ITV

Category: Terrestrial

  • Prasar Bharati adopts standard operating procedure; admits irregularities

    Prasar Bharati adopts standard operating procedure; admits irregularities

    NEW DELHI: A standard operating procedure has been put into place to strengthen the commissioning procedure following complaints of irregularities in Doordarshan’s Urdu and Kashir (Kashmir) channels.

     
    Information and Broadcasting Ministry sources told indiantelevision.com that the aim was to ensure that the gaps are filled and the whole process becomes more transparent.

     

    While declining to give details, the DD sources said that a procedure had been devised for multi-layer examination of every proposal so that any mischief or irregularity at one level can be detected when it goes to the next level and ultimately to the Empowered Committee headed by the Director General herself.

     

     According to Prasar Bharati there have been some allegations of irregularities in the production of programmes and outsourcing them, mainly regarding the in-house productions done at DD Kendra in Srinagar for telecast on the DD Kashir channel.

     
    Some complaints had also been received about DD Urdu programmes and the sources said Prasar Bharati had informed the Ministry that these needed further examination.  

    DD Kashir was pitched as an exclusive platform catering to the population of Jammu & Kashmir to bridge the gap between Jammu and Kashmir and the rest of the country.

     
    Besides programmes in Urdu language, programmes in other regional languages like Pahari, Gojri, Balti, Hindi, Punjabi and Pushto are also being produced and telecast on Kashir.

     

  • Doordarshan launches slew of women-centric soaps as part of DD National revamp

    Doordarshan launches slew of women-centric soaps as part of DD National revamp

    NEW DELHI: Doordarshan director general Vijaylaxmi Chhabra has announced that steps are being taken to launch DD Kisan soon and to revamp the public service broadcaster’s international channel DD India.
     
    Chhabra also highlighted other steps to revamp DD National, which now carries the tagline ‘Desh Ka Apna Channel.’
     
    She said the main aim was to streamline DD National which is the primary channel of Prasar Bharati and has already adorned new colours of purple and pink with a fresh palette of programming. While getting set for competition with general entertainment channels, she stressed the channel will continue to focus on traditional family values – ‘Rishtey’, ‘Nation before Self’, ‘Rashtra Gaurav’ and ‘Trustworthiness – Dilon Mein Vishwas’.

    When asked about the marketing plan for the revamp, she said DD was not averse to advertising on private news channels but had not yet commenced any commercials outside the DD network, newspaper campaigns and the social media.
     
    Chhabra also said that programmes from the archives would be confined to DD Bharati.
     
    She was speaking at a press meet which was addressed by representatives of all the new serials on DD, apart from additional director-general Deepa Chandra and V K Jain.
     
    Interestingly, as reported first by indiantelevision.com, majority of the programmes are women-centric or women-oriented.
     
    While eight programmes were launched in November, one is being launched this month and another next month – all at prime time.
     
    One of the programmes commencing later this month is a talk show ‘Stri Shakti’ which will be aired on weekends on Saturday and Sunday and will revolve around women who have faced certain hardships and have come through successfully. Each show will also have a celebrity presence.
     
    After ‘Fauji’ which launched Shah Rukh Khan, DD is telecasting an army-based show ‘Paltan’ commencing next month which will attempt to show the lives of the army officers even during peace time when they are called out to tackle internal emergencies such as floods etc. Producer Vijay Gopal said all the people he had approached for the show had been more than willing to come on board, and singer Shaan had rendered the title track.
     
    ‘Happy Homes – Khatte-Meethe Jeevan Ke Rang’ has been produced by Arun Govil (who acted as Ram in Ramayana) at 7.00 pm and is a light comedy of unity in diversity where people speaking different languages and from different regions live together in a colony. Govil said he is not playing any role in the series.
     
    This is followed at 7:30 pm by ‘Khwabon ke darmiyan – Sach Aur Sapno Se Jhoojhti Zindagi’ produced and directed by Kailash Tuli and starring Kapil Soni in a stellar role highlighting the struggle to bridge the gap between dreams and reality for women in the fast-changing social context.
     
    ‘Khamosh Sa Afsana – Jidd Aur Armano Ka Fasana’ at 8:00 pm by Ritu Chauhan has a fine cast of talented stalwarts like Tom Alter, Roopa Ganguly, and M K Raina who are the central characters in a story depicting the struggle of a daughter fighting to balance her work and managing her speech and hearing impaired parents.
     
