DD Free Dish MPEG-2 auction: India News secures slot for Rs 8.20 crore

India News has bagged one of the two vacant MPEG-2 slots on DD Free Dish during the 90th online e-auction held on Friday, sources told exchange4media.

According to sources, the base price for the slot was set at Rs 8.20 crore. India News emerged as the sole bidder and secured the allotment at this reserve price.

On August 11, Prasar Bharati invited applications for the allotment of vacant MPEG-2 slots on its DD Free Dish DTH platform. The slots are valid for the period from August 29, 2025, to March 31, 2026.

The e-auction was conducted under the E-auction Methodology 2025 for Allotment of DD Free Dish Slots to Private TV Channels, notified by Prasar Bharati on January 3 this year.

Only satellite TV channels with valid permission from the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB) were eligible to participate. International public broadcasters licensed by the Ministry were also permitted.

Bucket Classifications

For allotment, channels were classified into six different buckets:

• Bucket A Plus: Hindi and Urdu General Entertainment Channels (GECs).
• Bucket A: Hindi and Urdu movie channels.
• Bucket B: Hindi and Urdu music and sports channels, Bhojpuri channels, and other genres in Hindi and Urdu.
• Bucket C: Hindi and Urdu news and current affairs channels.
• Bucket D: Devotional, spiritual and Ayush channels; Marathi and Punjabi channels; English news and current affairs channels; and new/relaunched regional channels (except Hindi and Urdu).
• Bucket R: Regional language channels (except Hindi, Urdu, Marathi and Punjabi) listed in Schedule 8 of the Constitution, which are operational on at least one private DTH platform or DD Free Dish, or with a registered MSO.