DTH
Zee looking at July launch for DTH services?
NEW DELHI: Subhash Chandra companies Zee Telefilms and ASC Enterprises (which is implementing the Agrani satellite project), are preparing to launch a KU-band direct-to-home television service in India. A tentative timeframe that is being talked about for this within the group is July.
According to broadcasting industry sources, the Zee-Agrani combo has started talking about a DTH service for India. At a seminar held last week in the Capital, a senior Zee executive is also reported to have referred to the DTH service and that the group is looking at putting together a platform by “July or thereabouts”.
However, indiantelevision.com’s attempt to elicit an official response from Zee-Agrani was met with silence.
But, we also learn from government sources that the files relating to the two applicant companies for a DTH licence were in the information and broadcasting minister Ravi Shankar Prasad’s office yesterday and the minister is said to have studied them also.
That Zee-Agrani has started talking about a DTH service may also be because of the movements in the ministry and expect an initial go-ahead from the I&B ministry for this soon.
As the first step towards okaying a DTH venture the I&B ministry would need to issue a letter of intent (LoI) to the applicant, subsequent to which other parameters would have to be fulfilled.
But close on Chandra’s heel for a DTH venture will also be Star, which has applied for a DTH licence through Space TV. It would also expect a LoI soon after ASC Enterprises that has applied for the licence, if not along with it.
There have been numerous clarifications sought by the ministry on various aspects of Space TV, including its shareholding pattern. At last count, a particular missive from the ministry had sought clarification on whether some directors of Space TV were employees of Star India.
Still, the big question to ask here could be: do the two prospective DTH players have the financial muscle to make investments in a DTH venture? A typical DTH venture would need investments worth between $ 400-500 million.
Unless Space TV is being backed up by the Rupert Murdoch-controlled Star, the little known company with an acknowledged paid up capital of Rs 100 million would find it difficult to cobble together the massive investment that a DTH venture would require.
Chandra’s case may be a bit different as the DTH platform is being sought to be put together by ASC Enterprises, where one of the subsidiaries has managed to attract foreign investment from Alcatel and Arianespace.
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.
