Sony Pal, Colors Rishtey Withdraws DD Free Dish

According to news reports, Sony Pal and Colors Rishtey have withdrawn from DD Free Dish. The networks, which are owned by Sony Pictures Networks India (SPNI) and Viacom18, respectively, won slots in the e-auction that was held in November, but this is still the case.

Additionally, this runs directly counter to DD Free Dish's announcement from last month, in which the platform said that both Sony Pal and Colors Rishtey will be available on Free Dish starting in December.

The return of Sony Pal and Colors Rishtey, according to industry watchers, was also not unexpected given that the pay broadcasters did not gain much from the withdrawal.

Early this year, the main four broadcasters removed their Hindi GECs from DD Free Dish. However, they did experience a loss in ad revenue as a result of a decline in the GRPs of the Hindi GECs, and this was in addition to the subscription revenue continuing to be pressured as a result of customer churn to other platforms including OTT video streaming and DD Free Dish. The channels have also previously stated that the withdrawal from DD Free Dish has negatively impacted the growth of their ad revenue.