DTH
Star, Zee at odds on DTH set top specifications
NEW DELHI: The issue of standardisation of set-top boxes for KU-band direct-to-home (DTH) television service continues to be a thorny issue contributing to a delay in the start of any such venture in India.
The Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) — as it happened again in a meeting on Thursday — is finding it difficult to make any sort of recommendation to the Indian government on the STBs owing to a lack of consensus amongst the various stakeholders in the industry.
“One of the main stumbling blocks has been the clause in the DTH policy guidelines that mandates an open architecture for the STBs,” a senior BIS official, on condition of anonymity, told indiantelevision.com after yesterday’s over two-hour meeting, adding that rival broadcasters have been staunchly sticking to their opposite stand on interoperability, amongst other issues, which is making the Bureau’s task difficult.
Is interoperability possible, as has been mandated in the guidelines by the Indian government? Experts opine that that technically it is possible, but practically an ‘open’ box is rarely used for DTH anywhere in the world as it does not make huge investments in such projects a viable proposition.
Yesterday’s meeting was attended by a strong team from Star, including the Hong Kong-based Altaf Ali Mohammed, president digital platforms group, who oversees its DTH project, representatives from ASC Enterprise/Zee and CETMA , among others.
Since no decision could be arrived at yesterday, another meeting has been called for on 28 April where BIS has said it should be decided how things can be taken forward, including a consensus on interoperability. BIS is also of the viewpoint that it has to work within the limitations of the policy guidelines and things mandated therein.
“If the DTH players are so upset with the guidelines, then they should petition the government to go in for modifications. BIS cannot recommend such a step and it will work within the framework of the policy,” the BIS official explained.
The open architecture conundrum, as rightly pointed out by BIS, is the result of lack of consensus on the issue.
At one end of the spectrum is media baron Rupert Murdoch’s pan-Asian venture Star Group that has applied to the Indian government for a DTH licence through a company called Space TV. Star’s stand from the beginning has been that open architecture is a non-starter and this clause should be changed if the BIS sub-committee, examining this issue at the behest of the information and broadcasting ministry, recommends so to the government.
At the other end of the DTH spectrum is Murdoch’s one time Indian ally, Subhash Chandra, sometimes also referred to as Asia’s Rupert Murdoch by South-East Asia based newsmagazines.
While Space TV is yet to get a nod from the government on the DTH licence issue, one of Chandra’s companies, ASC Enterprise, having got the green signal for DTH and the official letter from the I&B ministry recently, is taking a stand that it would do everything as per rules specified in the guidelines. This also includes going in for interoperability where the boxes are concerned.
This divergent view has thrown a spanner in Star’s scheme of things, which has also been petitioning that another clause in the guidelines relating to revenue sharing with the government should be modified. And rightly so also.
A typical DTH venture would attract investment between $ 400-500 million. Having invested such a sum, no media organisation would like to throw away the advantage of captive subscribers. Moreover, as Star has pointed out, since such ventures take a long time to break-even, the 10 per cent annual revenue sharing should be modified to profit sharing.
In India, despite small steps forward, DTH at present continues to be DTN (direct to nowhere).
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.
