DTH
Mumbai-based companies claim to launch India’s first indigenous STBs
MUMBAI: Even as several multi system operators have announced tie ups with global conditional access companies and vendors for imports, a few Indian set top manufacturing companies have announced plans to launch their products and capitalise on the huge opportunity to go global.
Broadband Pacenet India has announced that its set-top boxes are highly sophisticated indigenous “home genies” that include features such as a peoplemeter and ethernet output (to enable Internet surfing).
Another Mumbai-based company Telenext Convergence has also announced the launch of an indigenous set top box (STB) in joint collaboration with the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT).
Six persons from the Kanwal Rekhi School of Information Technology at IIT and a team of 26 engineers from Bangalore based VLSI (Very Large Scale Integration) have worked for over two years to produce this indigenous set-top box for Telenext. The STB will be priced at Rs 3,500 and the organisation is in talks with MSOs and cable operators, as consumers cannot directly buy it, as the encrypted smart card of their cable operators may not match this.
Broadband Pacenet India CEO S Ravindran says that their advanced STBs (rather ‘home genies’) will be economically priced around the same level of Rs 3,500. ETC Networks JS Kohli says that he expects penetration to touch 50-60 per cent levels if the current “pay channels” remain “pay”.
Experts say the primary issue will relate to the smart-card user identification elements such as the public and private keys. “Pacenet’s STBs have RSA data security for enhanced security. The 128-bit configuration will take 50 years to crack whereas the 1024-bit configuration is almost impossible to crack. Pacenet home genies have the latter,” says Ravindran.
Ravindran goes on to add: “Our ‘home genies’ will have elements such as RSA 1024-bit; DES (Digital Encryption System) and AES (advanced encryption systems); with peoplemeter facilities. We have plans to get these STBs certified by companies such as Business Proton and Tata Consultancy Services and then sell them in the global markets.”
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.
