A Comprehensive List Of All The FTA Channels In India

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Under the new TRAI regulations, a cable or DTH customer is entitled to 100 FTA or Free to Air channels as part of the basic pack, with a network connection cost of Rs. 130+GST. The latest free channels are added on a regular basis, and anybody with a DTH subscription may view the list of FTA channels that are free to broadcast.

The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has the power to remove or introduce FTA channels.

In this blog, we’ll take a look at all the FTA channels TRAI has to offer in 2021. However, before we get into the list, let’s first get a brief understanding of what FTA channels mean and how they work.

What Are FTA channels?

Free-to-air (FTA) facilities are television (TV) as well as radio channels that are telecasted in a clear (non - encrypted) manner. Anyone with the necessary equipment can see or hear the content with no need for a premium membership. This is traditionally transmitted on terrestrial radio waves and received via an antenna.

FTA additionally applies to networks and broadcasters that provide media for which no membership is needed, even if it is transmitted to the viewer/listener through another carrier that requires a membership, such as a cable television, the Internet, as well as satellite.

In certain geographic regions, these carriers may also be necessary (or OPT) to offer FTA channels even though a premium membership is not present (given the equipment needed is still accessible). For example, FTA channels are extremely important as they are utilized for emergency broadcasts, equivalent to the 1-1-2 (112) emergency number offered by mobile phone companies and distributors in certain areas.

On the other hand, free-to-view (FTV) programming is typically available without the need for a membership, but it would be digitally encrypted and might even be geographically limited.

Free-to-air television is frequently utilized for worldwide broadcasting, making it a visual counterpart to shortwave radio. Most FTA merchants provide free-to-air channel listings and material accessible for free-to-air use throughout North America.

How FTA Channels Will Work

According to TRAI's new guidelines, a cable or DTH customer is entitled to 100 FTA or Free to Air channels as part of the basic pack, which needs to be at or above Rs 130 (plus GST).

If the customer has only picked 60 FTA or Free to Air channels, they can add 40 more to complete the list. Nevertheless, if the user selects pay channels, an additional fee will be charged, as decided by the broadcaster as well as the cable operator.

According to TRAI, adding more channels will cost Rs 25 for every 20 channels that the customer chooses.

FTA Channels List In India

Approximately 600 FTA television stations and 180 radio channels are transmitted via Ku-band as well as c-band transmitters on the INSAT-4B and GSAT-15 satellites, which covers India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal, Sri Lanka, and portions of Afghanistan as well as Myanmar.

In India, the programs are offered as DD Direct Plus/DD Free Dish by Doordarshan, India's public broadcaster, as well as other Indian commercial broadcasters. ABS Free Dish from the ABS2 satellite allows one to get free-to-air local TV channels using just a tiny DTH antenna as well as a free-to-air set-top box.

We have provided a collection of free air channels available in India that you may pick from based on your needs, which are categorised based on various service providers.

Tata Sky

One of the top DTH providers, Tata Sky offers 161 FTA channels that you can subscribe to, which we’ve listed below:

Telugu Regional

Channel Name Channel Number
10 TV Ch. 1467
Aradana TV Ch. 1492
Bhakti TV Ch. 1490
Hindu Dharmam Ch. 1494
HM TV Ch. 1465
Nipuna Ch. 1480
Studio Yuva Ch. 1423
Subhavaartha TV Ch. 1491
SVBC Ch. 1499
Swara Sagar Ch. 1493
T News Ch. 1462
Telugu Naaptol - Free Ch. 1419
V6 News Ch. 1463
Vidya Ch. 1479

Music

Channel Name Channel Number
9X Jalwa Ch. 830
9XM Ch. 809
B4U Music Ch. 822
E24 Ch. 813
Mastiii Ch. 825
Showbox Ch. 835

Marathi Regional

Channel Name Channel Number
9X Jhakaas Ch. 1276
ABP Majha Ch. 1255
Fakt Marathi Ch. 1220
Jai Maharashtra Ch. 1262
Lokshahi Ch. 1265
Saam TV Ch. 1261
Shemaroo Marathi Bana Ch. 1230
TV9 Marathi Ch. 1263

Punjabi Regional

Channel Number
Channel Name
9X Tashan Ch. 1939
ANB News Ch. 1927
India News Punjab Ch. 1923
Living India News Ch. 1928
Pitaara TV Ch. 1911
PTC Gold Ch. 1912
PTC Punjabi Ch. 1906

