TV news bodies News Broadcasters and Digital Association (NBDA) and News Broadcasters Federation (NBF) have dashed off a joint letter signed by their respective presidents to Information and Broadcasting (I&B) minister Anurag Thakur seeking his intervention in the matter. Between the two, they represent all the national and regional TV news networks in the country. Prasar Bharati operates the free direct-to-home (DTH) platform DD Free Dish, which reaches an estimated 40-50 million homes.
The news broadcasters have raised three key concerns with Prasar Bharati. First, they noted that the number of slots allocated to the news genre on DD Free Dish has been reduced from 14 in 2022 to just six this year. Second, they expressed worry that the altered auction methodology for DD Free Dish slots will allow entertainment broadcasters to bid for slots previously reserved for news channels.
Lastly, they highlighted the lack of a scientific basis to determine the actual reach of DD Free Dish, which is an unencrypted platform.
All these factors, the news broadcasters feel, will drive up the price of DD Free Dish slots and make them unviable for the news channels. “We believe that this is likely to make the cost of bidding for slots on DD Free Dish prohibitive for us and against our common interest,” the letter dated March 14 reads.
The NBF and NBDA have sought an urgent meeting with Thakur and Prasar Bharati officials. The two bodies also made it clear that they will not participate in the e-auction until their grievances are addressed.
Meanwhile, Prasar Bharati has already mopped up an estimated ₹191 crore from the auction of 11 slots that were reserved for Hindi general entertainment and movie channels, sources involved in the bidding process said on condition of anonymity.