    ‘Zindagi Ek Bhanwar – Rajneeti Me Mahila Ka Raaj’ produced by actor Tej Sapru (son of the late veteran actor Sapru) at 9.00 pm is a political drama which aims at reaching out to the aspirations of society and desiring changes in quality of life, followed at 9:30 pm by ‘Dard Ka Rishta – Badalte Sambandhon Ki Kahani’ produced and directed by Vinod Kapoor. The story revolves around disregard of the senior citizens in today’s urbanized societies. Sushma Seth will make a comeback on DD National after almost 30 years with this show. Sapru said that the question he has raised is why four sons cannot support a woman in her old age when she supported them when they were young.
     
    ‘Jab Jab Bahar Ayee – Janmon Ka Bandhan Ya Bandhish’ by Dolly Sohi at 10.00 pm is a serial which touches upon a dilemma of husband and wife trying to keep their family together and finding happiness not withstanding their personal differences.
     
    DD National is also building its weekend prime-time with two shows ‘Janmon Ka Bandhan – Insaani Rishton Ka Tana Bana’ produced by Sadhika Randhawa and directed by Prem Chopra which will air from Friday to Sunday at 7.00 pm. Randhawa said it is the story of the family of an honest Indian Administrative Service officer and shows various issues including the fight against corruption.
    ‘Prakriti – Kudrat Ko Bachane Ki Jung’ by the veteran actor filmmaker Parikshit Sahni tracks the story of an ideal woman forest officer who endeavours to save nature. It is set against the backdrop of scenic Jim Corbett Park. It is being aired every Saturday and Sunday at 8:30 pm. Sahni said he had taken the story under the banner of his father Balraj Sahni Films and would show the daughter of a forest officer not only taking up a profession not considered suitable for women but getting posted in an area that was not very women-friendly.

     

  • Doordarshan Freedish to hold 19th online e-auction to fill four slots

    Doordarshan Freedish to hold 19th online e-auction to fill four slots

    NEW DELHI:  In a pace that has surprised many, Doordarshan is set to hold the 19th e-auction for Freedish on 12 December in an attempt to touch the target of 112 television channels in the next few months.

    Doordarshan has set a reserve price of Rs 3.7 crore per slot for the 19th online e-auction, though indiantelevision.com learnt that the bid amount went up to Rs 4.2 crore in the 17th e-auction held on 12 November. This came shortly after the 16th e-auction on 28 October.

     DD sources also said the 19th auction is to fill four slots. Earlier, Prasar Bharati officials had decided not to disclose the number of slots to be e-auctioned to prevent bidders forming consortia to bid or resort to other malpractices.

     Prasar Bharati CEO Jawhar Sircar had said recently that the future of Doordarshan was in Freedish and digitisation. He had added that this may mean that some channels would have to be attracted to Freedish by means other than e-auction.

     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.

    The e-auction will be conducted by Synise Technologies, Pune on behalf of Prasar Bharati.   

     The reserve price in the 15th e-auction was Rs three crore and was raised to Rs 3.7 crore in the 16th auction.

     Prior to the 16th auction, the total number of channels on Freedish was 58.

     Meanwhile, a Doordarshan official declined to give the number of successful bids in recent auctions as engineers of the pubcaster had to test these channels before verifying any numbers.

     The eligibility terms and conditions including other relevant details for this e-auction are displayed on DD website: www.ddindia.gov.in.

     However, the participation amount (EMD) in the e-auction is Rs 1.5 crore which will be deposited in advance on or before 11 November evening along with processing fee of Rs 10,000 (Non-refundable) in favour of PB (BCI) Doordarshan Commercial Service, New Delhi.

     Applicants have also been asked mandatorily to deposit a Demand Draft of Rs 5,500 registration amount favouring  Synise Technologies, payable at Pune at the time of submission of the application.

    The time for every slot e-auction will be of 15 minutes duration.

     The applicants must provide details of the uplink/downlink permission documents received from the concerned Ministries with the applications to ensure they are not rejected.

     The demand drafts of unsuccessful bidders will be returned immediately or within a week after the e-auction process is completed.  

     

  • Doordarshan and UNICEF honour Maharashtra’s Navjyotis

    Doordarshan and UNICEF honour Maharashtra’s Navjyotis

    MUMBAI: Nine girls coming from culturally diverse backgrounds and different parts of the state have one common message to share – ‘Girls are not any less’. These are Navjyoti’s, nine girls achievers for 2014, who have struggled hard to shape their lives and also bring about change in their own community.

