DTH
DishTV introduces Dance Active Service
Mumbai: DishTV, Asia’s largest DTH player, has set the stage for millions of aspiring dancers of the country to pursue their passion by launching the new ‘Dance Active’ service on their platform. With this introduction DishTV will enable its strong subscriber base of 15.7 million (Net) to actively follow their interests and go beyond conventional TV Entertainment. DishTV continues its legacy of enhancing subscriber experience by providing such unique services.
Dance Active, the latest addition to DishTV’s exciting pool of active services will provide dancing lessons to all the dance enthusiasts and enable them to learn different dance forms in the comfort of their living rooms.
Powered by ‘Dance with Madhuri’, Dish TV’s Dance Active service will provide 100+ hours of dance content. Subscribers can choose any dance form as per their choice and preference from a repertoire of Dance styles ranging from Indian Classical like Kathak, Bharatanatyam, to Western forms like Jazz, Contemporary, Hip Hop, Salsa, Bachata and freestyle Bollywood. With the support from gurus such as Pt. Birju Maharaj, Saroj Khan, Terence Lewis, Remo D’Souza and other renowned choreographers from India, Dance Active aims at becoming a one stop destination for learning all kinds of dance forms giving it a truly global appeal.
“Speaking about the new active service, Mr. Anil Dua, Group Chief Executive Officer DishTV said “DishTV stands for quality and commitment, and being the largest DTH brand in the country, we believe in providing a wide range of content and services to our subscribers and enriching their experience. The launch of Dance Active service is yet another step by us to enhance our value added services (VAS) portfolio and cater to a wider audience set. Having received very positive response from our earlier active services, we take immense pleasure in announcing the launch of this service which will offer an opportunity to the subscribers to learn and indulge in the magic of dance simply through their television screens”
Commenting on the launch of Dance Active, Mr. Sukhpreet Singh, Senior Vice President, DishTV said “Dish TV is the largest platform which enables subscribers to go beyond entertainment and actively pursue their passions. DishTV’s partnership with ‘Dance with Madhuri’ provides a fascinating opportunity for subscribers to learn from and match their steps with some of the best choreographers in the country. We are happy to have collaborated with Ms. Madhuri Dixit and her magnificent team as Madhuri Dixit is a renowned personality of Bollywood and an iconic dancer in India.”
Commenting on Dance with Madhuri’s association with DishTV’s Dance Active Service, Madhuri Dixit said, “Our vision for ‘Dance with Madhuri’ is to take the passion of dance to everyone and we believe our collaboration with Dish TV will ensure that millions of people can now learn how to dance right in their living rooms. We put in a lot of effort to create an amazing team of choreographers who help us bring this vision to life. So excited to launch this service!”
Dance Active will be available on Channel No. 454 at an attractive price of just Rs.45 (All inclusive). The service will be available for free preview from 14th Nov’17- 28th Nov’17. Valued subscribers of DishTV can avail Dance Active service by a simple missed call on 18002700214 from registered telephone number.
DTH
DD Free Dish e-auction heats up with 26 MPEG-2 slots sold in two days
Hindi movies, GEC and news dominate; Star Utsav Movies tops Day 2 at Rs 213.45 crore
MUMBAI- The bidding war on DD Free Dish is turning into a blockbuster and the slots are selling faster than popcorn at interval. Prasar Bharati’s 8th annual MPEG-2 e-auction delivered another strong day on Tuesday, with 18 more channels securing spots across movies, regional music and news buckets, taking the two-day total to 26.
Day 2 belonged to the movies and news categories. In Bucket A (Hindi Movies), Star Utsav Movies led the pack at Rs 213.45 crore, pipped only narrowly by Zee Action at Rs 213.4 crore. Goldmines landed at Rs 13.35 crore and Zee Anmol at Rs 13.3 crore, showing razor-thin price bands and fierce competition. Bucket B saw Zee Bioscope top at Rs 10.6 crore, Bhojpuri Cinema Rs 10.5 crore, B4U Bhojpuri Rs 10.2 crore, while Showbox, Unique TV and B4U Music each closed at Rs 10.25 crore.
News channels in Bucket C stayed tightly bunched: NDTV, Aaj Bharat, Zee News and India TV all secured slots at Rs 8.6 crore, with News Nation and ABP News slightly higher at Rs 8.65 crore. Bucket D rounded out with Russia Today at Rs 9.75 crore and GTC Punjabi at Rs 7.92 crore.
Day 1 had already set a premium tone, with eight slots snapped up – six in Bucket A+ (Hindi/Urdu GEC, starting reserve Rs 15 crore) and two in Bucket A (Hindi/Urdu Movies, starting Rs 12 crore). Sony PAL topped Day 1 winners at Rs 16.55 crore, Star Utsav Rs 16.25 crore, Shemaroo TV Rs 16.35 crore, Zee Anmol, Colors Rishtey and Sun Neo at Rs 16.40 crore each. Sony WAH took a Bucket A slot at Rs 13.95 crore and Zee Anmol Cinema at Rs 13.45 crore.
The surge reflects broadcasters’ hunger for DD Free Dish’s estimated 43–45 million rural and semi-urban households, where Hindi GEC and movies remain advertising goldmines.
The auction runs under the revised E-auction Methodology 2025 (amended 9 January 2026), with escalating reserves – Round 2 Bucket A+ at Rs 16 crore, Round 3 Bucket A at Rs 13 crore – and stricter eligibility to weed out speculative bids. Channels must be operational, available in the relevant language, and already carried on at least one private DTH, DD Free Dish or registered MSO.
With premium genres flying off the shelf, the coming rounds will test how deep pockets really are as reserves climb and tactical down-bidding gets harder. In India’s largest free-to-air universe, these auctions aren’t just about slots – they’re about who gets to stay on the screen that reaches deepest into the heartland.
