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Geo TV eyes UK market; sceptical about India

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MUMBAI: Dubai headquartered Geo TV, the flagship channel from the Pakistan-based Jang group of media companies, has now decided to spread it wings and is eyeing the UK market, while firm in the belief that India is not yet ready for it.

As part of the expansion plans, Geo TV is also mulling having an additional channel, Geo TV-Entertainment, in Pakistan. The existing channel, Geo TV, transforms into a news channel there. The Jang group has also applied for a DTH licence in Pakistan.

According to a senior executive of Geo TV present at the Ficci-Frames, the next destination for the infotainment channel is the UK, where negotiations are on with the Rupert Murdoch-controlled BSkyB platform.

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Though no time frame was enlisted by Geo TV for the UK debut, it is part of a game plan to have a footprint in markets where there is sizeable South Asian population, especially people of Pakistani origin.

In the US, the infotainment channel, which made its debut there last year on the EchoStar platform, beams into approximately 35,000 homes there targeting primarily South Asian viewers. Future target is to reach 50,000 homes.

Asked about Geo TV’s Indian plans, the company executive said that though an entertainment channel is being planned for the South Asian region, where the aim would be to exploit the Indian market more, the present regulatory regime in India would not make it commercially viable.

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“A major part of our revenue comes from subscription and in the absence of any firm regulatory mechanism to this effect (read conditional access system), the Indian market looks a bit nebulous to enter into at present,” the executive said.

However, Geo TV is available in quite a few Indian cable homes and, at one time, the channel was looking at having distribution tie-ups with cable ops and MSOs here.

Explaining the difficulties in making an Indian foray, the Geo TV executive said that the channel has been on air without advertisements since inception, depending on subscription revenue. “In India, the mechanism for accounting the subscription revenue is still hazy and, hence, we would not like to make an Indian debut so soon,” the executive said.

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Having an Indian presence would make eminent sense for the channel as several Indian television actors are increasingly being employed by Geo for their soaps and serials. Artistes like Sangeeta Ghosh, Aamna Shariff and Vikas Bhalla have been signed for serials on Geo.

As a stand alone channel in the US, it is priced at $ 15 per subscriber per month, while the target is to price the channel at £ 15 in the UK when it makes an entry there.

For UK the programming would be on the lines of the US feed and the effort will be to have localised content to cater to the South Asian viewers. The channel would also beam dramas, among other entertainment fare.

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Geo TV airs programmes partly in Urdu and in English in the USA and has sizeable portion of local content The channel forayed into the Middle-East last year and airs there as a free-to-air channel on the Phela bouquet.

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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

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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