DTH
Tata Sky targets 1 July for DTH launch
MUMBAI: Rumours of delays may be rife in the market but Tata Sky – the 80:20 joint venture between the Tata Group and Star India – is targeting a 1 July commercial launch of its direct-to-home (DTH) service, informed industry sources aver.
Tata Sky CEO Vikram Kaushik, while speaking to Indiantelevision.com, was however quite categorical that any talk of a date of launch was premature at this stage and therefore purely speculative. Kaushik would only confirm that his company was on target for a mid-year launch for its DTH service.
Tata Sky will begin the “test run” of India’s third DTH service after Zee Group’s DishTV and Prasar Bharati’s DD direct from 15 May, the sources say. It has marked out a 45-day window period till 30 June during which time all technical and channel and programme related issues will have been ironed out.
According to the sources, the preparatory work for the launch has been ratcheted up several gears in the last three weeks after the company collected from the information and broadcasting ministry the final licence clearing the way for the $500-million DTH service to take off.
It was in December last that the telecommunication ministry gave its green signal for the vexed matter of setting up an uplinking base in Delhi by Videsh Sanchar Nigam Ltd, an issue that was under government scanner on technical grounds of land use by VSNL of its Chattarpur facility. The telecom ministry nod was seen as crucial for obtaining the final licence from the I&B ministry.
Tata Sky has three operational centres in the country. Its technical set-up is headquartered in the capital, its complete back-up systems, including call centre operations, is out of Bangalore while its commercial activities are managed from Mumbai.
One big priority of course is getting all popular channels onto its platform, a matter that rival DishTV has still to resolve with the Star network and the Sony-Discovery One Alliance. Here, like in the case of the Subhash Chandra-promoted DTH service, ESPN Star Sports has already worked out a carriage deal with Tata Sky.
Queried about this, Kaushik would only say, “We are in ongoing discussions with all major broadcasters. More than this I cannot comment at this stage.”
Speaking of channels, a key function of all addressable systems is the electronic programme guide (EPG). Tata Sky has exchanged letters with all broadcasters on use of logos and such in regards to how the programming highlights in its EPG will be displayed. The operator has reportedly requested all channels to provide these details ahead of the 15 May week.
Another aspect that Tata Sky has to confront is of how to get around the last mile roadblock. One strategy that it is going with is to introduce pre-paid cards, which Kaushik believes would make subscription payment easier for the consumer. This differs from the DishTV strategy, which offers new customers its services for Rs 3,990 that includes one year’s subscription. After a year, DishTV subscribers pay a monthly subscription fee.
Secondly, Tata Sky plans to take the responsibility of directly installing the hardware in every subscriber’s home and servicing it whenever needed. This again differs from DishTV which has a distribution network of about 5,000 dealers / distributors across the country.
On the hardware side, Tata Sky, like DishTV has done, will be offering its boxes through consumer durable outlets.
As regards subscriber acquisition, Tata Sky is following a two-pronged strategy of targeting individual consumers as well as institutions, for which there is a separate head of institutional sales.
Industrial townships, hospitals, hotels, etc. are where the operator is directly negotiating to set up a central dish antenna through which it can connect individual installations.
Where it has come into direct confrontation with last mile operators has been when it approached housing societies in various cities with the institutional model to offer its services.
In fact, one of the reasons for a majority of cable networks in Kolkata blacking out the Star group of channels has been this issue. The protest against carriage of the Star channels in Kolkata is being led by the Forum of Cable Operators and Cable Operators Sanjukta, two association bodies of the last mile operators in the city. “Star was asking for a hike, which we couldn’t have passed on to the consumers. Besides, Tata Sky, where Star is a partner, is wanting to grab subscribers by offering housing societies free cabling from a single central antenna,” Cable Operators Sanjukta spokesperson Papi Banerjee told Indiantelevision.com recently.
Be that as it may, Tata Sky has set itself some ambitious goals. The major one reportedly being to acquire around one million subscriptions by this year.
Tata Sky CEO Vikram Kaushik, while speaking to Indiantelevision.com, was however quite categorical that any talk of a date of launch was premature at this stage and therefore purely speculative. Kaushik would only confirm that his company was on target for a mid-year launch for its DTH service.
Tata Sky will begin the “test run” of India’s third DTH service after Zee Group’s DishTV and Prasar Bharati’s DD direct from 15 May, the sources say. It has marked out a 45-day window period till 30 June during which time all technical and channel and programme related issues will have been ironed out.
According to the sources, the preparatory work for the launch has been ratcheted up several gears in the last three weeks after the company collected from the information and broadcasting ministry the final licence clearing the way for the $500-million DTH service to take off.
It was in December last that the telecommunication ministry gave its green signal for the vexed matter of setting up an uplinking base in Delhi by Videsh Sanchar Nigam Ltd, an issue that was under government scanner on technical grounds of land use by VSNL of its Chattarpur facility. The telecom ministry nod was seen as crucial for obtaining the final licence from the I&B ministry.
Tata Sky has three operational centres in the country. Its technical set-up is headquartered in the capital, its complete back-up systems, including call centre operations, is out of Bangalore while its commercial activities are managed from Mumbai.
One big priority of course is getting all popular channels onto its platform, a matter that rival DishTV has still to resolve with the Star network and the Sony-Discovery One Alliance. Here, like in the case of the Subhash Chandra-promoted DTH service, ESPN Star Sports has already worked out a carriage deal with Tata Sky.
Queried about this, Kaushik would only say, “We are in ongoing discussions with all major broadcasters. More than this I cannot comment at this stage.”
Speaking of channels, a key function of all addressable systems is the electronic programme guide (EPG). Tata Sky has exchanged letters with all broadcasters on use of logos and such in regards to how the programming highlights in its EPG will be displayed. The operator has reportedly requested all channels to provide these details ahead of the 15 May week.
Another aspect that Tata Sky has to confront is of how to get around the last mile roadblock. One strategy that it is going with is to introduce pre-paid cards, which Kaushik believes would make subscription payment easier for the consumer. This differs from the DishTV strategy, which offers new customers its services for Rs 3,990 that includes one year’s subscription. After a year, DishTV subscribers pay a monthly subscription fee.
Secondly, Tata Sky plans to take the responsibility of directly installing the hardware in every subscriber’s home and servicing it whenever needed. This again differs from DishTV which has a distribution network of about 5,000 dealers / distributors across the country.
On the hardware side, Tata Sky, like DishTV has done, will be offering its boxes through consumer durable outlets.
As regards subscriber acquisition, Tata Sky is following a two-pronged strategy of targeting individual consumers as well as institutions, for which there is a separate head of institutional sales.
Industrial townships, hospitals, hotels, etc. are where the operator is directly negotiating to set up a central dish antenna through which it can connect individual installations.
Where it has come into direct confrontation with last mile operators has been when it approached housing societies in various cities with the institutional model to offer its services.
In fact, one of the reasons for a majority of cable networks in Kolkata blacking out the Star group of channels has been this issue. The protest against carriage of the Star channels in Kolkata is being led by the Forum of Cable Operators and Cable Operators Sanjukta, two association bodies of the last mile operators in the city. “Star was asking for a hike, which we couldn’t have passed on to the consumers. Besides, Tata Sky, where Star is a partner, is wanting to grab subscribers by offering housing societies free cabling from a single central antenna,” Cable Operators Sanjukta spokesperson Papi Banerjee told Indiantelevision.com recently.
Be that as it may, Tata Sky has set itself some ambitious goals. The major one reportedly being to acquire around one million subscriptions by this year.
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.
