DTH
DishTV launches ‘Thriller Active’ service on both platforms
India, 4th October 2018: Dish TV India Limited, world’s largest single-country DTH Company, is delighted to introduce a never heard before value added service-‘Thriller Active’ offering best thriller and horror TV shows and movies to Indian audiences on its both brands; DishTV and D2H. The first of its kind service is being offered in partnership with Shemaroo Entertainment Ltd, one of India’s leading filmed entertainment content house. Customers can now enjoy best of thrilling content at channel number 134 on DishTV and D2H platform.
‘Thriller Active’, DishTV’s exciting new offering is available to the subscriber on free preview of 15 days. Post free preview, the viewers can continue to enjoy spine chilling thrillers, television shows and movies at a nominal subscription price of Rs.40+Taxes.
Announcing the new service, Mr. Anil Dua, Group Chief Executive Officer, Dish TV India Limited, said, “Our focus at DishTV and D2H, has always been on innovative content, best value proposition and unique entertainment initiatives. Horror and thriller is a genre that young audiences have a huge appetite for, and we are here to fill the gap for a singular destination for the best of content available in this segment.”
Apart from classic horror shows such as Aahat, Zee Horror Show, Fear Files, a bouquet of unique features await every thriller enthusiast on DishTV and D2H. Further, to make weekends exciting for binge watching, the service brings special thriller, crime and horror series every Saturday and Sunday along with a popular movie.
Hiren Gada, Director – Shemaroo Entertainment Limited said, “We are delighted to tie-up with Dish TV India Ltd to provide this exciting content on its DishTV and D2H platforms. Being a leading content aggregator and owner, our efforts are to serve audiences with exciting content in innovative ways. Bearing the same in mind, the programming of the service has been carefully chosen and hand-picked from Shemaroo’s best thrilling library content.”
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.
