Doordarshan India wants to broadcast more than 100 TV Channels

Indian public broadcaster Doordarshan will be holding its 21st e-auction to sell slots on its free-to-air direct-to-home (DTH) platform on 12 August, as it aims to ramp up its TV channel offering to 112.

The reserve price fixed by DD is INR3.7 billion (nearly US$5.78 million) per slot on Freedish for the online e-auction, although the number of slots being auctioned has not been unveiled.

The participation amount (EMD) in the e-auction is INR150 million, which has to be deposited before the evening of 12 August, along with a non-refundable processing fee of INR10,000 in favour of PB (BCI) Doordarshan Commercial Service, New Delhi.

Applicants must provide details of the satellite uplink and downlink permission documents from the relevant Ministries.

Currently, DD’s satellite service Freedish has 64 channels including its own channels, and the parliamentary channels Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha TV.

The e-auction will be conducted by C1 India Pvt Ltd, Noida on behalf of Doordarshan’s operator Prasar Bharati.