DTH
Dish TV to offer Indiavision; 129 channels on board
MUMBAI: Essel Group promoted Dish TV has signed an agreement to distribute Malayalam channel Indiavision on its direct-to-home (DTH) platform. With this, Dish TV will be offering a total of 129 channels to its subscribers.
Indiavision stands up for ‘Malayalathanima’ or the pure heritage of Kerala presented and preserved without the tediousness associated with traditional entertainment. Purity of language and nourishment of culture will find top priority in the program content development of Indiavision.
“Dish TV in a short span of time has shown impressive growth in penetration and has emerged as the largest distribution platform in terms of number of channels carried as well. We are delighted to be part of Dish TV bouquet,” says Indiavision resident director Jamaludheen Farooquee.
A Dish TV subscriber can access Indiavision along with other Malayalam language channels including Asianet, Jeevan TV, DD Malayalam and Kairali. Says Dish TV chief executive officer Sunil Khanna, “We are pleased to broadcast the popular Malayalam news channel to consumers on our platform. This gives an opportunity to Keralite’s all across the country, to get news from their own land, being a part of Malayalam bouquet. Our customers have an option to customise their channel subscription as per their language preference.”
Dish TV offers 13 radio channels in its bouquet, apart from a wide range of channels. But the menu is somewhat limited with Star India and Sony Entertainment Television India yet to get into an agreement to put their channels on the DTH service.
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.
