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Tag: DD

  • India vs South Africa match engages 257 million viewers

    India vs South Africa match engages 257 million viewers

    MUMBAI: A whopping 257 million fans (TAM data CS4+ extrapolated to the universe using a standard conversion factor) tuned in to support Team India’s bid to retain cricket’s most coveted prize, as MS Dhoni and his men seized their ‘mauka’ opportunity and scored their first ever victory against South Africa in a World Cup match.

     

    The match rated 12.9 TVR across Star network including DD, with 10.5 TVR on Star network and 2.4 TVR on DD (All TAM data M15+ ABC).

     

    The joy of beating the Proteas was amplified for 76 per cent of the 257 million viewers as they tuned into the India South Africa game in their preferred language feed in Hindi, Tamil, Bengali, Malayalam and Kannada. The English feed contributed remaining 24 per cent of the total viewers for the game.

     

    Star India COO Sanjay Gupta said, “The viewership for India’s first two games of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 bears testimony to the cricket frenzy sweeping the nation. The fans, with their undiminished support for Team India, have been treated to some quality action and results of choice. The World Cup in regional language articulated by former India players has taken the viewer experience to the next level. Our efforts of bringing the fans closer to the world cup experience through a host of innovations have borne fruit and they continue to rally to Team India’s defence of its title.”

     

    The flagship ODI tournament has remained true to its billing of the most exciting cricket extravaganza drawing 473 million (TAM data CS4+ extrapolated to the universe using a standard conversion factor) fans to tune in to within the first two weeks of the tourney.

     

    The clash between two favorites for the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 also sizzled across social media – with 175,000 unique authors driving 254,000 conversations – dominating the trends for the day. Star had extended its popular and disruptive ‘Mauka’ campaign to build anticipation ahead of the South Africa game, releasing a new promo under the fan passion theme, #maukepechauka, which was trending through the day in India.

     

    The viewership numbers for the India – South Africa game build on the record viewership for India’s tie against arch-rivals Pakistan. The blockbuster clash attracted 288 million viewers, making it the most watched television event in India since the finals of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011.

  • Maharashtra governor felicitates Mukesh Sharma for his Excellency

    Maharashtra governor felicitates Mukesh Sharma for his Excellency

    MUMBAI: Mukesh Sharma was recently felicitated by the Governor of Maharashtra for his Excellency CH Vidyasagar Rao when Svajan an NGO run by the former Addl Chief Sec Gov tog Maharashtra and also the former Municipal Comm of Mumbai, Shri Karun Shrivastav who noticed the hard work put up by Mukesh Sharma in the field of PSB.

    Awards and felicitations are not new to the Additional Director General of Doordarshan who was a fortnight ago felicitated by the Global Sindhi Council at the hands of former Law Minister Shri Ram Jethmalani.

    Most of us may think that PSB is a losing proposition but Mukesh Sharma with his innovation, ingenuity and skill has set a record as the only Head in the entire DD fraternity to run Doordarshan in PROFIT.

    In the year 2013-14 DDK Mumbai spent 52 crores to run the channel and the station and posted a business of 57 crores through corporate, government and hiring out equipment of the Kendra to generate revenue. In fact Doordarshan National can take a leaf out of the book of Best Practices adopted and implemented by DD Sahyadri as this commercial success was achieved without compromising with the mandate of Public Service Broadcasting. Conceptualizing market driven programmes in fields as diverse as women empowerment, Krishi, organ donation, education for the girl child, robotics, film festivals among others were the channel drivers during his tenure.

    Serialized TV shows like Young – Tarang, Krishi Darshan, Amchi Maati – Aamchi Mansa, Aswaad, Sakhi Sahyadri, Hello Doctor, Swastha Bharat, Patla Tar Ghya, Kridangan,Music Masti Gappa Gane (M2 G2), Contests based reality shows like Sahyadri Antakshari, Dhina Dhin Dha, Dam Dama Dam, Naad Bhed, Aajche Davedaar – Udyache Superstar etc. have not only entertained viewers over the years, but also have created awareness about richness of the culture and traditions of Maharashtra.

    With revolutionary changes taking place in an around the world addressing citizen is becoming the most difficult and challenging job undoubtedly for a public service broadcaster. But the “CALENDAR EVENTS” of DD Sahyadri created and conceptualized by Mukesh Sharma clearly demarcates his outstanding contribution as a Public Service Broadcaster.

    A brainchild of Shri Mukesh Sharma – DD Sahyadri offers about sixteen calendar events in a year mainly in compliance with its responsibilities as a Public Service Broadcaster.

    1.    Prerna Puraskar is specially designed event for celebrating “Mother’s Day” which is a special award function showcasing the unique bonding of “Mother-Daughter “relationship as well as working towards girl child progress (education).

