Prasar Bharati has mopped up over Rs 79 crore from the sale of seven slots under Bucket D of the DD Free Dish e-auction. 

This bucket comprises all other remaining genres of Hindi, Devotional/ Spiritual/Ayush, all genres of Marathi, Punjabi and Urdu channels and news and current affairs (English) channels. The base price was Rs 6 crore. 

Sources close to the development confirmed six channels that picked up the slots were Zee Chitramandir (Rs 13.40 crore), Zee Punjabi (Rs 12.45 crore), Fakt Marathi (Rs 12.65 crore), Shemaroo MarathiBana (Rs 13 crore), Manoranjan Movies for Rs (13.4 crore), Sanskar TV (Rs 14.6 crore) and Sun Marathi.

Bucket D has eight slots, out of which seven have been sold out. Bidding for the eighth slot will continue today.

ABP Network has picked the last slot on DD Free Dish. According to sources, ABP News secured the last slot on DD FreeDish for Rs 17.10 crore. 

Under Bucket C, which comprises news and current affairs (Hindi) channels, News18, Republic Bharat, TV9, Zee News, NDTV and ABP News bagged the slots. The base price for the bucket was Rs 7 crore.

Prasar Bharati has now made Rs103.15 crore from the six slots under Bucket C. 

The highest price paid in this category was Rs 19.85 crore.

As reported earlier by exchange4media, News18 bought the first slot for Rs 19.85 crore, Republic Bharat secured the second one for Rs 16.55 crore, TV9 took the third slot for Rs 14.55 crore, Zee News bought the fourth slot for Rs 15.5 crore and NDTV bought the slot for Rs 16.55 crore.

ZEEL is likely to repay IndusInd Bank's dues, according to media reports.

The media network is looking to resolve the insolvency proceedings for completing the merger with Sony.

As per media reports, dues amounting to Rs 83.7 crore may be settled on Friday, prompting the bank to withdraw the insolvency proceedings thereafter.

It may be noted that in February the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal stayed the insolvency order against ZEE.

ZEEL CEO Punit Goenka had said that the focus was now on the timely completion of the proposed merger.

On the fourth day of the e-auction for DD Free Dish MPEG-2 slots on Thursday, Prasar Bharati collected Rs 116.9 crore for seven slots. So far, the pubcaster has collected Rs 407.95 crore from the sale of 23 slots.

According to sources, under Bucket B category, which comprises music, sports and Bhojpuri language channels, the last two slots were picked by Zee Ganga for Rs 16.65 crore and Zing for Rs 17.20 crore.

Meanwhile, in an important development, despite the News Broadcasters Federation (NBF) and the News Broadcasters & Digital Association (NBDA) announcing their decision to boycott the auction, News18, Republic Bharat, TV9, Zee News and NDTV bought slots.

As reported earlier by exchange4media, News18 bought the first slot for Rs 19.85 crore, Republic Bharat secured the second one for Rs 16.55 crore, TV9 took the third slot for Rs 14.55 crore, Zee News bought the fourth slot for Rs 15.5 crore and NDTV bought the slot for Rs 16.55 crore. The base price for Bucket C, which comprises news and current affair (Hindi) channels, is Rs 7 crore.

The public broadcaster made Rs191 crore on the second day from 11 slots and Rs 100 crore on the third day from five slots. The first day of the auction was washed out because of a technical glitch.

News18, Republic Bharat, TV9 and Zee News have secured slots on DD Free Dish on the third day of the MPEG-2 e-auction, e4m has learnt from reliable sources. The channels participated in the bidding despite News Broadcasters Federation (NBF) and the News Broadcasters & Digital Association (NBDA) announcing their decision to boycott the process.  

According to the sources, News18 bought the first slot for Rs 19.85 crore, Republic Bharat secured the second one for Rs 16.55 crore, TV9 took the third slot for Rs 14.55 crore and Zee News bought the fourth slot for Rs 15.5 crore. The base price for Bucket C, which comprises news and current affair (Hindi) channels, is Rs 7 crore.

On March 14, the NBF and NBDA, which represent almost all national and regional news channels of the country, decided not to participate in the -auction. In a letter written to I&B Minister Anurag Thakur, the NBF and NBDA stated that the auction procedure was skewed against all news and current affairs channels.

Despite broadcasters' decision to opt out of the DD Free Dish e-auction for the vacant slots of MPEG-2, sources told exchange4media that some news channels have started bidding for them. The first slot under Bucket C, which is for news & current affairs (Hindi) channels, has been picked up for Rs 19.85 crore and the second slot picked up for Rs 16.55 crore. The bidding for the third slot has started.

On March 14, the News Broadcasters Federation (NBF) and the News Broadcasters & Digital Association (NBDA), which represent almost all the national and regional news channels of the country, decided not to participate in the ongoing DD Free Dish MPEG-2 e-auction. In a letter to I&B Minister Anurag Thakur, NBF and NBDA stated that the auction procedure was skewed against all news and current affairs channels. 

This is a developing story.

Prasar Bharati collected Rs 291.05 crore in the first two days of the ongoing e-auction for vacant MPEG-2 slots on DD FreeDish. The public broadcaster made Rs191 crore on the second day and Rs 100 crore on the third day. The first day of the auction was washed out because of a technical glitch.

On the third day of the fifth annual 67th e-auction on Wednesday, five channels bagged slots across Movie genre and Music (Hindi) channels, Sports (Hindi) channels and All Channels of Bhojpuri languages. This year, each category has six slots as against 14 slots each in the previous year.

According to industry sources, who were also the part of bidding process, the last slot in Bucket A category (Movies genre) set a record of sorts, with Zee Anmol Cinema paying Rs 24.05 crore for it. This is the highest price ever paid in the history of DD Free Dish for a slot in the genre, claim sources. The amount is more than double the base price of Rs 12 crore set for a slot in the category.

The sources also shared that there was fierce bidding for this slot which went on for almost three hours, which again is a first in the history of Free Dish auction. Never has the bidding for a slot lasted this long.

Meanwhile, under Bucket B, comprising Music (Hindi) channels, Sports (Hindi) channels and All Channels of Bhojpuri languages, four slots were secured on Wednesday. Sports18, MTV Beats, Zee Biskope and Mastii bagged the slots. The highest price, Rs 21.2 crore, in this category was paid by Zee Bsikope so far. The base price of a slot in this category is Rs 10 crore. 

The bidding for the remaining slots in the category will take place today.