DTH
‘Love Cinema Live Cinema’ with Tata Sky’s new service
MUMBAI: If you are a passionate movie-lover but miss screenings or are closely related to some aspect of filmmaking which only few are privy to, you need not worry at all as Tata Sky has brought in a solution. After brainstorming for a year, the DTH player has launched a first-of-its-kind service in cooperation with the Jio MAMI Festival with Star. Purpose: To retain and make their existing subscribers happy. This comes after a successful run of its kids showcase which will now be replaced with this new initiative.
An ad-free service, Tata Sky Mumbai Film Festival will not just cheer up the movie buffs but will also highlight the efforts that are invested during the film festival.
With no additional cost, this service is available to all the subscribers irrespective of their package, set top box, demography and geography. Despite having a very good story line, made in high quality, movies sometimes do not find their way to the public. The idea with this initiative is to give niche movies a boost by screening them on TV.
Starting from 7 October, the service will be available on channel no 302 &302 in both SD and HD. The temporary service will complement the new edition of the film festival and will also be a catch-up for all the movies that were premiered in the previous editions. It will run three films on a daily basis and already has 20+ movies to air from renowned Indian and international directors in multiple languages.
Silent films, movies made in Hindi, English, Assamese, Marathi, Malayalam, Punjabi, Arabic, Russian, French, etc will be featured on this service for the subscribers. They can also enjoy works of directors like Hansal Mehta, Anup Singh, Ravi Jadav, Bikas Mishra, Pan Nalin, Nitin Kakkar, Lea Hjort Mathiesen.
“We are not selling this service. We care enough to curate and create a mix of some popular and some hidden gems from the field of film-making for our viewers from the last few editions of the Mumbai Film Festival. We have several people who pay us on a monthly basis. We are in the business of acquiring subscribers but we also have to retain them. Sometimes you do things because you want to make them happy. The monetizing cannot always be direct and immediate. The ambition and aspiration with this is that people will be more loyal to us after this,” asserts Tata Sky chief content and business development officer Paolo Agostinelli.
Agostinelli further adds, “We have talked to the producers and have bought rights for selective titles. We did not want them exclusively with us. A person can still put it on his/her digital platform, we are just giving them one extra opportunity. Technology is only going to make good stories available to people who deserve and want to watch them.”
Through this unsponsored yet innovative initiative, subscribers can look forward to an exciting mix of award winning and nominated features, short films, documentaries, animations covering varied genres of comedy, drama, thriller, mystery, crime and adventure. The promising star casts include names such as Sanjay Suri, Irfan Khan, Seema Biswas, Atul Kulkarni, Tisca Chopra, Soham Maitra, Manoj Bajpai, Rajkummar Rao, etc.
MAMI Festival director Anupama Chopra added, “We were delighted when Tata Sky extended their support and suggested taking these curated films from both Indian and international to viewers living across the country. This unique and unconventional approach just goes to prove that the entertainment and media industry needs to come together for the benefit of the extraordinary passion and talent of movie makers and lovers in India.”
Research was done to make good movies available for people at a different level. This service will bring a selection of movies from the film festival on TV giving them exposure at a different level.
“The fact that this MAMI Festival needs to be promoted and needs awareness is what we are working for. India is the most prolific and probably the most receptive movie country in the world. The number of people who are passionate about movies and the number of people working in the film industry are enormous. So, people care about movies here.”
Several DTH players have expanded their services to rural India which is only expanding. Agostinelli is of the opinion that the people living in rural areas were sometimes more educated about movies than urban. He said, “Rural market is definitely a huge market and is expanding enormously. People there are equally passionate and love entertainment as in cities. So, we aim to serve also this potential subscribers.”
The initiative will be promoted through direct marketing via its various other channel. They will also leverage social media. All the normal modes through which their subscriber is in touch will be used. Agostinelli is also of the opinion that the DTH industry has place for more players. “There is enough space for many players to serve this industry.”
Tata Sky will continue to explore new ideas and take up various initiatives to make a difference in this competitive industry. They might look at other festivals depending on the success with this one.
With such initiatives in its kitty and presence in 1.5 lakh towns, it only plans to expand in the future. It currently has 418 SD, 77 HD channels, 15 interactive service, 6 SD, 6 HD movie showcase platforms and several interactive services.
DTH
DD Free Dish e-auction revenue dips to Rs 642 crore as slot sales fall
Revenue dips as revised norms reshape bidding in 94th round
NEW DELHI: Prasar Bharati’s DD Free Dish has closed its 8th annual, and 94th overall, e-auction for MPEG-2 slots with total collections of Rs 642 crore for the period April 1, 2026 to March 31, 2027.
That is lower than last year’s Rs 780 crore haul, with 55 slots sold compared with 61 in FY25–26. The softer topline reflects both a slimmer inventory and a recalibrated auction framework.
This was the first auction conducted after amendments to the e-auction methodology, including tighter eligibility norms and a revised reserve price structure for MPEG-2 slots. The stated aim was greater transparency and more serious participation. The immediate outcome appears to be more measured bidding in certain categories.
Day one set the tone. Eight slots were sold, six in the premium Bucket A+ and two in Bucket A. The strong early action in A+, which typically houses Hindi GECs and movie channels, reaffirmed the enduring appeal of mass Hindi programming on the platform.
Among the broadcasters securing slots in the initial rounds were Zee Entertainment Enterprises, Sony Pictures Networks India, Viacom18’s Colors network, Sun Network and Shemaroo Entertainment. Their continued presence signals that, despite the pull of digital platforms, Free Dish remains a strategic must have for legacy networks chasing scale in price sensitive markets.
The final bouquet of 55 channels leans heavily towards Hindi news, movies, devotional fare, Bhojpuri and regional programming.
In Hindi news, familiar heavyweights such as Aaj Tak, ABP News, India TV, News18 India, Republic Bharat and Zee News made the cut. Entertainment and movie offerings include Colors Rishtey, Star Utsav, Dangal TV, Sony Pal, Shemaroo TV, Goldmines, B4U Movies and Zee Biskope. Devotional viewers will find Aastha, Sanskar and Sadhna Gold among the selected channels.
Regional representation includes Sun Marathi, Fakt Marathi, PTC Punjabi and GTC Punjabi.
Equally telling were the absences. Broadcasters such as Big Magic, Filamchi Bhojpuri, India News, Bharat Express, Movieplex Maithili, TV9 Marathi, Shemaroo Marathibana, Zee Chitra Mandir and Satsang did not participate. The pullback is particularly visible across Marathi, Bhojpuri, Maithili and spiritual programming. Industry observers point to the revised reserve prices, tighter eligibility norms and a reassessment of commercial viability as possible factors.
DD Free Dish continues to beam into over 40 million homes, largely in rural and semi urban India. For advertisers and broadcasters alike, it offers efficient access to Bharat markets where pay TV penetration remains uneven and OTT subscriptions are limited.
The moderation in revenue this year may be read as a pause rather than a retreat. Fewer slots, a reworked auction playbook and evolving broadcaster strategies have clearly shaped outcomes. Yet premium Hindi entertainment retains its pull, and the platform’s mass reach remains hard to ignore.
As the FY26–27 line-up settles in, the mix of winners and walkaways will define the private satellite channel landscape on DD Free Dish for the year ahead.
