free-dish
Participation fee pegged at Rs 1.5 crore; reserve prices range from Rs 4.87 crore to Rs 11.22 crore across five channel categories
e4m Staff Jul 10, 2026 8:12 AM
Bharat Express, Republic TV, Vistaar News among successful bidders; slots valid till March 2027
For cable and DTH operators, migration of price-sensitive households to Free Dish reduces the pool of paying subscribers, directly impacting revenues, share stakeholders
Aditi Gupta May 14, 2026 8:52 AM
As per the official notification, the upgrade introduces enhanced EPG services, including structured genre-based channel categorisation, Logical Channel Numbering & landing page integration
Imran Fazal Apr 24, 2026 12:18 PM
Within the commercial revenue mix, DD Free Dish has outpaced traditional income streams such as advertising, sponsored programming and sale of archival content
Imran Fazal Apr 3, 2026 8:28 AM
The company has argued that DD Free Dish’s continued operation in an unencrypted, non-addressable format is “arbitrary and discriminatory
e4m Staff Mar 31, 2026 2:07 PM
The slots allotted through this process will be valid for a one-year period, from April 1, 2026 to March 31, 2027
e4m Staff Feb 10, 2026 6:42 PM
TRAI has been asking Prasar Bharati to encrypt signals of private TV channels on DD Free Dish before uplinking them to prevent unauthorised transmission
e4m Staff Feb 5, 2026 11:50 AM
The notice outlines the procedure for participation in the e-auction scheduled to be held on February 16
e4m Staff Jan 15, 2026 1:04 PM
Industry awaits clarity on capacity, slot disclosures and auction rules ahead of FY26 DD Free Dish bidding
Tasmayee Laha Roy Jan 5, 2026 8:18 AM
The allotment, part of Prasar Bharati’s 93rd round, aims to expand regional language reach on India’s free-to-air DTH platform
From TRP overhaul to OTT content regulations, 2025 will be remembered for regulatory activism, stakeholder pushback and an evolving contest between content freedom and cultural norms
Aditi Gupta and Chehneet Kaur Dec 31, 2025 8:39 AM
As 2025 draws to a close, India’s broadcast and TV distribution industry flags growing policy paralysis at a time when linear TV faces economic pressure and platform disruption
Tasmayee Laha Roy Dec 26, 2025 9:02 AM
Only regional-language satellite TV channels—licensed by the Ministry of I&B and listed under Schedule 8 of the Constitution, excluding Hindi and Urdu—can apply
e4m Staff Nov 28, 2025 4:46 PM
Saam TV and Skyama Daily Post News have secured their respective slots on a pro rata basis from November 7, 2025, to March 31, 2026
Sources say the big networks, who returned to the FTA space this year, are expected to eat into the revenue share of existing networks as they are estimated to make Rs 800 cr this year in ad revenue
Aditi Gupta Sep 25, 2025 8:49 AM
NBDA has stated there should be procedural fairness, screening & eligibility checks should be completed in advance, and applicants should not be rejected mid-auction
India News secured one of the two vacant MPEG-2 slots during the 90th online e-auction conducted by Prasar Bharati
Stakeholders warn that unencrypted, non-addressable growth of the platform distorts competition, fuels piracy & undermines regulatory intent, even as Prasar Bharati defends its free-to-air mandate
Aditi Gupta Aug 26, 2025 8:46 AM
According to sources, India News bagged the slot at the reserve price
Aditi Gupta Aug 22, 2025 6:02 PM
Doordarshan's own regional channels, such as DD Tamil, DD Saptagiri, DD Chandana, DD Yadagiri, and DD Malayalam have also been onboarded
e4m Staff Jul 23, 2025 4:54 PM
These channels will be available on the free-to-air DTH platform for the allotment period from July 11, 2025 to March 31, 2026
Lack of fresh, high-impact content pushing audiences towards easily accessible FTA options, note experts; FTA channels also drawing FMCG, beverage advertisers who want to tap expanding rural audience
Aditi Gupta May 15, 2025 8:24 AM
The slots, valid from May 28, 2025, to March 31, 2026, will now be auctioned via an online process tentatively scheduled for May 19, 2025
e4m Staff May 13, 2025 8:47 AM
Increasing reach of DD Free Dish, combined with quality programming, has created a robust platform for broadcasters to not only enhance viewership but also build a sustainable revenue model
Aditi Gupta Apr 28, 2025 9:07 AM
According to the survey, 93% of the responding LCOs reported a reduction in monthly take-home income
e4m Staff Apr 1, 2025 10:00 AM
According to the FICCI-EY M&E Report released on Thursday, the overall television industry continues to shrink with 4.5% decline in total revenues in 2024
Aditi Gupta Mar 28, 2025 9:28 AM
The subscriber base is increasingly shifting to either over-the-top (OTT) platforms or free dish services
While digital streaming is rapidly growing, Pay TV continues to hold its ground in India’s media ecosystem, especially in sports and premium entertainment categories, share industry heads
Aditi Gupta Feb 27, 2025 9:10 AM
Industry experts are unanimous that both platforms have their unique appeal — one excels in mass exposure, the other caters to urban audience preferences
Aditi Gupta Feb 25, 2025 8:32 AM
Vision Corporation Ltd. has filed a petition against Prasar Bharati following the broadcaster's disqualification from DD Free Dish MPEG-2 slot e-auction
Tasmayee Laha Roy Feb 25, 2025 8:27 AM
Industry insiders believe that broadcaster exits, lack of genre-hopping and disqualification of R1 bucket are responsible for the pubcaster's Rs 300 crore revenue loss in the MPEG-2 slot auctions
e4m Staff Feb 24, 2025 9:11 AM
Broadcasters across categories secured 60 DD Free Dish slots, but Prasar Bharati lost crores due to controversial disqualifications and weak bidding
e4m Staff Feb 21, 2025 9:18 AM
According to industry experts, broadcasters are relaunching channels on DD FreeDish to capitalise on the platform’s extensive reach, and to boost advertising revenue
Aditi Gupta Feb 20, 2025 2:08 PM
Scrutiny mail on a weekend, rejection at midnight—small broadcasters question the process of Free Dish auctions
Tasmayee Laha Roy Feb 20, 2025 8:54 AM
As per highly placed sources, leading news channels secured slots at nearly half the price they paid in the previous auction, signalling a shift in their strategy
Tasmayee Laha Roy Feb 19, 2025 9:04 AM
While Zee and JioStar secured two slots each, Sony and Sun Neo both got hold of one in Bucket A+ category
e4m Staff Feb 13, 2025 9:00 AM
JioStar’s Colors Rishtey, Sony’s Sony Pal and Sun TV’s Sun Neo have got slots in the auction
e4m Staff Feb 11, 2025 8:50 AM
Star India and Viacom18 (now JioStar), and SPNI are some of the names planning to pull out their channels from DD Free Dish, say sources
Aditi Gupta Jan 15, 2025 8:49 AM
The slots will be allotted for the period from April 1, 2025 to March 31, 2026
The All India Digital Cable Federation, in its comments submitted before TRAI on its consultation paper, has called for regulatory parity for DD Free Dish
Aditi Gupta Dec 3, 2024 8:50 AM