DTH
Dish Network rev flat in ’16 despite declining pay-TV subs
BENGALURU: The fourth largest US pay-TV player Dish Network Corporation (DNC) reported almost flat revenues for the year ended 31 December 2016 (FY-16, current year, quarter ended 31 December 2016 – Q4-16, current quarter) as compared to the previous fiscal. Though Dish reported 2.164 million gross subscriber additions in FY-16, its net subscriber base declined by 392,000. The company closed the fourth quarter with 13.671 million pay-TV subscribers, compared to 13.897 million pay-TV subscribers in the fourth quarter of 2015. Last year the company lost approximately 81,000 pay-TV subscribers.
Dish reported revenues of $15,094.56 million in FY-16 as compared to $15,069.90 million in the previous year. Subscriber related revenue increased to $15,033.94 million in the current year from $14,953.60 million in the previous year.
Net income attributable to Dish in FY-16 was almost double (94.1 percent more) at $1,449.85 as compared to $749.09 million in FY-15. Consequently earnings per share also almost doubled (up 93.8 percent) in FY-16 at $3.12 as compared to $1.61 in the previous year.
Pay-TV average monthly subscriber churn for 2016 was 1.83 percent compared to 1.71 percent in 2015.Dish reported higher pay-TV ARPU in the current year at $88.66 as compared to $86.79 in the previous year.
Subscriber acquisition costs totalled $1.471 billion for FY-16, a decrease of $212 million or 12.6 percent compared to the same period in 2015. pay-TV SAC was $643 during FY-16 compared to $723 during the same period in 2015, a decrease of $80 or 11.1 percent. The company says that this change was primarily attributable to an increase in Sling branded pay-TV subscriber activations and a decrease in hardware costs per activation, partially offset by an increase in advertising costs per activation. Subscriber acquisition costs for Sling branded pay-TV subscribers are significantly lower than those for DISH branded pay-TV subscribers, and therefore, the increase in Sling branded pay-TV subscriber activations during 2016 had a positive impact on pay-TV SAC.
Dish includes all of its Dish and Sling branded subscribers in the company’s total pay-TV metrics, including in the pay-TV subscriber, pay-TV ARPU and pay-TV churn rate numbers. The company markets its Sling TV services primarily to consumers who do not subscribe to traditional satellite and cable pay-TV services. Sling TV services require an Internet connection and are available on multiple streaming-capable devices including TVs, tablets, computers, game consoles and smart phones.
In addition, Dish bundles broadband and telephone services with its Dish branded pay-TV services. As of December 31, 2016, it had 0.580 million broadband subscribers in the United States. Dish lost approximately 43,000 net broadband subscribers during the FY-16 compared to the addition of approximately 46,000 net broadband subscribers during the same period in 2015. The company says that the net broadband subscriber losses during FY-16 primarily resulted from lower gross new broadband subscriber activations and a higher number of customer disconnects.
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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.
