Category: Television

Navin Kumar appointed interim CEO of Prasar Bharati

NEW DELHI: Doordarshan director-general Navin Kumar will be the interim CEO of Prasar Bharati till a selection panel zeroes down on a full time candidate for the post being vacated by KS Sarma.

Sarma served as the CEO of Prasar Bharati, which manages DD and All India Radio, from March 2002 to June 2006. Kumar’s appointment too would be a short one as the government official is slated to revert to his home cadre in August after a stint in New Delhi.

As Kumar will be functioning as the CEO of Prasar Bharati, senior-most deputy director-general, LD Mandloi, will be the acting DG of Doordarshan.

Interestingly, before Sarma took over the reins at Prasar Bharati, the then additional secretary in the I&B ministry, Anil Baijal, served as the acting CEO for about 18 months.Chief executive of the publicly funded Prasar Bharati is chosen by a panel headed by the Vice-President of India and comprising the chairman of the Press Council of India and a government nominee.

Sarma’s over four-year term had its ups and downs, but he is credited with successfully launching DD’s subscription-free DTH service DD Direct+, and steering Prasar Bharati’s annual revenues to over Rs 10 billion for the first time in FY06 ended March 2006.

It was also during Sarma’s tenure that DD News was relaunched and an in-house marketing team set up to market programmes aired on DD and AIR instead of outsourcing the activity, which, more often than not, ran into legal problems.

Though Sarma would not like to take much credit for it, but he is said to have successfully lobbied with the ministry to bring about changes in sports broadcasting, which resulted in the downlink law being formulated that makes it mandatory for private broadcasters to share feeds of listed events with the pubcaster.

June 30, 2006
Brazil stays soccer World Cup favourites on sports betting site

MUMBAI: Now that the month-long soccer World Cup has reached the quarterfinal stage, only eight of 32 teams remain in contention for the trophy. World Cup favourites Brazil remains the bookmaker’s pick to win their sixth world championship at 5/2 odds.

With the hopes of fans pinned on their national teams PinnacleSports.com, which claims to be the internet’s largest sports betting site, has announced updated odds on the eight
remaining teams capturing soccer’s biggest prize.

After a thrilling overtime victory over Mexico, PinnacleSports.com lists Argentina at 9/2 odds to become World Cup champions along with host-country Germany, who will face Argentina in the first quarterfinal match Friday.

Meanwhile, Italy stands at 13/2 to capture their fourth World Cup following their controversial penalty-kick win over Australia.

Despite uninspired play in both the Group stage and versus Ecuador, England currently stands at 7/1 to end the country’s 40-year World Cup drought. Meanwhile, PinnacleSports.com lists France (11/1), Portugal (14/1) and Ukraine (55/1) as long shots to emerge as world champions.

PinnacleSports.com’s Simon Noble says, “Entering the tournament, Brazil was known for its explosive goal scoring ability, but after only allowing one goal in World Cup play, they appear to be equally skilled on the defensive end. Argentina has become a trendy World Cup pick with experts and bettors, but the young Argentineans next face the grueling task of playing the Germans in front of a hostile Berlin crowd. Although they advanced thanks to a controversial foul call in extra time, Italy, with their exceptional defense led by Buffon in goal, cannot be overlooked for the remainder of the tournament.”

PinnacleSports.com is offering online betting options with limits of up to $50,000. For each match, Pinnacle Sports will offer three-way betting, low-margin Asian handicaps.

June 30, 2006

Nick US continues building on leadership position

MUMBAI: US kids channel Nickelodeon says that its in the top spot for the 11th consecutive year.

The channel says that it led basic cable as the top-rated network within the total programming day for the second quarter of the year i.e. 27 March to 25 June among total viewers and across all kids‘ demos, according to Nielsen Media Research.

In addition, the network grew double digits in its multiple media offerings — including Nick.com and Nickjr.com from year-to-year, and video-on-demand — and excelled on its broadband, online gaming platforms.

Among the network‘s primary demo of kids 2-11, the network posted a 3.8/1.3 million K2-11, up three per cent over second quarter 2005, and 81 per cent ahead of Cartoon Network (2.1/675,000 K2-11) and 52 per cent ahead of Disney (2.5/801,000 K2-11). With preschoolers, the network also ranked first, averaging a 4.5/560,000 K2-5, up 10 per cent over last year‘s like time period, ahead of Cartoon Network by 137 per cent (1.9/237,000 K2-5) and 73 per cent versus Disney Channel (2.6/326,000 K2-5).

