Prasar Bharati’s DD Free Dish now has over 40 million subscribers

The subscriber base of DD Free Dish, the free-to-air DTH service of Prasar Bharati, has now crossed the 40 million-mark, according to a FICCI-EY report.

The growth in the subscriber base of DD Free Dish was attributed to factors such as private broadcasters strengthening their presence on the platform and the launch of DD Retro channel. Also, due to adverse economic factors with the pandemic outbreak, consumers turned to more affordable entertainment options during the pandemic.

“In many cases, DD Free Dish has also emerged as the second set-top box within the Indian TV households and is used when there are no large events on television. Free Dish distributors have reported year-on-year growth in sales,” a statement from the I&B Ministry stated.

The FICCI-EY report estimates that TV households base in the country could continue to grow at over 5 per cent till 2025, driven by connected TVs which could cross 40 million by 2025; DD Free Dish could cross 50 million, the report says.

The primary objective of DD Free Dish is to provide an alternative and affordable platform for quality entertainment and information to people without any subscription fee, the official statement added.

Currently, DD Free Dish hosts 161 TV channels including 91 Doordarshan channels, 70 private channels and 48 radio channels.

From April 1, the DD Free Dish private TV channel bouquet would consist of 10 Hindi GEC, 15 Hindi movies, 6 music, 20 news, 8 Bhojpuri, 3 devotional and 2 foreign channels. DD Free Dish is presently under upgradation and is expected to add another few channels to its bouquet by May, the statement added.

Recently an online webapp has also been released that aids consumers in finding DD Free Dish Set Top Box dealers based on their nearest location. The Hindu Business line