Spiritual

Channel Name Channel Number
Aastha Ch. 1055
Aastha Bhajan Ch. 1077
Awakening Ch. 1084
Disha TV Ch. 1058
Divya Ch. 1083
Ishwar TV Ch. 1068
Jinvani Channel Ch. 1066
MH One Shraddha Ch. 1061
Paras TV Ch. 1059
Peace of Mind Ch. 1065
Sadhna TV Ch. 1063
Sanskar Ch. 1057
Satsang TV Ch. 1073
Shubh TV Ch. 1074
Subharti TV Ch. 1082
Vedic Ch. 1078

Bengali Regional

Channel Name Channel Number
ABP Ananda Ch. 1360
Enterr10 Bangla Ch. 1322
Republic Bangla Ch. 1367
Sun Bangla Ch. 1317
TV9 Bangla Ch. 1366

Gujarati Regional

Channel Name Channel Number
ABP Asmita Ch. 1728
Gujarat Samachar TV Ch. 1721
India News Gujarat Ch. 1732
Sandesh News Ch. 1722
VTV Gujarati Ch. 1729

Hindi News

Channel Name Channel Number
ABP Ganga Ch. 1127
ABP News Ch. 504
APN News Ch. 542
Bharat Samachar Ch. 559
Hindi Khabar Ch. 557
India News Ch. 522
India News Haryana Ch. 1924
India TV Ch. 514
India Voice Ch. 551
Janta TV Ch. 1925
Jantantra Ch. 568
Khabrain Abhi Tak Ch. 563
MH One News Ch. 1926
Network10 Ch. 567
News 1 India Ch. 553
News 24 Ch. 516
News India 24X7 Ch. 562
News Live Ch. 1973
News Nation Ch. 523
News State MP CG Ch. 1165
News11 Bharat Ch. 552
R Bharat Ch. 521
Samay Ch. 566
Sudarshan News Ch. 534
Swaraj Express SMBC Ch. 1166
Total TV Ch. 527
TV9 Bharatvarsh Ch. 524

Malayalam Regional

Channel Name Channel Number
Amrita TV Ch. 1817
Asianet News Ch. 1841
Manorama News Ch. 1843
Mazhavil Manorama Ch. 1819
Naaptol Malayalam Ch. 1823
Twenty four Ch. 1854

Hindi Regional

Channel Name Channel Number
Anjan TV Ch. 178
B4U Bhojpuri Ch. 1120
Bansal News Ch. 1162
Bhojpuri Cinema Ch. 1119
Dishum Ch. 1103
Enterr10 Rangeela Ch. 1104
First India Rajasthan Ch. 1182
IBC 24 Ch. 1161
India News MP CH Ch. 1164
India News Rajasthan Ch. 1183
India News UP UK Ch. 1136
INH 24X7 Ch. 1163
Mango Bhojpuri Ch. 1122
News State UP Uttarakhand Ch. 1137
Oscar Movies Bhojpuri Ch. 1118
Sadhna News MP CG Ch. 1168
Sadhna Plus News Ch. 1138

Tamil Regional

Channel Name Channel Number
Captain News Ch. 1567
SVBC 2 Ch. 1599
Tamil Naaptol - Free Ch. 1525
Vasanth TV Ch. 1530
Vendhar TV Ch. 1536
Sathiyam TV Ch. 1565
Puthiya Thalaimurai Ch. 1556
News J Ch. 1568
News 7 Tamil Ch. 1560
God TV Ch. 1886
Kalvi TV Ch. 1554
Madha TV Ch. 1590
Malaimurasu Seithigal Ch. 1566
Music Zone Ch. 1547
Nambikkai TV Ch. 1592

Kannada Regional

Channel Name Channel Number
Ayush TV Ch. 1686
Dighvijay 24x7 News Ch. 1659
Power TV Ch. 1660
Public Music Ch. 1677
TV5 Kannada Ch. 1657
TV9 Kannada Ch. 1653

Hindi Movies

Channel Name Channel Number
B4U Kadak Ch. 346
B4U Movies Ch. 352
Bflix Movies Ch. 367
Cinema TV India - Free Ch. 358
Dhinchaak Ch. 375
Enterr10 Movies Ch. 366
Wow Cinema One Ch. 365

Odia Regional

Channel Name Channel Number
Kalinga TV Ch. 1777
Kanak News Ch. 1774
Manjari Ch. 1760
Nandighosha TV Ch. 1779
OTV Ch. 1771
Prameya News 7 Ch. 1778

Hindi Entertainment

Channel Name Channel Number
Dangal Ch. 177
Kashish News Ch. 1139
Shemaroo TV Ch. 181

