DTH
DTH ops face jammers again
MUMBAI: Direct to home (DTH) operators are already facing annoyed users because of signals being disconnected due to rains. Now, they have a fresh problem to tackle, that of jammers being used in the city of Mumbai to distort DTH signals.
Bringing the issue to light, the DTH Operators Association of India president and Tata Sky CEO Harit Nagpal has written letters to the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), Sanchar Bhavan, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Department of Telecommunications, the Prime Minister’s Office, Ministry of Home Affairs and the Mumbai Police commissioner.
The letter states that ‘these jammers are being used by anti social elements to disrupt DTH signals and are also a threat to national security as the same are capable of being used to interfere with other signals besides DTH.’
The letter also states that several incidences of signal losses were found during the FIFA World Cup matches in areas such as Versova, Yari Road and Lokhandwala. The jammers were disturbing the signals of all DTH ops including Freedish. Five specific dates have been tracked which were key FIFA match dates- 4 July, 10 July, 11 July, 12 July and 13 July.
While locating the area of mischief, the technical team came across destroyed DTH antennas. During the service visits, interference was found in the lower Ku band between 10.7 GHz and 11.7 GHz.
Similar cases have happened in Noida in 2011 and in Mumbai in 2008 and 2012. While the culprits were put behind bars in Noida, the signal disruption stopped in Mumbai after a written complaint was sent to the police.
DTH ops feel it could be cable ops that are hampering their service. “Government has made it a fair playing field for MSOs and DTH with digitisation and this has put pressure on some operators to provide quality in their offering such as HD channels, interactive service etc. Just because someone can’t cope with DTH’s offering they shouldn’t get into such low acts,” said a senior executive of a leading DTH brand.
Nagpal states that Tata Sky has received several complaints from consumers about poor picture quality and freezing of pictures on screen and so it has tracked certain key locations.
The letter states that according to section 20, 21 and 25A of the Indian Telegraph Act, 1885 and section 3 of Indian Wireless Telegraphy Act, 1933, possession and use of unauthorised equipment and interference with transmission of authorised signals is illegal.
It ends by stating that the real loser is the DTH operator since there is no continual preventive measure to keep jammers away. ‘Due to such illegal activity the subscribers think that the signal interference is caused by the DTH service providers and they lose goodwill and credibility resulting in loss of subscriber base,’ states the letter.
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.