    2.    Navaratan Awards wherein nine prominent Maharashtrians every year are felicitated by the Governor of Maharashtra for their distinguished contribution in various spheres of activity including the Arts, Education, Industry, Literature, Science, Sports, Medicine, Social Service and Public Affairs.

    3.    Hirkhani Awards are organized to felicitate nine woman of substance who, with sheer grit and determination, left their stamp in a male-dominated arena and brought the desired social change in the society.

    4.    Sahyadri Cine Awards felicitates Marathi Cine Artists and Technicians to promote and applaud the Marathi Cinema for the excellent work done in the entire last one year.

    5.    Sanjeevani Awards acknowledging the outstanding work done by the medicos in the rural areas and to the under privileged. It honors these “COMMUNITY LEADERS” for with a view to encourage/motivate the young medicos to go the rural areas and work for the masses in the villages.

    6.    Navjyoti which is a joint venture of UNICEF and DD Mumbai Kendra, the programme aims at giving recognition to nine girls from remote Maharashtra for resisting child marriages and also helping other girls fight the scourge.

    7.    First Television event “Naate Janmaantaricha” on Organ Donation to create awareness among the people on the noble cause of ORGAN DONATION.

    8.    Sahyadri Sindhu Sahyog Awards to felicitate the Sindhi Community who had done extraordinary work in their respective fields.

    9.    Krishi Awards in which farmers, scholars and experts are honored for their contribution in the field of Agriculture.

    10.    Arya Chanakya Maharashtra Rajya Puraskar, an annual state-level award, honoring the contributors in building a strong democracy from the fields such as legislature, judiciary, administration and media.

    11.    Monsoon Marathi Chitrapat Mahotsav at DDK Mumbai in order to promote good cinema which showcase award winning films and an interactive session with the film maker’s and the audience.

    12.    A specially designed event to recognize the contribution of Nation Builders on the Public Service Broadcasting Day – “Shiladaar Rashtra Nirmiteeche”.

    13.    Jaago Re Jaago – A live program on the eve of “Independence Day and Republic Day to rekindle and reignite the value of freedom in the minds of young and old of this great nation.

    14.    RBI National Quiz, promoting Financial Literacy among the youth.

    15.    National & International Robotic Contest, Robocon offering young engineers a platform to excel in their creative thinking apart from demonstrating their technical ideas in robotics as well as establishing a cross cultural awareness facilitating their overall development.

    16.    Celebrations of festivals like Govinda and Ganesh Chaturthi – “Aaley Ganray” and major sports and cultural events are brought live to the viewers by the channel every year.

    17.    All India Urdu Mushaira, to promote national integration and to provide a wide reach platform to the Nations Urdu Poets.

    Very few people know that he has produced nearly 50 feature films and directed one for which he was honoured with the national award. He has also worked in All India Radio, Doordarshan Sales and Commercial Services; and at the moment apart from looking after the DD Kendra at Mumbai he also heads the Commercial and Revenue Division single handedly.

    Mukesh Sharma is perhaps the last of the Mughals to survive the onslaught of commercial broadcasting, to not only survive but to give them a run for their money.

  • Prasar Bharati eyes wider reach for DD India via international satellites

    Prasar Bharati eyes wider reach for DD India via international satellites

    NEW DELHI: After revamping its other channels and its website, Doordarshan is now working towards not just revamping its international channel DD India, but to increase its reach.

     

    Prasar Bharati sources said that efforts were being made to distribute DD India Channel globally. Doordarshan has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Asian Television Network, Canada, for distribution of five DD channels in Canada. Additionally, Doordarshan has granted permission to Mauritius Broadcasting Corporation for distribution of six DD channels in Mauritius.

     

    The pubcaster has also signed an MOU with Deutsche Welle (DW), Germany for distribution of DD India channel through EUTELSAT’s Hotbird 13B satellite on barter basis, which will ensure Doordarshan will become available for the first time in the direct-to-home in a Free-to-Air basic package mode in the whole of Europe and in Arab countries with DD Freedish coming on air on EUTELSAT’s Hotbird 13 B satellite.

     
    DW will provide Prasar Bharati with a satellite capacity of 2 Mbit/s on Hotbird for the transmission of DD India signal. DD India will be available in a basic package and will be without any subscription. It will also provide the signal to DW or any other recipient determined by DW in a form suitable for receipt and transmission. DD will be responsible for the cost of delivery of the signal to DW in Germany and all cost associated with such delivery shall be paid by Prasar Bharati to the DW Licensee in India, Cabsat Channels Pvt. Ltd.

