Ever since India’s first foray into the Direct to Home (DTH) television era with the launch of Zee’s Dish TV in October 2003, it has become the world’s largest DTH market in terms of subscribers. According to the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), there were 69.98 million active pay DTH subscribers in the country as of December 31^st, 2019.

Consequently, Indian consumers have before them a buffet of DTH service providers to choose from—a task that is as laborious as it’s confusing. The Indian market is currently serviced by 4 paid (Tata Sky, Dish TV, Airtel Digital TV and Sun Direct) DTH service providers and one free (DD Free Dish) DTH service provider.

Let’s see who is the best DTH service provider for you.

Tata Sky

Tata Sky remains the service provider with the largest subscriber pool since its incorporation in 2006.This is a venture by Tata Sons and The Walt Disney Company. There are 601 channels, 495 SD channels as well as 99 HD channels.

Currently, Tata Sky offers numerous Curated Packs, with the option to add on Mini Packs and Regional Packs. The Curated Packs start from about 45 rupees/month to 767 rupees/month, with varying High Definition (HD) and Standard Definition (SD) channels. Tata Sky also offers a variety of specialised sports packs in several languages.

On recharging for 12 months, this DTH service offers one month’s balance as cashback in your Tata Sky account and additional flexibility to add/drop channels at will. Some inclusive sports packs are provided below, ranked from the most budget-friendly to increasing prices:

Tata Sky Family Sports Pack

The Tata Sky Family Sports pack is a budget-friendly Rs 309.92 per month, and it offers 87 SD channels. It provides 14 Hindi entertainment channels, 15 Hindi movies, 14 knowledge and lifestyle channels and 13 sports channels.

Tata Sky Family Kids Sports Pack

The Family Kids Sports HD Pack provides you with 97 total channels. It offers 14 Hindi entertainment channels, 15 Hindi movies, 13 sports channels, 7 Hindi news channels, 14 kids channels, 14 knowledge and lifestyle content, and more for the price of Rs 329.63 per month.

Tata Sky Premium Sports English Pack

The Tata Sky Premium Sports pack stands at Rs 350.33 per month and offers 119 SD channels. It consists of 14 Hindi entertainment channels, 16 Hindi movies channels, 14 knowledge and lifestyle channels, 13 sports channels, and more.

Tata Sky Family Kids Sports Hd Pack

The Family Kids Sports HD Pack provides you with 38 HD channels and a total of 100 channels. It offers 13 Hindi entertainment channels, 15 Hindi movies, 13 sports channels, seven news channels, 16 kids channels, 14 knowledge and lifestyle channels, and more for the price of Rs 479.49 per month.

Tata Sky Premium Sports English Hd Pack

The Premium Sports English HD pack provides you with 130 total channels, 56 of which are HD and a variety of English, Hindi and various regional languages channels and 19 entertainment, 16 movies, sports, 21 news, 16 kids, five music and 14 knowledge channels for the cost of Rs. 517.78 per month.

Related – Tata Sky VS Airtel DTH: Everything you need to know!

Dish TV

The Zee Group launched Dish TV, the first DTH provider, in 2003 in rural regions that weren’t yet serviced by cable television. As per the Brand Trust Report 2014, Zee was voted India’s most trusted DTH brand.

Dish TV offers three sports packs which are described below in ascending order of budget-friendliness.

Maxi Sports Hsm Combo

The Maxi Sports HSM combo offers a 30 days subscription for Rs 176. This is an excellent pack for sports enthusiasts and offers 230 channels, including 43 general entertainment channels, 84 news channels, 36 movies channels, 11 kids channels, seven sports channels, and more.

Super Sports Hsm Combo

Dish TV also offers the Super Sports HSM combo for Rs 233 per month. It offers 236 channels and contains 46 general entertainment channels, 80 news channels, 38 movies channels, 11 kids channels, 13 sports channels and more.

Titanium Hsm Combo

The Titanium HSM combo costs Rs 273 per month. It offers 269 channels and contains 64 general entertainment channels, 76 news channels, 34 movies channels, 11 kids channels, 13 sports channels and more.

Related – The complete Dish TV Channel list

Videocon d2h

On March 22nd 2018, Dish TV completed a merger with Videocon d2h, another DTH provider, creating the country’s top DTH operator of that time with around 29 million active subscribers. Currently, d2h continues to run its separate DTH service under the name Videocon d2h.

Some of the best sports packs offered by d2h are given below in ascending order of cost-benefit analysis.

Diamond Sports Combo

The Diamond Sports Combo comes up for a price of Rs 222.2 per month. It offers 87 SD channels, 25 of which are news channels, 18 are general entertainment, 14 are movies, 12 are sports, 4 are music, and much more.

