7. ^ Sun TV group’s special offer for DTH Archived 21 October 2007 at the Wayback Machine
  8. ^ Business : Sun Direct launches sD services. The Hindu (9 April 2009). Retrieved on 17 January 2012.
  9. ^ INSAT-4B Spacecraft Affected by Power Problem. isro.org
  10. ^ Power problem with Insat-4B. Sify.com (12 August 2010). Retrieved on 17 January 2012.
  11. ^ Insat 4B at 93.5°E. LyngSat. Retrieved on 17 January 2012.
  12. ^ Sun Direct on Measat 3 at 91.5°E. LyngSat. Retrieved on 10 September 2017.
  13. ^ TelevisionPost Team (18 July 2017). "Sun Direct turns profitable at net level for full fiscal for first time". Television Post. In FY17, Sun Direct added three transponders on GSAT 15. It has a total of eight transponders, equally split between Measat 3 and GSAT 15.
  14. ^ Eluvangal, Sreejiraj (4 April 2017). "With New Tech, Sun Direct Launches India's Cheapest HD Packs". Ultra News. At present, it is beaming its HD channels from four transponders located on ISRO's newly launched GSAT-15 satellite.
  15. ^ "Sun Direct to Launch Sun Direct Go App - Journalism Guide". journalismguide.in. 19 June 2023. Retrieved 22 October 2023.
  16. ^ Mr.Leader (20 October 2023). "Sun Direct Go OTT app launched on Playstore – dthhelp for dth news and dth updates". Retrieved 22 October 2023.