India's TV loses ground to OTT as 114 licenses surrendered
TV in India is losing ground fast, thanks to everyone jumping onto over-the-top (OTT) and streaming platforms.
Pay TV subscriptions and ad revenues are dropping, and between 2022 and 2026, a whopping 114 channel licenses were surrendered, including big names like Zee Entertainment, NDTV, and B4U Networks, mostly because business just is not what it used to be.
India's pay TV lost 11 million subscribers
Sony Pictures Networks India gave up 26 existing downlinking permissions in 2025 after getting new permissions. Broadcasters are also surrendering licenses.
In 2025 alone, pay TV lost 11 million subscribers while connected TV households shot up by 10 million.
Linear TV revenue dropped for the fourth year in a row, hitting ₹62,000 crore, a sign that broadcasters need to rethink how they reach viewers or risk fading out even more.