Hsm Sports Hd Combo

The HSM Sports HD Combo costs Rs 207.6 per month. It offers a total of 63 channels, 14 of which are HD. It contains 19 news channels, 16 general entertainment, 10 movies, 1 sport, and much more.

Diamond Sports Hd Combo

The Diamond Sports HD Combo comes up for a price of Rs 323.06 per month. It offers a total of 87 channels, 34 of which are HD. It contains 23 news channels, 18 general entertainment, 16 movies, 12 sports, 4 music, and much more.

Also Read: Complete Comparison Guide: Airtel DTH vs Videocon d2h vs Sun Direct

Airtel Digital TV

Bharti Airtel launched Airtel Digital TV in October 2008, and by 2015, it had a subscriber base of over 10.07 million. It offers over 500 channels and other services like iDarshan, iMusicspace, iKidsworld and other assorted games.

Airtel offers a variety of sports packs, the best of which are put in ascending order based on cost vs content benefits below:

Dabang Sports 6m Pack

The Dabang Sports 6M Pack costs Rs 1737 for six months or Rs 289.5 per month. It offers 101 SD channels—27 Hindi news channels, 14 Hindi entertainment channels, 10 infotainment channels, 12 Hindi movie channels, 6 music channels, 3 sports channels and more.

Freedom Sports And Kids Hd Pack

The Freedom Sports HD Pack provides you with 124 channels, 16 of which are HD, and offers a variety of content in the form of 26 Hindi news channels, 26 Hindi movies, 15 Hindi entertainment, 8 sports channels and more. It totals to a price of Rs 451 per month.

Dabang Sports Hd 3m Pack

The Dabang Sports HD 3M Pack gives you 97 HD channels, 16 of which are HD. It provides premium Hindi content (27 Hindi news, 14 Hindi entertainment, 13 Hindi movies channels, and more) for just Rs 1081 for three months or Rs 360.33 per month.

Hindi Value Sports 6m Pack

The Hindi Value Sports 6M Pack provides 122 SD channels for Rs 1983 for six months or INR 330.5 per month. There are 16 Hindi entertainment channels, 27 Hindi news channels, 15 Hindi news channels, 7 sports channels, and more.

Hindi Value Sports Hd 3m Pack

The Hindi Value Sports HD 3M Pack provides you with 127 SD channels, 30 of which are HD, and offers a variety of content in 19 Hindi news channels, 17 Hindi movies, 15 Hindi entertainment, 7 sports channels and more. It totals to a price of Rs 1394 for three months or Rs 464.66 per month.

Also Read: Comparing Yearly Recharge Plans of all DTH providers!

Sun Direct

Sun Direct started to function in December 2007.This is a venture between Sun Network of India and also Astro Group of Malaysia. It currently offers a total of 465 channels, along with many active services. As of March 2021, Sun Direct has over 23 million active users and a market share of 16.33% all over India and 51% in South India.

Therefore, Sun Direct offers its DTH plans in regional languages like Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Bengali, Odia, etc., the noteworthy of which are:

Telugu Silver Hd Plan

The Telugu Silver HD plan offers 40 channels. The pack is priced at Rs 1174.58 per 6 months and an additional 14 days. It consists of 13 HD channels, 11 Telugu channels, 2 sports Channels, 3 news channels, 5 kids channels, 2 Hindi channels, etc.

Telugu Gold Hd Pack

The Telegu Gold HD Pack offers 71 channels for Rs 1728.81 for 6 months and 14 days. It consists of 32 HD channels, 11 Telugu channels, 2 sports Channels, 9 news channels, 9 kids channels, 2 Hindi channels, etc.

Tamil Silver Hd Pack

The Tamil Silver HD Pack offers 63 channels for Rs 1067.8 for 6 months and an additional 14 days. It consists of 22 HD channels, 14 Tamil channels, 2 sports Channels, 10 news channels, 8 kids channels, 1 Hindi channel, etc.

Tamil Gold Hd Pack

The Tamil Gold HD Pack offers 69 channels for Rs 1210.17 for 6 months and an additional 14 days. It consists of 28 HD channels, 14 Tamil channels, 2 sports Channels, 9 news channels, 9 kids channels, 1 Hindi channel, etc.

Roi Silver Channel

The ROI Silver Channel offers 72 channels for Rs 1428.81 for 6 months and an additional 14 days. It consists of 21 HD channels, 1 Tamil channel, 4 sports channels, 10 news channels, 8 kids channels, 18 Hindi channels, etc.

Conclusion

You can easily compare all the sports packs and choose the one you like the most – Don’t miss out on that game you have been looking forward to!