Sun Direct, the DTH platform from Chennai-based Sun TV Network, said it has added 25 new channels, including five HD channels.
With this, the total number of HD channels on the platform has risen to 65 and the number of standard definition channels has risen to 237.
It is expected to add another 15 HD and 80 standard definition channels over the coming weeks.
The new HD channels added to the network including Colors Bangla, Zee Telugu, Cineplex, MTV Beats and Disney International.
Among the non-HD channels added in the last week are Rishtey, Rishtey Cineplex, Zee Anmol and 9X Jahakaas.
Among the new Tamil channels added are Vanavil, Vijay Super, Super TV and Travel XP Tamil, while Malayalam channels Safari and Naaptol have also found a place on the platform in recent days.
The additions are part of Sun Direct’s expansion of its portfolio to take advantage of the recent acquisition of extra spectrum capacity.
Sun Direct had been facing a severe spectrum crunch due to a fire on an ISRO satellite that knocked out most of its satellite capacity in 2010.
The fire forced the company to move satellite to Malaysian-owned Measat 3A, and manually realign the dish antennae of millions of its customers. But it was not able to get extra spectrum to launch HD channels at its new home.
Relief came in the way of a second satellite that was launched at the same location in 2014 by Measat, boosting capacity.
At present, Sun Direct has among the lowest number of standard-definition channels in India. In comparison, players like Airtel Digital, which has around 500 standard definition channels and 71 high-definition channels.