DTH
Cable TV carriage fees head south
Carriage fees have been a bane of the Indian television industry. Most broadcasters have been groaning and moaning how they have been choking up their capital, preventing them from investing in content, especially news channels.
Now throwing some light on the trend in carriage fees is five year old television media and distribution audit company Chrome Data Analytics & Media which has just released its Chrome Dii R3 (Distribution Investments Index – Round 3).
Chrome Dii,says the company, has been worked out while tracking deals done by broadcasters over the past year, with information gathered from across various sources including broadcasters as well as distribution platforms. After eliminating high variance deals, an average of six solo deals per cable network were studied for their investments for S band and UHF.
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Jeffrey Crasto…
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“For the digital scenario, Chrome Dii indicates a benchmark carriage to be available on the basic tier that is channels under BST (mandated FTA channels) along with the first tier of pay channels,” says Chrome Data executive director Jeffrey Crasto. “The study is inclusive of both new launches/new deals done in the last one year and existing deals expiring in April/May 2013.”
Adds Chrome Data founder & CEO Pankaj Krishna: “Digitisation was expected to be a harbinger of correction leading to nullification of carriage fees. As per TRAI, they had anticipated the Chrome Dii to come down to Rs 1, however though there has been a significant drop; it has not come down to Rs 1.As compared to R2, Dii has come down from Rs 20 to Rs 11.6. “
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.. & Pankaj Krishna have attempted to demystify the burden broadcasters have to bear
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In its third round, the Dii has revealed that north India has emerged as the costliest region with a whopping 16.7 crore in carriage fees for 100 per cent availability across Basic + S band for new channel launches and 13.3 crorefor renewals of existing deals whereas central India is the lowest with 3.11 crore and 2.73 crore for Basic + S band for new launches and renewing existing deals respectively.
While a different image is revealed if the Dii (cost per contact for the television channels) is studied, Chrome Dii R3 data shows the cost (renewals, S-band) per contact (household) is the highest in west India with an average of 17.6 followed by Central at 14.4. The national average for renewals stands at 11.6.
Out of a total universe of 47 million households in Class I India, 42 million are C&S Homes. Chrome Dii study tracks 31 million homes, 2 million remain uncovered and balance 9 million are DTH!
Source: Chrome Data Analytics & Media
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C&S Households
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89%
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DTH
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74%
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Non TV Households
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11%
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Chrome Dii
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21%
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Balance
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5%
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Chrome Data says that its Dii R3 was pre-subscribed by eight leading TV networks. And it is an addition to the other services that it offers (covering1800+ cities and towns) Chrome Track 2.0, Chrome DPi, Chrome Dii & Chrome SES, Chrome AV, Chrome LC1, Chrome NE and Chrome Language Feed.Some 132 channels subscribe to its various services.
Some interesting facts according to Chrome Dii R3 –
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Carriage Fee Cost
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Existing
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New Launch
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| REGION | Basic + S BAND | Basic + UHF | Basic + S BAND | Basic + UHF |
| CENTRAL | 273,75,000 | 194,70,000 | 311,95,000 | 235,30,000 |
| EAST | 376,65,000 | 281,25,000 | 404,65,000 | 340,00,000 |
| NORTH | 1330,33,300 | 1118,71,800 | 1673,03,300 | 1343,67,800 |
| SOUTH | 549,50,000 | 466,67,000 | 625,65,500 | 527,32,500 |
| WEST | 1099,80,000 | 1014,80,000 | 1320,00,000 | 1195,00,000 |
| Grand Total | 3630,03,300 | 3076,13,800 | 4335,28,800 | 3641,30,300 |
* To cite an example as per the above data, comparing how much a Hindi News channel would spend for 75 per cent HSM availability as per Dii R3 as compared to Dii R2 – it would pay 75% of (Rs 36.30 croe minus Rs 5.49 crore for the south) = Rs. 23.1 crore as per Dii R3, whereas it would have paid Rs 38.2 crore as per Dii R2 – a saving of over 39 per cent! But has the overall pie reduced, not really! As there has been an increase in network bandwidth, hence the number of takers has increased.
North emerged as the costliest region with Rs 16.7 crore for 100 per cent availability across Basic + S Band and Rs 13.4 crore for 100 per cent availability across Basic + UHF for New Launches. Renewals of existing deals for Rs 13.3 crore for Basic + S Band and Rs 11.2 crore for Basic + UHF.
The study also provides a benchmark for carriage fee efficiency with respect to the investment indices that is Chrome Dii that is cost per contact (see tables below). Chrome reveals that the Dii (renewals, S-band, household) is the highest in West India with an average of Rs 17.6 followed by the Central at Rs 14.4. The national average for renewals stands at Rs 11.6.
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Carriage Fee Cost per contact for existing channels in Rs
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Existing-Basic+S Band |
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| West |
17.6
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| Central |
14.4
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| North |
14.1
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| East |
7.1
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| South |
6.6
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Source: Chrome Data Analytics & Media
* In terms of highest Chrome Dii, West was followed by North, Central, East and South.
* The gap between Dii for Existing and New Launches has reduced over the years owing to digitization and increase in bandwidth of the networks.
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Carriage Fee Cost per contact for new channels being launched in Rs
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New Launches – |
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| West |
21.1
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| Central |
17.7
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| North |
16.4
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| East |
7.6
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| South |
7.5
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Source: Chrome Data Analytics & Media
* Further, the gap between Dii for S Band and UHF has also reduced due to digitization
* Chrome Dii for a New Launch in Central and East India has halved.
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.
