The e-auction will be conducted as per e-auction methodology for allotment of DD Free Dish slots to private TV channels, notified by the pubcaster on Jan 27, 2023
Only the satellite channels licensed by the Ministry of I&B would be allowed to participate in the e-auction
The allotment of the vacant slots is for the period June 4, 2024 to March 31, 2025, for MPEG 4; for MPEG-2 the period is June 1, 2024, to March 31, 2025
Last year, the pubcaster earned a total of Rs 1,073 crore from the 65 slots on the DD FreeDish
The online e-auction process to be tentatively held on September 12, 2023
The average price per slot stands at Rs 16.5 crore
On the last day on Monday, seven slots were auctioned. The highest bid came from Bflix
According to sources, the pubcaster has mopped up approximately Rs 409 crore in these two rounds; bidding for remaining rounds to continue on March 20
Zee Chitramandir, Zee Punjabi, Fakt Marathi, Shemaroo MarathiBana, Manoranjan Movies, Sanskar TV and Sun Marathi picked up the slots
The six slots under Bucket C category have been secured by News18, Republic Bharat, TV9, Zee News, NDTV and ABP News
The first two slots under Bucket C, for news & current affairs (Hindi) channels, has been picked up for Rs 19.85 crore and Rs 16.55 crore say sources
At Rs 24 crore, Zee Anmol Cinema buys the most expensive movie genre slot ever
Three slots in Bucket B also sold on Day 3
The industry bodies believe that the auction procedure is skewed against all news and current affairs channels
Originally scheduled for March 13, the online auction is for vacant MPEG-2 slots of the DD Free Dish from April 1, 2023, to March 31, 2024
This has come into effect from 27th January
Industry sources say Disney Star, ZEEL, Culver Max Entertainment and Viacom18 plan to bid for the DD FreeDish slots for their Hindi GECs like Star Utsav, Zee Anmol, Sony Pal and Colors Rishtey