DTH
Sun Direct may add 20 HD, 100 SD channels
MUMBAI: Sun Direct, the DTH service from Sun Network, is likely to add 20 new high definition (HD) and 100 new standard definition (SD) channels and has been allocated 144 MHz of spectrum on the recently launched Measat-3B satellite.
A social media user by the name of ‘Raja Chennai‘ shared a screenshot of the application made by the company informing the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) about the allocation of the new satellite capacity, according to an article on Ultra News.
Once these channels find a home on the new Measat satellite, Sun Direct will be able to add an extra 20 HD channels to take its total HD channel count to 80 while increasing total SD channel list to 320.
The company was forced to halt its HD channel expansion on GSAT 15 two months ago due to the termination of its channel-sharing deal with Reliance Digital TV and divert some of the HD capacity to handle the fallout.
In the application, the company is shown informing the DoT that four new transponders of 36 MHz each have been allocated to it by the Department of Space for use on its DTH service.
Sun Direct has been facing a severe spectrum crunch due to a fire on an ISRO satellite that knocked out most of its satellite capacity in 2010. The fire forced the company to move satellite to Malaysian-owned Measat 3A, and manually realign the dish antennae of millions of its customers.
Some relief was in sight when Measat launched a second satellite at the same location in 2014, boosting capacity.
Sun Direct was widely expected to book extra capacity on the new satellite, particularly after it lost a sharing deal two months ago with Reliance Digital TV. Reliance Digital TV changed hands when the Anil Ambani Group sold it to another group as part of a fire sale.
The DTH service is expected to start adding new channels in a matter of days.
The new capacity is expected to lead to the addition of around 100 new SD channels while another 50 channels are expected to be moved to it from GSAT 15—the HD satellite for Sun Direct.
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DTH
DD Free Dish e-auction heats up with 26 MPEG-2 slots sold in two days
Hindi movies, GEC and news dominate; Star Utsav Movies tops Day 2 at Rs 213.45 crore
MUMBAI- The bidding war on DD Free Dish is turning into a blockbuster and the slots are selling faster than popcorn at interval. Prasar Bharati’s 8th annual MPEG-2 e-auction delivered another strong day on Tuesday, with 18 more channels securing spots across movies, regional music and news buckets, taking the two-day total to 26.
Day 2 belonged to the movies and news categories. In Bucket A (Hindi Movies), Star Utsav Movies led the pack at Rs 213.45 crore, pipped only narrowly by Zee Action at Rs 213.4 crore. Goldmines landed at Rs 13.35 crore and Zee Anmol at Rs 13.3 crore, showing razor-thin price bands and fierce competition. Bucket B saw Zee Bioscope top at Rs 10.6 crore, Bhojpuri Cinema Rs 10.5 crore, B4U Bhojpuri Rs 10.2 crore, while Showbox, Unique TV and B4U Music each closed at Rs 10.25 crore.
News channels in Bucket C stayed tightly bunched: NDTV, Aaj Bharat, Zee News and India TV all secured slots at Rs 8.6 crore, with News Nation and ABP News slightly higher at Rs 8.65 crore. Bucket D rounded out with Russia Today at Rs 9.75 crore and GTC Punjabi at Rs 7.92 crore.
Day 1 had already set a premium tone, with eight slots snapped up – six in Bucket A+ (Hindi/Urdu GEC, starting reserve Rs 15 crore) and two in Bucket A (Hindi/Urdu Movies, starting Rs 12 crore). Sony PAL topped Day 1 winners at Rs 16.55 crore, Star Utsav Rs 16.25 crore, Shemaroo TV Rs 16.35 crore, Zee Anmol, Colors Rishtey and Sun Neo at Rs 16.40 crore each. Sony WAH took a Bucket A slot at Rs 13.95 crore and Zee Anmol Cinema at Rs 13.45 crore.
The surge reflects broadcasters’ hunger for DD Free Dish’s estimated 43–45 million rural and semi-urban households, where Hindi GEC and movies remain advertising goldmines.
The auction runs under the revised E-auction Methodology 2025 (amended 9 January 2026), with escalating reserves – Round 2 Bucket A+ at Rs 16 crore, Round 3 Bucket A at Rs 13 crore – and stricter eligibility to weed out speculative bids. Channels must be operational, available in the relevant language, and already carried on at least one private DTH, DD Free Dish or registered MSO.
With premium genres flying off the shelf, the coming rounds will test how deep pockets really are as reserves climb and tactical down-bidding gets harder. In India’s largest free-to-air universe, these auctions aren’t just about slots – they’re about who gets to stay on the screen that reaches deepest into the heartland.
