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    News broadcasters boycott e-auction by DD free dish

    Synopsis

    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.

    News Broadcasters Boycott e-auction by DD Free Dish.
    TV news broadcasters have decided to boycott the current DD Free Dish e-auction, citing a new methodology by Prasar Bharati that they believe is skewed against news and current affairs channels.

    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 about the DD Free Dish e-auction. Firstly, 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.

    Secondly, 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.

    "Toward resolving this, we are urgently seeking time to meet you and any Prasar Bharti officials as you may deem appropriate at the earliest." Representatives from both associations will be available for such a meeting at the shortest notice," the letter states.

    The two bodies also made it clear that they will not participate in the e-auction until their grievances are addressed.

    "Unfortunately, till we can resolve this matter, we are constrained not to be able to participate as of now in the ongoing bidding for the news category."

    Meanwhile, Prasar Bharati has already mopped up an estimated Rs 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.

    Sources added that Manoranjan TV, Manoranjan Grand, STV, Q, Dangal, and Big Magic have won slots in the Hindi GEC category.

    The average bid price for the six Hindi GEC slots was Rs 17.64 crore.

    The highest bid price was Rs 17.9 crore.

    In the Hindi movie category, Star Utsav Movies, Colors Cineplex Superhits, B4U Kadak, B4U Movies, and Dhamaka Movies B4U won the slots, sources said. The average bid price for this category was Rs 17.06 crore, while the highest bid price was Rs 17.55 crore.

    Shemaroo Entertainment's COO for Broadcasting Business, Sandeep Gupta, said that the price of DD Free Dish slots has gone up this time due to the change in the auction methodology. "Shemaroo TV has won a slot in the first round of the e-auction. We will be participating in the e-auction for other channels like Shemaroo Marathibana and Shemaroo Umang," he added.




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