DTH
An Ode to Entertainment: Tata Sky’s #WorldTelevisionDay Campaign
MUMBAI: Chimp&z Inc in conjunction with Griffin Pictures rolled out a video recreating the magic of the golden era of television in sand-art. The #TumseHumareTaarJudeHai campaign video served the brand purpose of Tata Sky on the occasion of World Television Day. The video garnered a total view of 2.9M in just one day on Facebook and YouTube and still counting.
The video created by Griffin Pictures aims to highlight Tata Sky’s contribution to the evolution of the television industry as a service provider. Each frame created in the video depicts a symbolic phase in the timeline of Indian television. It starts from a box television set, highlighting the golden era and time-travels to the recent flat-screen television attached with a Tata Sky set-top box. The picturesque sand-art takes us back to the Mahabharata days, journeying through the soap-opera period and concludes with ISRO’s most recent achievement of launching Chandrayaan2 into space.
Griffin Pictures is the in-house production house of Chimp&z Inc. It creates cinematic content that caters to the advertising and marketing requirements of brands.
Commenting on the World TV Day campaign, Chimp&z Inc CEO & Co-founder Angad Singh Manchanda said, “This day is significant for Tata Sky as a fore-runner in the television industry. We wanted to do something out-of-the-box to mark this day for our partner brand in collaboration with Griffin Pictures. Sand art was the perfect option to depict change and transition and make the audience recall the many milestones in television history."
Manoranjan ki baat hai, kissa kuch khaas hai. Iss World Television Day par, Tata Sky laya hai yaadon se bhari ek kahaani, khud television ki zubaani. Kyunki #TumseHumareTaarJudeHai.#WorldTelevisionDay #WorldTelevisionDay2019 pic.twitter.com/Tajkvihivk
— Tata Sky (@TataSky) November 21, 2019
https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=2410498262522182
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.
