An advertisement on benefits of a new DTH connection on Main Road in Ranchi on Monday. Picture by Hardeep Singh

To cash in on the seven-day grace period granted to cable operators for switching over to digital television from analogue, DTH firms are slashing upfront fee for new subscribers while monthly recharge rates have been revised and reduced pan-India.

Even a month ago, the minimum cost of a DTH connection — including a standard set-top box and installation charge — was between Rs 2,000 and Rs 2,500. Wooing subscribers on a mass scale, DTH majors are now asking for a down payment as low as Rs 600-900.

The I&B ministry had fixed March 31 as the digitisation deadline for 38 cities across the country. The same has been stretched to April 8 in Ranchi because of the forthcoming civic elections.

Making the most of this unexpected poll sop, DTH service providers have intensified their marketing strategies.

Tata Sky has launched the litti-chokha campaign to tell people about its USP. The advertisement shows that Tata Sky is cheaper at Rs 6 a day than the popular Bihar-Jharkhand grub, which comes at Rs 15 a plate.

Arnab Chatterjee, circle sales manager of Tata Sky, said they had pruned their upfront cost to Rs 600. “Our minimum package cost is Rs 2,250. A new subscriber will have to pay only Rs 600 as down payment, while the rest can be cleared through an interest-free instalment scheme of Rs 150 for 11 months. So, every month, a subscriber will have to pay Rs 150 and the package cost, the minimum of which is Rs 200 only,” he said.

Citing benefits of DTH over digital connections through cable operators, he added: “We offer hassle-free relocation whereas a cable operator of any other circle will charge for reinstallation.”

With the IPL beginning Wednesday, cricket buffs in Ranchi would certainly not wish for blank screens halfway through a nail-biting match.

Feeling this pitch pulse, Videocon d2h has introduced its special offer. A subscriber will have to make a down payment of Rs 990 for a base-pack of Rs 2,199 and the remaining amount can be cleared through 12 monthly instalments. It will include the cost of a standard set-top box and a month’s package price.

Bharti Airtel too has brought down its base price from Rs 1,999 to Rs 1,790. Company officials said easy monthly instalments were available with Airtel DTH. “The basic package of Airtel is economic too,” an official said.

The spree of DTH sops has prompted Manthan Durang — one of the three multi-system operators in Ranchi, which already has over one lakh cable network subscribers — to launch EMI schemes.

Jay Shankar, an operator under Manthan Durang, said any subscriber interested in installing a set-top box worth Rs 1,000 could pay in four EMIs and at zero per cent interest.