Doordarshan to e-auction four vacant DTH slots

India’s public broadcaster Doordarshan is conducting an e-auction for four vacant slots on its DD Direct Plus free to air satellite TV platform. The auction is to be held on 23 June, newindianexpress.com reports.

The e-auction, to offer private broadcasters the possibility of reaching a pan-Indian audience by direct to home (DTH) transmission, will be conducted by Mumbai-based online trading firm NCDEX Spot.

Doordarshan adopted the e-auction process in July 2011, whereby slots are allocated for a period of one year. The public broadcaster has now conducted six e-auctions for the allocation of 30 slots on its DTH service, with the last e-auction in November setting a reserve price of INR31.1 million per slot.

DD Direct Plus covers 81% of India’s geographical area via 1,415 transmitters, and claims a viewership of about 9 million.