India’s free-to-air DTH platform DD Free Dish has concluded another round of its slot auctions, with leading Hindi news broadcasters securing carriage in the MPEG-2 category.

The results underline continued competition among news channels for access to the platform’s wide free-to-air viewership base.

The auction, conducted by Prasar Bharati, saw strong participation from major news broadcasters, with several channels placing closely matched bids to secure distribution through the MPEG-2 stream, which reaches a large base of non-pay television households across India.

In the MPEG-2 news category, News Nation and ABP News emerged as the top bidders, each securing slots with bids of Rs.8.65 crore. Close behind were NDTV India, Republic Bharat, Zee News, and India TV, all of which secured slots with bids of Rs.8.60 crore.

The narrow difference in bid values reflects intense competition among Hindi news broadcasters to maintain visibility on DD Free Dish, which remains a crucial distribution platform for channels targeting mass audiences, particularly in Hindi-speaking markets and rural regions.

DD Free Dish periodically conducts e-auctions to allocate channel slots across different genres and technology formats, including MPEG-2 and MPEG-4 streams. The latest auction highlights the platform’s continued relevance for news broadcasters seeking nationwide reach and sustained audience engagement through free-to-air distribution.