50 TV channels give up licences in three years amid India’s digital shift: Report

India’s television broadcast landscape is undergoing a sharp reset, with 50 channels reportedly surrendering their licences over the past three years amid changing viewer habits, intensifying digital adoption, and pressure on advertising revenues.

Those who have given up TV broadcast licences include JioStar, Zee Entertainment Enterprises, Eenadu Television, TV Today Network, NDTV and ABP Network, according to data from the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, the Economic Times has reported.

Separately, Culver Max Entertainment, which operates as Sony Pictures Network India, surrendered 26 downlinking permissions after receiving approval from the ministry to both uplink and downlink the same set of channels.

India’s pay-TV ecosystem has been under sustained pressure, with affluent households increasingly shifting to OTT platforms, while price-sensitive homes migrate to DD Free Dish.

The pay DTH subscriber base has declined from 72 million in FY19 to 62 million in FY24 and is projected to fall further, according to a recent report by Crisil cited by ET.

Industry executives said the licence surrenders stem from a mix of reasons. Weak advertising trends have compounded the strain.

WPP has forecast that television advertising revenue will decline 1.5% in 2025 to ₹477.4 billion, even as the overall advertising market is expected to reach ₹1.8 trillion in 2025, growing 9.2% year on year, and expand further to ₹2 trillion in 2026.

Enter10 Media, which runs the Hindi general entertainment channel Dangal, among the country’s top 10 television channels by viewership, also surrendered some licences following a strategic review, said the ET report. The broadcaster said it decided not to proceed with the planned launch of additional channels due to business objectives and resource-planning constraints. As part of this review, Enter10 gave up its Dangal HD and DaDangal Oriya licences, shelving plans for HD and regional expansion.

Industry bodies said the slowdown reflects deeper structural shifts driven by media and technology convergence, along with changing audience preferences and consumption behaviour. They have also flagged regulatory challenges as a key factor intensifying stress in the broadcasting sector, the report added.