DTH
Tata Sky strengthens its top brass
MUMBAI: Direct to Home (DTH) operator Tata Sky has strengthened its top level management team. The company has brought on board Pallavi Puri as chief commercial officer (CCO) for commercial function and Malay Dikshit for communication function. After the exit of Tata Sky CCO Vikram Mehra, the post was vacant, since August 2014.
Confirming about the development to Indiantelevision.com Tata Sky CEO Harit Nagpal says, “We have appointed people in his place. We have Pallavi Puri who has come on board for commercial functions and Malay Dikshit who has joined us for communication function.”
Mehra had quit the company in August last year. He then moved on to Saregama as its managing director. Puri is an alumnus of Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies. She began her career with Blow Plast in the area of product marketing. She then joined Hutchinson Max Telecom. Her previous stint was with Vodafone India where she was the VP-VAS. Puri and Dikshit took charge last month.
The appointments come at a time when Tata Sky recently launched its 4K set top box ahead of this year’s ICC Cricket World Cup 2015. This is to ensure that cricket and sports enthusiasts are well in time to own Tata Sky 4K STBs to witness the cricketing extravaganza for the first time in 4K picture quality. The launch plans were unveiled in July last year when Tata Sky showcased the first ever live FIFA World Cup quarter final match in 4K.
DTH
Free Dish serves fresh slots as Prasar Bharati rings in e Auction 97
MPEG 4 slots for 2026–27 open with bids from March 16 and applications due March 9.
MUMBAI- When the Free Dish menu changes, broadcasters sharpen their forks. Prasar Bharati has formally opened applications for vacant MPEG-4 slots on its DD Free Dish direct to home platform, setting the stage for the 97th e-auction, scheduled to begin on March 16, 2026. The allotment will cover the broadcast period from April 1, 2026, to March 31, 2027, continuing the public broadcaster’s annual auction cycle.
The notice, issued on February 9, 2026, lays out a familiar but finely sliced structure, with channels grouped into genre and language based “buckets”, each carrying its own reserve price and bidding dynamics. The aim is simple: widen content choice on DD Free Dish while keeping the playing field regulated and competitive.
At the premium end of the table, HD channels (Bucket H) will open with a reserve price of Rs 80 lakh, with bid increments of Rs 1 lakh.
Regional language channels are split across multiple rounds. Bucket R1, covering South Indian languages, and Bucket R2, which includes Marathi, Gujarati and Bengali, will both start at Rs 5 lakh in round one, moving up to Rs 15 lakh in the second round.
News and current affairs channels under Bucket G1 will begin at Rs 30 lakh, escalating to Rs 50 lakh in the next round, while the General Open round (GO) meant to mop up unfilled slots across categories carries a reserve price of Rs 70 lakh.
Eligibility remains tightly controlled. Participation is limited to satellite television channels licensed by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, with international public broadcasters holding valid MIB licences also allowed to bid. Prasar Bharati has also reiterated strict content compliance norms, making genre and language declarations more than just paperwork.
To qualify as “predominant”, at least 75 percent of non advertising content must align with the declared genre and language. In overall terms, this means such content cannot fall below 60 percent of a channel’s total monthly telecast. Complaints will trigger a review by a designated committee, and persistent violations could result in the channel being taken off the platform.
Applications must be submitted online via the Prasar Bharati portal by 9 March, 2026, at 15:00 hours. Broadcasters will need to pay a non refundable processing fee of Rs 25,000 and a participation fee of Rs 3 lakh, along with submitting mandatory documents such as MIB permissions, channel logos and proof of carriage on other DTH or MSO platforms.
Successful bidders will be required to stick to a strict payment calendar. Delays will attract interest at 14.5 percent per annum, and repeated defaults could lead to forfeiture of the participation fee and removal from DD Free Dish.
As India’s only free to air DTH platform with massive reach, DD Free Dish continues to be a crucial gateway, especially in regional markets. With e-Auction 97, Prasar Bharati is once again reshuffling the platter and the industry is watching closely to see who gets served next.
