India has a huge number of television viewers, a large portion of whom rely on DTH (Direct-to-Home) services for their entertainment needs.
What is Free DTH?
Free DTH is a government-backed initiative to provide free DTH services to the general public. The service is operated by Doordarshan, India's public service broadcaster, in collaboration with private DTH operators. Free DTH's primary objective is to provide quality entertainment and information to the rural and underprivileged sections of society.
Number of channels on free DTH -
As of December 2024, free DTH services in India offer a total of 167 channels, including -
MPEG-2 TV channels (94)-
Currently, DD Freedish has a total of 94 MPEG-2 channels, i.e., those who have very old traditional MPEG-2 SD set top boxes can only get these 94 TV channels.
MPEG-4 TV Channels (84) -
DD Freedish has 24+30+30=84 MPEG-4 entertainment channels, i.e. those who have very new MPEG-4 set top box are getting these 84 channels along with MPEG-2 channels. This includes SD channels as well as HD channels.
Swayam Prabha TV Channels (22) -
DD Freedish also has 22 educational TV channels through Swayam Prabha, which can also be received through MPEG-4 set top box.
PM E-Vidya Channels (200) -
DD Freedish has 200 educational TV channels through PM E-Vidya, which can be received through MPEG-4 set top box. In these channels, one TV channel of one class is running as per the syllabus of different states.
Vande Gujarat TV Channels (16) -
16 educational TV channels in the Gujarati language are being run by BISAG in free DTH, which can also be accessed through MPEG-4 set top box.
Digishala TV Channels (58) -
58 educational TV channels of Digishala are being run in free DTH, which can also be accessed through MPEG-4 set top box. Through these channels, rural people of the country are being educated about digital services.
So the total number of TV channels in DD Free Dish is as follows -
MPEG-2 TV Channels (94) - See Channel List
MPEG-4 TV Channels (84) - See Channel List
Swayam Prabha TV Channels (22) - See Channel List
PM E-Vidya Channels (200) - See Channel List
Vande Gujarat TV Channels (16) - See Channel List
DigiShala TV Channels (58) - See Channel List
The total number of TV channels in DD Free Dish is # 474
So you know that FREEDTH service in India provides many types of channels including entertainment, news and educational channels. That too without any monthly subscription fee.