DTH
Tamil millionaire quiz show to debut today on Sun TV
Another millionaire quiz game show is to make its debut on 11 November. Koteeswaran is, however, a show with a difference: it is the first time that a game show with a prize of Rs 10 million is appearing in a regional Indian language – in Tamil on the Sun TV network.
Sun TV took the precaution of launching a game show when Star TV and Who wants to be a millionaire? rights owner Celador made threatening noises that they would launch several regional language versions of it for Indian language channels. In the process, the network also gained a first mover advantage over Zee TV’s regional language bouquet should it choose to start a game show for its Kannada or Malayalam channels.
The prize money is on a par with Star Plus’ Kaun Banega Crorepati. The show is hosted by Tamil actor R. Sarath Kumar, and will air on Saturday and Sunday evenings. There are 14 questions. Prize money starts at Rs 2,000 and goes up to 10 million rupees.
Sun TV managing director Kalanithi Maran has kept aside a prize budget of Rs 100 million in year one and expects to spend Rs 300 million on the show. The sets have been designed at a cost of Rs 4.5 million by three times national award winner Thota Tharini.
Koteeswaran will launch in Kannada, Malayalam, Telugu languages on the Sun TV network’s channels Udaya, Gemini and Surya TV in the not too distant future.
Every participant has to pass through three zones. In the first zone (three questions) the participant has two choices to choose the right answer for every question. Each question in the second zone (five questions) has three options and in the third zone (six questions) each question has four options.
Participants cannot take recourse to lifelines as there are none available. But they can have something called Koteeswaran charm, which helps in removing some of the wrong options. They can either use it once each in the second and third round or use it twice in the third round.
In the second zone, the participant has to choose the wrong answer.
The show is produced/marketed by a joint venture set up ETC’s Yogesh Radhakrishnan and Suresh Aiyer of Multichannel. Ad rates are at Rs 30,000 for 10 seconds, the highest managed by Sun TV so far.
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.
