ITV

Category: Terrestrial

  • DD operational costs more than double its revenue till Oct in 2014-15

    DD operational costs more than double its revenue till Oct in 2014-15

    NEW DELHI: Doordarshan earned revenue of Rs 525.09 crore up to October 2014, but its operational costs during 2014-15 up to the same month was Rs 1169.58 crore.

    According to Prasar Bharati sources there has been some increase in the operational cost of Doordarshan due to various factors such as hike in salary, widening the eligibility for air travel entitlement, payment of tuition fee, leave encashment with LTC, Modified Assured Career Progression, etc. in the wake of implementation of recommendations of the Sixth Central Pay Commission.

    The operational cost of DD was Rs 1945.84 crore as against revenue of Rs 1145.44 crore for 2013-14, while the operational cost was Rs 1883.19 crore as against revenue of Rs 1138.23 crore in 2012-13.

    Sources informed Indiantelevision.com that Prasar Bharati strictly follows austerity measures and other economy instructions issued by the Finance Ministry from time to time for reducing operating expenses.

    The source added that the pubcaster had been striving hard to maximise revenue generation by adopting measures like aggressive marketing strategy, appropriate utilisation of spare infrastructure available with DD, content improvement, introduction of Direct To Home (DTH) services, sharing of towers etc.

    In accordance with a Cabinet approval on 14 September 2012, the Government agreed to provide 100 per cent expenses towards salary and salary related expenses during the years from 2012-13 to 2016-17.

     

  • Doordarshan’s Freedish to switch to an upgraded platform to increase capacity

    Doordarshan’s Freedish to switch to an upgraded platform to increase capacity

    NEW DELHI: Doordarshan’s Freedish, India's only free direct-to-home (DTH) service, is migrating from its old platform to a new upgraded one with effect from midnight of 9 January (12.05 am of 10 January) in its attempt to increase its capacity.

    The migration would result in increase of TV channels from 59 to 64 and radio channels from 22 to 24.

    Prasar Bharati chief executive officer Jawhar Sircar said recently that the pubcaster would have to strengthen its DTH platform, Freedish if it has to survive.

    He had announced in November that Freedish was expected to go up to 112 television channels in the next few months but he had made it clear to the government that while most were coming through e-auctions, some popular channels may have to be ‘attracted’ to join Freedish since satellite television was the future. He said he was not opposed to digital terrestrial transmission but advances in technology may make it obsolete.  

    In fact in a pace that has surprised many, Doordarshan has held 19 e-auctions for Freedish as on 12 December.

    DD Sources also said that while Freedish may be encrypted to keep a tab on the number of subscribers, it would remain free-to-air.

    To access the upgraded platform, the viewers need to edit the Transponder Parameter by changing only the Symbol Rate from 27500 Ksps to 28500 Ksps in four transponders and retune/rescan their Set Top Box to receive the upgraded TV and radio channels.

    Freedish viewers can get further information regarding retuning/rescanning of their Set Top Boxes on DD's official website: ddindia.gov.in

     Viewers/subscribers who do not rescan their Set Top Box will continue to get only ten channels for a period of seven days only from the date of upgradation. Out of these ten channels, one channel is an informative channel which will show detailed procedure for re-tuning the Set Top Boxes.

     

  • Sony tops week 1 of OTS chart

    Sony tops week 1 of OTS chart

    MUMBAI: The first week of 2015 didn’t see much hike, when it comes to opportunity to see (OTS) collated by Chrome Data Analytics and Media.

    Hindi GECs in the Hindi speaking market (HSM) witnessed a marginal jump of 1.1 per cent. Sony with 96.9 per cent OTS topped the charts.

    Sports across India jumped 0.6 per cent followed by Music in the HSM with 0.2 per cent. DD Sports with 74 per cent OTS and MTV with 90.7 per cent OTS gained the most in the respective genres.

    As for the top losers, English News in the eight metros saw a steep fall of 6.9 per cent. Times Now with 79 per cent OTS continued its reign in the genre.

    English Movies with 3 per cent fall followed suit in the eight metros. Romedy Now with 66.7 per cent OTS laughed its way up in the category.

    Infotainment channels across India and Business News in the eight metros saw a drop of 2.8 per cent and 2.4 per cent, respectively. Discovery with 85.4 per cent OTS and Zee Business with 81.1 per cent OTS gained in the respective genres.

