DTH
700,000 STBs sold, DD’s DTH service going places
NEW DELHI: DD Direct Plus, Indian pubcaster Doordarshan’s DTH service, is gaining popularity with sales of set-top boxes zooming to over 700,000, according to latest figures collated by the broadcaster.
The southern state of Tamil Nadu has notched the maximum sale of boxes, 200,000, which is an indicator of indifferent cable TV services provided beyond the metros.
A senior official of Prasar Bharati, which manages DD and All India Radio, said, “The high sale of boxes in a state like Tamil Nadu, which has a high cable penetration of over 80 per cent, is itself an indication of the type of services being provided and how low-cost equipment can do the trick.”
On an average the hardware to access DD Direct Plus costs Rs 3,500 (approximately $ 77) and in the grey market, which too is thriving as per unofficial figures, about 50 per cent of the original cost can be shaved off. There is no monthly subscription to be paid by subscribers.
In Tamil Nadu, inclusion of the popular Sun TV in the free DTH package has been the driver for DD Direct Plus.
Following Tamil Nadu — where the sale of boxes have crossed the total number of subscribers in the country being boasted by private sector Dish TV, 20 per cent owned by Zee Telefilms — is the state of Rajasthan where 90,000 boxes have been sold. Rajasthan is considered a low cable penetration market.
Next in the line is Maharashtra with 60,000 boxes, primarily sold outside big cities like Mumbai and Pune and Kerala, Andhra Pradesh and Gujarat with 40,000 boxes sold in each of these states.
The Prasar Bharati official said that up till now DD was targeting single DD homes for its DTH service, but in some places it has been seen that the pull of regional channels (like Sun TV and ETV Marathi) has succeeded in penetrating cable dominated areas too.
DD has 900 dealers peppered across the country for the sale of DD Direct Plus boxes and they include the state-controlled Bharat Electronics Ltd, Spacelink and MCBS. All such companies also manufacture unbranded boxes for the DTH service of DD.
Having tasted initial success, Prasar Bharati will now be focusing on states like Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka and West Bengal.
DD Direct Plus, as the KU-band service is known, is probably a unique experiment undertaken by a media company. For the first two years or so, beyond a one-time investment in the hardware, a subscriber would have to pay nothing. However, since the service is free, there are no moves to get any private sector pay channels, like Star Plus, Zee TV, Sony, NGC or Discovery on board.
Private sector TV channels that are being carried by DD Direct Plus include Zee Music, Smile TV and ETC Punjabi (from the Zee stable), Sun TV, Kairali TV, BBC, Akash Bangla, Star Utsav, Aaj Tak and Headlines Today, amongst the 30-odd channels being part of the service at the moment.
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.
