DTH
Dish TV appoints new independent directors
MUMBAI: Dish TV, in the recently held 26th Annual General Meeting (AGM) announced the appointment of four new independent directors in the company.
Lakshmi Chand, Bhagwan Dass Narang, Arun Duggal and Eric Louis Zinterhofer have been appointed as independent directors of the company to hold office for a term of three years.
According to the statement issued by the company, all the four independent directors were appointed as “Director whose office was liable to retire by rotation, be and is hereby appointed as independent director of the company, whose office is not subject to retirement by rotation, to hold office for a term of three consecutive years.”
Lakshmi Chand was an independent non-executive additional director on the board of the company. He is a post graduate in MA (Eco) from Punjab University and is a Law graduate from Delhi University.
101 equity shareholders representing 78,27,27,656 equity shares comprising 99.999 per cent of total votes casted, voted in favor of the resolution of appointing Chand as an independent director and seven equity shareholders representing 10,170 equity shares comprising 0.001 per cent of total votes casted, voted against the resolution.
Narang was an independent non-executive member of the board and is a post graduate in agricultural economics and brings with him 32 years of banking experience.
68 equity shareholders representing 75,02,72,688 equity shares comprising 95.852 per cent of total votes casted, voted in favor of the resolution of appointing Narang as an independent director and 40 equity shareholders representing 3,24,65,138 equity shares comprising 4.148 per cent of total votes casted, voted against.
Arun Duggal was an independent non-executive member of the board. Duggal is a Mechanical Engineer from Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi, and holds an MBA from the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad.
97 equity shareholders representing 76,72,71,725 equity shares comprising 98.024 per cent of total votes casted, voted in favor of the resolution of appointing Duggal and 11 equity shareholders representing 1,54,66,101 equity shares comprising 1.976 per cent of total votes casted, voted against.
Eric Louis Zinterhofer was an independent non-executive member of the board. Prior to co-founding Searchlight Capital Partners in 2010, Zinterhofer was a senior partner at Apollo Managemen which he joined in 1998.
61 equity shareholders representing 74,52,43,442 equity shares comprising 95.210 per cent of total votes casted, voted in favor of the resolution of appointing Zinterhofer and 47 equity shareholders representing 3,74,94,384 equity shares comprising 4.790 per cent of total votes casted, voted against.
In the AGM, the re-appointment of Mintoo Bhandari as the nonexecutive nominee director was also announced.
64 equity shareholders representing 74,87,25,208 equity shares comprising 95.655 per cent of total votes casted, voted in favor of the resolution and 44 equity shareholders representing 3,40,12,618 equity shares comprising 4.345 per cent of total votes casted, voted against.
The company recently announced its financial results for the current quarter and reported a decline in loss for the current quarter at Rs 15.1 crore as compared to the Rs 16.05 crore in the trailing quarter. The company also reported an addition of 332,000 subscribers in the quarter.
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.