     

    A joint venture of UNICEF and Doordashan Mumbai Kendra, Navjyoti programme aims to give recognition to initiatives taken by the girls despite their adverse circumstances. Started in 2003, Navjyoti celebrated its eleventh year in a colorfully decked studio in Mumbai’s television center Doordarshan in this weekend. Once again, the stories of ‘girl power’ unfolded and stunned the audience during this inspiring and emotional evening.  Nine girls from remote Maharashtra were felicitated by Doordashan and UNICEF in Navjyoti awards for resisting child marriages and also helping other girls fight the scourge.

     

    All these girls are being felicitated for being role models in their villages. They come from very underprivileged backgrounds, and struggle to study. Navjyoti awards which are partnered by Doordarshan Sahyadri and UNICEF are an encouragement for them.

     

    These nine Navjoti’s received the UNICEF and Doordarshan Awards this year: 

     

    1. Rohini Pashte from Pithori Shirasgaon (Jalna)
    2. Shevanti Rathod from Farhatpur (Tanda) in Latur
    3. Prateeksha Waghmare from Hiwari Pahari in Beed
    4. Devika Katingal in Kulbhatti village from Gadchiroli
    5. Radha Shinde from Ukalgaon in Parbhani
    6. Ravina Mengar from Chindkle Khaire in Nashik
    7. Sarla Rathod from Nimpha in Yavatmal district
    8. Poornima Ade from Sewadas Nagar in Chandrapur district
    9. Ashwini Gosavi, from Wadale in Nandurbar district.

     

    Doordarshan Addl. director general Mukesh Sharma said, “Doordarshan continues to play its role as a National Broadcaster and believes in encouraging such initiatives which ultimately benefits the entire society. Education has the power to transform lives. If we educate a boy, we educate one person. If we educate a girl, we educate a family – and a whole nation. I have always believed that investing in a girl’s education is investing in a nation’s growth and development”.

     

    For all the Navjyoti girls it was a special moment in their lives. They received honors from eminent and inspiring personalities like Shaina NC, Meera Bowankar, Samruddhi Pore, Nishigandha Wad, Richard Bell, Faiyaaz, Rajeshri Chandrasekhar and Dr. Nandita Palshetkar. The courage of these girls is promising and a reassurance of a bright future for our country,” remained a common feeling expressed by the guests.

     

    DD Sahyadri will telecast the program ‘Navjyoti Sahyadrichya’ on 20 December 2014 from 4:00 pm onwards.

     

  • AIR to resume Gyanvani if dues are cleared by IGNOU: Rajyavardhan Rathore

    AIR to resume Gyanvani if dues are cleared by IGNOU: Rajyavardhan Rathore

    NEW DELHI: All India Radio has pursued the Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) for early deposition of outstanding dues in order to resume the Gyanvani educational channel.

     

    On 1 August 2001, AIR had informed the government that IGNOU signed infrastructure sharing and consultancy agreement with them for 37 stations of IGNOU’s Gyanvani FM Radio channels. Under this agreement, IGNOU has to pay a licence fee to AIR.

     

    However, IGNOU had discontinued the payment of licence fee with effect from 1 April 2013 resulting in accumulation of outstanding dues of the tune of Rs.21,64,12,770 as of 30 September 2014.

     

    Repeated reminders were sent by AIR for remittance of the outstanding dues and joint coordination committee meeting was held at the Electronic Media Production Centre, IGNOU on 29 October 2013 for the same.

     

    Minister of state for information and broadcasting, Rajyavardhan Rathore gave assurance that AIR could resume Gyanvani if dues are cleared by IGNOU to Parliament.

     

    The notice for discontinuation was issued to IGNOU on 12 September 2014 and thereafter the operation of Gyanvani FM channels was discontinued with effect from 1 October 2014.

     

  • Doordarshan National is no. 1 among all GECs

    Doordarshan National is no. 1 among all GECs

    NEW DELHI: Leaving behind the top touted general entertainment channels, Doordarshan National jumped to number one position in all Hindi GECs during the afternoon hours 12:00pm to 3:00 pm in weekdays in all India 1mn+ markets

     

    DD National had an average 448 thousands viewership in average last twelve weeks (Wk 35’14- Wk 46’14) in all 4+TG. 

     

    As reported by TAM, Doordarshan National was at the top with 448 GVTs followed by Star Plus with 436 GVTs, Life OK with 391 GVTs.

     

    This spurt in viewership is the direct result of the channel’s strategy to provide the viewers with fresh content in their afternoon slot – ‘DD Dopahar’, while the other major GECs were still running their repeat telecast.