Knowledge & Lifestyle

Channel Name Channel Number
Food Food Ch. 768

News

Channel Name Channel Number
Mantavya News Ch. 1734

Entertainment

Channel Name Channel Number
The Q Ch. 175

Others

Channel Name Channel Number
DY 365 Ch. 1970
Ezmall Ch. 158
Hornbill Ch. 1978
Indradhanu Ch. 1961
Kannada Naaptol - Free Ch. 1617
Naaptol - Free Ch. 156
NKTV 24X7 Ch. 1977
Prag News Ch. 1975
Protidin Time Ch. 1974
Rang Ch. 1952

Airtel DTH

The Airtel Digital TV FTA Pack has a validity period of 28 days. This pack includes up to 105 channels divided into 12 categories, which we’ve listed below along with the channel numbers.

India Regional

Channel Name Channel Number
MH One Ch. 566
PTC News Ch. 563
PTC Punjabi Ch. 555
TV9 Gujarati Ch. 583
Sangeet Bangla Ch. 736
Saam TV Ch. 535
PTC Chakde Ch. 568
9X Tashan Ch. 569
Kolkata TV Ch. 726
9X Jhakaas Ch. 544
VTV News Ch. 585
Maiboli Ch. 529
MBC TV Ch. 606
TV9 Marathi Ch. 539
Sandesh News Ch. 586
DD Bihar Ch. 669
DD India Ch. 150
DD Rajasthan Ch. 348
DD UP Ch. 349
DD Girnar Ch. 589
DD Kisan Ch. 152
Chardikla Time TV Ch. 557
Fakt Marathi Ch. 530
Kanak News Ch. 604
Bhojpuri Cinema Ch. 661
Kalinga TV Ch. 605
DD Bharati Ch. 151
DD Punjabi Ch. 572
DD Urdu Ch. 626
DD Sahyadri Ch. 548
DD North East Ch. 647
DD Odia Ch. 617
DD Bangla Ch. 739
DD Kashir Ch. 627

South Regional

Channel Name Channel Number
DD Chandana Ch. 995
DD Malayalam Ch. 871
DD Podhigai Ch. 820
DD Saptagiri Ch. 947
GOD TV Ch. 684

Lifestyle & Education

Channel Name Channel Number
Home Shop 18 Ch. 122
Fashion TV Ch. 416

Music

Channel Name Channel Number
9XM Ch. 484
E24 Ch. 490
9X Jalwa Ch. 492
Dhoom Music Ch. 735
B4U Music Ch. 486
Zee ETC Bollywood Ch. 487
Mastiii Ch. 488

Hindi Movie

Channel Name Channel Number
Zee Action Ch. 216
B4U Movies Ch. 226
Wow Cinema Ch. 221

English News

Channel Name Channel Number
Russia Today Ch. 396
WION Ch. 386
BTVI Ch. 384
Republic TV Ch. 376

News

Channel Name Channel Number
DD News Ch. 345
India News Ch. 322
India TV Ch. 315
News 24 Ch. 323
Zee News Ch. 311
ABP News Ch. 309
IBC 24 Ch. 342
News Nation Ch. 321
Sudarshan News Ch. 327
TV 24 Ch. 369

DishTV

DishTV is one of the most popular DTH network providers and as per TRAI’s regulations, they provide multiple FTA channels as well.

Hindi Entertainment

Channel Name Channel Number
DD Bharati Ch. 197
DD Retro Ch. 191
DD National Ch. 193
Shemaroo TV Ch. 139
DD Urdu Ch. 213
Dangal Ch. 119
Big Magic Ch. 118
Abzy Cool Ch. 122

Hindi Movie

Channel Name Channel Number
B4U Kadak Ch. 4044
B4U Movies Ch. 360
Enterr10 Ch. 407
Manoranjan TV Ch. 4023
Movie Plus Ch. 4021
Abzy Movies Ch. 345
Surya Cinema Ch. 4003
Dhinchaak Ch. 413

Hindi Music

Channel Name Channel Number
9XM Ch. 4034
B4U Music Ch. 4045
Mastii Ch. 4020
MTV Beats Ch. 459
Zing Ch. 451

Hindi National News

Channel Name Channel Number
Zee News Ch. 651
Aaj Tak Ch. 655
Sudarshan News Ch. 679
Live Today Ch. 4040
NDTV India Ch. 659
TV9 Bharatvarsh Ch. 658
News 24 Ch. 661
News18 India Ch. 663
Aaj Tak Tez Ch. 677
Zee Hindustan Ch. 654
India News Ch. 665
DD News Ch. 699
India TV Ch. 653
News Nation Ch. 660
ABP News Ch. 650

