DTH
DishTV’s OTT app Watcho arrives on Amazon Fire TV
MUMBAI: With an aim to offer engaging and differentiated content catering to young audiences across the country, Dish TV India Ltd, the world’s largest single-country DTH company, has expanded distribution of its OTT app Watcho to Amazon Fire TV Stick. Effective immediately, Amazon Fire TV Stick customers can access Watcho app to discover original web shows, short films, more than 100 Live TV channels and various other regional shows and movies.
Watcho provides access to a large VOD content library of originals, movies and popular shows along with linear TV service. It is also the first OTT service to feature user generated content allowing users to create and upload their own content to Watcho. The flexible service was designed to address the large base of over 23 million subscribers of DishTV and d2h and is also open to new users.
“We are excited to bring Watcho to the wide audience base on Amazon Fire TV Stick. Watcho, since launch, has received a good reception and there has been demand to host it across platforms. The OTT market is continuously evolving and the consumption is growing on TV and mobile. We are confident that users will be delighted with the seamless experience of watching new-age and bite-sized video content of Watcho on the Amazon Fire TV Stick,” Dish TV India Ltd executive director and group CEO Anil Dua said.
Watcho offers 1000+ hours of library content including movies and short films and can now be installed directly from the Amazon App Store. At present it has around 20 original shows in Hindi, Telugu and Kannada. As an introductory offer, the service is available free of cost.
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.
