Bharti Airtel Digital TV lost 443,000 customers in Q2

Bharti Airtel’s Digital TV Services lost 443,000 customers in the quarter ended September 2026, taking its base to 15.56 million from 16.00 million in June 2026, while monthly churn rose to 3.5% from 2.7%. Airtel reported quarterly EBITDA of Rs 334.1 crore for the segment, but did not disclose segment-level EBIT.

Why did Airtel Digital TV lose 443,000 customers?

Airtel Digital TV lost 443,000 net customers in the quarter ended September 2026, as its reported customer base declined 2.8% quarter on quarter to 15.56 million from 16.00 million in June 2026. This reversed the 6,000 net additions reported in the June 2026 quarter. The presentation does not split the movement between gross additions, disconnections, satellite television and internet protocol television, or IPTV.

Monthly churn was 3.5% in September 2026, up 0.8 percentage points from 2.7% in June 2026 and 0.4 percentage points from 3.1% a year earlier. The September 2026 net loss was also larger than the 341,000 customer loss reported in September 2025. Despite the quarterly decline, the customer base was 206,000, or 1.3%, above the 15.35 million reported a year earlier.

Did Airtel Digital TV sustain revenue per user?

Airtel Digital TV increased average revenue per user, or ARPU, by Rs 3 quarter on quarter to Rs 163 in September 2026 from Rs 160 in June 2026. The 1.5% increase returned rupee ARPU to the same level as September 2025, when it was also Rs 163. The customer-base decline therefore occurred alongside a modest sequential increase in reported revenue per user.

Airtel Digital TV reported US-dollar ARPU of US$1.7 in September 2026, up 0.8% quarter on quarter but down 8.8% from US$1.9 a year earlier. IPTV has been included in Digital TV Services from the fourth quarter of 2025 onwards. Airtel does not separately disclose IPTV customer numbers, revenue, ARPU, churn or capital expenditure, so the presentation does not quantify IPTV’s contribution to the 15.56 million customer base.

Airtel Digital TV’s stated distribution footprint was unchanged at 640 districts and 100.0% coverage in September 2026. The same 640 districts and 100.0% coverage were reported in June 2026 and September 2025. This means the disclosed quarterly change was in customers and churn, rather than in the reported district footprint.

What do Airtel Digital TV’s earnings and spending show?

Airtel Digital TV reported Rs 771.3 crore of revenue, Rs 334.1 crore of EBITDA and Rs 476.5 crore of capital expenditure in the quarter ended September 2026. EBITDA means earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation. The segment represented 2% of subtotal segment revenue, 1% of EBITDA and 5% of capital expenditure in the quarter.

Airtel does not report earnings before interest and tax, or EBIT, for Digital TV Services in either September 2026 or a comparative period. Depreciation and amortisation are shown at the broader India and South Asia level rather than assigned to Digital TV Services. The supplied presentation therefore does not support a calculation of segment EBIT or a conclusion that EBIT losses deepened.

For the six months ended September 2026, Airtel Digital TV recorded Rs 1,544.7 crore of revenue, Rs 666.2 crore of EBITDA and Rs 1,064.8 crore of capital expenditure. Cumulative investments were Rs 16,128.7 crore at September 30, 2026, equal to 3% of subtotal cumulative segment investments. The presentation does not provide a prior-year six-month financial comparison for this segment.

How does Airtel Digital TV compare with Airtel’s other segments?

Airtel Digital TV was smaller than Homes Services in the September 2026 quarterly segment disclosure, reporting Rs 771.3 crore of revenue and Rs 334.1 crore of EBITDA, compared with Homes Services’ Rs 2,336 crore and Rs 1,140.1 crore. Homes Services had 15.37 million customers, slightly below Digital TV’s 15.56 million, but its base grew 4.6% quarter on quarter while Digital TV’s fell 2.8%.

Airtel spent Rs 476.5 crore on Digital TV capital expenditure in the September 2026 quarter, versus Rs 2,181.4 crore for Homes Services. Digital TV accounted for 5% of subtotal segment capital expenditure, while Homes Services accounted for 22%. The presentation provides no project-level explanation for the Digital TV spending or allocation between IPTV and other Digital TV infrastructure.

Mobile Services showed a different customer and churn pattern in September 2026. Airtel Mobile Services added 716,000 customers and recorded 2.9% monthly churn, while Digital TV lost 443,000 customers and reported 3.5% churn. Mobile Services ARPU was Rs 271 against Rs 163 for Digital TV, although the presentation does not treat these different service lines as directly comparable products.

Conclusion

Airtel Digital TV’s September 2026 quarter combined a 443,000 net customer loss with a rise in monthly churn to 3.5%, even as ARPU increased by Rs 3 to Rs 163. The segment remained 1.3% above its September 2025 customer base, but its quarterly contraction differed from customer growth at Homes Services and Mobile Services. Its disclosed financial contribution was Rs 771.3 crore of revenue and Rs 334.1 crore of EBITDA, rather than a reported EBIT loss.

The unresolved issue is IPTV disclosure. Airtel has included IPTV in Digital TV Services since the fourth quarter of 2025, but provides no IPTV-specific customer, revenue, ARPU, churn, investment or target data. Future segment disclosures can show whether the September 2026 starting points of 15.56 million customers, 3.5% churn and Rs 163 ARPU change, and whether Airtel adds detail on the IPTV component.