DD Free Dish e-auction heats up: Day 2 sees its first slot sold for Rs 20.85 crore

The second day of the DD Free Dish MPEG-2 slot auction has started with an action-packed session. The third slot of the season and the first for the day has just sold for Rs 20.85 crore. While the winner’s details remain unconfirmed, this brings the total number of slots sold to three and the overall auction earnings to a little over Rs 60 crore.

DD Free Dish remains a popular choice for broadcasters’ eyeing expansive reach. According to public data, the platform has a reach of anywhere between 43-45 million households.

DD Free Dish, India’s free-to-air direct-to-home service, seems to be defying the odds and not only surviving but thriving in the shifting media landscape where cord cutters are taking over.

The platform has witnessed remarkable surge in earnings, with Prasar Bharati’s revenue from MPEG-2 slots increasing significantly by 66 percent to reach Rs1071 crore in 2023. This bounce-back followed a 12 percent decline the previous year.

With the auction continuing to garner strong interest, only time will tell if DD Free Dish manages to hit a new record this year. StoryBoard18