170 new TV channel permissions, but India adds just one private channel in six years

India had 919 private satellite television channels as of March 31, 2026, just one more than the 918 recorded in 2019-20, even as the government issued permissions for 170 new channels over the six-year period, according to the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting's Statistical Handbook on Media & Entertainment Sector 2025-26.

The 919 channels are the highest recorded in the handbook's series, which begins in 2004-05. The previous high was 918 channels in 2019-20.

The data indicates that while new permissions have continued to be issued, the overall number of private satellite channels has remained broadly flat, reflecting a churn in the sector rather than sustained expansion in the channel base.

Channel count fluctuated over six years

The number of private satellite channels fell to 914 in 2020-21 and declined further to 898 in 2021-22. It subsequently recovered to 905 in 2022-23 and 912 in 2023-24 before slipping to 908 in 2024-25.

The count then increased by 11 channels in 2025-26 to reach 919.

On a year-on-year basis, the changes were a decline of four channels in 2020-21, a decline of 16 in 2021-22, followed by increases of seven each in 2022-23 and 2023-24, a decline of four in 2024-25 and an increase of 11 in 2025-26.

Taken together, these annual changes resulted in a net addition of just one channel between 2019-20 and 2025-26.

The near-flat growth also predates the pandemic. The number of private satellite channels rose from 130 in 2004-05 to 505 in 2009-10 and 822 in 2011-12. Growth subsequently slowed, with the count at 852 in 2012-13 and 859 in 2013-14. It fell to 821 in 2014-15 before rising to 847 in 2015-16 and 899 in 2016-17.

From 899 channels in 2016-17, the number has increased by only 20 channels, or about 2.2%, over nine years. Compared with 2011-12, the increase over 14 years is 97 channels, or about 11.8%.

“Launching and sustaining a linear television channel has become significantly more difficult as advertising revenues have fragmented across television, digital and connected TV. The issue is no longer the availability of a licence but whether there is a viable business case to operate the channel,” said a senior media industry executive.

170 permissions issued since 2020-21

The government's annual licensing data shows that new channel permissions have continued to be issued despite the limited increase in the operating channel count.

New permissions stood at 36 in 2020-21, 34 in 2021-22, 29 in 2022-23, 23 in 2023-24, 19 in 2024-25 and 29 in 2025-26. This amounts to 170 permissions over six years.

The difference between the 170 new permissions and the net addition of one channel suggests significant churn in the channel base during the period. An arithmetic comparison of the two tables implies exits of about 40 channels in 2020-21, 50 in 2021-22, 22 in 2022-23, 16 in 2023-24, 23 in 2024-25 and 18 in 2025-26.

However, the handbook does not separately report closures, surrenders or cancellations. These figures therefore represent the mathematical difference between new permissions and changes in the total channel count and should not be treated as reported closure figures.

Further, a permission issued in a particular year may not necessarily have resulted in an operating channel being counted in that same year.

The annual data nevertheless shows a broad correlation between permissions and changes in the channel count. The lowest number of new permissions during the period, 19 in 2024-25, coincided with a four-channel decline in the total count. New permissions increased to 29 in 2025-26, when the channel count rose by 11.

News and current affairs account for 45% of channels

Of the 919 private satellite channels in 2025-26, 418 were classified as news and current affairs channels, while 501 were non-news channels.

Indian channels accounted for 882 of the total, comprising 406 news channels and 476 non-news channels. Foreign channels accounted for 37 channels, including 12 news and current affairs channels and 25 non-news channels.

The handbook identifies Aaj Tak as the first private satellite channel, with permission granted on December 4, 2000.

The government issued uplinking and downlinking guidelines in 2005, revised them in 2011 and issued another revision on November 9, 2022. The handbook does not establish a direct link between these regulatory changes and the movement in the number of private satellite channels.

Channel permission fee revenue remains volatile

Revenue from channel permissions has also fluctuated during the period. According to the handbook, this revenue includes teleport annual permission fees, temporary uplinking fees and fees related to post-permission changes.

Revenue stood at ₹85 crore in 2019-20 and declined to ₹75.56 crore in 2023-24. It then increased sharply to ₹105.39 crore in 2024-25, the highest figure in the series beginning 2016-17.

In 2025-26, revenue stood at ₹86.81 crore, although the handbook notes that the figure covers only three quarters.

The increase in revenue in 2024-25 came even as the number of new channel permissions fell to 19 and the total number of private satellite channels declined by four.

“The decline in the number of channels reflects consolidation and exits from segments where monetisation has weakened. With audiences increasingly moving to digital platforms and content consumption becoming more fragmented, smaller and niche channels are finding it harder to sustain distribution and advertising costs,” said a senior television distribution executive.

Television revenue declines as digital expands

The channel numbers come against a broader shift in the media market. Sector estimates cited in the handbook, based on EY-FICCI reports, show television revenue declining from ₹788 billion in 2019 to ₹617 billion in 2025, a reduction of about 22%.

Television revenue fell from ₹711 billion in 2023 to ₹679 billion in 2024 and ₹617 billion in 2025. The estimates are based on calendar years and are reported gross of taxes, and therefore do not directly correspond to the fiscal-year channel-count data.

At the same time, digital media revenue reached ₹1,110 billion in 2025, according to the estimates cited in the handbook.

The data places the largely stagnant private satellite channel base alongside a television market that has contracted in value while digital media has continued to expand.

DTH operators and Free Dish

The distribution landscape has also changed. The handbook's licence-fee table records four DTH operators in 2025-26, compared with six operators through 2017-18.

DD Free Dish, the public service broadcaster's free-to-air satellite television platform, carried 108 private channels in occupied slots as of March 31, 2026. Six additional slots were listed as vacant.

The figures underline the difference between the continued availability of permissions for satellite television channels and the much smaller net expansion in the number of channels actually reflected in the government's annual channel count.