DTH
Tata Sky adds new platform service Astro Duniya
KOLKATA: Tata Sky, India’s leading content distribution and payTV platform has added a new platform service, Tata Sky Astro Duniya, to its vast bouquet of interactive services. Joining hands with Dominiche Productions Pvt. Ltd., Tata Sky Astro Duniya offers curated content created by celebrity astrologers making the service a one-stop destination into the world of astrology, numerology, vastu and many more.
Tata Sky Astro Duniya will bring non-stop and ad-free access to astrology content for subscribers, featuring a wide range of services from numerology to horoscope, tarot reading to reiki, vastu to fengshui, vedic astrology to palmistry and face reading on a single platform. The service boasts of a line-up of celebrity experts like Munisha Khatwani, Sundeep Kochar, Biindu Khuraana, Rasesh Shah, Jai Madaan, Jyoti Jhangiani, Greenstone Lobo, Dimple Luniya and many more. Additionally, the service allows subscribers to get personalised predictions wherein they can ask a question to an expert anytime between Monday to Friday by emailing their queries. Around five to 10 questions will be answered by renowned celebrity astrologer, Narendra Bunde.
Subscribers can get access at no additional cost to kundali making, daily horoscope and features like ask a genie by accessing the service through the Tata Sky Mobile App. Additionally, all subscribers of the service can press the red button on their remote and get daily predictions and fortune cookies. Famous astrologers on the platform can be contacted easily via call/chat. All this and more makes Tata Sky Astro Duniya an ideal window into the world of astrology.
Tata Sky chief commercial and content officer Pallavi Puri said, “At Tata Sky we have a diverse portfolio of platform services and believe in constantly strengthening them. With Tata Sky Astro Duniya we aim to provide our subscribers with information on various aspects of life and home using astrology, numerology, vastu from credible astrology experts, including personalized consultations. We thank Dominiche Productions for helping us develop this property and are confident that our promotional campaign featuring actor Vinay Pathak will create great buzz for the service.”
Dominiche Productions director Utpal Vaishnav said, "When me and my co-founding partner Adarsh Gupta started our journey with Dominiche, we had set out a very clear objective for our company, to dominate scalable genres of the future. Astrology, given its generic appeal in India came up as a great opportunity to go after as a pioneering initiative. We are honoured to join hands with Tata Sky to bring to the audiences a credible Astrology offering that would make for a compelling watch.”
The service is now available to all subscribers on #512 at an optimised cost of Rs.2 per day after the first 10 days at no additional cost. As part of their platform service offerings, Tata Sky has a robust and vast range of offerings – including Tata Sky Fitness, Tata Sky Cooking, Tata Sky Theatre, Tata Sky Beauty to name a few.
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.
