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
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Round 2 of DD Free Dish MPEG-2 auction for 2025-26 has seen a steep decline in bidding prices, particularly in the news category, where prices have dropped by approximately Rs 55 crore compared to last year. As per highly placed sources, leading news channels, including Aaj Tak, News 24, India TV, News Nation secured slots at nearly half the price they paid in the previous auction, signalling a shift in broadcaster strategy.
This drastic fall raises concerns about Prasar Bharati’s revenue model and whether news networks are re-evaluating their reliance on Free Dish for audience reach.
Breaking down the numbers
According to sources, the decline in the news category in Round 2 ranged from about Rs 8.20 crore to Rs 10.75 crore per channel. Aaj Tak’s winning bid for instance in 2025-2026 was Rs 8.10 crore compared to their 2024-25, winning of almost Rs 19 crore marking a decline of close to Rs10.75 crore. News Nation's winning bid dropped from approximately Rs 17 crore in 2024-25 to about Rs 8 crore in 2025-26, marking a decline of close to Rs9 crore.
The bidding price for News 24 also saw a sharp drop in the 2025-26 DD Free Dish auction, falling from about Rs 17 crore last year to approximately Rs 8.25 crore this year. This marks a steep decline of around Rs 9 crore, highlighting a significant reduction in competition for premium news slots.
Similarly, India TV also bagged slots at a slashed rate with their winning bid pricing dropping from about Rs 17.50 crore in 2024-25 to Rs 8.25 crore in 2025-26—a decline of nearly Rs 9.25 crore.
Was the dip restricted to news only?
Other categories also saw similar trends—maybe not as steep as in the news segment, but certainly a decline. One such example is the GEC A+ bucket.
The GEC A+ category witnessed a significant drop in bidding prices compared to the previous year. Channels like Manoranjan TV, Dangal, and Shemaroo TV, which had secured slots between Rs 17 crore and Rs 21.15 crore in 2024-25, saw their bids drop to approximately Rs 16 crore – Rs 16.65 crore. Similarly, The Q, which paid around Rs 19 crore last year, won its slot for Rs16 crore this time. The trend was consistent across the board, with Nazara and Dangal 2 also seeing reductions, bringing their bids down to Rs16.30 crore from Rs16.75 crore and Rs17.15 crore, respectively.
Devotional, music, movies and other categories also saw similar fate.
How strategic bidding and R1 bucket disqualifications triggered decline
The steep decline in bidding prices during Round 2 of the DD Free Dish MPEG-2 auction was largely driven by broadcaster strategy, reduced competition, and the fallout from Round 1 disqualifications. The disqualification of all Round 1 applicants, including major players in Bucket R1 (Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, and Malayalam channels), created a lack of confidence in the auction process, discouraging aggressive bidding in Round 2. With some bidders forced out, those remaining strategically avoided overbidding, knowing that slots would remain uncontested.
e4m reached out to several major news channels that participated in Round 2 of the auction but did not receive a response at the time of publishing this story.
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