65 pvt. TV channels hop onto DD FreeDish platform

Some 65 TV channels, which include those from genres like general entertainment, news, sports, and wellness and religious, have managed to be successful in finding berths on Doordarshan FreeDish platform in the MPEG-2 category.

Some of the Hindi news channels, if media reports are to be believed, shelled out hefty amounts while bidding for space on FreeDish, which has limited capacity to carry private sector TV channels, but offers massive reach and a humungous number of eyeballs.

Former Prasar Bharati (Doordarshan parent) CEO SS Vempati during a fireside chat at Aavishkaar-organised SatCab Symposium in New Delhi in January had said that as per his estimates the subscriber base of DD FreeDish would be in excess of 50 million homes.

The news channels that managed to get onto to the free to air DTH platform included News 18 India, Republic TV Bharat, TV9 Bharatvarsh, Zee News, NDTV India, ABP News, Times Now Navbharat, News Nation

Aaj Tak, Bharat 24, India TV and Good News Today.

Some of the successful general entertainment genre channels include the likes of Azaad, Dangal 2, Shemaroo, Umang Nazara TV, Ishara TV, B4U Kadak, The Q and Star Utsav Movies.

Meanwhile, despite initial protests from TV news channels’ two main associations, the member-channels had taken part in the auction of slots on pubcaster Doordarshan’s FreeDish (http://www.indianbroadcastingworld.com/several-news-channels-buy-dd-free-dish-slots/).

FreeDish, a venture of public broadcaster Prasar Bharati, has a subscriber base mostly in rural and semi-urban areas, thus forming a big source for eyeballs that could be monetised in the form of advertising revenue. And, it’s the eyeballs that force Indian television news channels to bid aggressively for limited shelf space on this free to air DTH platform.

The recently-concluded auctions are for the period April 1, 2023 to March 31, 2024 and are considered important revenue generators for the pubcaster.

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“This initiative will empower subscribers to pay online and subscribe to the channels they want to watch and get it activated on their TV sets in real-time without any delay. Without needing to undertake any software development, LMOs can approach Mobiezy for their pre-built and pre-integrated solution that uses NXTDigital’s news APIs and can be up and running with their own mobile apps within just a few days.”

RU Ediriwira, Group CTO, NXTDigital Limited

“With the launch of Partnership for Growth 3.0 we intend to expand our network with 40 new NXTHUBs, each offering up to 650 live TV channels and broadband. Our efforts are focused on harnessing the convergence of technologies, developing robust apps and creating new business models that will help the overall ecosystem, delivering the best experience to our subscribers. We hope to achieve a stronger foothold in the rural regions of the country and grow our subscriber base.”

N.K. Rouse, COO, NXT Digital Ltd

“One of the key principles of the Hinduja Group is ‘Partnership for Growth’. After 2.0 saw the launch of HITS to connect LMOs in even the most remote locations through the only satellite-based cable TV platform in India; 3.0 focuses not just on strengthening the overall ecosystem we have built, but harnessing the convergence of technologies – to be delivered through a national network of NXTHUBs. Video and broadband are only the beginning of the digital highway of services that we have developed for roll-out backed by a robust suite of innovative apps developed by service providers exclusively for our LMOs and subscribers.”

Vynsley Fernandes, MD & CEO, NXTDigital Limited

“Wireline broadband is becoming ever more important not only in connecting homes across the country but also small to large enterprises-to the digital economy. The NXTHUBs will be the perfect point-of-presence to offer broadband services to cater to these consumer needs.”

Yugal Kishore Sharma CEO, ONEOTT Intertainment Limited

Amazing and grim battle for survival. Guess it will end up in Supreme Court. All that NCLT asked Zee to do was to file a reply to Invesco petition for a EGM. Now this is getting too serious. So far Invesco has been hammered for demanding an EGM. What is Zee upto? Ofcourse my lawyer community knows better!

Ashok Mansukhani, Corporate Law and Media Law Advocate at Ashokmansukhani Associates

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65 pvt. TV channels hop onto DD FreeDish platform

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