MIB asks Dish TV to pay Rs 6735 cr as licence fee; DTH provider disputes it

The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB) has directed Dish TV India, Direct-to-Home (DTH) service provider, to pay Rs 6,735 crore towards accumulated licensing fees up to FY24, a demand the company has firmly contested.

This directive, issued on April 22, 2025, comes amid a long-standing legal tussle between Dish TV and the ministry over the computation, applicability, and interest on license fees, a dispute that has persisted since 2015 and continues to weigh heavily on the company’s financial stability.

The dispute centres on how the license fee is calculated and whether interest should be applied.

While declaring its annual financial result for the year 2024-25, Dish TV said that despite the ongoing legal proceedings, the MIB issued a notice to it on April 22, 2025, demanding a payment of ₹6,735.67 crore towards licence fee.

This amount covers the licence fee from the inception of Dish TV’s license up to the financial year 2023–24 and includes interest up to March 31, 2025.

However, the ministry acknowledged that the figure is subject to reconciliation based on the outcome of a CAG audit and the pending court decisions. Dish TV has formally disputed this demand.

Dish TV has challenged both the methodology and the imposition of interest in a writ petition filed before the High Court of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh. The court granted interim protection to the company in October 2015, which remains in force while the matter is sub judice. Other DTH operators, including Videocon d2h—acquired by Dish TV in 2017–18—have filed similar writs currently pending before the Supreme Court.

The situation was further complicated when the company received a letter from the CAG in January 2023 seeking to audit the license fees. Dish TV contested the audit’s scope and filed a petition against it in the High Court of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh. The court granted a stay on the audit in March 2023, which remains in effect.

The DTH provider said that it has made a significant provision in its accounts to reflect the potential liability arising from the dispute.

“As of March 31, 2025, Dish TV has set aside Rs 4,612.69 crore, an increase from Rs 4,359.43 crore the previous year, primarily due to interest accumulation. This ongoing issue has led to accumulated losses that now exceed the company’s equity share capital, resulting in a negative net worth,” it said.

The company said that it maintains that its legal position is strong.

“The company continues to operate with no debt on its books, healthy operational cash flows, and a stable business outlook. The management believes these factors support the preparation of financial results on a going concern basis. However, due to insufficient future taxable income, the company has reversed deferred tax assets previously recognized in its books,” it said.

In FY 24-25, Dish TV posted a revenue of Rs 1,593.95 crore in the financial year ending March 31, 2025, which was 15% down from the total revenue in FY2024 which stood at Rs 1,875.80 crore.

Its total expenses also came down from Rs 1841 crore in FY24 to Rs 1746 crore in FY24.

The company reported a loss of Rs 487.6 crore in FY25, reducing it from Rs 1966 crore in FY 24 due to the deferred tax charge of Rs 1597 crore credited to its account.

Last year, DTH platforms in India, including major players like Tata Play and Dish TV, voiced their concerns to TRAI about the severe financial strain they are facing due to the high licence fee imposed on them.

Despite multiple valid appeals to the government, no concessions have been granted, the operators said, arguing that they are unfairly burdened compared to other content delivery providers, who are not subject to similar licensing fees.

DTH platforms are required to pay an 8% charge on their Adjusted Gross Revenue (AGR) as mandated by the MIB. However, TRAI in August 2023 had issued its recommendations and reduced it to 3%. This has not been implemented yet.

Dish TV has an impairment charge for the quarter and year ended 31 March 2025 of Intangible Assets Under Development, Capital and other advances amounting to Rs 335.38 crore, the company informed.

In the March quarter, Dish TV's subscription revenue was at Rs 295.9 crore, down 16.82 per cent. Advertising revenue was down 40 per cent to Rs 4.1 crore in the March quarter. However, Dish TV's income from marketing and promotional fees rose by 2.6 per cent to Rs 35.8 crore in the March quarter.

Total income of Dish TV was Rs 350.35 crore in the March quarter, down 15 per cent year-on-year.

For the financial year 2024-25, the subscription revenue of the company came down by 16% to Rs 1377 crore from Rs 1645 crore. Advertising revenue was down from Rs 30 crore in FY 2024 to Rs 20 crore in FY25.