     

  • Doordarshan to telecast bouquet of lively programmes on New Year’s eve

    Doordarshan to telecast bouquet of lively programmes on New Year’s eve

    NEW DELHI: In a new twist to its New Year programmes, Doordarshan News has announced special awards for the best news story of the year.

     DD News has listed 10 top coverages of the year and will give three top and 50 other prizes. Voting is on till 31 December night.

    The news stories include the General Elections, the Swachhta Mission, Kailash Satyarthi winning Nobel Prize, Kashmir Floods, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s American visit, Mars Mission, MH370 Disappearance, Peshawar School attack and so on.

    DD National will mark the day with a 2014 news roundup from 8 pm to 9 pm, variety programmes  by regional kendras including Delhi for their respective regions from 9 pm to 10 pm, and the national telecast of the variety show ‘Masti ka Dhamaal – Aaya Nayaa Saal’ by the Mumbai Kendra of DD.

    DD Bharati moves away from noisy entertainment to the quiet realms of home with yesteryears’ evergreen classics from 7:00 pm onwards on 31 December. The channel is marking New Year’s Eve by telecasting two choice light-hearted Hindi feature films from two different eras.

    Chhalia is a 1960 Hindi drama film directed by Manmohan Desai; it stars Raj Kapoor, Nutan, Pran, Rehman and Shobhna Samarth.  Raj Kapoor played like almost patented a simple guy with a heart of gold. Kalyanji Anandji composed the music and has given Mukesh’s most popular songs “Chhalia Mera Naam, “Dum dum diga diga”, “Mere tootey hue dil se”’.

    Shagird is a 1967 Indian Bollywood comedy film directed by Samir Gunguly. The film stars Joy Mukherjee and Saira Banu in lead roles. It is one of the few Hindi films made over the last 60 years that find a place of pride in the pantheon of classic comedies. The inimitable I.S. Johar as Professor Brij Mohan, with his deadpan expression and unique dialogue delivery, was the perfect foil for the exuberance of Joy Mukherjee as Ramesh.

    Akashvani brings ‘Guldasta’; a bouquet of programmes from all kendras of All India Radio and a programme on music from 11:10pm.

     

  • Vajpayee multi-media exhibit opens in Delhi

    Vajpayee multi-media exhibit opens in Delhi

    NEW DELHI: Information and Broadcasting Minister Arun Jaitley has said the Multimedia Exhibition mounted by DAVP on former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee would serve as an inspiration and learning to the people in understanding Vajpayee as a politician, statesman, and poet.

                                         

    Jaitley stated this while inaugurating the Multimedia Exhibition being organised on the occasion of the 90th birthday of former Prime Minister at IGNCA complex.

    The exhibition will portray the life of Vajpayee through a display of around 250 photographs which reflects his vibrant personality. These rare pictures not only take the visitors through the political journey of this visionary leader, but also provide a glimpse into the diverse phases of his life – as a poet and a great thinker. At this event, different facets of Vajpayee’s life will be showcased through photo and electronic exhibition. Scrollers, Translites, LED walls, Large Fascia and Title Boards will be the major attractions of the exhibition.

    Apart from this, a drawing and quiz competition will also be organised on the occasion.

     

    The Films Division of the Ministry will screen three films based on the life of the former Prime Minister. The Photo Division has provided the photos being mounted at the Exhibition. The Song and Drama Division of the Ministry will be giving cultural performances during the Exhibition. The Publication Division has organised a Book Exhibition at the venue.

     

    Doordarshan has provided short films to highlight the achievements of the former Prime Minister. Minister of State for Information & Broadcasting R S Rathore, Secretary Bimal Julka, and other senior officials of the Ministry were also present on the occasion.

    The exhibition will be open to public from 20 December to 25 December daily from 11am to 6pm.

  • Bangladesh gets archival footage from AIR, DD on Liberation War

    Bangladesh gets archival footage from AIR, DD on Liberation War

    NEW DELHI: Bangladesh President has received the recordings of transmissions made by All India Radio and Doordarshan during the Liberation War of 1971 from President Pranab Mukherjee at Rashtrapati Bhavan.

