Reliance Big TV offers ‘effectively free’ DTH – but read the fine print for the catch

Direct-to-home (DTH) player Reliance Big TV has come up with a new 'Dhamaka' offer where it is providing free channels – both SD and HD – for up to 5 years (free-to-air channels) and (1 year) respectively.

The company will also provide a free of cost HD HEVC set top box and pre-booking will open on March 1 for a limited period, Reliance Big TV said in a statement.

"Reliance Big TV is going to mark the beginning of a new dawn in the way Indians have been accessing entertainment on their TV sets. Starting from today, entertainment comes effectively free of cost, with the latest offer," Reliance Big TV Director Vijender Singh said.

There is a catch of course – the offer is only 'effectively' free, which means one does have to pay a fair sum upfront and over the months; and the offer is for a limited period.

Booking under the Dhamaka offer starts at 10 am on 1 March, when buyers will have to pre-book the Reliance BIG TV set-top box and its outdoor unit (ODU) by calling the number 18002009001 or by visiting the website. Delivery of the set-top box and ODU will begin after 30 days from the pre-booking date.

The customer will have to make an upfront payment of Rs499 at the time of pre-booking. Then, at the time of arrival of the DTH setup units, another Rs1,500 will require to be paid. This total payment of Rs1,999 will entitle you to the first year free of cost.

Customers will then be required to recharge their DTH number with minimum Rs300 from the second subscription year. The monthly Rs 300 recharges have to continue for the next two years after the first free year, after which the customer will be eligible to receive a cashback of Rs1,999 in the form of recharge values.

Back-of-envelope calculations show this means that at the time of purchase, the total value of Rs1,999 bought you the set-top box, its ODU, and a free year of channel subscription. Now, from the second year, the monthly recharge of Rs300 amounts to Rs7,200 for 2 years, out of which a cashback of Rs 1,999 is refunded to you. So you still end up paying over Rs5,000 for the 'free' offer.