DD Free Dish Sees Rs 50 Cr Drop in News Channel Bids

HIGHLIGHTS:

• News channel bids on DD Free Dish dropped by Rs 50 crore in the 2025-26 auction, with prices halving compared to last year.
• Aaj Tak, News 24, India TV, and News Nation saw sharp price drops, with Aaj Tak's bid falling from Rs 19 crore to Rs 8.10 crore.
• The decline in bids was not restricted to news channels, with GEC A+ categories also witnessing price reductions.
• Broadcasters' strategic bidding, lower competition, and Round 1 disqualifications contributed to the sharp drop in bidding prices.
• Disqualifications from Round 1 led to more cautious bidding in Round 2, as some slots remained uncontested.

In Round 2 of the DD Free Dish MPEG-2 auction for 2025-26, bidding rates declined substantially, particularly for news channels, with prices tumbling by about Rs 55 crore from last year. Prime news channels such as Aaj Tak, News 24, India TV, and News Nation bagged positions at almost half the last auction price, reflecting a change in strategy.

The sharp decline raises questions about Prasar Bharati’s revenue model and whether news networks are reassessing their dependence on Free Dish for audience reach.

Breaking down the numbers

Sources indicated the fall in the news segment during Round 2 varied between Rs 8.20 crore to Rs 10.75 crore per channel. For instance, Aaj Tak's bid fell from Rs 19 crore during 2024-25 to Rs 8.10 crore in 2025-26, a fall of almost Rs 10.75 crore. News Nation's bid had fallen from Rs 17 crore to about Rs 8 crore, a fall of almost Rs 9 crore.

News 24’s bidding price also saw a sharp drop in the 2025-26 DD Free Dish auction, falling from Rs 17 crore last year to Rs 8.25 crore this year, a decline of around Rs 9 crore. This highlights a significant reduction in competition for premium news slots.

India TV secured slots at a reduced rate, with its winning bid dropping from 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 declines, though not as steep as the news segment. One example is the GEC A+ bucket.

The GEC A+ category saw a notable drop in bidding prices. Channels such as Manoranjan TV, Dangal, and Shemaroo TV, which offered between Rs 17 crore and Rs 21.15 crore in 2024-25, had their bids reduced to approximately Rs 16 crore–Rs 16.65 crore. Likewise, The Q's bid was reduced from Rs 19 crore to Rs 16 crore. Nazara and Dangal 2 also saw reductions, with bids falling to Rs 16.30 crore and Rs 17.15 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 in Round 2 of the DD Free Dish MPEG-2 auction was driven by broadcaster strategy, reduced competition, and fallout from Round 1 disqualifications. The disqualification of all Round 1 applicants, including key players in Bucket R1 (Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam), lowered confidence in the process, leading to more cautious bidding in Round 2. With some bidders out, others avoided overbidding, knowing slots would remain uncontested.

Several major news channels participated in Round 2 of the auction but had not received a response by the time of publishing this story.