DTH
Sify capitalises on TV’s talent hunt craze as auditions go online
MUMBAI: Aspiring contestants waiting for endless hours in maddeningly long queues, organisers struggling to cope with the logistics pressure and complications – all kinds of chaos break loose when television channels conduct their national auditions for talent hunt shows.
Sify Limited has spotted a good revenue opportunity here and is offering to make the whole process much simpler with the use of its national Iway network.
The company has already associated with national networks such as Star India and Zee to offer them online solutions for the audition process. For example, Zee TV has associated with Sifymax for the video auditions of its upcoming talent hunt show Cinestars. The auditions will be held in 154 cities across India using the technology edge of Sify’s 3400 plus iWay cyber cafes.
Similarly, Star India’s Vijay TV conducted video auditions for its comic hunt Kalakka Povadu Yaaru 2 (KPY 2) through Sify Iways in June.
“Sify is ideally positioned with the Sify Iway network (over 3000 Iways across 154 cities) and the broadband portal, SifyMax.com, to manage massive customer video interaction activity like the Zee CineStar activity. The customer can take the tutorial on SifyMax and the auditions can be recorded at the Iways or uploaded online on SifyMax.com. The customer is charged for these services,” explains Sify Ltd Portals president V Sivaramakrishnan.
Zee TV marketing head Tarun Mehra agrees, “Zee Cinestars is an all India contest and understandably the auditions demand a lot of hard work. But, with the help of Sifymax, we have simplified the whole process. The technology lessens the load and this helps us to channelise our resources to the other areas of the project.”
Sify will be soon exploring the facility for an in-house talent hunt, the Net Jockey Hunt. The contest will be conducted at popular Malls in Mumbai for its city specific broad band portal www.mumbailive.in.
Speaking on the strategy, Sivaramakrishnan offers, “Without any registration /subscription fee, we reach out and offer value added services (entertainment and information content in video format) to this segment. Almost 34 per cent of the Sifymax users access the internet via cyber cafe, through the Sify Iway cyber café chain. Hence we are leveraging on this huge strength.”
On the revenue front, Sify is expected to push this revenue model to deliver this fiscal. However, Sivaramakrishnan refuses to divulge the target. “It is early days to comment on this,” he says.
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.
