# Tata Play launches Rs 199 app for live TV on smart TVs

2026-10-15T01:40:36+00:00 | Governance | Indian Opinion Desk

Corroboration: 3 independent outlets

Tata Play has launched Tata Play Smart, a streaming app that brings over 500 live television channels to connected TVs without a set-top box or dish antenna. The service costs Rs 199 per month for the first language and Rs 99 for each additional language. It is available on Samsung, Android TV, VIDAA, Google TV, FireTV, and mobile devices. The launch comes as India's paid DTH industry loses subscribers. The active DTH subscriber base fell 13.4% year-on-year to 48.56 million as of 30 June 2026, according to TRAI. Tata Play remains the largest DTH operator with 14.84 million subscribers and a 30.56% market share, but posted a net loss of Rs 551 crore in 2025-26. MD and CEO Harit Nagpal said the company sees DTH and streaming coexisting, with over 100 million households yet to buy their first TV.

## Indian Opinion Analysis

Tata Play has launched Tata Play Smart, a streaming app offering over 500 live TV channels without a set-top box or dish antenna, priced at Rs 199 per month for the first language. The app targets India's growing connected TV base, which the Ficci-EY report put at 68 million unique sets in 2025. Tata Play's DTH subscriber base stood at 14.84 million as of 30 June 2026, though the paid DTH industry lost 13.4% of its active subscribers year-on-year. The company posted a net loss of Rs 551 crore in 2025-26. MD and CEO Harit Nagpal said the company sees DTH and streaming coexisting, with over 100 million households yet to buy their first TV.

## Coverage

Coverage: 3 sources, 3 neutral
- livemint.com (neutral report) <https://www.livemint.com/companies/news/tata-play-smart-app-500-tv-channels-price-features-11791871814211.html>
  Leads with smart TV growth and rural opportunity
- thehindubusinessline.com (neutral report) <https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/companies/tata-play-launches-streaming-app-to-cater-to-connected-tv-households/article71584853.ece>
  Short factual launch report, no DTH context
- economictimes.indiatimes.com (neutral report) <https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/industry/media/entertainment/media/tata-play-smart-price-bets-on-coexistence-of-dth-and-streaming-with-new-a-rs-199-live-tv-app/articleshow/134951434.cms>
  Leads with DTH decline, frames launch as survival move

This brief was synthesised by AI from the 3 sources linked above, so one read covers every framing they carry.

Tags: Harit Nagpal, Tata Play, Tata Sons, TRAI, Walt Disney
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How this brief was made: an AI model read the reports linked above and wrote this summary and analysis, which were published automatically. Published briefs are sampled every hour by an automated quality check; the editor verifies its findings and approves corrections, and corrected briefs carry a dated correction line. Stance labels are editorial classifications of how each outlet framed this story, assigned by the same model, not ratings of the outlets. We do no original reporting. Methodology: https://indianopinion.org/ai-use-policy/