DD Free Dish MPEG-4 e-auction to begin March 16, Prasar Bharati invites applications

New Delhi: India’s public broadcaster, Prasar Bharati, has released a notice inviting applications for the allotment of vacant MPEG-4 slots on its DD Free Dish DTH platform.

The pubcaster has announced the 8th annual and 97th online e-auctions for MPEG-4 slots, which will be conducted in accordance with the e-Auction Methodology 2025 and its amendment dated February 9, 2026.

The MPEG-4 slots, once allotted, will be valid for the period from April 1, 2026, to March 31, 2027.

The last date for applicants to submit their online applications along with all requisite documents and proof of payment of the participation fee is March 9, 2026, by 3:00 pm.

As per the notification, Prasar Bharati will commence the online e-auction from March 16, 2026. Participation is open to television channels permitted and licensed by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, with international public broadcasters also allowed to bid, subject to applicable approvals.

Under the notice, Prasar Bharati has prescribed a non-refundable processing fee of Rs 25,000, payable online. In addition, a participation fee of Rs 3 lakh is required to be paid through Demand Draft, RTGS or NEFT, as specified in the notification.

The pubcaster has divided the vacant MPEG-4 inventory into multiple genre- and language-based buckets, each with defined reserve prices, bid increments, and slot availability. A separate HD channel bucket has also been notified, with a reserve price of Rs 80 lakh for two slots.

For regional languages, Bucket R1 includes all genres of Tamil, Telugu, Kannada and Malayalam channels. The reserve price for this bucket is Rs 5 lakh in Round 1, which increases to Rs 15 lakh in Round 2, with five slots available in each round.

Bucket R2 comprises all genres of Punjabi, Marathi, Gujarati, Bengali and Odia channels, with the reserve price structure identical to R1. Bucket R3 includes all other Constitution-scheduled regional languages, excluding Hindi and Urdu, with one slot each in Round 1 and Round 2.

A Regional Open Round has also been provided for slots remaining vacant after R1, R2 and R3. This round is open to unsuccessful bidders from earlier rounds as well as yet-to-launch or relaunch regional channels in the relevant languages, with a reserve price of Rs 20 lakh.

The MPEG-4 auction also includes G1 and G2 buckets, covering news & current affairs channels under G1 and non-news & current affairs channels under G2. The reserve price for both buckets is Rs 30 lakh in Round 1, rising to Rs 50 lakh in Round 2.

In addition, Prasar Bharati will conduct a General Open Round, applicable to any remaining unfilled slots across buckets. This round will have a reserve price of Rs 70 lakh and will be open to channels across all genres and languages.

The bid increment for the MPEG-4 e-auction has been fixed at Rs 50,000 for the regional language buckets and Rs 1 lakh for the G and HD buckets.

The notice also lays down detailed bucket-wise eligibility and bidding restrictions, preventing broadcasters from bidding across multiple competing buckets within the same round structure. Further, channels are required to meet a 75% genre and language compliance threshold, failing which Prasar Bharati reserves the right to take action, including discontinuation from the platform.

Prasar Bharati has also stipulated that channels must operationalise their allotted MPEG-4 slots within one month from the commencement of the allotment period. Failure to do so may result in cancellation of the allotment and forfeiture of the amounts paid.

The notice further provides that any delay in payment of dues will attract interest at the rate of 14.5% per annum on the outstanding amount. In case of continued non-compliance, the public broadcaster reserves the right to forfeit fees and discontinue the channel from the DD Free Dish platform, in line with the terms and conditions of the e-auction methodology.