Year 2020 has been a different year in many ways. During a period when the entire India media space showed a de-growth of 24 per cent, free television reversed the trend with growth, according to an industry report.

According to Ficci-E&Y 2020 media and entertainment report, released last week, free television continued to grow its base to cross an estimated 40 million subscribers “on the back of less expensive television sets, economic issues, launch of the DD Retro Channel and return of big broadcasters to the Free Dish platform”.

As of January 2021, DD Free Dish hosted 161 channels, including 91 Doordarshan channels (comprising 51 educational channels launched during the pandemic) and 70 private channels.

Four large broadcast networks — Star India, Viacom18 Media, Zee Entertainment Enterprises and Sony Pictures Networks India — who had pulled-out their content from DD Free Dish from March 1 2019, made a comeback on DD Free Dish during 2020 to capitalize on advertising revenues.

This also helped Free Dish ad revenues get a boost after four key channels made a comeback on the platform.

Channels like Zee Anmol, Sony Pal, Star Utsav and Colors Rishtey, which were re-launched on DD Free Dish, witnessed viewership as high as the pre-NTO period.

The report estimated the channels to have generated INR 3-4 billion of incremental advertising revenues in 2020, which could increase to INR 10 billion in 2021.

Some of the other trends about free TV in the E&Y report are the following:

► The Free Dish service also delivers All India Radio’s audio programming content of around 48 satellite radio channels and

DD Free Dish continued its strong growth trajectory.

► DD Free Dish had become a second set top box within the home, used when there were no large events on television in some cases. (There’s no monthly subscription for Free Dish service.)

► Free Dish distributors that the writers of the report spoke to mentioned year on year growth in sales as well as the inability to keep up with demand due to a shortage of China-manufactured chipsets.

► As of January 2021, DD Free Dish hosted 161 channels including 91 Doordarshan channels (comprising of 51 educational channels launched during the pandemic) and 70 private channels.