DTH
PayMate partners OnMobile to allow consumers to pay bills via mobile phones
MUMBAI: In the era of digital services the mobile phone can well be referred as man’s best friend for the umpteen tasks it performs. Extending the benefits of this little gadget, mobile commerce solutions company PayMate has recently partnered with OnMobile, a value added services provider, to allow consumers to pay bills via mobile for services available on OnMobile powered voice portals and WAP sites such as Hutch, Airtel, Idea, Reliance, Tata, Fame Cinemas, Adlabs Multiplexes and the 505 platform.
Paymate customers will be able to pay via mobile while shopping, gifting, movie ticketing, airline ticketing and making bill payments on OnMobile powered WAP sites or voice portals. A user selects a product and proceeds to the payment menu wherein PayMate is offered as a mode of payment. The user then has to enter his PayMate PIN and complete the payment process. The user receives an SMS confirming the successful purchase of the product, states an official release.
“PayMate is extremely convenient, easy to use and compatible across all mobile handsets and operators. Most merchants have difficulty in accepting remote payments since customers are apprehensive about sharing credit/ debit card details online or over the phone. This makes PayMate an ideal solution for accepting payments online, over the phone or even at a counter since customers do not have to divulge any credit or debit card details at any time.” says PayMate founder & MD Ajay Adiseshann.
“OnMobile has enabled Paymate to offer its innovative and secure payment service via OnMobile IVR and WAP products to more than 100 million telecom subscribers in India. We will continue to offer more payment options for telecom subscribers” says OnMobile head-mobile commerce Balachandran Unni.
The company is also in the process of tying up with several offline merchants such as telco’s, utilities, insurance companies, cable and broadband services, tele-shopping etc and will be announcing its tie-ups in a phased manner, adds the release.
PayMate is currently being offered to Citibank bank credit card and banking customers and will roll out services with other banks shortly. To use PayMate, Citibank customers need to sign up for this service free with the bank by simply sending “PayMate” as an SMS to 2484. The customer will then be called and registered for the service following which they can pay at any of PayMate’s accredited merchants via a single SMS.
On receiving this SMS, the bank will verify the user’s mobile number with the account and on confirmation will debit the account accordingly. The merchant and the customer will receive a confirmation message from the bank approving the transaction. The entire transaction takes place at the cost of a single premium SMS.
The company ensures a secure payment solution as no credit/debit card information is ever disclosed during the transaction process. The trust model is based on the recommendations by Ernst & Young; which provides the security measures for both the bank as well as the customer.
PayMate is accepted at over 2500 online portals including travel, astrology, electronics, education, jobs, NGOs, apparels, matrimony, entertainment and healthcare etc. PayMate has also announced its tie-ups with Tele-brands, Big Tree (cinema ticketing), Mumbai Gold Cabs, Planet M, CRS Health, Seijo and the Soul Dish, VSNL, Future Bazaar among others.
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.
