DTH

GUIDELINES FOR DTH BROADCASTING SERVICE IN INDIA

Published

25 years ago

April 4, 2001

New Delhi, 16th march, 2001

The union Government has decided to permit Direct-to-Home (DTH) TV service in Ku Band in india. The prohibition on the reception and distribution of television signal in ku Band has been withdrawn by the Government vide notification No. GSR 18 (E) dated 9th January 2001 of the Department of Telecommunications.

The salient features of eligibility criteria, basic conditions /obligations and procedure for obtaining the license to set up and operate DTH service are briefly described below. For further details, reference should be made to the Ministry of information & Broadcasting.

Direct-to-Home(DTH) Broadcasting Service, refers to distribution of multi channel TV programmes in Ku Band by using a satellite system by providing TV signals direct to subscribers premises without passing through an intermediary such as cable operator.

Following are the eligibility criteria for applicants , conditions which will apply to DTH license and procedural details:
I. Eligibility Criteria:
a. Applicant Company to be an Indian Company registered under Indian Company’s Act, 1956.
b. Total foreign equity holding including FDI/NRI/OCB/FII in the applicant company not to exceed 49%.
c. Within the foreign equity , the FDI component not to exceed 20%
d. The quantum represented by that proportion of the paid up equity share capital to the total issued equity capital of the Indian promoter Company, held or controlled by the foreign investor through FDI?NRI?OCB investments , shall form part of the above said FDI limit of 20%.
e. The applicant company must have Indian Management Control with majority representatives on the board as well as the Chief Executive of the company being a resident Indian.
f. Broadcasting companies and/or cable network companies shall not be eligible to collectively own more than 20% of the total equity of applicant company at any time during the license period. Similarly , the applicant company not to have more than 20% equity shares in a broadcasting and/or cable network company.
g. The License shall be required to submit the equity distribution of the Company in the prescribed proforma once within one month of start of every financial year.

II. Number of Licensees:
There will be no restrictions on the total number of DTH licenses and these will be issued to any person who fulfills the necessary terms and conditions and subject to the security and technical clearances by the appropriate authorities of the Govt.

III. Period of License:
License will be valid for a period of 10 years from the date of issue of wireless operational license by Wireless planning and Coordination Wing of Ministry of Communications . However , the license can be canceled/suspended by the Licensor at any time in the interest of Union of India.

IV. Basic conditions/obligations:
The license will be subject to terms and conditions contained in the agreement and its schedule

V. Procedure for application and grant of licenses:
a. To apply to the Secretary , Ministry of I&B, in triplicate proforma
b. On the basis of information furnished in the application form, if the applicant is found eligible for setting up of DTH platform in India, the application will be subjected to security clearance in consultations with the Ministry of home Affairs and for clearance of satellite use with the Department of Space.
c. After these clearances are obtained, the applicant would be required to pay an initial nonrefundable entry-fee of Rs.10 crores to the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting.
d. After such payment of entry-fee, the applicant would be informed of intent of ministry of I & B to issue license and requested to approach WPC for SACFA clearance.
e. After obtaining SACFA clearances,within one month of the same ,the License will have to submit a Bank guarantee from any Scheduled Bank to the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting for an amount of Rs.40 crores valid for the duration of the license.
f. After submission of this Bank Guarantee , the applicant would be required to sign a licensing agreement with the Ministry of information and Broadcasting as per prescribed proforma.
g. After signing of such licensing agreement with the ministry of Information and Broadcasting, the applicant will have to apply to the wireless planning & Coordination (WPC) Wing of the Ministry of Communications for seeking Wireless Operational License for establishment , maintenance and operation of DTH platform.
h. The License shall pay an annual fee equivalent to 10% of its gross revenue as reflected in the audited accounts of the company for that particular financial year, within one month of the end of that financial year.
i. The Licensee shall also in addition pay the license fee and royalty for the spectrum used as prescribed by Wireless planning & Coordination Authority (WPC) , under the Department of Telecommunications

VI. Arbitration Clause:
In case of any dispute matter will be referred to the sole Arbitration of the Secretary, Department of legal Affairs, Government of India or his nominee for adjudication. The award of the Arbitrator shall be binding on the parties. The Arbitration proceedings will be governed by the law of Indian arbitration in force at the point of time Venue of Arbitration shall be India.

