DTH
PlanetCast achieves tier 3 certification from WTA
MUMBAI: PlanetCast has achieved tier 3 certification for its New Delhi Teleport under WTA’s Teleport Certification Programme by The World Teleport Association (WTA.
Since its introduction at IBC 2015, the certification programme has quickly become popular. Starting with one certified facility in 2015, the programme has added 40 teleports in 3 years, and at present has 12 teleports engaged in the quality evaluation process. Certifications have been issued to teleports operated by Servicio Satelital, USEI, AXESS Networks (AXESS), STN, Eutelsat, du, COMSAT, Optus, Elara Comunicaciones, GlobalSat, Talia, Telenor, Telespazio, Vivacom, Cyta, Singtel, CETel, Etisalat, Hawaii Pacific Teleport, Intelsat, Speedcast, Telstra, Primacom, Santander Teleport and Arqiva. The industry has quickly adopted the transparent, independently verified standards as a means for teleports to differentiate themselves and for customers to choose the price-performance level suitable for their applications.
To achieve provisional certification, a teleport operator completes a +170-item questionnaire and submits it to WTA. The Association analyzes the data based on standards established by its certification committee and issues the provisional certification based on the self-reported information. The teleport then has six months to achieve full certification, for which an auditor is dispatched to visit the teleport, provide independent validation of the data submitted in the questionnaire, and identify additional factors that may positively or negatively affect the score. Full certification is issued at a tier number from 1 through 4, of which 4 represents the highest degree of excellence, and remains in effect for 3 years.
Planetcast founder director MN Vyas said, “We operate the largest teleport in this part of the world and we are providing services to top broadcasters across the globe. The certification received from WTA is a part of our continued efforts to create an environment of high quality services emerging from India.”
“With the addition of PlanetCast, WTA has fully certified teleports operating in the US, Columbia, Mexico, Dubai, the UAE, the UK, Germany, France, Spain, Italy, Norway, Slovenia, Bulgaria, Australia, Indonesia, India and Singapore,” said executive director Robert Bell. “The growth of the program speaks to its value as a market differentiator and the value of the insight it gives operators into the strengths and weaknesses of their facilities and procedures.”
WTA’s Teleport Certification Programme serves both teleport operators and their customers by creating an objective, transparent, and internationally accepted method for teleport operators to document the quality of their operations for customers and strategic partners. It also provides a means for customers to select teleport vendors delivering the price-performance level that is appropriate for their applications.
DTH
DD Free Dish e-auction heats up with 26 MPEG-2 slots sold in two days
Hindi movies, GEC and news dominate; Star Utsav Movies tops Day 2 at Rs 213.45 crore
MUMBAI- The bidding war on DD Free Dish is turning into a blockbuster and the slots are selling faster than popcorn at interval. Prasar Bharati’s 8th annual MPEG-2 e-auction delivered another strong day on Tuesday, with 18 more channels securing spots across movies, regional music and news buckets, taking the two-day total to 26.
Day 2 belonged to the movies and news categories. In Bucket A (Hindi Movies), Star Utsav Movies led the pack at Rs 213.45 crore, pipped only narrowly by Zee Action at Rs 213.4 crore. Goldmines landed at Rs 13.35 crore and Zee Anmol at Rs 13.3 crore, showing razor-thin price bands and fierce competition. Bucket B saw Zee Bioscope top at Rs 10.6 crore, Bhojpuri Cinema Rs 10.5 crore, B4U Bhojpuri Rs 10.2 crore, while Showbox, Unique TV and B4U Music each closed at Rs 10.25 crore.
News channels in Bucket C stayed tightly bunched: NDTV, Aaj Bharat, Zee News and India TV all secured slots at Rs 8.6 crore, with News Nation and ABP News slightly higher at Rs 8.65 crore. Bucket D rounded out with Russia Today at Rs 9.75 crore and GTC Punjabi at Rs 7.92 crore.
Day 1 had already set a premium tone, with eight slots snapped up – six in Bucket A+ (Hindi/Urdu GEC, starting reserve Rs 15 crore) and two in Bucket A (Hindi/Urdu Movies, starting Rs 12 crore). Sony PAL topped Day 1 winners at Rs 16.55 crore, Star Utsav Rs 16.25 crore, Shemaroo TV Rs 16.35 crore, Zee Anmol, Colors Rishtey and Sun Neo at Rs 16.40 crore each. Sony WAH took a Bucket A slot at Rs 13.95 crore and Zee Anmol Cinema at Rs 13.45 crore.
The surge reflects broadcasters’ hunger for DD Free Dish’s estimated 43–45 million rural and semi-urban households, where Hindi GEC and movies remain advertising goldmines.
The auction runs under the revised E-auction Methodology 2025 (amended 9 January 2026), with escalating reserves – Round 2 Bucket A+ at Rs 16 crore, Round 3 Bucket A at Rs 13 crore – and stricter eligibility to weed out speculative bids. Channels must be operational, available in the relevant language, and already carried on at least one private DTH, DD Free Dish or registered MSO.
With premium genres flying off the shelf, the coming rounds will test how deep pockets really are as reserves climb and tactical down-bidding gets harder. In India’s largest free-to-air universe, these auctions aren’t just about slots – they’re about who gets to stay on the screen that reaches deepest into the heartland.






