DTH
HFCL plans to invest Rs 6 billion in 2 years, IPTV in pipeline
MUMBAI: HFCL Infotel Ltd.(HITL), a private telephony operator in Punjab, is planning to invest Rs 6 billion over the next two years for offering a convergence of services including digital cable and IPTV.
The company has already installed an analogue headend at Jalandhar and is making its feed available to local cable operators. By appointing these operators as franchisees, it is able to bundle its telephony and broadband services.
“We are planning to also run a pilot for digital cable and IPTV in four-eight weeks. We intend to invest Rs 6 billion for the convergence project in two years,” HFCL Infotel CEO Surendra Lunia tells Indiantelevision.com.
While the company has installed a Scientific Atlanta headend for analogue services, the digital headend is from Harmonic. Iredeto will provide the encryption system.
“We are in talks with various vendors for IPTV. SeaChange, for example, can provide video-on-demand servers and the middle ware. We want to do the systems integration ourselves. We are already streaming IP in Mohali as a pilot with local soultions,” says Lunia.
On the content front, HFCL has already signed with Star India for providing its bouquet of channels to cable networks. “We also have an understanding with Star for digital and IPTV, though we haven’t formally signed yet. We are in negotiations with Sony as well,” says Lunia.
Cable operators have to pay Rs 50,000 to be franchisees and are given a 20 per cent share on revenues from a stream which comprises telephony and broadband. If these franchisee operators invest in the twisted copper line, they will become owners of the network. But there is another scheme where operators needn’t invest on the copper line; in such cases, the ownership is with HFCL.
HFCL Infotel has a subsidiary company, Connect Broadband Services Ltd, which handles content and headend operations. The networking is done through HFCL Infotel.
With just 40,000 fixed line telephone connections in residential areas, HFCL plans to expand this base by offering cable TV services. “We have a total base of 200,000 fixed line connections, 20 per cent of which are from residential users. We see this bundled offering as a way to increase penetration. Besides, it will allow us to increase our revenue streams from our users,” says Lunia.
The company offers a convergence bill for telephony, cable TV and broadband. Customers have to pay a monthly fee of Rs 699 where they get cable TV, 500 mb of data download at 512 kbps, and 100 telephone calls free.
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.
