DTH
Zee to invest Rs 1 billion by 2005-end in Siticable for DTH and network upgradation
MUMBAI: Zee Telefilms Ltd (ZTL) plans to invest Rs 1 billion in its wholly owned subsidiary Siticable over the next one year to further expand its direct-to-home (DTH) distribution network.
A small portion of the amount will also be spent on upgradation of Siticable’s cable network. This is in addition to Rs 1.5 billion already invested in 2004. Before that, Zee had pumped in Rs 2 billion for its DTH project.
“Zee has already invested Rs 1.5 billion in Siticable this year. The plan is to put in another Rs 1 billion by December 2005,” says Essel Group chief executive officer of corporate strategy and finance Rajiv Garg.
The investment of Rs 2.5 billion since 2004 is being mainly met from the proceeds of the $100 million foreign currency convertible bond Zee raised early this year, says Garg. Further fund requirement will be spent from internal accruals.
Siticable is creating the infrastructure for the DTH operations including billing, subscriber management system services, marketing, call centre operations and expenses towards creating a dealer network. ASC Enterprises, part of the Essel Group, has the licence to provide DTH service and operates it under the Dish TV brand.
Dish TV has 160,000 subscribers and is offering 100 channels. “We are adding 20,000-25,000 subscribers a month. Our aim is to increase our offerings to 144 channels by December 2005,” says Garg.
Will the entry of Doordarshan’s DTH service with a free bouquet of channels affect Dish TV’s growth? “DD will have a limited offering, with the mainline channels not in the menu. DTH will take off in a big way when conditional access system (CAS) is operational in cable TV. That is when consumers will have to buy a set-top box. This will make them decide which service to take,” says Garg.
What is Dish TV’s target? “We aim to reach one million subscribers by 2005-end. We will achieve a break-even situation when we reach one million DTH subscribers,” says Garg.
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.
