DTH
Essel Group to acquire further 4.95 per cent in Dish TV Videocond2h from Dhoots
MUMBAI: The Essel group today announced that it has agreed with the Dhoot family that it will acquire an additional 4.95 per cent equity of Dish TV Videocon d2h (DTV d2h) – the company being created out of the merger of Dish TV India Ltd (DTIL) and Videocon d2h Ltd (VD2h).
The additional transaction will take place a day after the merged entity starts trading on the National stock exchanges at the first day’s closing price. The deal will take placed through Essel group company Veena Investments.
The purchase will see the Essel group’s equity holding in Dish TV Videocon d2h (DTVd2h) go up to 40.95 per cent. The media group’s share of DTVd2h will further rise as it has agreed with the Dhoot family to acquire an additional 4.95 per cent equity shares from it a year after the merged entity starts trading on the NSE. Both will have a window of three months to complete the transaction then.
The Dhoot family’s equity stake in DTVd2h will fall to 23.05 following the first sale and to 18.1 per cent following the second, while the Essel group’s holding will rise to 45.9 per cent at the end of the second transaction. This clearly indicates who will be in the drivers seat at DTVd2h – Jawahar Goel, the brother of media baron Subhash Chandra.
The two family groups had earlier this month announced the merger of their two firms which would result in the creation of a pay TV provider with a subscriber base of 27.6 million, making it the second largest in the world just after the US pay TV giant DirecTV and ahead of John Malone’s Charter Communications.
Pre-merger, the Essel group owns 64.44 per cent equity in DTIL, the Dhoot family owns 51.17 per cent in Vd2h. 35.95 per cent of the latter’s holding is in the hands of overseas depository holders on Nasdaq on which it is listed. The firm is to be delisted from the US exchange and the depositary receipt holders will have the option to directly get shares of DTVd2h or its GDRs as the latter is expected to be listed on the Luxemborg stock exchange apart from the Bombay stock exchange and the NSE.
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.
