Prasar Bharati has invited applications on formal lines for the 91st e-auction to assign vacant MPEG-2 slots on the popular DD Free Dish DTH. The auction is to be conducted from September 18, 2025, and will grant channel slots on a pro-rata basis for the duration from September 27, 2025, through March 31, 2026.
This is a great chance for private satellite channels licensed by the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting to reach out to the huge DD Free Dish subscriber base.
Key Dates and Deadlines -
E-Auction Date: Tentatively proposed to start from September 18, 2025 (Thursday).
Application Deadline: The last date for filing online applications and the original Demand Draft for the participation fee is 3:00 PM on September 15, 2025 (Monday).
E-Auction Process and Fees -
The interested broadcasters need to apply online on the official website at https://fdslots.prasarbharati.org/
The following is the fee structure:
Non-refundable Processing Fee: There is a required online payment of ₹25,000 to submit the application.
Participation Fee: A hefty participation fee of ₹1.50 Crore (₹1,50,00,000) is chargeable for participating. This is to be paid through the Demand Draft or RTGS.
Unsuccessful bidders will have the three-week auction participation fee refunded within three weeks of the results announcement.
The mid-year auction is a welcome opportunity for new and current broadcasters to win a position on India's sole free-to-view DTH platform. All applicants are recommended to thoroughly read the official notice and the 'E-auction Methodology 2025' available on the Prasar Bharati website prior to applying, or you can also view Channel Categories and Reserve Prices here.
You can check the currently available DD Free Dish MPEG-2 TV channels list here.