DTH
“Disorganisation of analogue cable in Phase III & IV will help DTH”: Harit Nagpal
MUMBAI: While India has witnessed Phase I and Phase II of digitisation, the remaining two phases (i.e Phase III and IV) will go a long way in aiding more transparency. Direct to Home (DTH) platforms too are an enthused lot, hoping it will help them gain additional subscribers.
Speaking about the expected development Tata Sky CEO Harit Nagpal said, “As digitisation rolls out, we are hopeful that a large number of consumers will move to DTH because analogue cable is little less organised in Phase III and IV of digitisation.”
Nagpal said that the first two phases impacted approximately 15 per cent of the TV population. According to him, when it came to the process of conversion from analogue cable to digital, about 40 per cent of the analogue subscribers picked up DTH. Nagpal was speaking at the Asia Pacific Operators Summit (APOS) held in Balli recently.
Speaking about net additions, he said that the pace had not slowed down. “Even when we were acquiring close to 10 million subscribers as gross, we were getting three to four net additions. Today, the industry picks six to seven million gross, it still makes three to four million net.” Nagpal further added that this would be facilitated by digitisation in places where the first two phases were complete.
Nagpal believes that the top four DTH players will become cash positive very soon. “It’s on the horizon now. We have already been covering our operational costs. The investment that is really going into the business is going to fund the growth,” he said.
According to Nagpal, an investor wouldn’t mind finding the growth because on a 10-12 per cent churn, the life of a customer is seven to eight years. As such if the pay back is three years, then an operator has about six to seven years cash life with the customer.
“Thus an investor is happy to invest and add the gross adds faster and does not mind paying for the investment,” he added.
While on the one hand, Videocon d2h CEO Anil Khera expressed his displeasure over premium content being distributed for free by Over The Top (OTT) platforms, Nagpal explained his point of view. “I treat myself, i.e. a content access provider, as a grocer. We buy soaps and cereals in bulk and sell them in small packets. If three generations in a single family want to consume bread, rice and pasta we have it stocked. Secondly, if these three generations ordered the food respectively via in shop, over the phone or placed an order online, I have to cater to that and make it convenient for customers.”
He further said that he would not go about cursing people as to why content is being given out for free. “I have to make it convenient for the customer to find everything at one place,” he stressed.
On the added service of video on demand (VOD), Nagpal said that four years ago when Tata Sky launched VOD, it had seen an investment of close to $10 million. Currently the operator was just breaking even on operating costs. “But we know it’s a long term play. It’s not necessarily a play of premium content. In fact, on our first VOD we made available Hindi movies and not English. The reason being English movies’ rights holders were sceptical and insisted on minimum guarantees.”
On the issue of broadband bandwidth, Nagpal stated that going by the current world wide web phenomenon it was obvious that video cannot be carried by over the air as the last mile has to be connected by at least some form of wire. He hoped a new entity would cater to this business very soon.
“Currently there are a lot of entrepreneurs who provide broadband very well in some areas. They have just been constrained by expansion. We are hoping that in a year’s time the landscape will change. Some funding will come in and then they will expand,” he concluded.
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.
