DTH
DTH subscribers grow in June quarter, Tata Sky maintains lead in pay TV genre: Trai
Mumbai: The number of pay DTH subscribers has increased from 68.57 million to 68.86 million during the April-June quarter in addition to subscribers of DD Free Dish, said Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) in its latest ‘Indian Telecom Services Performance Indicators’ report.
Tata Sky continued to maintain the lead in the pay-TV genre with a share of 33.37 per cent, followed by Bharati Telemedia with 25.76 per cent, Dish TV India with 23.45 per cent and Sun Direct TV with 17.41 per cent.
According to the report, Reliance Jio Infocomm was the market leader in the access provider segment with 440.59 million subscribers and 36.64 per cent market share. It added 14.34 million telephone subscribers at the end of June.
Bharti Airtel saw a marginal decline in subscribers from 357.17 million to 357.05 million. Vodafone Idea subscriber base also declined from 284.23 million to 273.88. Similarly, BSNL, MTNL, Tata Teleservices, Reliance Communication, and Quadrant lost subscribers in the quarter.
The internet subscriber base in India grew from 825.30 million to 833.71 million at the end of June. This internet user base comprises 23.58 million wired subscribers and 810.13 million wireless subscribers. Out of the total internet base, 97.09 per cent are using mobile devices and 95.09 per cent are using broadband services to access the internet.
BSNL is the leader in wired internet subscribers with a 25.57 per cent market share and 6.03 million subscribers followed by Bharti Airtel with 3.37 million subscribers. Reliance Jio holds a 59.901 per cent market share in the wireless internet subscriber base with 436.69 million subscribers followed by Bharti Airtel with a 26.76 per cent share.
The top five service areas in terms of internet subscriptions (wired+wireless) are Maharashtra (71.21 million), Andhra Pradesh including Telangana (64.38 million), U.P.(East) (63.50 million), Bihar (56.81 million), and Tamil Nadu (56.41 million).
The broadband internet subscriber base increased from 778.09 million to 792.78 million between March-June. Narrowband internet subscriber base decreased by 13.30 per cent from 47.21 million to 40.93 million.
The top five broadband (wired+wireless) service providers in terms of subscribers are Reliance Jio (439.91 million), Bharti Airtel (197.10 million), Vodafone Idea Ltd (121.42 million), BSNL (22.69 million), and Atria Convergence (1.91 million).
The top five narrowband (wired+wireless) service providers in terms of subscriber base are Bharti Airtel (23.05 million), Vodafone Idea Ltd (14.72 million), BSNL (3.01 million), MTNL (0.09 million), and You Broadband (0.01 million).
In the wired narrowband segment, You Broadband India Pvt Ltd holds 26.23 per cent market share with 0.01 million subscribers followed by Foxtel Telecommunications Pvt. Ltd. with 0.007 million subscribers. In the wireless narrowband segment, Bharti Airtel holds a 56.40 per cent market share with 23.05 million subscribers followed by Vodafone Idea Ltd with 14.72 million subscribers.
The total number of VSAT subscribers decreased from 293,632 to 289,392. Hughes Communication Limited continues to be the market leader with 44.83 per cent share in VSAT with a subscriber base of 129,724 followed by Tatanet Services with 74,704. Hughes Communication Ltd, added the maximum number of VSAT subscribers at 2344 whereas Bharti Airtel, BSNL, and Infotel Satcom saw a decline in their VSAT subscribers during the quarter.
The number of private satellite TV channels increased from 901 to 915. The ministry of information and broadcasting has granted 16 channels permission for uplinking only, 70 for downlinking only and 829 for both uplinking and downlinking. There are 346 pay channels out of which 252 are standard definition and 94 are high-definition channels. The remaining 569 channels are free-to-air.
There are 1731 MSOs registered with Trai out of which only 12 MSOs and one HITS operator have a subscriber base greater than 1 million.
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.
