DTH
The party continues on Tata Sky Mobile app
MUMBAI: The Tata Sky Mobile App streamed every pulsating beat spinning out from the turntables of the EDM scene’s biggest stars to smartphones around the country, as the second day of the Ola Sunburn Festival 2017 turned the volume up on the year’s biggest party.
DJ Snake and the increasingly popular female DJ, Teri Miko, were among the local and international acts performing on the second day of the festival, as track after track of crowd rousing music was pumped out at Pune’s Oxford Golf Resort and on phones around India.
At the Ola Stage, things kicked off with Kash Trivedi, a house music producer dropping his best tracks. He was followed by Krosses, Paratara, Hollaphonic and the final act by Sartek, the first Indian DJ to be featured by Hardwell’s Revealed Recordings.
As the sun set at the Empire of the Sun 2.0 stage, Teri Miko was getting the party started by playing some of her best tracks. Swedish producer Salvatore Ganacci took over from Teri, and then made way for Kayzo, who set the stage for the final act by DJ Snake who got the crowd grooving with his wildly popular track, ‘Lean On’.
Every throbbing beat from the opening day of Ola Sunburn 2017 was streamed live on Tata Sky’s mobile app. India’s leading content distribution platform has tied up with the festival, one of the largest in the world, to bring its eclectic mix of music, entertainment, experiences, celebration and lifestyle straight to the smartphone.
Apart from streaming every second of the action from each of the festival’s four days live, the app, open to all users including non-subscribers, will also showcase nearly 500 hours of additional content, including after movies, artist interviews and exclusive backstage footage.
The sheer depth of content on offer, which will be archived on the app for viewing after the festival ends, will allow EDM fans to fully immerse themselves in the 11th edition of Asia’s largest music festival on-the-go, wherever and whenever they like.
The third day of Ola Sunburn 2017 kicks off Saturday afternoon and will feature 23 acts, including KSHMR, Nucleya and Clean Bandits.
Fans can watch every second of it live on the Tata Sky Mobile App. So, don’t miss out. Download the app now and be a party of the biggest party of the year.
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.
