New Delhi (PTI): Direct to home television service provider DishTV India Ltd on Thursday said it added 86,000 new subscribers in March.

The company said the new subscribers added in March helped it cross the three million mark in terms of gross registered subscribers but after making adjustments for churned subscribers since the launch of the company 3 years back, the net subscriber base of the company stands at 2.5 million.

This compares very favourably with international norms wherein annual churn is in the 15-20 per cent range, it added.

The subscribers who have moved out of the platform are largely those that were acquired in the initial stages of launch, from the rural and upcountry markets, who were at a lower average revenue per user (ARPU).

Restatement of the net subscriber base, after removing churn, will also give an improved ARPU performance.

The DTH market today is estimated to be about five million subscribers and the other major player is TataSky.

Meanwhile, players like Sun and new entrants - Big TV from Reliance ADAG and Bharti group - are set to hot up competition.