50 TV channels surrender licences in 3 years amid rising digital consumption

Mumbai: As many as 50 television channels have surrendered their licences over the past three years, underscoring mounting challenges for India’s linear television sector as digital consumption accelerates across connected TVs and mobile platforms and advertising revenues dwindle.

JioStar, Zee Entertainment Enterprises, Eenadu Television, TV Today Network, NDTV and ABP Network are among broadcasters that have surrendered licences, according to data from the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB).

Separately, Culver Max Entertainment, which operates as Sony Pictures Networks India, surrendered 26 downlinking permissions after receiving MIB approval to uplink and downlink the same set of channels, data showed.


The licence surrenders are due to strategic restructuring, financial unviability and changing market conditions, industry executives said.

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 below 51 million in the current fiscal, according to a recent Crisil report.

Advertising trends have added to the strain. WPP has forecast television advertising revenue to decline 1.5% in 2025 to Rs 477.4 billion, even as the overall advertising market is projected to reach Rs 1.8 trillion in 2025, growing 9.2% year-on-year, and expand further to Rs 2 trillion in 2026.

JioStar surrendered licences for channels such as Colors Odia, MTV Beats, VH1 and Comedy Central, citing internal business decisions. Zee Entertainment shut down Zee Sea, which had an uplink-only licence, following the closure of the channel’s operations.

Enter10 Media, which runs Hindi general entertainment channel Dangal, one of India’s top 10 television channels by viewership, also surrendered some licences after a strategic review. 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 Dangal Oriya licences, shelving plans for HD and regional expansion.

ABP Network shut down ABP News HD, citing high operating costs and weak monetisation, while NDTV surrendered the licence for its proposed Gujarati news channel, NDTV Gujarati.

Industry bodies said the slowdown reflects structural changes driven by media and technology convergence, alongside shifting audience preferences and consumption behaviour. They have also flagged regulatory challenges as a key factor exacerbating stress in the broadcasting sector.

Broadcasters, cable operators and DTH service providers have repeatedly pointed out that the television industry is regulated across multiple layers, including licensing, content and pricing, unlike OTT platforms, which continue to operate under relatively light regulation.

As per the latest MIB data, India currently has 916 television channels available for downlinking, comprising 572 free-to-air channels and 334 pay channels.

In addition, the ministry has granted 10 licences to television channels that are uplinked from India but broadcast exclusively overseas.