     

    While in the evening slot (7:00pm-11:00pm) Doordarshan National is ahead of Sony TV, Life OK with 566 GVTs in all India 1mn+ market averaged in the last twelve weeks (Wk 35’14- Wk 46’14) in all 4+TG. 

  • DD to telecast film ‘Manthan’ on National Milk Day

    DD to telecast film ‘Manthan’ on National Milk Day

    NEW DELHI: The National award-winning feature film ‘Manthan’ by Shyam Benegal based will be telecast by Doordarshan National on 26 November at 9:30 am to celebrate ‘National Milk Day’.

     
    The 1976 Hindi film, jointly written by Verghese Kurien and Benegal, is set amidst the backdrop of the White Revolution of India which started in 1970.

     
    The title track of the film Mero gaam kathaparey has been popularly used as the soundtrack for the television commercial for Amul.

     
    This day is being observed across the country to commemorate the birth anniversary of Verghese Kurien, also known as the father of White Revolution in India.

     

  • DD to telecast new fiction show ‘Prakriti’ to bring environment in focus

    DD to telecast new fiction show ‘Prakriti’ to bring environment in focus

    NEW DELHI: Doordarshan National is launching an environment-based fiction show ‘Prakriti- Kudrat Ko Bachane Ki Jung’ starting 22 November and which will be aired every Saturday and Sunday at 8:00 PM.

     

    The series has been produced by veteran actor Parikshit Sahni for the production house named after his late father, Balraj Sahni Productions, and stars Parikshit himself in the main lead.

     
    The serial follows the story of the lead character ‘Prakriti’ who, against all opposition, opts for a job as an officer in the Forest Department. She hopes to find her father, who was a renowned environmentalist and who has been missing for almost a decade. Everyone is convinced that her father is dead but she is sure he is still alive and she sets out to find him.

     
    She faces innumerable odds both professional and personal, and in the end proves that a woman is in not the “weaker sex” but, like any of her male counterparts, is capable of taking on and overcoming any challenges. But in doing so she also gets the biggest shock of her life.  

     
    Unhindered, she wages an unrelenting war against people involved in decimating jungles and killing wild animals and supplying furs, skins, teeth and rhinoceros horns to foreign buyers.

     

  • DD’s ‘Janmon ka bandhan’ to boost primetime viewing

    DD’s ‘Janmon ka bandhan’ to boost primetime viewing

    NEW DELHI: As Doordarshan gets a new look, a number of new shows are being and will be aired to boost the viewership.

     

    One such show is Janmon ka Bandhan – Insaani rishton ka taana bana, which will commence at 7:00 pm from 21 November.

     

    The show is based on the premise of an honest IAS officer, Surender Kapoor fighting against the mafia linked with the construction business. While on the family front he is struggling between a mentally disturbed son and sudden loss of his wife. Overwhelmed with all problems he eventually reaches a breaking point. It is at this stage that his three daughters come forward and take responsibility to help the family emerge out of the muddle.

     

    The show is being produced and directed by Prem Chopra Wavelength Pictures.  Rajeev Varma, a renowned actor of ‘Maine Pyar Kiya’ fame, is playing the lead character of Surender Kapoor.

     

    With this women-centric family fiction drama, Doordarshan National is looking to underscore the inherent strength of women and girl child; in keeping up with the channel’s ideology of “value addition” in everyday life of the viewers.

     

  • DD National to telecast a special programme on ‘World Toilet Day’

    DD National to telecast a special programme on ‘World Toilet Day’

    NEW DELHI: Doordarshan is to telecast a special programme on ‘The World Toilet Day’ tomorrow keeping in view the ‘Swachh Bharat Campaign’ launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 2 October. 

     
    The prime channel of public broadcaster, DD National is set to telecast the programme on ‘World Toilet Day’ titled ‘Bal Safai Abhiyan’ from 10.00 a.m. for half an hour.

     
    The Doordarshan Kendras across the country has been asked to ensure that the activities of Swachha Bharat-World Toilet Day on 19 November are being covered at National/Capital and at Gram Panchayat Level.

     Meanwhile, even as the UN Information Centre for India and Bhutan issued a poster that calls for the cultural integration of Toilet as a national aspiration in India, renowned contemporary painter Paresh Maity and the well-known classical dancer Geeta Chandran are launching the UN National Campaign in this regard.

     
    The UN today called on religious, education and opinion leaders in developing regions to join government officials and champion a halt to open defecation, a practice of 1 billion people worldwide — one-sixth of the developing world’s 5.9 billion inhabitants.