The detailed procedure proforma and tabled etc. are available on the Internet at the following websites:

www.pib.nic.in
www.mib.nic.in

Related Topics:Department of legal Affairs Direct to Home DTH DTH TV service Government of India Ku band Secretary

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Dish TV Q3 revenues fall 20 per cent, Ebitda turns negative

Published

4 weeks ago

February 7, 2026

indiantelevision.com Team

NOIDA: When the remote stops working, you don’t throw it away, you change the batteries. Dish TV is trying something similar. Faced with falling subscription revenues and a fast-shrinking DTH universe, India’s once-dominant satellite broadcaster is flipping channels, betting on smart TVs, OTT aggregation and a hybrid future even as the numbers flash red.

For the quarter ended 31 December, 2025, Dish TV India reported operating revenues of Rs 2,991 million, down 19.8 per cent year-on-year from Rs 3,730 million. Subscription revenues, still the backbone of the business, fell sharply by 32.2 per cent to Rs 2,245 million, reflecting industry-wide cord-cutting and persistent churn. The pain shows up clearly below the line.

Ebitda swung to a loss of Rs 415 million, compared with a profit of Rs 1,227 million a year earlier. Total expenditure climbed 36.1 per cent to Rs 3,406 million, pushing costs to nearly 114 per cent of operating revenues. The quarter closed with a loss before tax of Rs 2,762 million, weighed down further by exceptional items of Rs 700 million. Yet the company insists this is not a business stuck buffering, but one deliberately loading a new format.

Dish TV is repositioning itself from a pure DTH operator into what it calls a connected-home entertainment platform, stitching together live television, OTT apps and smart devices. The centrepiece of that strategy is the nationwide rollout of VZY smart TVs, offering a unified DTH-plus-OTT experience.

Amazon Prime Video has now been integrated across Dish TV’s ecosystem, including Watcho and VZY. Watcho, the company’s in-house OTT super app, has crossed millions of downloads and paid subscribers, aggregating more than 25 content apps.

Fliqs, its creator-driven content platform, is being pitched as a home for premium regional and international programming. Brand visibility has also been boosted through splashy partnerships with Bigg Boss Hindi and Bigg Boss Kannada: high-decibel bets in a crowded attention economy.

“Indian home entertainment is undergoing a structural shift,” said CEO and executive director Manoj Dobhal arguing that Dish TV’s hybrid model improves convenience while keeping customers within a single ecosystem. The revenue mix shows early signs of diversification, even if it is not yet compensating for falling subscriptions.

Marketing and promotional fees rose 27.3 per cent to Rs 399 million, while advertisement income, still small, nearly doubled to Rs 48 million. Other operating income surged 267.6 per cent to Rs 298 million, softening the overall revenue decline.

On costs, the company is tightening the screws. It has renegotiated transponder contracts, rationalised call-centre and general expenses, and improved asset discipline by boosting set-top box recovery beyond 30 days, reducing swap frequency and replacement capex.

New customer activations are being driven through a no-subsidy Rs 999 set-top box, a move management says materially improves unit economics and cash flow. Still, risks remain stubbornly in view. Churn continues to shadow the business, and scaling Watcho while balancing content spend will demand execution discipline.

Cost cuts, the company admits, must not erode service quality: a delicate act in a market where customer loyalty is already thin. For now, Dish TV’s numbers tell a story of strain.

DTH

Tata Play deepens Odia push with ad-free ‘Odia Manoranjan’ platform

Published

1 month ago

January 29, 2026

indiantelevision.com Team

MUMBAI: Tata Play is doubling down on regional loyalty. India’s leading DTH player has launched Tata Play Odia Manoranjan, a new value-added service that corrals Odia entertainment into a single, ad-free destination, available on television and the Tata Play mobile app.

Powered by Sidharth TV, one of Odisha’s most popular Odia-language GECs, the platform serves up a hefty catalogue: over 180 movies, 100+ Jatras, around 20 television shows and a library of more than 12,000 songs spanning devotional, folk, film and non-film genres. From vintage favourites to contemporary titles, the mix is pitched squarely at Odia-speaking households, with particular pull in tier-3 and tier-4 markets.

Subscribers get 24×7, full-screen SD viewing without ad breaks on channel number 1755, with live TV and VOD access across screens. The price point is deliberately sharp: Rs 2 a day.

