DTH
Tata Sky partners with Vedantu to empower JEE & NEET aspirants
Mumbai: Content distribution and Pay TV platform Tata Sky has partnered with Vedantu to make quality education accessible and affordable to students across India.
For ease of access to the content, the service is also made available on the Tata Sky mobile app. Aspirants can learn and repeat batches, get access to catch-up and On-Demand content including syllabus revision, tests, class notes, among others. Students can also pose a question and have doubts addressed by expert Master Teachers from Vedantu. The service will also provide exam preparation material that can be accessed via the app. Furthermore, subscribers to Tata Sky will receive a special discount on Vedantu’s Live learning programs and be able to access Live classes, curriculums, course revision material etc.
Commenting on the launch of the service, Tata Sky’s chief commercial and content officer, Pallavi Puri, said, “TV has the ability to reach mass audiences across the country. Delivering quality education through TV will not only benefit the maximum number of aspirants but will also take care of the lack of broadband availability which is faced by students from smaller towns and rural areas.”
“Competitive exams require a designated method of preparation. Together with Vedantu, we are providing access to course materials, resources, quality instructors to diverse populations from a variety of backgrounds, abilities, and learning preferences, thereby bringing superior education several steps closer to the aspirants,” she further added.
As per the partnership, two dedicated linear platform services– Tata Sky JEE Prep and Tata Sky NEET Prep– will cater to students from classes 9th to 10th for foundation preparation (IIT, NEET, NTSE, Olympiads) and core syllabus for 11th to 12th IIT JEE Main, JEE Advanced (engineering), and NEET (medical). The learning will be delivered by Vedantu’s Master Teachers including academics from IIT and AIIMS with proven track records in teaching. The medium of teaching will be a mix of English and Hindi.
Vedantu’s COO, Arvind Singhal, said, “30 million-plus students across K-12 and test preparation segments every month benefit from Vedantu’s LIVE learning. This partnership is another step in the direction of our vision of taking quality education to every household at affordable prices.”
In addition to providing students with a fun and engaging learning experience, the classes will also include interactive quizzes that students respond to using the TV remote.
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.
