DTH
Reliance Digital TV joins hands with Visiware to power iGames service
NEW DELHI: Reliance Digital TV has partnered with Visiware to power iGames service on its DTH platform.
Reliance Digital TV’s customers will have access to a richer and improved gaming experience with twice the number of games for the same price. Accessible through the Interactive button on the remote control, the iGames service does not require any additional equipment.
The portal offers a selection of 16 games split up in four genres primarily for people between 8 – 25 years old to enjoy. Each category proposes four different games selected out of a 300-game catalogue. The portal is updated with two games getting refreshed every month.
The games include Adventure with arcade and action titles with hundreds of levels to conquer, Board & Cards with classics such as Solitaire and Freecell; Brain Teasers with mind boggling thinking references; and Sports with games like Football and Basketball amongst others.
Reliance Digital TV’s customers can subscribe through phone or SMS to one of the two available offers. They can either select the monthly option at Rs 34 a month or the quarterly option at Rs101 for three months with the fourth month free.
iGames’s revamp and enhancement bring new additional features. The portal is updated every month with two new games replacing old ones without any fee necessary for both the monthly and the quarterly subscribers.
Reliance Digital TV business head Ashutosh M Srivastava said, “We are glad to partner with Visiware and confident of introducing a completely new breed of TV gaming on iGames platform. The advantage with Reliance Digital TV gaming service is that it is easily accessible, affordable and can be enjoyed by every member of the family with no age bar. This opens up a large market, not only in the larger cities, but also in the Tier II-Tier III cities and small towns.”
“With this new launch, in partnership with a major DTH network such as Reliance Digital TV, we take another defining step into the Indian market. We are really delighted that our games will bring real interactivity to the Indian television market and for Visiware and Reliance Digital TV this is the perfect team in order to propose a really good and innovative interactive TV offer. The size of the distribution is critical in this market and we are very proud to be partners of all the top operators across Europe, America and Asia,” added Visiware CEO Colas Overkott.
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.
