Pay-TV broadcasters cut nearly half their workforce over a decade

For years, India's pay-television industry was a steady source of employment, supporting sales executives, programmers, and technicians who worked on rooftops in cities and towns. However, that era is now drawing to a close.

As viewers migrate to streaming platforms, Smart TVs and YouTube, the traditional television business is shedding workers at the entry level. The job losses have not come in a single wave, but gradually, spread over a decade, driven by the cumulative effect of changing viewing habits and automation.

An analysis by Storyboard18 showed the depth of contraction. DishTV, once among India's largest direct-to-home operators, reduced its permanent workforce from 1,020 employees in 2015 to just 344 in 2025. Sun TV Network, a dominant force in regional broadcasting, saw its employee count fall from 1,906 in 2016 to 932 in 2025.

'From growth engine to contraction'

As late as 2018 and 2019, the pay television industry still appeared resilient. With more than 150 million subscribing households, broadcasters and DTH operators were hiring across functions, such as programming, broadcasting operations, advertising sales, marketing, distribution and corporate roles.

"At that time, these companies were consistent recruiters," said Anupama Bhimrajka, vice president of marketing at foundit, a recruitment platform. "The industry was still expanding, and employment reflected that confidence". That confidence has since eroded.

By 2025-26, foundit data showed a sharp drop in both the number and type of white-collar roles being advertised by pay-TV companies. Demand for traditional broadcast roles, including programming executives, channel schedulers, transmission managers and ad-sales planners, has fallen by more than half compared with 2018-19 levels.

The employment decline underscores a broader shift in consumption. According to an EY report, India lost about 40 million pay-TV households between 2018 and 2024.

The employment shock has extended far beyond corporate offices. Local cable operators- long responsible for delivering television to neighbourhoods across the country- have also seen a sharp reduction. Since 2018, employment generated by local cable operators has fallen by 31%, according to the industry surveys. Respondents reported laying off nearly 38,000 workers. If calculated nationally, the figure could run into well over one lakh.

'The vanished roles'

According to staffing firms, the decline has been most severe for jobs built around linear television.

Demand for TV programming and scheduling executives has dropped by more than 50% since 2019. Broadcast operations staff, field installation technicians, cable technicians, tele-sales executives, and traditional TV advertising roles have all seen a steep decline.

"These roles didn't disappear suddenly," Bhimrajka added, "They gradually faded as companies consolidated teams and merged responsibilities.

Hiring also shifted from narrowly defined positions toward professionals who can operate across platforms: broadcast, digital and data.

The squeeze has been particularly harsh at the mid-management level, historically the backbone of television organisations. Roles requiring 8-15 years of experience now represent less than a third of their pre-pandemic hiring volumes. Entry-level recruitment has also slowed, as automation and centralised broadcast systems reduce the need for large operational teams.

'Where has the job moved?'

Hiring has not vanished entirely, but has relocated. More than 65% of current demand in the DTH and broadcast sector is now concentrated in data, digital product and technology roles. Companies are recruiting cutometer analytics managers, revenue optimisation specialists. CRM analysts, performance marketers and growth managers.

Meanwhile, programming executives, broadcast schedulers and ad-sales planners, once core television roles, now make up less than 10% of the active job postings.

"The most durable demand is in the OTT product and growth, ad-tech and measurement, and multi-format content operations," said Shantanu Rooj, founder and chief executive officer of TeamLease Edtech. Skills linked to subscription, lifecycle marketing and digital advertising have become central to the industry's future.

'Widening pay gap'

The salary trends have mirrored the restructuring. Leadership compensation has remained relatively stable, with CXO-level salaries ranging from Rs 1.2 crore to more than Rs 3,5 crore. Senior executives continue to command high pay even as organisations shrink.

However, mid-level managers and traditional broadcast professionals have seen the sharpest correction, both in salary growth and opportunity. By contrast, workers with expertise in digital monetisation, platform strategy and data analytics continue to hold higher premiums. As per the findings, mid-level management's current pay package ranges between Rs 18.31 lakh to Rs 40.45 lakh, while that of the junior management would be between Rs 6.22 lakh and Rs 16.52 lakh, respectively.

At Kantar, the market research firm, the response has been to rely more heavily on technology rather than expand headcount.

"We are using automation to free people from routine work so they can focus on higher-value client partnerships," said Rajani Athreya, the company's HR director. "The evolution of work is adapting, not resisting change".