DTH
Prasar Bharati invites applications for allotment of MPEG-4 Slots on DD Freedish DTH platform
Mumbai: Prasar Bharati has announced the opening of applications for the allocation of vacant MPEG-4 slots on the DD Freedish DTH platform for the period from 1 August 2024, to 21 March 2025.
The 80th e-auction for these slots is tentatively scheduled for 24 July 2024.
The e-auction will be open to channels of all genres and languages, with a reserve price set at Rs 1,34,49,000. This auction will follow the e-auction methodology for the allocation of DD Freedish slots to private TV channels, as outlined by Prasar Bharati on 27 January 2023, and amended on 13 December 2023. Details can be found on the Prasar Bharati website.
Prasar Bharati has stated in its notice that interested broadcasters should apply online at https://fdslots.prasarbharati.org, where they must upload all required documents as specified in the application.
Applicants must pay a non-refundable processing fee of Rs 25,000 online through the portal. Additionally, a participation fee of Rs 10,00,000 is required, which must be paid via demand draft.
Unsuccessful bidders will receive a refund of the participation fee within three weeks following the e-auction results. Successful bidders will be issued a ‘Letter of Allotment’ by Prasar Bharati after the auction.
The e-auction for the vacant DD Freedish MPEG-2 slots, initially scheduled for 16 July 2024, has been rescheduled to 24 July 2024, according to sources close to the development who informed BestMediaInfo.com.
Applications for these slots were opened by Prasar Bharati on July 8, 2024, for the period from 24 July 2024, to 31 March 2025. The deadline for submitting applications, initially set for 15 July has now been extended to 23 July 2024.
DTH Operator
JC Flowers withdraws NCLT plea against Dish TV over EGM demand
Move eases pressure on DTH firm as long-running shareholder dispute cools
MUMBAI: In a breather for Dish TV India, JC Flowers Asset Reconstruction has withdrawn its petition before the National Company Law Tribunal seeking directions to convene an extraordinary general meeting.
The development was disclosed by Dish TV in a regulatory filing, confirming that the petitioner chose to withdraw the case during a hearing at the Mumbai bench of the tribunal. A detailed order from the bench is still awaited.
The petition, originally filed under Sections 98 to 100 of the Companies Act, 2013, sought to push for an extraordinary general meeting to address governance issues at the company. The case had its roots in a prolonged shareholder tussle dating back to 2021, when Yes Bank, then the largest shareholder, was at odds with the promoter group led by Subhash Chandra over board reconstitution.
JC Flowers had stepped into the picture as an assignee of Yes Bank’s stressed assets, effectively continuing the legal push initiated earlier. The withdrawal now signals a pause, if not a closure, to that chapter of dispute.
While the reasons behind the withdrawal have not been formally detailed, the move reduces immediate legal pressure on Dish TV, which has been navigating both operational and regulatory challenges in recent years.
For now, the focus shifts back to the company’s business fundamentals, even as the legal dust settles, at least temporarily, on one of its more closely watched shareholder battles.
