DTH
DD’s DTH initially will use ‘C’ band
New Delhi: The direct-to-home (DTH) platform of Doordarshan, which is expected to initially have about 50 free-to-air television channels, will be on ‘C’ Band and not KU-band as had been expected. The service will be uplinked with the help of the Indian Space Research organisation (ISRO) to an Insat satellite.
DD’s DTH service would switch over as soon as possible – may be in a year or so – to Ku-Band, reports an India wire service, United News of India (UNI).
However, as per information available with indiantelevision, something that has been reported earlier also, DD is planning a DTH service so as to cut down on the cost of expanding its terrestrial coverage, including in those remote part of this vast country where it becomes a very expensive proposition to set up either terrestrial or cable television services.
The primary reason for launching in ‘C’ band is because free-to-air channels are aired on those frequencies and it is difficult at present to switch over to Ku Band that is generally used for DTH, ISRO sources told UNI.
Apart from about 25 channels of Doordarshan, the attempt will be to get as many other private channels on board too.
Interestingly, ISRO also has an agreement with the only other licensed DTH player – the Subhash Chandra-promoted ASC Enterprises. But India’s Space Department officials, including ISRO chief K. Kasturirangan, assured information and broadcasting ministry and Doordarshan officials earlier this week that this will not create any problems.
They said that since Doordarshan is a public service broadcaster, it will be given the number of transponders it requires. Those who attended the meeting apart from Dr Kasturirangan included I & B ministry secretary Pawan Chopra, Prasar Bharati CEO K. S. Sarma, and Doordarshan DG S. Y. Quraishi, in addition to Space Department officials.
Though more than 100 transponders are available over the Indian Ocean, ISRO officials said that a C-band transponder can accommodate at the most three to four channels though reception will be good, while each Ku-band transponder can beam up to 10 channels as these are digitized. ISRO assured that Prasar Bharati will not be charged any money for the switch-over since it is a public service broadcaster.
After mulling over the idea for a fairly long time during which ASC Enterprises managed to get its licence, the Prasar Bharati Board in its meeting on 9 April decided to set up its own DTH platform instead of just functioning as a gateway for other players.
Furthermore, Doordarshan had already initiated steps to start a limited DTH under which about 160 villages (twenty in each of the eight states) in the north-east will be provided with a DTH dish and sets to receive DD programmes under the special north-east package announced by the Government more than a year ago.
The plan in the northeast was being executed by the Broadcast Engineering Consultants (India) Limited. Doordarshan DG S. Y. Quraishi had said earlier that the Planning Commission had also approved the proposal by Doordarshan for setting up a DTH platform and a sum of up to Rs 5 billion may be spent over the next five years for this purpose.
Meanwhile, it is learnt that the ASC Enterprises will be encouraged to use the INSAT platform since that will help the government to ensure adherence to the advertising and broadcasting codes, apart from being subject to Indian laws.
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.
