Excitel introduces IPTV to enhance subscribers, ARPU

Wired broadband provider Excitel is looking to increase its subscriber base and average revenue per user (ARPU) with the help of its new IPTV service bundled with its home broadband service. The company’s new service aligns with the so-called cord-cutting trend in the country.

In television broadcasting, cord-cutting refers to viewers cancelling their cable or direct-to-home (DTH) subscriptions in favour of online streaming options.

“There are around eight crore cable TV connections in India, but the churn that MSOs are facing is around 3 percent per month, which is huge and will make things difficult for them. So, we are looking to provide channels through IPTV service without the set-top box with the same connection to consumers,” Vivek Raina, Co-founder and CEO of Excitel, told Moneycontrol.

A multiple-system operator is an operator of multiple cable or direct-broadcast satellite television systems.

Raina said there are around three crore wireline broadband subscribers in India, stressing the untapped potential in the home broadband segment. “The industry is moving more towards personalisd entertainment. It is about fulfilling the entertainment needs with core broadband service. It is a trend worldwide,” he said.

Excitel has joined hands with an MSO and acted as its distributor to offer channels for the IPTV service through its app. If its IPTC service plans catches up, the company will apply for an MSO licence, he said.

The broadband player is on track to achieve Rs 500 crore in revenue this fiscal, growing 30 percent over last year. “We are again expecting around 30 percent year-on-year growth in the next fiscal,” Raina said.

The company aims to cover 100 cities with its broadband service by 2025, up from around 30 cities such as Delhi and Mumbai and states like Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka and Hyderabad.

The executive said Excitel has internal accruals to fund the expansion but will look at raising funds in the second half of the next financial year.

“After the last round, we opened new cities and added customers. By the middle of the next fiscal year, we will be ready for the next round of funding,” Raina said, adding that the company will look to raise over $50 million from existing and new investors.

In May 2022, in its third fundraising round, Excitel raised $11.5 million in equity from existing and new tech investors from Europe NEVEQ and Black Peak ventures.

Excitel has close to a million subscribers in 50 cities. “We are looking at 30 percent growth in our subscriber base in the next fiscal year. Introducing IPTV and various OTT bundles will help us drive the subscriber base,” Raina said. MoneyControl