However among tweens 9-14, Nickelodeon remained flat for the quarter, earning a 2.5/526,000 T9-14. It still beat its competition by double digits. Among kids 6-11, Nick is up more than one rating point above its closest competitor (Nick earned a 3.5 rating while The Disney Channel averaged a 2.4 rating), equating to a 46 per cent lead.

Nickelodeon adds that it was the only major kid network that posted year to year gains among the preschool (kids 2-5) audience. During its Nick Jr. block (Monday – Friday 9 am – 2 pm), then net beat kid competitors Disney Channel and Cartoon Network by 187 per cent and 196 per cent respectively.

Nick Jr. maintains the top seven out of 10 preschool programmes on commercial TV. These were Go, Diego, Go! , Dora the Explorer, The Wonder Pets, Blue‘s Clues, The Backyardigans, LazyTown and Miss Spider.

Contributing to the Nickelodeon‘s quarter-to-quarter growth, were several large events including Nickelodeon‘s 19th Annual Kids‘ Choice Awards (KCAs). This year‘s KCAs garnered an average of 3.2 million kids. In its first ever simulcast on TurboNick – a first in awards show history — the KCAs drove Nick.com to a high traffic day of more than 1.2 million unique visitors. Fairy Idol, a one-hour special based on Nick‘s The Fairly OddParents, also hit high numbers drawing more than five million total viewers and more than three million kids.

As Nickelodeon continues to build its leadership in new and emerging media platforms, it has increased usership on multiple media platforms in the kids‘ space, particularly with its broadband platforms, TurboNick and Nick Jr. Video, and its online sites, Nick.com and Nickjr.com.

— TurboNick, Nickelodeon‘s broadband video service on Nick.com, generated 63.2 million streams in second quarter 2006, up +46 per cent over first quarter 2006. It broke its record for the highest monthly streams with more than 28 million streams in June 2006, a 33 per cent increase from May 2006.

— Nick Jr. Video, Nick Jr.‘s broadband video service on Nickjr.com, garnered more than 27 million content streams in second quarter 2006. Nick Jr. Video is rapidly approaching its 100th million stream since its launch in August 2005.

— Nick Jr. Parents TV, the networks broadband service geared towards parents, generated almost 14.5 million streams for second quarter 2006, up +14 per cent versus first quarter 2006.

— For the quarter, Nick.com averaged almost 14 million unique monthly visitors, which is a 67 per cent increase versus first quarter 2006. In May, Nick.com attracted more than 14.5 million unique marking the site‘s best month ever.

— Nick.com has also had more than 231 million game plays on the site this quarter, and Nickjr.com raked in 183 million game plays, up 69 per cent and 88 per cent respectively over second quarter 2005. Danny Phantom: Freak For All was the number-one game for the quarter recording 7.6 million game plays on Nick.com, while Dora‘s Puppy Adventure was number-one on Nickjr.com recording 11.4 million game plays in second quarter.

June 30, 2006

Soccer World Cup viewing in Germany up 51 per cent

MUMBAI: Soccer’s governing body Fifa’s marketing agency Infront has been collating data for television audiences for the ongoing 2006 Fifa World Cup in Germany. And, it looks as if they are heading for the record books.

It is clear that Germany’s quest for a fourth Fifa World Cup title has glued the host nation to the television, with viewing figures ‘at home’ up 51 per cent percent on average over the previous tournament in 2002.

Meanwhile, from ‘overnight’ audience research in 45 key markets, a positive picture is emerging, with some surprising and significant trends. They are being collated by Sponsorship Intelligence, a UK-based research driven consultancy.

Germany’s first four matches scored a combined TV audience on German public service broadcasters ZDF and ARD of 87.6 million, which gives an average of 21.9 million per match, according to data provided by Sponsorship Intelligence. This compares with an average 14.5 million viewers who followed each of the first four matches in 2002. It is also up on France 1998 – staged in Europe in the same time zone – which makes a fairer comparison.

In 1998, the first four German games attracted a cumulative audience of 85.5 million, on average half a million viewers fewer per match than in 2006. Taking into consideration that huge public viewing is a feature of the 2006 event and not yet taken into account in these early figures, the total audience is likely to be much higher.

In Berlin, for example, police estimated that up to one million fans converged on the official Fan Fest public viewing venue in front of the Brandenburger Tor on Saturday to watch the host nation beat Sweden for a quarterfinal berth.

