The exponential growth of digital platforms has put the linear TV model under much strain. The upside is 58% of Indians still watch traditional television. Legacy media firms can ride out the market turmoil if they prioritise quality, rein in production budgets & reinvent their business models, writes Alokananda Chakraborty
l Linear TV faces its toughest challenge ever
INDIA’S LINEAR TV (traditional television where programmes air on a fixed schedule through cable, satellite, or broadcast) landscape is plagued by issues such as audience migration to over-the-top (OTT)/digital platforms — especially younger viewers and rural India, shrinking subscriber bases, rising content costs, softening ad rates (and therefore falling ad revenue), and above all, a fragmented regulatory environment, leading many channels to surrender licences.
Experts say, the general linear decline mirrors a global trend towards digital content consumption. The pressure mounted since around 2018 when the decline in pay-TV households began. The slide accelerated with the rise of digital platforms. The year 2024 was the moment of truth for linear TV when digital media revenues surpassed those of the former for the first time, marking a big structural shift in the media industry. Things began to unravel fast when around 50 TV channels started surrendering their licences over the last three years, claiming financial non-viability and changed viewing habits among audiences.
l Recent numbers show audiences are shifting
THE DIRECT-TO-HOME or DTH sector has seen a decline in revenue for six consecutive years due to “cord-cutting” (that is, users cancelling DTH services). With that, the pay-DTH subscriber base slumped to 56.9 million by March 2025 from its peak of 70 million in 2019, says a December 2025 Crisil report.
The number of digital-only viewers has surged to 313 million. That’s 26% of the 15-plus age group. Connected TV (CTV), which delivers content over the internet to smart TVs, is growing rapidly, with 49% of new CTV viewers coming from rural India.
Affluent households are increasingly shifting to OTT platforms, while price-sensitive homes are migrating to free services such as DD Free Dish. The core linear TV audience is aging, with younger audiences opting for on-demand digital content, making linear TV less relevant.
l Fewer viewers, lower ad revenue
FALLING VIEWERSHIP MEANS fewer eyeballs, higher acquisition cost and reduced ad spending, despite high content production costs. High overheads to serve a shrinking base of cable/DTH subscribers have become increasingly untenable for players as customer numbers fall.
l Regulatory imbalance
WHILE TRADITIONAL TELEVISION operates under stringent regulation, ecosystems such as OTT, free ad-supported streaming TV (FAST) channels and YouTube are largely unregulated. Anil Kumar Lahoti, chairman, Telecom Regulatory Authority of India, had recently pointed at the imbalance. Unlike OTT, where the broadcaster’s content can be directly delivered to or accessed by consumers over the internet, linear TV has multiple players in the chain. This multi-layer ecosystem throws its own set of challenges in the way of facilitating a non-discriminatory and fair deal to players, irrespective of their size or geography, Lahoti had stated.
The result is a situation where new forms of TV, such as IPTV (or Internet Protocol Television which can offer live TV on a schedule, besides on-demand and catch-up features), FAST and hybrid linear-digital channels, exist in a grey zone. Broadcast Audience Research Council’s non-reporting of IPTV performance has added another layer of confusion. In its absence, investors are cautious, impacting advertising investments.
l Big players are scaling down
ACCORDING TO REPORTS, JioStar, Zee Entertainment Enterprises, Eenadu Television, TV Today Network, NDTV and ABP Network are among broadcasters that have surrendered licences. JioStar, for instance, has surrendered the licences for Colors Odia, MTV Beats, VH1 and Comedy Central. Zee Entertainment shut down Zee Sea, which had an uplink-only licence. That apart, Culver Max Entertainment, which operates as Sony Pictures Networks India, surrendered 26 downlinking permissions after earlier receiving government approval to uplink and downlink the channels.
l The future isn’t that bleak
THE MARKET IS moving towards “co-aggregation,” where linear TV and OTT platforms coexist. Given that, experts suggest legacy media companies should focus on quality over quantity, focus on projects with higher return on investment and rein in production budgets.
The thing to remember is, linear TV in India still reaches over 210 million households and a colossal number of viewers, particularly in rural areas. Over half (58%) of Indians still watch linear TV monthly (Source: Kantar Media Compass). The audience migration has led broadcasters to focus on digital offerings, which are expected to boost their operating margins. Crisil predicts the revenue slide for linear will moderate to a slower pace of 3-4% in FY26, thanks to the new strategies deployed by players.