Fiscal 2022 was not the smoothest year for Dish TV

Dish TV, the direct-to-home company owned by the Essel group, admitted in its latest annual report that financial year 2021-22 was not the smoothest one for it.

“Challenges, both on the corporate and business front, kept us engaged,” group chief executive officer Anil Dua said in his address to shareholders. “Notwithstanding difficulties, the company continued to keep up with the times and remains optimistic about its capabilities to stay relevant,” he said.

Dua had vacated the position of whole-time director in June along with Dish TV chairman Jawahar Goel, who had stepped down as managing director after the two failed to get shareholder approval for their re-appointment to the board.

While Dua continued as group CEO of Dish TV, Goel remained chairman and non-executive director of the company. Last week, Dish TV said in a stock market filing that Goel would vacate his position as chairman at the upcoming annual general meeting on September 26.

Independent director Bhagwan Das Narang would also vacate office after his term expired, the DTH player said.

Yes Bank, which holds about 25 per cent stake in Dish TV, has been pushing for a board reconstitution, including the removal of Goel, Narang and other members, citing corporate governance issues.

Last month, Dish TV had agreed to two of Yes Bank nominees to its board and on August 30, it considered one more nominee from the lender. These included Girish Paranjpe, Arvindnachya Chandranachya and Haripriya Padmanabhan.

“Investors are hoping that the dispute between the promoters and Yes Bank finally gets resolved with the latest development,” Shriram Subramanian, managing director, InGovern, a Chennai-based proxy advisory firm, said.

“With a new board in place, YES Bank could push for the sale of the company to a buyer,” he said.

Dish TV’s revenue fell 13.23 per cent year-on-year in FY22 to touch Rs 2,826.41 crore. The net loss widened to Rs 1,867.23 crore from Rs 1,189.86 crore. The DTH market itself has been facing significant challenges as the market evolves steadily. Linear television is making way for digital services, forcing players to reinvent themselves quickly.

Dish TV, like Tata Play, has been looking to mark a bigger presence in the content delivery space. Dua said that the company was actively looking beyond its offerings of hybrid set-top boxes and over-the-top platforms, where it could tap the digital services space more aggressively. Business Standard