Big names, big wins, and big controversy: 60 channels clinch DD Free Dish slots

After a week full of controversy and conversations surrounding DD Free Dish, Prasar Bharati has finally unveiled the list of 60 successful bidders for the 7th Annual (85th) e-Auction of MPEG-2 slots. The auction, conducted between February 10 and 14, 2025, saw major General Entertainment Channels (GECs) like Sony, Zee Entertainment, and JioStar, continuing their association with the booming free-to-air (FTA) market.

Among the top entertainment channels that secured slots are Big Magic, Colors Rishtey, Dangal, Sony Pal, Star Utsav, Zee Anmol, Shemaroo TV, and Goldmines Movies, strengthening DD Free Dish’s entertainment portfolio. Movie-focused channels such as B4U Kadak, Manoranjan Movies, Zee Anmol Cinema, and Goldmines Bollywood also made it to the final list.

The auction also saw a strong presence from news broadcasters, with channels like Aaj Tak, ABP News, NDTV India, Republic Bharat, Zee News, and TV9 Bharatvarsh securing their spots.

Meanwhile, regional and spiritual content remains a vital part of the platform, with channels such as Fakt Marathi, Sun Marathi, Zee Chitramandir, Aastha, Sanskar, and Sadhna Goldmaking it to the winners’ list of the auction. 

The 7th annual e-auction, however, marked a shift in market dynamics, with only 60 slots sold this year, compared to 64 in 2024, indicating a more selective bidding process and possible hesitancy among certain broadcasters. Industry experts attribute this dip to pricing concerns, shifting content strategies, and regulatory uncertainties, which may have deterred some players from aggressive participation. 

As reported by exchange4media earlier, the second round of the DD Free Dish MPEG-2 slot e-auction actually proved to be a windfall for broadcasters but came at a steep financial loss for Prasar Bharati, which reportedly missed out on nearly Rs 150 crore in potential revenue. 

With the unexpected disqualification of all Round 1 applicants, major broadcasters took advantage of a weakened bidding landscape, strategically waiting for prices to drop. Unlike Round 1, where slots in Bucket A+ fetched up to Rs 18.6 crore, Round 2 saw most slots selling at near-base prices with increments as low as Rs 10-15 lakh per slot, causing significant revenue loss.

Overall, Round 1 also saw a drop in winning bid prices, however, it was not as much as Round 2. Like, Sun NEO, in Round 1 for GEC A+ category, won the bid at approximately Rs 18.5 crore against last season’s Rs 21 crore. Big Magic, in the same bucket, had secured a slot in 2024-205 for about Rs 18 crore but paid Rs 17 crore this season to secure a slot. Same with Bucket A for Movies category. The bucket with a base price of Rs12 crore saw winning bids between Rs 15. 5 crore and Rs 17 crore approximately this year. In the last season, the range was between Rs17 crore and Rs18.5 crore approximately.

The News genre also saw a dip, with winning bids this season being in the range of Rs13.4 crore- Rs14.4 crore approximately compared to last year’s range of Rs 17 crore- Rs18.5 crore.

So, while some broadcasters gained from the situation, the underlying issues of transparency and fairness raise concerns about the long-term health of the DD Free Dish auction process. With Free Dish remaining a key distribution platform for mass audiences, the pubcaster now faces the challenge of restoring confidence in future auctions while ensuring a fair and competitive bidding environment.