DTH
Trai faces QoS issue to ensure improved Cas rollout
NEW DELHI: Many cable households are unhappy with repeated signal failure and Trai is now faced with the issue of what to do about enforcing Quality of Service provisions, sources tell indiantelevision.com.
One of the major confusions in the market in the national Capital is what are the cable operators doing about the billing of chosen channels.
At the moment, the operators are giving all the channels that can be shown in India, and they have been telling the subscribers, those who have filled up the forms indicating their choice, that at the end of the month, they would be charged for what they have indicated in the forms.
“The COs have told us that the programming for each STB is taking time, but they would charge each household what the latter has opted for,” the official said.
He said also that the COs are watching the scenario. “They feel that in a month or two, subscribers might want to drop some channels and want others, or just want more channels than they have opted for now. So then, they would have to do the programming all over again.”
The official felt that the COs want the situation to stabilise before they get into programming for “watch what you pay for”.
However, in many cases, the COs have registered the subscribers and taken the advance charges at the beginning, when they gave the STBs but have so far not returned for collecting the advance fees for February.
“This means subscribers would suddenly be faced with having to pay for two months if the COs do not take the fees for February now,” said an official, agreeing that all this is causing more confusion than is good for the ongoing Cas rollout to regain the traction it has lost quite a bit of recently.
One MSO is not showing contact numbers in the appropriate window when the signal goes off, and still signal loss is quite a regular phenomenon and, though less than in the beginning, there is a lot of pixelisation of images.
The MSOs have so far not raised the issue of QoS being enforced, for reasons best known to them. But they are aware that this is one of the reasons for not just slowdown of Cas rollout, but in many cases, people wanting to return the boxes and settle for just the FTAs.
In a report last week, indiantelevision,com had reported the worries amongst MSOs on these issues, and their informing Trai that broadcasters and they themselves need to do attractive packaging and ensure QoS, but nothing seems to have materialised 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.