Also in Europe, the television rating for the live coverage of the Netherlands vs. Argentina match broadcast on NL2 was the highest of any broadcast so far. It achieved a rating of 52.5 per cent (TVR), an audience of 7.2 million viewers and a market share of 80.3 per cent.

In England, 16.3 million UK television viewers watched England’s first “sudden death” match against Ecuador, broadcast live by the BBC. The figure equated to a 79 per cent audience share. The game was the second-highest-rated match of the World Cup thus far in the UK after ITV’s coverage of the England vs. Sweden tie last Tuesday, which averaged 18.8 million viewers and peaked at 20.9 million.

Elsewhere, the international appeal of the tournament was illustrated by the fact that more people in China tuned into the England vs. Paraguay game than the entire populations of England and Paraguay. The match was broadcast in China on CCTV-5 at 9 pm in the evening, attracting 62.9 million viewers, with 22.3 per cent of China’s television viewers at that time choosing to watch the match.

In South Korea, the France vs. Korean Republic match was watched by 11.2 million in Korea, a TVR of 24.9 per cent, which is good considering the match was shown at 4 am. The rating is only 7.3 points behind the rating of 32.2 per cent by TF1 in France.

Brazil’s two opening matches attracted 60.5 million and 54.5 million respectively, both achieving a market share in the region of 90 per cent. The audience for Brazil’s match against Croatia was only 0.4 rating points short of the audience of 2002’s final match.

16.8 million Argentinean viewers watched the Argentina vs. Ivory Coast game, a market share of 93.6 per cent.

In the US, the Argentina-Mexico match broadcast on Univision was the most-watched sports telecast in the history of US Spanish-language television, with an average of 6.7 million viewers.

June 30, 2006
Nick US continues building on leadership position

MUMBAI: US kids channel Nickelodeon says that its in the top spot for the 11th consecutive year.

The channel says that it led basic cable as the top-rated network within the total programming day for the second quarter of the year i.e. 27 March to 25 June among total viewers and across all kids’ demos, according to Nielsen Media Research.

In addition, the network grew double digits in its multiple media offerings — including Nick.com and Nickjr.com from year-to-year, and video-on-demand — and excelled on its broadband, online gaming platforms.

Among the network’s primary demo of kids 2-11, the network posted a 3.8/1.3 million K2-11, up three per cent over second quarter 2005, and 81 per cent ahead of Cartoon Network (2.1/675,000 K2-11) and 52 per cent ahead of Disney (2.5/801,000 K2-11). With preschoolers, the network also ranked first, averaging a 4.5/560,000 K2-5, up 10 per cent over last year’s like time period, ahead of Cartoon Network by 137 per cent (1.9/237,000 K2-5) and 73 per cent versus Disney Channel (2.6/326,000 K2-5).

However among tweens 9-14, Nickelodeon remained flat for the quarter, earning a 2.5/526,000 T9-14. It still beat its competition by double digits. Among kids 6-11, Nick is up more than one rating point above its closest competitor (Nick earned a 3.5 rating while The Disney Channel averaged a 2.4 rating), equating to a 46 per cent lead.

Nickelodeon adds that it was the only major kid network that posted year to year gains among the preschool (kids 2-5) audience. During its Nick Jr. block (Monday – Friday 9 am – 2 pm), then net beat kid competitors Disney Channel and Cartoon Network by 187 per cent and 196 per cent respectively.

Nick Jr. maintains the top seven out of 10 preschool programmes on commercial TV. These were Go, Diego, Go! , Dora the Explorer, The Wonder Pets, Blue’s Clues, The Backyardigans, LazyTown and Miss Spider.

Contributing to the Nickelodeon’s quarter-to-quarter growth, were several large events including Nickelodeon’s 19th Annual Kids’ Choice Awards (KCAs). This year’s KCAs garnered an average of 3.2 million kids. In its first ever simulcast on TurboNick – a first in awards show history — the KCAs drove Nick.com to a high traffic day of more than 1.2 million unique visitors. Fairy Idol, a one-hour special based on Nick’s The Fairly OddParents, also hit high numbers drawing more than five million total viewers and more than three million kids.

As Nickelodeon continues to build its leadership in new and emerging media platforms, it has increased usership on multiple media platforms in the kids’ space, particularly with its broadband platforms, TurboNick and Nick Jr. Video, and its online sites, Nick.com and Nickjr.com.

