DTH
Tata Sky’s celebrity association: Key to increasing sales
MUMBAI: ‘Isko laga dala toh life jingalala’ was one line that caught the attention of the entire country. To add to it, DTH operator Tata Sky got on board Bollywood celebrity Aamir Khan to endorse the product in his inimitable style. Last year, it took a u-turn to the south and roped in Kerala film star Mohanlal to do the trick in the Malayalam market and recently it tapped into the north east section of the country with popular singer Papon.
While Khan endorsed the product years ago, Mohanlal was taken up only last year and Papon was roped in during the 2014 FIFA World Cup to send the message of Tata Sky into areas where it hasn’t gained traction. Mohanlal was used extensively across the state through TVCs, van activations and outdoor hoardings. “We wanted to tell that Tata Sky is as much a Malayalam brand as it is in other parts of the country. So we wanted a name that would connect not just with the audience but with the brand offering as well. We had Mohanlal speak to the family audience after he tested our product and approved its quality,” says Tata Sky CCO Vikram Mehra.
Simultaneously it launched 19 Malayalam channels and set up sales and services structure in the state including 3000 dealers across 10 districts along with service partners and call centre executives trained in the local language. The perception of the brand was that it had less Malayalam channels and poor infrastructure. The TVC with Mohanlal sought to communicate a new message- ‘there can be arguments on many things but no arguments on our set top boxes’. A year on, Mehra says that its sales in the area have multiplied by 800 per cent.
Taking advantage of the FIFA fever in June 2014, Tata Sky went ahead and introduced HD and personal video recorder (PVR) along with its latest innovation of streaming Tata Sky channels on the laptop. “With these products, we wanted to associate with someone who could talk to the youth segment,” says Mehra. Hence, popular singer Papon’s photo was spread across print, outdoor and digital with a lot of stress on the former.
The result was a 110 per cent increase in sales in the seven sister states with a lot of it coming from its laptop viewing service. Phone and iPad service did not pick up well.
Soon, the operator is looking to unite itself with two more personalities. “We will be making an announcement soon regarding two other south Indian markets,” says Mehra.
This apart, Tata Sky also undertakes several associations for its ‘home’ channel, targeting markets at a time. The personalities roped in for promotion of the home channel include former cricketer Navjot Singh Siddhu and actors Nina Gupta and Richa Chadda. According to Mehra, personalities are used depending on the market, the product and whether there is a need for a famous face to be associated with the product.
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Several researches are conducted for particular markets as well as on a regular basis. Regular research is done with GFK Mode and Nielsen as and when required. “I personally visit 300 customer homes every year for feedback,” says Mehra. The core team of 14 people ensures that every month 3 million Tata Sky homes are reached out to, to know their feedback on its services.
Surveys are conducted for all states individually every month and the market is analysed over two or three years. Simultaneously its product offerings are also studied in terms of consumer reception.
This involves third party agencies reaching out to random sample size of people who are ready to buy a DTH set top box and ask them which brand will they buy and why? This is termed as ‘intention to buy score’. The measurement is done comparing ‘intention to buy score’ to the actual sale in that area.
Similarly, Tata Sky also introduced six new Odiya channels to promote that it is not only great in customer service but also its channel offerings.
A few years ago, this wouldn’t have been so easy, since it hadn’t been getting the additional transponder space from the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). But now that has been overcome by using MPEG-4 technology compression.
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.
