DTH
Pay DTH subscriber base perks up a bit
BENGALURU: The latest DTH subscriber numbers released by Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) must bring cheer to the private television direct to home (DTH) industry. TRAI recently published quarterly subscriber data as on 30 June 2020. According to the data, the number of pay DTH subscribers using services provided by private DTH operators had declined from a peak of 72.44 million as on 31 March 2019 to a low of 68.92 million during the very next quarter end date – 30 June 2019 because of a change in the way of reckoning active DTH subscribers. Till March 2019, the subscription figure of the total active subscribers included inactive and temporarily suspended subscribers for not more than the last 120 days. However, as per new regulatory framework of Broadcasting and Cable TV Services, the total active subscribers are now counted to include only those subscribers who are inactive/ temporarily suspended for not more than the last 90 days.
Since 30 June 2019, the number of pay DTH subscribers using services provided by private DTH service providers has been increasing slowly until 30 June 2020. As on 30 June 2020, the number of pay DTH subscriber using services provided by private DTH service providers stood at 70.58 million. This is in addition to the subscribers of DD Free Dish (free DTH services of Doordarshan).
Please refer to the chart below:
Further, as on March 2019, the number of private DTH subscribers had fallen to four from five previously. Also, TRAI commenced publication of break up of market share to an accuracy of two decimal percentage places from the quarter ended 30 September 2019 onward. Extrapolating the overall number of pay DTH subscribers using services provided by private DTH operators with the total number of pay DTH subscribers (provided in millions, to two decimal places) and the share percentage of the service providers reveals that except for Dish TV, the other three providers had seen subscriber numbers grow. Besides Dish TV’s slow but steady decline in subscriber numbers during all the four quarters for which data is available, the largest service provider in terms of number of subscribers – Tata Sky witnessed a decline in subscriber numbers in the quarter ended 30 June 2020. Please refer to the figure below:
Cable TV operators
TRAI reports state that the country has achieved 100 percent digitization of cable TV network. This is a stupendous achievement making India the only large country where 100 percent digital cable has been achieved through mandatory regulations.
As on 30 June 2020, there were 1,666 MSOs registered with the ministry of information & broadcasting (MIB) as compared to 1,613 MSO registered as on 31 December 2019. Further, as per the data reported by MSOs/HITS operators, there were 12 MSOs and one HITS operator who had a subscriber base of more than one million. Details of the total active subscribers of these 12 MSOs and one HITS operator are given in the following table. Please refer to chart below:
In the case of cable TV, the largest player Siti Networks seems to be witnessing a slow but steady loss of subscribers since the quarter ended 31 December 2019. Two other players have also witnessed a subscriber declines – Fastway Transmissions Pvt Ltd and Asianet Digital Network, while most others have gained subscribers during the four quarters in this report.
Satellite TV Channels
A total of 909 private satellite TV channels have been permitted by the MIB for uplinking only/ downlinking only/both uplinking and downlinking, as on 30 June 2020. The quarter-wise figures of the total number of TV channels is depicted in the chart given below.
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.
