DTH
Prasar Bharati relaxes DD FreeDish fees for FTA channels
MUMBAI: The Covid 2019 pandemic is not just decimating human lives it has also resulted in the broadcasting sector falling sick with shootings ceasing, ad revenues shrivelling, and subscription revenues drying up. To cope up with the rapidly turning toxic business environment, free-to-air (FTA) channels wrote to minister of information & broadcasting Prakash Javadekar in April seeking a waiver of carriage fees on DD Free Dish. Then strangely there was silence from both sides, apart from a few howls from the FTA owners.
Howevever, reports are that the pubcaster has heeded their plea and given them the option to defer their installments for the next three months or pay them partly.
In a letter/email dated 17 May – which is currently available with Indiantelevision.com – Prasar Bharati has stated that a channel can avail of deferment from the requirement of paying the carriage fee in an advance monthly statement, up to three months, subject to it furnishing separate bank guarantees towards the amount of each installment amount with interest after availing of this deferment for three months. This deferment is applicable for May, June and July.
It has also added that the channels have to furnish the bank guarantee by 22 May for the instalment of May and for June, July by 27 May and 27 June respectively. Moreover, if a channel has already paid the instalment for May, it can avail the benefit for the next three months.
Prasar Bharati has also drawn up another option if a channel finds it difficult to furnish a bank guarantee. Instead of paying the full amount of the installments, it can pay 67 per cent of the carriage fee for three months, that is, May, June and July. However, the balance has to be paid later along with the interest with regular installments.
The channels not seeking any of the relaxations have been offered an incentive of 0.5 per cent on the total payment. Moreover, channels which were removed or had opted out of the platform can also come back by availing these relaxations.
There are close to 150 occupants on DD FreeDish. Thanks to the service’s wide reach and availability, Dangal – a regional language channel – has more often than not beaten private satellite Hindi entertainment channels to the top spot in BARC’s ranking.
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.