Pallavi Puri, chief commercial and content officer at Tata Play, framed the move as a bet on language and culture. “India’s strongest viewing loyalties are rooted in language and lived culture. Tata Play Odia Manoranjan brings together the many expressions of Odia entertainment—from films and Jatras to devotional programming and music—into one clearly defined destination. With this launch, Tata Play further elevates its regional content offering by giving Odia audiences a single, definitive home for their stories and traditions.”

For Sidharth TV Network, the partnership is about reach without compromise. Sitaram Agrawalla, owner and chairman, said: “For decades, Odia families have trusted our entertainment platforms for stories that feel like home, and for moments that bring us together. Tata Play Odia Manoranjan builds on this trust by placing a diverse range of Odia films, theatre, devotional music and shows into a single, accessible space. This collaboration isn’t just about wider distribution—it’s about honouring the preferences of Odia viewers with a seamless, ad-free viewing experience that reflects their language, culture and the way they choose to engage with content.”

The new service slots into Tata Play’s expanding portfolio of entertainment and infotainment platform services across genres including entertainment, kids, learning, regional and devotion, catering to all age groups.

In short: one language, one screen, zero ads—and a clear signal that regional is where the real viewing power lies.

DTH

Binge strikes play as Tata Play adds Times Play to its OTT universe

Published

3 months ago

December 2, 2025

indiantelevision.com Team

MUMBAI: If streaming had galaxies, Tata Play Binge just opened a wormhole. In its latest move to become India’s most sprawling entertainment universe, the platform has now folded Times Play, Times Network’s digital-first OTT service, into its all-in-one subscription bouquet bringing Hollywood hits, snackable shorts, live news, lifestyle, entertainment, Pickleball and 11 live TV channels under a single roof.

The new addition means subscribers no longer need to hop between apps in Olympic-level finger gymnastics, Binge now pulls Times Network’s entire digital catalogue into one screen, one login, one bill. And in the era of attention overload, that’s practically a public service.

Times Play brings with it a distinctive blend of premium Hollywood cinema, web series, short-format videos, and Times Network’s formidable news muscle. Viewers can flip seamlessly between Romedy Now, Movies Now, MNX, MN+, Zoom, Times Now, Times Now Navbharat, ET Now, ET Now Swadesh, and even Pickleball Now, mirroring the growing Indian appetite for niche sporting entertainment.

On the long-form front, hits like Reunion, India’s Story, True Story of Angeline Jolie, Orphan First Kill, The November Man, Barely Lethal, Southpaw, The Hurt Locker, Transporter Refueled, and The Holiday sit alongside Times Network factual and current-affairs staples including Frankly Speaking, Sawaal Public Ka, and News Ki Paathshaala.

Describing the partnership, Tata Play chief commercial and content officer Pallavi Puri, said the aim remained unchanged to make content discovery effortless and reduce the modern curse of app overload. She noted that integrating Times Play enriches Binge’s already deep catalogue with a broader mix of premium films, originals and news programming “without juggling multiple apps or subscriptions”.

Times Network echoed the sentiment, calling the collaboration a natural extension of its mission to deliver credible entertainment and journalism at scale. It emphasised Tata Play’s reach, reliability and reputation as a key driver in bringing Times Play’s digital catalogue to diverse Indian households.

With the addition of Times Play, Tata Play Binge now boasts 30 plus OTT platforms on a single interface, a list that includes Prime Video, JioHotstar, Zee5, Apple TV+, Lionsgate, SunNXT, Discovery+, BBC Player, Aha, Fancode, ShemarooMe, Hungama, ManoramaMax, Nammaflix, Tarang Plus, Travel XP, Animax, Fuse+, ShortsTV, Curiosity Stream, and DistroTV, among others.

Notably, Netflix remains available as part of combo packs for DTH subscribers, while Amazon Prime Video can be unlocked as an add-on for Binge users with a Tata Play DTH connection. And for large-screen loyalists, all 30 plus apps can be streamed via LG, Samsung and Android Smart TVs, the Tata Play Binge+ set-top box, Amazon FireTV Stick – Tata Play edition, or through TataPlayBinge.com.

The expansion comes on the heels of recent integrations, including WAVES by Prasar Bharati and BBC Player, reinforcing Tata Play Binge’s ambition to remain India’s most diverse, most unified, and most fuss-free entertainment destination.

With Times Play now in the mix, Binge isn’t just aggregating content, it’s quietly aggregating the future of how India watches.