DTH
Dish TV India’s consolidated net profit declines 64.47% in Q1 FY23
Mumbai: Dish TV India on Wednesday announced their financial results for the first quarter of the financial year 2022–2023. The company’s reported net profit declined 64.47 per cent to Rs 17.85 crore in the quarter ended June 2022 as against Rs 50.24 crore during the previous quarter ended June 2021.
Operating revenues for the quarter stood at Rs 608.6 crore. For the same period, the earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (Ebitda) was Rs 323.8 crore with a margin of 53.2 percent and profit after tax was Rs 17.8 crore.
In the quarter ended June 2022, sales fell 16.74 per cent to Rs 608.63 crore, compared to Rs 730.97 crore in the previous quarter ended June 2021.
The company paid-off Rs 90.3 crore of debt during the quarter, thus reducing its overall debt to Rs 285.3 crore at the end of the first quarter of 2023 as compared to Rs 375.6 crore at the close of fiscal 2022.
The first quarter of the current fiscal, to some extent, was an extension of the fourth quarter of the previous fiscal. Not only did inflation-linked cautiousness in viewers remain intact, the changing landscape of the entertainment industry continued to influence subscriber retention and growth.
Dish TV chose the middle path and maintained a moderate pace of capital expenditure while prioritising debt repayment over new acquisitions.
External factors dominated and impacted the recharge behaviour of DTH subscribers, with top-end consumers swapping between DTH and streaming content and bottom-end subscribers alternating between free-to-air and pay DTH, thus affecting revenues and net base.
With a growing number of subscribers having access to OTT subscriptions, India’s streaming video market is expected to garner a revenue of Rs. 490 billion by 2027, up from Rs. 210 billion in 2022, according to the latest industry report.
Speaking about the results, Dish TV India Group CEO Anil Dua said, “In the changing industry landscape, Dish TV is committed to exploring and embracing new possibilities that would enable it to offer a more contemporary and bespoke service bouquet. As an entertainment distribution company, we would want to be a one-stop destination for viewers seeking video content and continue working towards that objective.”
Dish TV India chairman Jawahar Goel commented, “The company has been actively pursuing relevant technological developments in the business space and looks forward to aligning with those that will help it achieve its strategic and commercial goals.”
“As an industry, we also continue to seek and hope for a level playing field in the distribution space, by way of uniform application of licence fees to either all players or to none of them, as Free DTH, Headend in the Sky (HITS), OTT and cable TV still remain outside the ambit of licence fees,” added Goel.
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.