     

    He recalled that valiant Mukti Bahini soldiers fought hand in hand with Indian troops for Bangladesh’s liberation. He expressed hope that these recordings will remind people of Bangladesh of those momentous times.

     

    Akashvani, especially the Kolkata station, played a critical role in upholding the cause of Bangladesh even before the rest of the world woke up. Unfortunately, most of the broadcast schedule and other interesting programmes were not kept in permanent format as archives because of several constraints. But Akashvani has been able to retrieve several tapes of that period and has already broadcast them for the last many years, to remind both India and Bangladesh of their shared legacy.

     

    At the request of Bangladesh Betar and the special interest of Mukherjee, a renewed effort was made by Prasar Bharati CEO Jawhar Sircar, AIR DG F Sheryaar, and DDG, Akashvani Kolkata to salvage more materials from wherever possible so that whatever is possible is put out in the public domain before both the nations.

     

    Two CDs have thus been produced in the last one month containing recordings from the Akashvani Archives of 1971 and early 1972. They represent the contribution made by Akashvani to the momentous developments of 1971, that led to the War in December, the Vijay Divas and the subsequent commemorations.

     

    The first CD entitled “Liberation of Bangladesh 1971” contains the public speeches from Akashvani Delhi of the then Prime Minister of India and the Lok Sabha statements, interviews and speeches of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the surrender of Pakistani forces on the 16 December, the public address of Rahman in January 1972 and other programmes, that are mainly in Bengali.

     

    The second CD entitled “Struggle of a Nation” is based on the recordings of Akashvani Kolkata, contains documentations of important happenings and events from March to December 1971 and the speeches of the then Prime Ministers of India and new nation of Bangladesh and live commentaries thereof.  It also has the ‘Samvad Bichitra’ newsreel programme that played a pivotal role during the Liberation Movement.

  • Doordarshan automates its commercial operations

    Doordarshan automates its commercial operations

    NEW DELHI: Doordarshan is going full swing on its proposed revamp. And it’s not just the new programming lineup that the pubcaster is looking at.

     

    As reported earlier by indiantelevision.com , DD has been working hard at upgrading its backend services and in the process was looking at moving from its semi-integrated software that handles different departments manually, to Broadcast Air Time Scheduling System (BATS) software, which integrates all the departments online. The software has been provided by Media Nucleus.

     

    In the latest, Doordarshan has officially launched the BATS traffic and billing software which will now connect its Delhi and Mumbai offices. It can be noted that the pubcaster was looking at completing the integration in three phases. “This is the phase I of the process, in which we have integrated Delhi and Mumbai offices. Our aim is to complete the integration of all the 67 kendras by February 2015,” informed Doordarshan deputy director general CK Jain.

       
    The aim of the BATS software is to provide satisfactory services to the pubcaster’s clients and advertising agencies. Inaugurated by Prasar Bharati chairman Dr A Surya Prakash, the application will integrate all the departments of scheduling, sales and billing, which were earlier being handled manually causing delays and several disputes with agencies.

     
    The application will provide an integrated solution for all processes including sales, scheduling, billing and receipts. It is a menu driven enterprise, an ad scheduling and billing software which has been customised to the needs of Doordarshan. It has various modules associated with respective departments involved in ad-scheduling, logging and billing.

     
    The decision of upgrading the backend was taken since Doordarshan with its wide network of kendras and regional channels across the country was facing difficulty to monitor its outstanding revenue initially, as it was done manually.

     

    The chairman appreciating the initiative said, “Doordarshan should have taken this step 10 years ago but nonetheless this would bring much needed fairness and transparency into the system and will improve the overall efficiency and productivity of the organisation. Doordarshan is a media unit and has to function like a professional media unit as its activities are closely watched by all.”  

     
    Once implemented, BATS will bring much needed efficiency into commercial operations. This centrally-monitored software has all the relevant commercial details available on a single webpage for the management to check at one go. It ensures that all the information is relayed in real time across locations and networks.

     

  • Gyandarshan channels off air due to non-payment of dues

    Gyandarshan channels off air due to non-payment of dues

    NEW DELHI: Even as the stalemate continues on the issue of the Gyandarshan channels of the Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU), the Government has said that these channels do not have clearance from Wireless Planning Coordination (WPC) of the Communications & IT Ministry.

     Information and Broadcasting Ministry sources told indiantelevision.com that Prasar Bharati is unable to uplink on C-Band and Doordarshan is not being able to downlink these channels on DD Freedish.