— TurboNick, Nickelodeon’s broadband video service on Nick.com, generated 63.2 million streams in second quarter 2006, up +46 per cent over first quarter 2006. It broke its record for the highest monthly streams with more than 28 million streams in June 2006, a 33 per cent increase from May 2006.

— Nick Jr. Video, Nick Jr.’s broadband video service on Nickjr.com, garnered more than 27 million content streams in second quarter 2006. Nick Jr. Video is rapidly approaching its 100th million stream since its launch in August 2005.

— Nick Jr. Parents TV, the networks broadband service geared towards parents, generated almost 14.5 million streams for second quarter 2006, up +14 per cent versus first quarter 2006.

— For the quarter, Nick.com averaged almost 14 million unique monthly visitors, which is a 67 per cent increase versus first quarter 2006. In May, Nick.com attracted more than 14.5 million unique marking the site’s best month ever.

— Nick.com has also had more than 231 million game plays on the site this quarter, and Nickjr.com raked in 183 million game plays, up 69 per cent and 88 per cent respectively over second quarter 2005. Danny Phantom: Freak For All was the number-one game for the quarter recording 7.6 million game plays on Nick.com, while Dora’s Puppy Adventure was number-one on Nickjr.com recording 11.4 million game plays in second quarter.

June 30, 2006
‘Indian Idol’ with a cricketing spin

MUMBAI: This would be right up Sony Entertainment Television India’s street, more so considering the fact that reality television and cricket are such key programming ingredients for the network. The cricket board today announced a reality TV show ‘Cricket Star India’ that purportedly aims to find the best young cricketer in the country.

The show, on the lines of ‘Indian Idol’, is being launched by UK-based firm Investors in Cricket (IIC) in association with the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).

Both organisations are in final negotiations with two television partners and a final decision is expected in July. One of the partners will screen the cricket matches, while the other will screen the tests and selection process. In addition, IIC has signed up a leading reality TV production house in India and has agreements with a number of high profile corporate sponsors, according to an official release.

Cricket Star India is the first programme in a 5-year international roll out, with Cricket Star UK already slated for Summer 2007. The winner of the first series, Cricket Star India, will earn a place at the Indian national trials, a year’s expenses paid contract with Leicestershire County Cricket Club (one of 18 professional first class teams in the UK).

The initiative will kick off in August, when young cricketers in India can apply on-line and by post. A nationwide application and screening process will lead to a shortlist of talented candidates being invited to attend auditions in one of several regional centres under the auspices of local cricket boards.

There they will be assessed by celebrity cricket judges, including national selectors, and BCCI technical and cricket staff, who will select the final group to attend the Cricket Star Academy, the release adds.

The Cricket Star Academy begins in November, where the successful finalists will spend up to 10 weeks. The students’ progress will be tested each week through televised cricket matches against, variously, state XIs, the Indian Under-19 XI ,and celebrity XIs which will include some of the game’s leading names and many current Indian stars.

Apart from the cricketing abilities, the coverage promises to uncover the candidates’ human sides, portraying life at the academy, the interaction between the hopefuls, and insights into their passion for the game. The final selection will be informed by millions of television viewers voting by phone, online or by text, states the release.

The anouncement of the launch was made in New Delhi today and was not without some controversy. Press trust of India quotes Cricket Star CEO Fraser Castellino as saying the programme would serve as a selection trial for the board and the winner would be fast-tracked into the national side. However, when it was pointed out to him that there had never been trials to pick the Indian team per se as players were picked on the basis of their performances in domestic tournaments, Castellino made a volte face. “We will use the board’s facilities and draw on the coaching staff but there is no guarantee of selection into the state or national team,” PTI quoted Castellino as saying.

The release quotes BCCI V-P and marketing committee chief Lalit Modi as saying, “Cricket Star is a ground-breaking TV format we have developed with Investors in Cricket that will showcase the best of India’s unsung cricketing talent, and compliment the BCCI’s growing portfolio of media properties. This exciting project supports our aim of unearthing and developing talent to produce the future stars of the game.” Modi was not present at the press conference though

June 29, 2006
Hungama TV ad revenues rise 30 – 40%

MUMBAI: Ups and downs are a part of each and every one’s life and such is also the case with Hungama TV. While a couple of months back the channel rocketed into the second position in the kids channels’ space; Harry Potter on Pogo proved a dampener for Hungama TV and thus it plummeted to the third position yet again.

Nevertheless, driver shows for Hungama TV have been performing well and thus managed to increase the channel’s share.

