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Industry reports noted that churn has started to ease, aided by marquee live cricket content moving behind digital paywalls.
According to Media Partners Asia, the industry added 3.5 million new pay-TV subscribers in calendar year 2025 so far, including 1.5 million during the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) season.
The industry consolidation is also expected to boost ad revenues, as broadcasters seek to extract higher yields from their advertising inventory. The re-launch of free-to-air (FTA) Hindi general entertainment channels (GECs) on DD Free Dish is also projected to drive incremental ad revenue from FY26 onward.
DD Free Dish continues to offer broadcasters and advertisers access to a vast rural audience, with an estimated reach of 40-50 million homes.
Linear TV is witnessing green shoots due to strong consumption across entertainment and sports, industry leaders told ET.Halt in free cricket streaming and removal of content from YouTube could also boost pay-TV subscriptions while the relaunch of FTA Hindi GECs on DD Free Dish could bring in incremental revenue, they said.During its Q4 earnings call, Zee Entertainment’s management said the linear television landscape remains robust, with weekly impressions exceeding 27 billion and a weekly reach above 740 million viewers. “The fiscal proved to be a mixed bag for the industry at large,” said Zee Entertainment CEO Punit Goenka, adding the industry displayed “immense resilience” by taking cautious steps forward and pivoting strategies to enhance revenue generation across segments. For FY25, ZEE subscription revenue grew 7% to ‘3,926 crore.
Goenka further noted that consolidation in the industry would benefit all stakeholders on both revenue and cost fronts. “On the advertising front, it’s still very early days. But I do expect that eventually it will have a positive impact on the overall industry,” he said, adding that the sector is already seeing “a lot of benefit flowing in on the acquisition of content.”
In its latest media and entertainment report, Ficci-EY observed that-barring any unforeseen disruptions-all segments are expected to grow or remain flat, with the exception of linear television, assuming India’s real GDP grows at 5% or more.
Speaking at the recent WAVES summit, JioStar vice-chairman Uday Shankar said, “TV remains pretty healthy although there is room for making it better”.
The only concern for the industry is that ad revenue remains under pressure due to macroeconomic issues.
