DTH
Dish TV Q3 revenues fall 20 per cent, Ebitda turns negative
NOIDA: When the remote stops working, you don’t throw it away, you change the batteries. Dish TV is trying something similar. Faced with falling subscription revenues and a fast-shrinking DTH universe, India’s once-dominant satellite broadcaster is flipping channels, betting on smart TVs, OTT aggregation and a hybrid future even as the numbers flash red.
For the quarter ended 31 December, 2025, Dish TV India reported operating revenues of Rs 2,991 million, down 19.8 per cent year-on-year from Rs 3,730 million. Subscription revenues, still the backbone of the business, fell sharply by 32.2 per cent to Rs 2,245 million, reflecting industry-wide cord-cutting and persistent churn. The pain shows up clearly below the line.
Ebitda swung to a loss of Rs 415 million, compared with a profit of Rs 1,227 million a year earlier. Total expenditure climbed 36.1 per cent to Rs 3,406 million, pushing costs to nearly 114 per cent of operating revenues. The quarter closed with a loss before tax of Rs 2,762 million, weighed down further by exceptional items of Rs 700 million. Yet the company insists this is not a business stuck buffering, but one deliberately loading a new format.
Dish TV is repositioning itself from a pure DTH operator into what it calls a connected-home entertainment platform, stitching together live television, OTT apps and smart devices. The centrepiece of that strategy is the nationwide rollout of VZY smart TVs, offering a unified DTH-plus-OTT experience.
Amazon Prime Video has now been integrated across Dish TV’s ecosystem, including Watcho and VZY. Watcho, the company’s in-house OTT super app, has crossed millions of downloads and paid subscribers, aggregating more than 25 content apps.
Fliqs, its creator-driven content platform, is being pitched as a home for premium regional and international programming. Brand visibility has also been boosted through splashy partnerships with Bigg Boss Hindi and Bigg Boss Kannada: high-decibel bets in a crowded attention economy.
“Indian home entertainment is undergoing a structural shift,” said CEO and executive director Manoj Dobhal arguing that Dish TV’s hybrid model improves convenience while keeping customers within a single ecosystem. The revenue mix shows early signs of diversification, even if it is not yet compensating for falling subscriptions.
Marketing and promotional fees rose 27.3 per cent to Rs 399 million, while advertisement income, still small, nearly doubled to Rs 48 million. Other operating income surged 267.6 per cent to Rs 298 million, softening the overall revenue decline.
On costs, the company is tightening the screws. It has renegotiated transponder contracts, rationalised call-centre and general expenses, and improved asset discipline by boosting set-top box recovery beyond 30 days, reducing swap frequency and replacement capex.
New customer activations are being driven through a no-subsidy Rs 999 set-top box, a move management says materially improves unit economics and cash flow. Still, risks remain stubbornly in view. Churn continues to shadow the business, and scaling Watcho while balancing content spend will demand execution discipline.
Cost cuts, the company admits, must not erode service quality: a delicate act in a market where customer loyalty is already thin. For now, Dish TV’s numbers tell a story of strain.
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.