With a positive move on the channel share front, the ad revenues of Hungama TV have also increased by 30-40 per cent. “Since the TRPs of the channel have shown a steady hike, clients have also appreciated it and are willing to pay more. All credit goes to Nilofer and her team for this,” says Hungama TV COO Zarina Mehta.

But notwithstanding that, Mehta is confident that the channel will clamber up again riding on the success of the ratings raker Doremon and the new season of Hero, which has opened well for the channel. Add to that the hype that will be built around the channel’s talent hunt for kids – John Aur Kaun?

The channel has also lined up big ticket movies like Baby’s Day Out and Tom Hanks starrer Big in August and September. What’s more, Doremon has been joined by another popular Japanese animation show Shin Chan, which Mehta hopes is going to be as accepted by kids as is Doremon. Shin Chan has garnered huge popularity in Europe, Latin America and the Far East. The show was launched on 19 June at 5 pm and will be aired from Monday to Friday.

“Shin Chan, like Doremon, is one of the top three shows in the Asian region. Shin Chan’s innocence and antics form a deadly mix designed to give entire families a wonderful time. We welcome Shin Chan to the Hungama family of fabulous, memorable characters, which include Hero, Sanya, Doremon, Kochikame and YuGiOh!” says Mehta.

Driver shows like the above mentioned Hero and Doremon coupled with the UTV show Shakalaka Boom Boom have constantly managed to push Hungama TV up on the popularity charts. Hungama TV has also rolled out a contest around Shakalaka Boom Boom called – Right here, Right now – wherein kids can participate and get to know whether they have won or not immediately, while the show is airing.

“All they have to do is answer a question that will be flashed on the channel and SMS their replies with their name, age and phone number to us. The name of the first person who sends in the correct reply will be flashed immediately on the channel. We will be giving away Doremon and Hero merchandise and also Hungama TV bags to the winners,” says Mehta.

The channel share of Hungama has been steadily rising, thus beating the norm where other kids’ channels’ shares have been falling barring that of Toon Disney.

In the week beginning 21 May, Cartoon Network’s share was 30.8 per cent, which fell to 27.1 per cent in the week beginning 11 June 2006, according to Tam, in the C&S 4-14 years Hindi speaking markets. Pogo’s shares, on the other hand, fell from 26.2 per cent to 25.9 per cent in the above mentioned period.

Hungama TV’s shares in the week beginning 21 May was 17.8 per cent and touched a high of 20.3 per cent in the week beginning 11 June in the C&S 4-14 years Hindi speaking markets. Toon Disney, which had a share of seven per cent as of 21 May, also managed to raise the bar with a channel share of 10.8 per cent in the second week of June, whereas its sibling Disney Channel lost one per cent share to settle at 11.2 per cent in the second week of June.

While Pogo and Cartoon Network shows like Mr Bean, Tiny TV – Make Way for Noddy, Baby Looney Tunes, Toonami – Pokemon and Half Ticket Express – Dragon Tales rule the roost of the TRP front, Hungama TV shows like Doremon, Hero and Shakalaka Boom Boom topped on the GRP front.

While Doremon managed GRPs of 47 in week 24, Hero and Shakalaka Boom Boom got GRPs of 26 and 24 respectively.

It remains to be seen, who takes the cake in the number game, but for the time being, Mehta seems to be content with Hungama TV’s performance.

June 29, 2006
Disney Online to offer public libraries free access to Playhouse Disney Preschool Time Online

MUMBAI: Disney Online, part of the Walt Disney Internet Group (WDIG), will offer public libraries free subscriptions to Playhouse Disney Preschool Time Online, a safe, ad-free interactive learning experience for preschoolers.

Disney Online will offer this service, normally a $49.95 annual subscription fee, beginning 24 June 2006 at the American Library Association conference.

Developed in conjunction with education experts, Playhouse Disney Preschool Time Online offers entertaining, story-driven games and activities that teach skills in crucial areas such as letter and number recognition, shape and color identification and counting.

“Librarians often play a significant role in helping preschool-age children prepare for kindergarten. Resources that support early learning are valuable and allow parents and children to work together,” said Teachers College Columbia University professor and Education for the 21st Century president Renee Cherow O’Leary.

