Prasar Bharati Launches Pilot Scheme to Bring Popular Regional Channels on DD Free Dish

Prasar Bharati has announced a major pilot initiative to onboard popular regional language channels on the DD Free Dish platform, strengthening access to information, education and entertainment for millions of households across India. The scheme invites permitted and licensed regional channels—broadcasting in all Schedule 8 languages except Hindi and Urdu—to apply for vacant slots on the newly upgraded MPEG-4 streams.

Under the pilot, channels in Kannada, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Bangla, Assamese and Odia—currently underrepresented or unrepresented on the platform—will be given priority. Regional news channels will also receive preference over non-news channels. Importantly, Prasar Bharati will provide these MPEG-4 slots free of cost until 31 March 2026.

DD Free Dish, India’s largest free-to-air DTH platform, currently carries 482 TV channels including 320 DD co-branded educational channels such as PM eVidya and Swayam Prabha, along with 48 radio channels. The platform reaches nearly 65 million households, particularly in rural, remote and border regions.

With this initiative, Prasar Bharati aims to bridge gaps in access and opportunity by expanding regional language representation and advancing its core mission of public service broadcasting. The move is expected to further empower marginalized communities by delivering quality, subscription-free content to every corner of the country.