TNP News and Living India News win slots on DD Free Dish in 89th MPEG-4 e-auction

Two news channels — TNP News and Living India News — have secured MPEG-4 slots on DD Free Dish following the 89th e-auction conducted by public broadcaster Prasar Bharati.

These channels will be available on the free-to-air direct-to-home (DTH) platform for the allotment period from July 11, 2025 to March 31, 2026.

With over 50 million homes relying on the platform for television access, winning a slot is seen as a strategic move by regional and national broadcasters alike to boost visibility and ad revenues.

The 89th e-auction began on July 2 as part of Prasar Bharati’s efforts to bring diverse content offerings through MPEG-4 slots.

In a notification inviting applications from satellite TV channels for the e-auction of MPEG-4 slots, Prasar Bharti had said that only channels permitted and licensed by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting are eligible to participate. This includes both private broadcasters and international public broadcasters.

Channels have been grouped into five buckets based on language and genre—R1, R2, R3 (regional languages), and G1 and G2 (news and non-news genres). The reserve prices for slots vary, starting from Rs 3.62 lakh for regional channels (R1, R3) to Rs 57.14 lakh for news channels (G1). Bid increments range from Rs 50,000 to Rs 1 lakh.

A new emphasis has been placed on content integrity.

The notification said that broadcasters must ensure that at least 75 percent of the monthly content is in the declared language and genre, failing which action including discontinuation of slot allotment may be taken.

A non-refundable processing fee of Rs 25,000 is mandatory, along with a participation fee of Rs 3 lakh, which can be paid via demand draft or RTGS.

The last date for submission of applications and physical documents was June 30, 2025.