Playhouse Disney Preschool Time Online is hosted by “Bear” from Disney Channel’s Bear in the Big Blue House. Bear and other Disney characters lead activities that focus on eight key skill areas including reading readiness, thinking skills, daily living skills, social skills, imagination and self-expression, motor skills and computer skills. Lessons automatically adjust to each individual child’s skill level, keeping preschoolers engaged and challenged. New content is introduced every two weeks, letting each child continue to advance at his or her natural pace.

“We’re very pleased to be able to offer Playhouse Disney Preschool Time Online free to public libraries. We believe the public library is a perfect fit for the fun learning offered in Preschool Time Online, especially for guests who may not have easy access to a broadband connection elsewhere,” said Disney Online vice president of premium products Steve Parkis.

June 29, 2006
Verizon to offer IMF music feed

MUMBAI: Verizon has inked a deak with IMF: The International Music Feed Network. It is the 24-hour music television network featuring hit music from the United States and around the world.

IMF will supply its music video channel and on-demand programming for Verizon’s fiber-optic-powered television service, FiOS TV.Under the terms of the agreement, Verizon will offer the IMF channel in its FiOS TV Premier package and provide on-demand IMF programming and individual music videos. FiOS TV customers soon will be able to choose from 1,000 music videos and IMF music programs, performances and specials representing an unprecedented 100 hours of programming per month, according to an official release.

TVN, Verizon’s video-on-demand transport agent, is coordinating the delivery of the content.

“IMF will deliver an extensive lineup of top domestic and international music videos to FiOS TV customers, advancing our already strong commitment to content choice and diversity,” said FiOS TV VP content strategy and acquisition Terry Denson. “It’s another way we differentiate ourselves in our markets and add value to our FiOS TV service.”

IMF president Andy Schuon said, “We are delighted to join with Verizon through their exciting new FiOS TV service. The collaboration between Verizon and IMF is an excellent example of how we can enhance the music experience for fans everywhere. With the IMF channel and our video on-demand offering, Verizon and IMF will bring music on television to a whole new level.”

IMF programming includes a mix of the top music videos from the United States and the world. Categories include Hip Hop Society, The Bridge (Latin), One World (chart-topping global hits), Passage to India (Indian), Raw Feed (exclusive artist interviews), and Hello World (music and pop-culture from dozens of countries), among others.

At present, Verizon FiOS TV provides more than 400 digital video and music channels, two dozen high-definition channels, 2,500 on-demand titles and features such as FiOS TV Widgets, which supplies on-touch, on-demand access to real-time local weather and traffic.

Verizon offers FiOS TV in more than 50 communities in parts of seven states: California, Florida, Maryland, Massachusetts, New York, Virginia and Texas.

IMF is unit of Universal Music Group, the world’s largest music company, with wholly owned record operations or licensees in 75 countries.

June 29, 2006
Deutsche Welle joins hand with DD Direct +

MUMBAI: In a bid to strengthen its foothold in India, the German pubcaster Deutsche Welle (DW) has enterted into an agreement with DD Direct+, the pubcaster Prasar Bharti managed direct-to-home service to emit its programmes via a DD satellite transponder in India.

In a statement issued today, DW will be present with DW-TV programmes in English and German, and in future possibly also with radio programmes in English and Hindi or other languages. At present, only the state-financed Doordarshan and one pay platform broadcast via DTH signal, which guarantees a technically brilliant and reliable emission.

“We are very happy to step up our presence in India”, says Deutsche Welle director strategy, marketing and distribution Guido Baumhauer. “This is a great opportunity for DW television. We have excellent contacts with Prasar Bharati, which runs Doordashan, and we are working together on a number of projects. With Doordashan and DW both being public broadcasters, I’m sure this new cooperation will be a positive experience for all sides.”

The release states that the DD Direct+ reaches far more housholds than pay TV and is expected to be the biggest DTH platform in Asia, which opens up a lot of possibilities for the DW regarding regional broadcasting of its programming. Prasar Bharati CEO K S Sarma, actively supported the German bid for the place on DD Direct+.”This is due to DW’s outstanding reputation as an international public broadcaster of high quality”, comments DW general manager Erik Bettermann. “Asia is one of our focus regions. We are happy to expand our market in India, and Doordarshan, as a long-standing player in the Indian media business, is an excellent partner for us.”

The DD DIRECT+ platform carries 33 free-to-air (FTA) channels, including 19 DD channels, 14 private TV channels and 12 All India Radio (AIR) audio channels and is likely to include more channels in the future. The approximate cost of the equipment to view DD channels is around Rs. 1800/- including Set Top Box, LNB and antena.

June 29, 2006