In the latest round of e-auctions held by Prasar Bharati, two news channels TNP News and Living India News have successfully secured MPEG-4 slots on DD Free Dish. The allotment will be valid from July 11, 2025, to March 31, 2026, as per the results declared from the 89th e-auction process.

According to DD FreeDish, the two channels emerged as the successful bidders for this phase, which was conducted to allocate available MPEG-4 slots under the DD Free Dish platform. The state-owned free-to-air DTH service continues to expand its offering with each auction, catering to a growing number of households across rural and semi-urban India.

The 89th e-auction was conducted as part of Prasar Bharati’s ongoing policy to promote wider access to diverse news and entertainment content through its free-to-air satellite platform. With the addition of TNP News and Living India News, the platform strengthens its regional and Hindi news bouquet for viewers across the country.

DD Free Dish has become a significant vehicle for channel visibility, especially for broadcasters looking to reach non-metro and rural audiences without the burden of carriage fees. The MPEG-4 technology allows for more efficient use of satellite bandwidth, thereby accommodating more channels within the existing infrastructure.

As the public broadcaster continues to hold periodic e-auctions, more broadcasters are expected to join the platform in the coming months, further diversifying the content mix available to over 50 million households currently using DD Free Dish across India.