Prasar Bharati opens applications for vacant DD Free Dish MPEG-2 and MPEG-4 slots

Public service broadcaster, Prasar Bharati, has issued a dual notice inviting applications for the 95th and 96th online e-auctions to allot vacant slots on its DD Free Dish DTH platform. These mid-year auctions will offer MPEG-2 and MPEG-4 slots on a pro-rata basis for a two-month period starting February 1, 2026.

Both auctions are tentatively scheduled to commence on January 27, 2026.

The 95th e-auction is dedicated to vacant MPEG-2 slots, while the 96th auction will focus on MPEG-4 slots. Participation is restricted to satellite TV channels that hold valid downlinking and uplinking permissions from the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting (I&B). International public broadcasters permitted by the Ministry are also eligible to participate.

The deadline for online applications for both categories is January 21, 2026, by 3:00 PM.

Buckets and Reserve Pricing

Channels are categorized into "Buckets" based on their genre and language. The starting reserve prices vary significantly between the MPEG-2 and MPEG-4 formats.

MPEG-2 (95th Auction) Buckets:

Bucket A+: Hindi/Urdu GEC. Bucket A: Movie (Hindi/Urdu), Music, and Sports channels. Bucket B: Bhojpuri channels and other Hindi/Urdu genres (excluding Devotional). Bucket C: Hindi/Urdu News and Current Affairs. Bucket D: Regional languages, English News, and Devotional/Spiritual channels.

According to the document for the 95th e-auction of MPEG-2 slots, the starting reserve prices for the different rounds are as follows:

Round 1 (Bucket A+): The starting reserve price for Hindi/Urdu General Entertainment Channels (GEC) is INR 2,63,48,000.

Round 2 (Bucket A): The starting reserve price for Hindi/Urdu Movie, Music, and Sports channels is INR 2,10,14,000

Round 3 (Bucket B): The starting reserve price for Bhojpuri language channels and other remaining Hindi/Urdu genres (excluding Devotional/Spiritual/Ayush) is INR 1,78,62,000.

Round 4 (Bucket C): The starting reserve price for Hindi/Urdu News and Current Affairs channels is INR 1,33,27,000.

Round 5 (Bucket D): The starting reserve price for Devotional/Spiritual/Ayush channels, Regional language channels (Schedule 8), and English News channels is INR 1,13,96,000.

Based on the document for the 96th e-auction of MPEG-4 slots, here are the starting reserve prices in a simple sentence format:

For the 1st Round, the starting reserve price for Bucket G1, which includes News & Current Affairs channels in Hindi, English, or Pan-India, is INR 13,41,000.

For the 2nd Round, the starting reserve price for Bucket G2, which covers all Non-News & Current Affairs genres, is INR 8,80,000.

For the 3rd Round, the starting reserve price for Bucket R2, consisting of Regional languages such as Marathi, Punjabi, and Gujarati, is INR 4,84,000.

For the 4th Round, the starting reserve price for Bucket R1, including Regional languages such as Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, and Malayalam, is INR 81,000.

For the 5th Round, the starting reserve price for Bucket R3, which covers other Regional languages mentioned in Schedule 8 of the Indian Constitution, is also INR 81,000.

Prasar Bharati has emphasized strict adherence to genre and language declarations. Broadcasters must ensure that 75% of their monthly content (excluding advertisements) matches their declared genre and language. Violations may lead to show-cause notices or the discontinuation of the channel from the platform.