DTH
Malaysia’s Astro ‘doesn’t know’ about talks with Reliance Digital TV
NEW DELHI: Malaysian and ASEAN content and consumer company Astro Malaysia Holdings Bhd has scotched rumours about due diligence being done to buy financially-beleaguered Indian DTH operator Reliance Digital TV saying it “does not know anything” about the talks.
“I read about it in the newspaper,” Astro CEO Datuk Rohana Rozhan was quoted as saying by website The Edge Markets in a report datelined Kuala Lumpur. The pay TV service provider’s executive further told reporters that “as a matter of principle, we don’t comment on rumours.”
According to the website report, pressed with questions on whether Astro was denying that it was in talks with Reliance Digital TV, Rohana was quoted as saying, “I don’t know anything about it and I am the CEO of this company.”
Malaysia’s The Star few days earlier had carried a wire agency report of Bernama that Astro was performing a due diligence to buy into Reliance Digital TV, a business venture under Reliance Communications controlled by Anil Ambani. A Reliance spokesman had declined to comment when contacted by Bernama wire agency that sourced the news story to a report in Times of India.
The Bernama report had gone to add that with just 2 per cent subscribers in the Indian DTH market, Reliance Digital TV faces stiff competition from bigger players and a sale deal could help RCom cut its debt. Astro has a 20 per cent stake in south Indian DTH operator Sun Direct.
Last year the Anil Ambani-controlled Reliance Communications had entered into a definitive agreement with the Zee group companies to sell its TV broadcast comprising few channels and radio FM businesses subject to regulatory approvals. Buyer Zee presently is in the process of integrating with the group the Reliance businesses.
Astro Malaysia Holdings Berhad is a Kuala Lumpur-based content and consumer company that is recommitting towards being a technology-driven organisation in the digital, TV, radio and e-commerce space.With a customer base of 5.8 million or approximately 71 per cent penetration of total households in Malaysia, Astro serves 21 million individuals by offering a wide range of media and entertainment products spanning across television, radio, digital media and home shopping.
Astro’s value proposition includes 188 TV channels broadcast via DTH satellite TV, IPTV and OTT platforms, of which 60 are Astro-branded and 72 are in HD. Astro also offer a non-subscription freemium service called NJOI, which offers 28 channels, of which two are in HD and 19 radio stations.
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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
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.
