DTH
DTH players react to Budget 2015
MUMBAI: Some time before the presentation of the budget, the Direct-To-Home (DTH) Operators’ Association of India had sent its wish list to the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB) asking for certain demands to be fulfilled for the sector. The Budget 2015 saw a strong no-no with an increase in service tax from the current 12.36 per cent to 14 per cent and the demands not being fulfilled. Additionally, the date for the roll out of Goods and Service Tax (GST) has been announced.
Expressing his displeasure on the same, Videocon d2h CEO Anil Khera tells Indiantelevision.com, “The DTH and cable sector were ignored in the budget. The hike in the service tax will further be passed on to the consumers through the packs. Nothing from the wish list was taken into account.”
It may be recalled that the wish list had asked the service tax for DTH services to be put in the negative list of service tax. It had also demanded for infrastructure status for the DTH sector.
When asked for his reaction to the budget, DTH Operators’ Association president and Dish TV CEO RC Venkateish opines that he is happy that the GST date has been announced, while it was already known that the increase in service tax would be increased in two stages. “While the announcement of the GST date i.e 1 April, 2016 will have benefits, for the short term one would pay that extra one per cent, which is not material. The GST implementation will give us a substantial reduction in overall taxes,” he says.
Echoing his thoughts on the Budget 2015, Tata Sky CEO Harit Nagpal says that he was hoping that at least one of the two taxes that the industry pays to the Centre and the State would be absorbed, which did not happen. “We are the only industry that pays service tax to the Centre and entertainment tax to the state,” says Nagpal.
According to him, this long standing demand to negate one of the taxes was not granted and instead what one saw was the service tax being hiked. Differing with Khera’s point of view, Nagpal informs that the increase will not be passed on to the subscribers through an increase in price packs as the amount is minimal which is one per cent.
DTH
Free Dish serves fresh slots as Prasar Bharati rings in e Auction 97
MPEG 4 slots for 2026–27 open with bids from March 16 and applications due March 9.
MUMBAI- When the Free Dish menu changes, broadcasters sharpen their forks. Prasar Bharati has formally opened applications for vacant MPEG-4 slots on its DD Free Dish direct to home platform, setting the stage for the 97th e-auction, scheduled to begin on March 16, 2026. The allotment will cover the broadcast period from April 1, 2026, to March 31, 2027, continuing the public broadcaster’s annual auction cycle.
The notice, issued on February 9, 2026, lays out a familiar but finely sliced structure, with channels grouped into genre and language based “buckets”, each carrying its own reserve price and bidding dynamics. The aim is simple: widen content choice on DD Free Dish while keeping the playing field regulated and competitive.
At the premium end of the table, HD channels (Bucket H) will open with a reserve price of Rs 80 lakh, with bid increments of Rs 1 lakh.
Regional language channels are split across multiple rounds. Bucket R1, covering South Indian languages, and Bucket R2, which includes Marathi, Gujarati and Bengali, will both start at Rs 5 lakh in round one, moving up to Rs 15 lakh in the second round.
News and current affairs channels under Bucket G1 will begin at Rs 30 lakh, escalating to Rs 50 lakh in the next round, while the General Open round (GO) meant to mop up unfilled slots across categories carries a reserve price of Rs 70 lakh.
Eligibility remains tightly controlled. Participation is limited to satellite television channels licensed by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, with international public broadcasters holding valid MIB licences also allowed to bid. Prasar Bharati has also reiterated strict content compliance norms, making genre and language declarations more than just paperwork.
To qualify as “predominant”, at least 75 percent of non advertising content must align with the declared genre and language. In overall terms, this means such content cannot fall below 60 percent of a channel’s total monthly telecast. Complaints will trigger a review by a designated committee, and persistent violations could result in the channel being taken off the platform.
Applications must be submitted online via the Prasar Bharati portal by 9 March, 2026, at 15:00 hours. Broadcasters will need to pay a non refundable processing fee of Rs 25,000 and a participation fee of Rs 3 lakh, along with submitting mandatory documents such as MIB permissions, channel logos and proof of carriage on other DTH or MSO platforms.
Successful bidders will be required to stick to a strict payment calendar. Delays will attract interest at 14.5 percent per annum, and repeated defaults could lead to forfeiture of the participation fee and removal from DD Free Dish.
As India’s only free to air DTH platform with massive reach, DD Free Dish continues to be a crucial gateway, especially in regional markets. With e-Auction 97, Prasar Bharati is once again reshuffling the platter and the industry is watching closely to see who gets served next.
