101st DD Free Dish e-auction launched: Reserve price for news channels set at Rs 53.18L

The auction will allocate vacant MPEG-4 slots for the period August 1, 2026, to March 31, 2027

by e4m Staff
Published: Jul 16, 2026 2:01 PM | 4 min read

Prasar Bharati has launched its 101st e-auction for vacant MPEG-4 slots on the DD Free Dish platform, with bidding set to begin on July 23 for slots available from August 1, 2026, to March 31, 2027.
The auction is open to eligible satellite television channels licensed by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, including international public broadcasters, and will follow the E-auction Methodology 2025.
Available slots are categorized into five bidding buckets based on language and genre, with different reserve prices for each category, starting from Rs 4 lakh for regional channels to Rs 53.18 lakh for news channels.
Broadcasters must adhere to strict content compliance, maintaining 75% of programming in the declared language and genre, and must submit various documentation along with a non-refundable processing fee and participation fee to participate in the auction.

Prasar Bharati has announced the mid-year 101st e-auction for allotment of vacant MPEG-4 slots on its free-to-air direct-to-home (DTH) platform DD Free Dish, opening another opportunity for broadcasters to secure carriage on one of India's largest television distribution platforms.

The auction will allocate vacant MPEG-4 slots for the period August 1, 2026, to March 31, 2027, with the online bidding process scheduled to commence on July 23. The public broadcaster has invited applications from eligible satellite television channels licensed by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB), while international public broadcasters licensed by the ministry are also eligible to participate.

The auction will be conducted under Prasar Bharati's E-auction Methodology 2025, notified earlier this year, along with subsequent amendments. The broadcaster has retained the bucket-based allocation mechanism that classifies channels according to language and genre.

Five bidding buckets

The available slots have been divided across five categories.

Regional language entertainment and general entertainment channels are split into three regional buckets:

R1: Tamil, Telugu, Kannada and Malayalam channels already operational and available on at least one private DTH platform, DD Free Dish or a registered MSO.

R2: Punjabi, Marathi, Gujarati, Bengali and Odia channels meeting similar eligibility norms.

R3: Other regional language channels listed under the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution, excluding Hindi and Urdu.

Apart from regional buckets, broadcasters can bid under:

G1: News and current affairs channels.

G2: Non-news and current affairs channels.

Prasar Bharati has made it clear that applicants must submit documentary evidence establishing both the language and genre of their channels. In cases where documentation is ambiguous or conflicting, applications may be declared ineligible. Channels will also be required to maintain programming predominantly in the declared language and genre throughout the allotment period.

Reserve prices unchanged across rounds

The broadcaster has prescribed different reserve prices depending on the bidding round.

The first round, reserved for news channels (G1), carries the highest starting reserve price of Rs 53.18 lakh, with bid increments of Rs 1 lakh.

The second round, for non-news channels (G2), begins at Rs 48.60 lakh, also with Rs 1 lakh bid increments.

For regional categories, reserve prices fall sharply:

R2: Rs 28.78 lakh with Rs 50,000 bid increments.

R3: Rs 4.41 lakh.

R1: Rs 4 lakh.

Eligibility to participate changes after every round, with unsuccessful bidders from higher buckets becoming eligible to compete in subsequent rounds, while winners are excluded from later bidding.

Strict content compliance

Prasar Bharati has tightened compliance around content commitments.

The notice specifies that 75% of a channel's programming must remain in its declared language and genre, excluding advertisements and promotional content. This effectively means that the declared language and genre must account for at least 60% of the total monthly broadcast content.

Any complaints regarding deviation will be examined by a committee constituted by the broadcaster. If violations are established, defaulting channels could face notices, be required to seek approval for genre or language changes, or even lose their DD Free Dish carriage if corrective measures are not taken.

Participation fee and documentation

Broadcasters must pay a non-refundable online processing fee of Rs 25,000, along with a participation fee of Rs 3 lakh, payable through demand draft or electronic transfer. For applicants in the R1 and R3 buckets, the participation fee will be 60% of the starting reserve price or Rs 3 lakh, whichever is lower.

Applications must include MIB uplinking and downlinking permissions, channel logo approvals, proof of platform availability, programme schedules, authorised signatory documents, an integrity pact, PAN and GST registrations, among other documents.

Key deadlines

Interested broadcasters can submit applications through Prasar Bharati's online portal. However, where participation fees are paid through demand draft, the original instrument, along with application documents, must reach Doordarshan Bhawan in New Delhi by July 21, 2026, at 3 pm.

Prasar Bharati will organise online training sessions for eligible bidders before commencement of the auction.

Payment terms and penalties

Successful bidders will receive a Letter of Allotment and will be required to sign an agreement within 15 days. They must make payments according to the prescribed schedule, failing which overdue amounts will attract 14.5% annual interest.

If dues remain unpaid despite notices, Prasar Bharati may forfeit the participation fee and any instalments already deposited, discontinue the channel from DD Free Dish, and re-auction the vacated slot. Channels failing to commence services within one month of the allotment date also risk cancellation and forfeiture of deposits.

The broadcaster has also reserved the right to reject, amend or cancel the auction process at any stage and said unsuccessful bidders will receive refunds of their participation fee within three weeks after declaration of auction results.