DTH
Tata Sky promotes Karaoke service
MUMBAI: Tata Sky had recently announced a new service to its customers- a karaoke service at home! Now, it has come up with an ad campaign to promote its new innovation.
The direct to home (DTH) player has come up with a series of advertisements promoting the service. Of these, one film demonstrates a group of youngsters partying in their room and another shows a family having fun while singing songs on Karaoke. The ad ends with its tagline ‘Kum se kum lyrics toh sahi honge’ (at least the lyrics will be right).
Tata Sky chief commercial officer Vikram Mehra said, “The love for singing and dancing is epitomized by Bollywood movies. Karaoke may be a new activity for a large part of India, but singing as an entertaining and collective activity was never an alien concept. Be it a family function or a night out with friends, singing our favorite Hindi songs in loud chorus adds tremendously to the fun factor of any evening. Capitalising on this sentiment, the Karaoke ads capture the simplicity of tuning into the service any time of the day for non-stop entertainment.”
The concept has been created by agency Ogilvy & Mather(O&M). The professionals who have worked on it include national creative director Abhijit Avasthi and group creative director Sukesh Nayak under production house Curious Films.
Says Avasthi: “Karaoke had to be pitched as a social activity in the realm of enjoyment. While the product was revolutionary we wanted people to see it as on obvious relevant product which seamlessly fits into, rather enhances an already existing moment in their life. Essentially, all we had to do was to let people know the key features of Karaoke that will make fun moments over singing, even more fun.”
Karaoke is available with an HD + set top box. A mic along with 12 month subscription will cost Rs 1990. One album will always be free to sample while new songs will be regularly added.
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.