Devotional

Channel Name Channel Number
Sanskar Ch. 1067
Aastha Bhajan Ch. 1073
Lord Buddha Ch. 4014

Sports & Infotainment

Channel Name Channel Number
DD Sports Ch. 639
DD Kisan Ch. 195

Regional

Channel Name Channel Number
B4U Bhojpuri Ch. 1560
Big Ganga Ch. 1552
Bhojpuri Cinema Ch. 1554
Surya Bhojpuri Ch. 4015
Maha Punjabi Ch. 4018
Manoranjan Movies Ch. 3997
Zee Punjabi Ch. 1156
DD Punjabi Ch. 1169
Chardikla Time Ch. 1152
DD Shimla Ch. 4079
Fakt Marathi Ch. 1213
DD Sahyadri Ch. 1229
DD Rajasthan Ch. 245
DD Girnar Ch. 1279
ABP Ganga Ch. 712
DD Bihar Ch. 1565
DD Bangla Ch. 1429

Sun Direct

While Sun Direct may not have a big customer base like Tata Sky and DishTV, however, they do offer a myriad of FTA channels, which we’ve mentioned below.

News

Channel Name Channel Number
India TV Ch. 586
Mathrubhumi News Ch. 223
Manorama News Ch. 224
Public TV Ch. 277
R Bharat Ch. 877
Seithigal Ch. 128
News 7 Tamil Ch. 134
Puthiya Thalaimurai Ch. 130
Thanthi TV Ch. 132
HM TV Ch. 185
Sakshi TV Ch. 184
T News Ch. 187
Nepal 1 Ch. 693
ABP News Ch. 571

Bengali

Channel Name Channel Number
ABP Ananda Ch. 625
Sangeet Bangla Ch. 627

Hindi

Channel Name Channel Number
9XM Ch. 608

Devotional

Channel Name Channel Number
Aastha Ch. 700
God TV Ch. 710
Sanskar Ch. 708
Sri Sankara TV Ch. 704
Angel TV Ch. 710
Subhavaartha TV Ch. 188
SVBC Ch. 702

Gujarati

Channel Name Channel Number
TV9 Gujarati Ch. 662

Kannada

Channel Name Channel Number
Asianet Suvarna News Ch. 270
Kannada Naaptol Ch. 263
Kasthuri Ch. 266
TV9 Kannada Ch. 272

Malayalam

Channel Name Channel Number
Amrita TV Ch. 216
Asianet News Ch. 222
JaiHind TV Ch. 220
Kairali TV Ch. 214
Malayalam Naaptol Ch. 217
Mazhavil Manorama Ch. 203
Media One TV Ch. 226
Safari TV Ch. 235
SHALOM TV Ch. 706

Marathi

Channel Name Channel Number
ABP Majha Ch. 658

Odia

Channel Name Channel Number
DD Odia Ch. 630
OTV Ch. 634

Punjabi

Channel Name Channel Number
DD Punjabi Ch. 670
MH One Ch. 606
PTC News Ch. 582
PTC Punjabi Ch. 666

Tamil

Channel Name Channel Number
Captain News Ch. 135
CAPTAIN TV Ch. 119
DD Podhigai Ch. 121
Isaiaruvi Ch. 122
Kalaignar TV Ch. 111
Makkal TV Ch. 118
Murasu TV Ch. 143
Tamil Naaptol Ch. 125
Vasanth TV Ch. 144

Telugu

Channel Name Channel Number
ABN Andhra Jyothi Ch. 186
DD Saptagiri Ch. 189
DD Yadagiri Ch. 188
Telugu Naaptol Ch. 171

Kashmir

Channel Name Channel Number
DD Kashir Ch. 680

HD

Channel Name Channel Number
Mazhavil Manorama HD Ch. 856

This is a comprehensive list of 230+ free to air channels, and you may watch all of them for free. But, it’s important to note that TRAI can modify the list whenever they choose to. So, before making a decision, it’s always wise to first check with your DTH or cable provider.

Conclusion

We hope that this information will assist you in selecting the appropriate channel based on your state and the TRAI's list of all free to air channels.

Frequently Asked Questions

Which cable TV channels are available for free?

All of the channels listed above are free to broadcast and may be viewed for free.

How many FTA channels are there in India?

In India, there are around 600 FTA channels that you may watch for free.

Can I watch Dish TV FTA channels without a recharge?

Unfortunately, you cannot watch FTA channels on any DTH provider without subscribing to at least their basic plan, which costs INR 130, including taxes.

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