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
Dish TV moves court seeking level playing field with DD Free Dish
DTH player flags unfair edge as free platform reshapes pay-TV market
MUMBAI: Dish TV has approached the Kerala High Court, seeking a level playing field with DD Free Dish, the free-to-air satellite platform run by Prasar Bharati.
At the heart of the dispute is what Dish TV calls a regulatory imbalance. The company has urged the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting to bring DD Free Dish under the same rules as private direct-to-home operators, including mandatory encryption and compliance with the Digital Addressable System under existing laws such as the Indian Telegraph Act and the Cable Television Networks (Regulation) Act.
Private DTH platforms are required to encrypt their signals, meaning viewers need authorised set-top boxes and paid subscriptions. In contrast, DD Free Dish remains unencrypted, allowing access through basic equipment without monthly fees, a difference Dish TV argues creates a structural advantage.
In its petition, Dish TV has described the current framework as arbitrary and discriminatory, alleging it undermines constitutional guarantees of equality and the right to trade. The company pointed out that while private operators shoulder the cost of encryption infrastructure, licensing fees and regulatory levies, DD Free Dish operates without similar obligations despite scaling up significantly.
Originally launched to distribute Doordarshan channels, DD Free Dish has steadily morphed into a quasi-commercial platform. It now carries around 120 private channels and generates substantial revenue through slot auctions, with earnings rising sharply over the years, according to the petition.
The case also throws a spotlight on shifting dynamics within India’s television market. Pay DTH operators have been grappling with a shrinking subscriber base, which has fallen from nearly 70 million in 2021 to about 51 million in 2025. At the same time, DD Free Dish has expanded its reach to roughly 53 million households, buoyed by viewers in price-sensitive regions opting for free access over paid subscriptions.
The migration has been further fuelled by broadcasters placing popular channels on the free platform, making it an increasingly attractive alternative for households looking to cut costs.
The Kerala High Court has admitted the petition and scheduled the next hearing for June 2, 2026. It also noted that a recent notice by Prasar Bharati inviting regional channels to uplink on DD Free Dish without carriage fees until March 31, 2026 will remain subject to the final outcome of the case.
Regulators have already acknowledged the gap. The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India, in its July 2024 recommendations, proposed a shift towards an addressable system for DD Free Dish, though these suggestions are not binding. The government is yet to take a final call, mindful of the platform’s reach among millions of households.
The petition follows repeated representations from private players and bodies such as the All India Digital Cable Federation, all flagging the same concern: a fast-growing free platform competing in a paid market without the same rulebook.
As the courtroom battle unfolds, the outcome could redraw the contours of India’s pay-TV ecosystem, deciding whether the free ride continues or the rules of the game finally converge.
