DD Free Dish slots up for grabs: Bidding starts at Rs 7 crore
Prasar Bharati, India's public broadcaster, has invited applications from satellite TV channels for the allotment of vacant MPEG-2 slots on its free Direct-to-Home (DTH) platform, DD Free Dish.
The e-auction, tentatively scheduled for August 28th, 2024, will offer slots for the period from September 5th, 2024, to March 31st, 2025.
The channels will be categorized into different buckets based on their genre and language. This includes categories for Hindi/Urdu General Entertainment Channels (GECs), Movie channels, Sports channels, as well as regional language channels like Marathi and Punjabi. Additionally, a separate bucket caters to all other genres not covered elsewhere, including English news channels and devotional channels.
Bidding starts at over Rs 7 crore
Prasar Bharati has set a minimum reserve price for each bucket, with the highest starting price of Rs. 12,10,96,000 for Hindi/Urdu GEC channels (Bucket A+). The reserve price for other buckets ranges from Rs. 7,57,92,000 to Rs. 10,79,90,000.
Eligibility and details
Only satellite channels licensed by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (I&B) can participate in the e-auction. The detailed methodology for the auction and eligibility criteria are available on the Prasar Bharati website.
Broadcasters who want a slot alotted on the DD Free Dish are required to provide clear proof in support of the genre and language classification of their channel. In case of lack of clarity or conflicting information, applications will be deemed ineligible and may be summarily rejected.
This auction presents an opportunity for private TV channels to reach a wide audience through DD Free Dish, India's only free DTH platform. The platform currently boasts over 38 million households, offering a significant reach for participating channels.