     However, the pubcaster runs a half-hour programme of IGNOU, University Grants Commission (UGC) & Central Institute of Educational Technology (CIET) on DD National. The Government had introduced four educational channels: Gyandarshan 1, Gyandarshan 2, Vyas Channel and Eklavya Channel.

    Out of these, Gyandarshan 1 & 2 have been run by the Education Media Production Centre (EMPC) of IGNOU. Vyas Channel is being managed by UGC and Eklavya by Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs).

    IGNOU used to uplink these channels on C-Band which was then taken by DD Freedish of Prasar Bharati.

    At present, however, these channels are off air since IGNOU has not cleared its dues to Prasar Bharati.

     

  • Over 50% of Prasar Bharati’s expenditure for 2013-14 went into salaries: Rathore

    Over 50% of Prasar Bharati’s expenditure for 2013-14 went into salaries: Rathore

    NEW DELHI: Prasar Bharati spent 51 per cent of its total expenditure for 2013-14 on salaries, Parliament was told today.

    Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore said that approximately 15 per cent was spent by the pubcaster on infrastructure.

    Only an approximate 11 per cent was incurred by Prasar Bharati on programming during 2013-14.

    In the budget announced on February last year (2013), the grants-in-aid for Prasar Bharati had been raised from the revised estimates of Rs 172.904 crore to Rs 218.037 crore but there was no separate investment by the Government in the pubcaster as in previous years.

    However, there was provision for investment of Rs 20 crore from Internal and Extra-budgetary resources for Prasar Bharati.

    An explanatory memorandum said the grants-in-aid were towards meeting the salary and salary related expenditure.

    Prasar Bharati sources had then told indiantelevision.com that this had been done to meet the extra expenditure on salaries which has fallen on the shoulders of the Government since all Prasar Bharati employees who were in employment as on 5 October 2007 have been given deemed deputation status.

     

  • DD invites programmes for proposed rural-based Kisan Channel

    DD invites programmes for proposed rural-based Kisan Channel

    NEW DELHI: Noting that the proposed Doordarshan Kisan is a dedicated channel for the farmers to give them information targeted to address the wholesome edutainment needs of a farmer to adopt and adapt to modern scenario, the national broadcaster has invited proposals for programmes under the Self Financing Commissioned Scheme.

     
    DD says that the content expected for DD Kisan will primarily address the developmental needs of the farmer addressing ‘Core Agriculture’, ‘Critical Support’ and ‘Essential Ancillary’ areas, keeping in mind the varied agro-economic zones, climatic areas, different crops and the need to address the target audience spread across various states but will have to be entertaining and engaging.

     
    The content on DD Kisan will be in Hindi with regional dubbing.

     
    The genres for which it has invited proposals are: documentaries/features (field based); magazines/docu dramas (field based); cookery shows/biographies; daily soap/fiction serials/family serials/thrillers; film song based programmes; reality shows/game shows; and mandi bhav/bazar bhav/agro based bulletins.

     
    In addition, DD Kisan will have a new segment for iconic characters plus content packaging where animated characters will convey the agricultural themes and desired messaging. It is expected that the participants under this category will also provide layouts of the channel’s packaging.

     
    It will also have a segment for edited feature films where the entire film is expected to be capsuled with anchor based presentation for 60 minutes.

     
    In the ‘bazar bhav’/mandi bhav’ segments, updates from the mandis including the template will be required to be provided, which would be required to give the core audiences suitable direction and help in the agricultural productive activity.

     
    To begin with, each producer has to send in the synopsis of 26 episodes but this may be extended if necessary.

     
    Under the scheme of self financed commissioning, the producer will produce the programme at his own risk and cost and on the selection of the programme, Doordarshan will market it, telecast the same and pay the producer for his services after a specified period of time.

     
    Self financed commissioning of programmes through outside producers could be done for DD’s national channels, regional language channels, state networks, regional and local services.

     
    DD shall, at its discretion and in accordance with its programme requirements, select producers suo moto for production of programmes. DD may also consider proposals submitted by producers on their own.

     
    The proposals are to be submitted in complete accordance with the guidelines of SFC programmes for DD Kisan which have been placed on the website of Doordarshan – www.ddindia.gov.in