How is TV advertising priced in India?
TV airtime is sold in units of 10 seconds, by channel and time band. Your cost depends on three things: the rate per 10 seconds, the length of your ad, and how many times it airs.
The basic sum: rate per 10 seconds × (ad length ÷ 10) × number of plays = airtime cost, before discounts.
TV channels in India can show at most 12 minutes of ads in an hour, under the Cable Television Networks Rules, 1994. So ad time in popular shows is limited, and the best slots sell out first, especially during cricket and the festive season.
How do Doordarshan's bonus and slab discounts work?
Doordarshan publishes how a corporate bill is worked out. There are three steps.
- Bonus airtime. On regional channels the bonus is 1:1, so each paid second comes with a free one. That halves the effective rate: ₹800 becomes ₹400 per 10 seconds. On DD National the bonus is 1:3, so ₹14,000 becomes ₹3,500.
- Slab discounts. The total is then discounted in slabs, "similar to income tax". The slabs for regional and most national channels are in the table below. DD National has its own, larger slabs.
- Direct booking. Booking directly with Prasar Bharati earns a further 10% discount for corporate clients.
| Discount slab (regional and other national channels) | Discount | Airtime to be used within |
|---|---|---|
| Up to ₹50,000 | 20% | 2 months |
| ₹50,000 to ₹1 lakh | 30% | 2 months |
| ₹1 lakh to ₹2.5 lakh | 40% | 2 months |
| ₹2.5 lakh to ₹5 lakh | 50% | 4 months |
| Above ₹5 lakh | 60% | 4 months |
DD National's slabs are 20% up to ₹2 lakh, 30% up to ₹5 lakh, 40% up to ₹10 lakh, 50% up to ₹20 lakh and 60% above that.
Sample TV budgets: what a month really costs
Here are worked examples using Doordarshan's own method. Each is a 20-second ad in prime time for 30 days. Media cost only, before the direct booking discount, GST and production.
| Example campaign | Airtime | After bonus | Slab discount | You pay |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DD Bangla, 5 plays a day | 150 plays × 20 s = 3,000 s | ₹1,20,000 | ₹33,000 | ₹87,000 |
| DD Assam (5 to 9 pm), 5 plays a day | 3,000 s | ₹75,000 | ₹17,500 | ₹57,500 |
| DD Bihar, 10 plays a day | 6,000 s | ₹2,40,000 | ₹81,000 | ₹1,59,000 |
| DD National, 3 plays a day | 90 plays × 20 s = 1,800 s | ₹6,30,000 | ₹1,82,000 | ₹4,48,000 |
How the DD Bangla line works: 3,000 seconds is 300 units of 10 seconds. At the effective rate of ₹400, that's ₹1,20,000. The slab discount is 20% on the first ₹50,000 (₹10,000), 30% on the next ₹50,000 (₹15,000) and 40% on the last ₹20,000 (₹8,000), so ₹33,000 off.
Doordarshan's own worked example on its card: a ₹6.25 lakh booking on DD Bihar comes down to ₹3.4 lakh after slab discounts.
What do private TV channels charge?
Private channels don't publish rate cards. They price airtime by the size and type of audience a show delivers. So a hit serial or a cricket match costs many times more than a late-night slot on the same channel. Media buyers compare channels on cost per rating point (CPRP): how much it costs to reach 1% of the target audience, using BARC ratings.
What pushes private-channel prices up:
- Big events. Cricket tournaments, award shows and reality-show finales are sold at a premium, often in packages booked months ahead.
- Festive season. Demand peaks before Durga Puja, Diwali and the wedding season, and rates rise with it.
- Language and region. A regional channel that leads its state can deliver a target audience more cheaply than a national channel.
- Position. First or last in an ad break, or a branded segment inside a show, costs more.
What else goes into a TV campaign budget?
- Ad film production. Script, shoot, actors, editing, voice-over, music and dubbing into regional languages. This is a separate cost from airtime, and it can be large.
- Censor and channel approvals. Channels check ads against the advertising codes before airing them.
- Media planning and buying. Choosing channels and slots, negotiating, and checking that ads aired.
- GST on airtime and production.
Making the film is video production. Choosing channels, slots and frequency for your budget is media planning.
How do agencies charge for TV, and how do you compare quotes?
We don't publish our fees. Here is how TV is usually billed, so you can compare any quote, including ours.
- Media cost: the airtime, at the channel's rate after bonus and discounts. Ask for the rate per 10 seconds, the bonus and the discount in writing.
- Agency fee or commission: a percentage of media, or a fixed fee for planning and buying.
- Production: quoted separately, with the number of versions and languages.
- Proof of airing: the channel's telecast certificate or an independent monitoring report.
Ask every agency for the same details: channels, time bands, ad length, number of spots, effective rate, discounts and total, with GST shown separately. A good media buying partner shares the telecast proof without being asked.
Is TV advertising worth it for your business?
TV still builds fame faster than almost anything else. It suits brands that sell to a whole state or the whole country: consumer goods, vehicles, paints, cement, real estate launches, education and healthcare.
It's a poor fit when your buyers are a small, specific group, or when you can't afford enough spots for people to notice. A few scattered spots rarely work.
Regional Doordarshan channels are an affordable way to test TV in one state. To measure it, watch searches for your brand name, calls to a unique number and sales in that state during the campaign. Our TV advertising service plans and buys campaigns this way.
