DTH
Tata Sky offers top channels & services
MUMBAI: Tata Sky, one of India’s leading content distribution platform providing Pay TV and OTT services, has announced its offerings #MaxJingalala of 600 channels and services, which is the highest ever in the DTH sector.
Tata Sky today is a market leader in HD channels along with maximum number of Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam, Marathi, Bengali, Oriya, Punjabi and Assamese channels on offer.
As of December 2016, Tata Sky is offering an unprecedented 76 HD (highest in the industry) and 483 SD channels. The bouquet of 31 value added services, 15 SD and HD movie platforms specials, 9 exclusive +1 channel feeds, have been a clear differentiator and a key focus area for the brand.
“Consumers in India consider the number of channels provided by an entertainment platform to be amongst the second biggest reason to make their purchase decisions. Tata Sky is leaving no stone unturned to offer the maximum number of channels and services to its subscribers. Hence offering Sabse Zyada Manoranjan catering to every member of the family is key to the Tata Sky offering,” said Tata Sky chief communications officer Malay Dikshit.
Throughout 2016, Tata Sky has pioneered in the Pay TV sector with offerings ranging from enabling internet browser application on the Set Top Box, introducing Kids Showcase, Bengali and Punjabi movies MAMI films, m-Visa payment option to first of its kind interactive services such as Comedy, Devotion, Music + and Gurus. The year also saw popular campaigns from Tata Sky; such as Pyaar Jingalala (13 series ad films), Das Saal Jingalala and Family Jingalala (starring Amitabh Bachchan).
Some of the other first-ever in the sector that Tata Sky has under its hat are the launch of 4k Set Top Box in India, Karaoke service on STB, unique interactive services Classroom and Smart manager and the World’s first Daily Recharge option.
DTH
DD Free Dish e-auction heats up with 26 MPEG-2 slots sold in two days
Hindi movies, GEC and news dominate; Star Utsav Movies tops Day 2 at Rs 213.45 crore
MUMBAI- The bidding war on DD Free Dish is turning into a blockbuster and the slots are selling faster than popcorn at interval. Prasar Bharati’s 8th annual MPEG-2 e-auction delivered another strong day on Tuesday, with 18 more channels securing spots across movies, regional music and news buckets, taking the two-day total to 26.
Day 2 belonged to the movies and news categories. In Bucket A (Hindi Movies), Star Utsav Movies led the pack at Rs 213.45 crore, pipped only narrowly by Zee Action at Rs 213.4 crore. Goldmines landed at Rs 13.35 crore and Zee Anmol at Rs 13.3 crore, showing razor-thin price bands and fierce competition. Bucket B saw Zee Bioscope top at Rs 10.6 crore, Bhojpuri Cinema Rs 10.5 crore, B4U Bhojpuri Rs 10.2 crore, while Showbox, Unique TV and B4U Music each closed at Rs 10.25 crore.
News channels in Bucket C stayed tightly bunched: NDTV, Aaj Bharat, Zee News and India TV all secured slots at Rs 8.6 crore, with News Nation and ABP News slightly higher at Rs 8.65 crore. Bucket D rounded out with Russia Today at Rs 9.75 crore and GTC Punjabi at Rs 7.92 crore.
Day 1 had already set a premium tone, with eight slots snapped up – six in Bucket A+ (Hindi/Urdu GEC, starting reserve Rs 15 crore) and two in Bucket A (Hindi/Urdu Movies, starting Rs 12 crore). Sony PAL topped Day 1 winners at Rs 16.55 crore, Star Utsav Rs 16.25 crore, Shemaroo TV Rs 16.35 crore, Zee Anmol, Colors Rishtey and Sun Neo at Rs 16.40 crore each. Sony WAH took a Bucket A slot at Rs 13.95 crore and Zee Anmol Cinema at Rs 13.45 crore.
The surge reflects broadcasters’ hunger for DD Free Dish’s estimated 43–45 million rural and semi-urban households, where Hindi GEC and movies remain advertising goldmines.
The auction runs under the revised E-auction Methodology 2025 (amended 9 January 2026), with escalating reserves – Round 2 Bucket A+ at Rs 16 crore, Round 3 Bucket A at Rs 13 crore – and stricter eligibility to weed out speculative bids. Channels must be operational, available in the relevant language, and already carried on at least one private DTH, DD Free Dish or registered MSO.
With premium genres flying off the shelf, the coming rounds will test how deep pockets really are as reserves climb and tactical down-bidding gets harder. In India’s largest free-to-air universe, these auctions aren’t just about slots – they’re about who gets to stay on the screen that reaches deepest into the heartland.
