DTH
Our OTT business is poised for strong growth with this rebranding: Tata Play CCO Anurag Kumar
Mumbai: The advent and popularity of OTT platforms forced almost all major traditional content distributions platforms to reinvent themselves in the last couple of years. But category leader Tata Sky’s decision to go for a complete identity overhaul, rebranding itself as Tata Play, was a big move signalling a formal start to the overall industry transformation.
After a 15 year successful run, Tata Sky recently announced a new name and identity ‘Tata Play’ to reflect the company’s expanded business interests beyond direct-to-home services. These include its 100 per cent fiber network that has been renamed as Tata Play Fiber, and the aggregator app Tata Play Binge, which offers content from 12 leading OTT platforms. Tata Play has also onboarded Netflix on the Binge service.
“Tata Sky leveraged its market leadership in its core business to create an ecosystem of content delivery by foraying into OTT and broadband. We believe it is time for a brand identity that resonates beyond our DTH business. The name Tata Play signifies our expanded range of products and services. The new identity is an outcome of our desire to be future-ready,” Tata Play MD and CEO Harit Nagpal said at the time of the announcement.
Commenting further on the need as well as the timing of the rebranding, Tata Play’s chief communication officer Anurag Kumar added, “Over the last four-five years, we have seen our customers’ content consumption patterns evolving in a manner where they are consuming a lot more OTT content, in addition to watching TV. We wanted to make use of this opportunity to inform people that we offer a wide variety of quality content from across platforms, whether OTT or linear TV. This rebranding was to position ourselves as a holistic content distribution platform in their minds.”
The rebranding of Tata Sky to Tata Play was conceptualised by the London-based global branding agency venturethree. Talking about the brief given to them Kumar noted, “We wanted the new identity to be more youthful, fun, and distinctive while retaining the trust and quality credentials built by the company over the years. The fresh purple-pink colour scheme not only stands out in the category but also resonates with the new ethos.”
The word ‘Play’ was chosen to replace ‘Sky’ in the name because it is easily understood by everyone across the country and also conveys the category to an extent.
The Advertising Blitz
The rebranding was unveiled alongside the introduction of new offerings and benefits for customers. And to communicate all of this Tata Play collaborated with Ogilvy India to launch a cross-media campaign with Kareena Kapoor Khan and Saif Ali Khan as the face for the national markets, and R Madhavan and Priyamani for the south.
Ogilvy was tasked with conveying the new identity, features and benefits in a way that entertains the audience. This was achieved through crisp ad films that portray the celebrities as ordinary people bringing out the message through relatable, light-hearted situations.
“If we are a platform that allows people to connect with entertainment, our ads/communication should also be entertaining,” emphasised Kumar.
Within three days of its launch on 26 January, the high-decibel, TV-heavy campaign has made Tata Group the third biggest advertiser of the past week, second only to FMCG giants HUL and RB. The group registered a direct entry in the top ten advertisers list at No. three with ad volumes of 1188.69, according to Barc data for week 4 (22 January 2022 to 28th January 2022). Tata Play was the most advertised brand with ad volumes of 672.02.
The campaign will run on TV for roughly eight weeks until March-end. It will be accompanied by the digital leg comprising social media (particularly Instagram), YouTube, digital advertising, and influencer activity. In the second phase, the campaign will include more print and outdoor.
What’s New
Kumar informs that in addition to onboarding Netflix as an add-on, Tata Play has combined its linear TV and the Tata Play Binge products into a single offering that can be managed as one subscription. The company’s OTT app Tata Play Binge, today, has 12 partner apps, all accessible through its single user interface.
Additionally, Tata Play has waived off the service charge of Rs. 175 for all technician visits. It is also leveraging the campaign to communicate its existing benefit of ‘no reconnection charges’ for customers who want to reactivate their Tata Play subscription.
Future-Ready
Tata Play ‘Binge’ was introduced on Fire TV Stick in 2019. It was extended in 2021 with the launch of the OTT aggregator app, ‘Binge Mobile App’. Commenting on the progress, Kumar shared, “We have more than half a million customers on Tata Play Binge which is a fairly good number. The business is poised for strong growth with this rebranding.”
Currently available only to Tata Play subscribers, the company is considering opening it up for a larger universe of audiences.
Tata Play Fiber, on the other hand, is a relatively niche service available only in select cities and localities. “Our fiber business is targeted at customers at the top-end of the market who want very-high quality internet with great speed and minimal downtime. It was intended as a profitable business with selective play. We don’t aim to go ‘mass’ with it,” explained Kumar.
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.
