Mumbai: JioStar has sharply increased the maximum retail prices (MRPs) of several individual television channels while keeping bouquet price revisions relatively modest, signalling a stronger push towards bundled consumption in its 2026 reference interconnect offer (RIO) for distribution platform operators (DPOs).
The broadcaster, which operates more than 130 channels across languages and genres, has reset both a-la-carte and bouquet pricing in the fresh RIO. The new structure shows steep year-on-year hikes in standalone channel prices—especially in Kids and regional general entertainment (GEC)—while comparable bouquets have largely risen by only ₹5–10.
Kids channels see the sharpest jumps
Among the steepest increases, Nickelodeon’s a-la-carte MRP has surged from ₹7 in 2025 to ₹19 in 2026, a jump of about 171%, while Nick HD+ has moved from ₹10 to ₹19 (up 90%). The scale of the hike is significant enough to alter pack economics for DPOs and may accelerate migration of households into bouquets where Kids content is bundled.
The pricing move aligns with JioStar’s incentive design in the RIO. The broadcaster offers up to 15% incentives on subscribed bouquets and a-la-carte channels, but Kids-linked incentives are tied to DPOs achieving at least 30% bouquet penetration for specified Kids packs on their active subscriber base, along with compliance and reporting conditions.
Regional GECs converge near ₹30 band
Key southern and regional GEC brands have moved towards a ₹30 price band. Asianet and Vijay have each risen from ₹19 to ₹30, Maa TV from ₹25 to ₹30, and Colors Kannada from ₹25 to ₹30. In Bengal, Star Jalsha has increased from ₹19 to ₹25, about a 32% rise.
Regional movie channels have also been reset upward: Star Gold 2 from ₹5 to ₹8 (60%), Maa Gold from ₹9 to ₹12 (33%), Colors Kannada Cinema from ₹7 to ₹10 (≈43%), and Colors Gujarati Cinema from ₹3 to ₹7.
Bouquet increases stay measured
By contrast, bouquet MRPs have moved in smaller steps. SVP Hindi (SD) has risen from ₹110 to ₹120 and SPP Hindi (SD) from ₹180 to ₹190. SVP Lite Hindi HD has moved from ₹150 to ₹160, while SPP Lite Hindi HD has gone from ₹210 to ₹220.
Language-linked packs show similar increments: SVP Marathi Hindi from ₹125 to ₹135, SVP Gujarati Hindi from ₹115 to ₹125, and SVP Odia Hindi from ₹115 to ₹125. Southern Lite bouquets have also edged up modestly, such as SVP Lite Kannada from ₹70 to ₹76 and SVP Lite Telugu from ₹70 to ₹75.
The widening gap between a-la-carte and bouquet hikes suggests a bouquet-first pricing strategy that raises the cost “pain” of standalone selection while keeping bundle upgrades within manageable increments. Industry executives say DPOs may absorb part of the increases within existing packs to limit churn or use bouquet ladders to nudge customers towards higher tiers.
Incentives tied more tightly to channel placement
Beyond pricing, the 2026 RIO also sharpens conditions around incentives and channel placement on the electronic programme guide (EPG). While the incentive cap remains up to 15%, eligibility is now linked to compliance with logical channel number (LCN) rank requirements for subscribed a-la-carte channels and timely submission of qualifying reports.
The baseline for non-deterioration of LCN rank has shifted to the last week of January 2026 from the last week of December 2024 in the previous RIO. The clause has also been expanded to cover all head-ends and the entire market of a DPO, rather than a narrower head-end view earlier.
JioStar said it will communicate the baseline LCN number and rank to each DPO based on ground observations, giving the broadcaster a clearer reference point to challenge later placement changes. In last year’s RIO, the benchmark was largely the rank “maintained by the DPO.”
Compliance broadened for new subscriptions
The new RIO also introduces specific LCN conditions for head-ends where channels were not previously subscribed. If a DPO had not carried certain listed channels before January 2026 at one or more head-ends, it must meet the prescribed LCN rank requirement at those head-ends once the agreement is executed.
At the same time, the one-time “all channel line-up” submission requirement has been narrowed. In 2025 it applied where DPOs had not availed certain channels before December 2024; in 2026 it applies mainly to platforms that had not availed any JioStar channels prior to signing the service-level agreement.
The changes point to both tightening and easing: broader market-level LCN compliance and broadcaster-communicated baselines on one hand, but reduced administrative burden for existing partner platforms on the other.
EPG placement becomes commercial lever
LCN placement affects channel discoverability, sampling and ratings potential—and ultimately advertising revenue. By making LCN rank a formal condition for incentive eligibility, routine EPG reshuffles by DPOs could now carry financial implications. Platforms may need to assess whether guide clean-ups or local channel insertions risk triggering a “deterioration” dispute with the broadcaster.
However, enforcement could prove complex, depending on how ground observations are recorded and how conflicts are resolved when operational constraints clash with placement expectations.
Overall, JioStar’s 2026 RIO underscores a dual shift: stronger economic nudges towards bouquets through sharp a-la-carte hikes, and tighter control over distribution visibility via LCN-linked incentives—moves that could reshape pack structures and negotiation dynamics across India’s pay-TV ecosystem.