     

    Cabsat is willing to arrange to collect the signal of DD India from the Indian satellite and arrange for the provision of the Signal to DW in Germany, and invoice Prasar Bharati accordingly.

     
    This will help the public broadcaster project India’s viewpoint to the global audience in a cost effective manner. DD will be offered in the basic package of the DTH service, which does not require any individual to either subscribe to it or to pay for viewing the channel.

     
    Prasar Bharati sources said the offer by DW has extremely favourable terms and DD India does not even require a license immediately. The license can be obtained within a period of one year if the experiment is successful.

     
    DD currently has a budget of Rs 2 – 3 crore per year for production of programmes, which has to go up and so other Ministries pool in their resources/content for quality programmes for the viewership abroad. Programming will be mainly accessed from archival material and current programmes, apart from some live and deferred live programmes. The programming, which was mostly in English and Hindi, may have subtitling where necessary.

     
    As of now, Indian satellites carrying DD signals reach around 34 countries.

     
    While the Australian Broadcasting Corporation is coming on board DD Freedish, France was proposing to beam to India via an Indian satellite.

     
    DW beamed to the world in four beams: English, German, Arabic and Spanish. Asia was reached through the Asiasat I satellite.

     
    The five broad regions to be covered are Central Asia, Middle East or West Asia, East Europe, West Europe and North Africa. The programmes would primarily target different cultures, keeping in mind the different languages of the regions like Turki, Persian, Arabic and French, with English being reasonably the lingua franca. The programmes for the target audiences would be decided in consultation with the concerned Ministries who have experience and expertise in the various fields, and assessing the cultural and political sensitivities of the areas.

     
    Programmes of private programmes will continue to be broadcast with their own view point of India. It all depends on their interest about presenting the picture of India. They are promoting the issues of India from the view point and interest of audiences. Programmes palatable to one region may offend sensibilities elsewhere, which would have to be of prime concern while producing them.

     

    Since 1995, Doordarshan has been trying to build bridges of communication with Indians living abroad and also trying to showcase its diverse culture, values and rich heritage to the world by launching its first international channel.

     
    Upon the expansion of this International Channel into 24×7 transmission, Doordarshan signed an agreement with Pan Am SAT (later Intelsat Inc.) for achieving global footprint of its international channel in Asia, Africa, Europe and North America by placing it on ‘C’ & ‘KU’ band of IS-10 , IS-906 and G-13 satellites.

     
    In 2011, the services provided by Intelsat were dispensed with and the contract was terminated.

     
    From March 2011, Doordarshan started availing of the service of ISRO’s INSAT-4B in both KU band & C band. However, the inadequacy of not being able to locate any significant global partners to distribute and connect DD to homes overseas continued.

     
    In the past also DD did make efforts to distribute its international channel in various parts of the world but made little progress in the last mile distribution due to policies, which did not permit large scale spending on carriage fees.

     
    Doordarshan made renewed efforts through Indian Missions to distribute its international channel abroad, but it could make little progress in this last mile distribution due to several reasons. However, significant local partners could not be located to distribute and connect DD to homes overseas continued.

     
    Hotbird-13B is the most chosen satellite by European countries because of its polarity. It has a reach of 120 million homes in the whole of Europe, Northern Africa and the whole of Middle East. It is an extremely popular DTH platform in Europe and this platform was the logical choice for DD India to launch its overseas services afresh.

  • Committee formed to inquire DD on 400+ unaired episodes

    Committee formed to inquire DD on 400+ unaired episodes

    NEW DELHI: Doordarshan has been asked to immediately report on why 164 prorammes running into over 200 episodes produced by the Srinagar Kendra of Doordarshan and 288 episodes received from 30 outside production houses between 2009 and 2011 have still not been telecast.

     

    Doordarshan director general Vikayalakshmi Chhabra has been asked to shortlist those series, which can still be used, Prasar Bharati sources told Indiantelevision.com. The outside producers were to be paid Rs 30,000 per episode.

     

    The DG has also been asked to take disciplinary action against the concerned officers, and a DD source told Indiantelevision.com that a high-level committee had been formed for this purpose.

    The sources said no payment has been made for such programmes by Doordarshan so far.

     

    The telecast of these programmes was stopped during the first quarter of the year 2011 by the then DDG (Programmes) at DDK Srinagar.

     

    Some facilities for production of these programs were out–sourced. In some cases, the fee structure of Doordarshan was also not followed which was in violation of procedure for ‘in-house programmes.’

     

    The programmes included documentary series, talk shows, music-based programmes including qawaalis, dramatic series, programmes done under Bharat Nirman, and game shows.

  • Major initiatives of the I&B Ministry in 2014

    Major initiatives of the I&B Ministry in 2014

    The Ministry of Information & Broadcasting (I&B) has undertaken key initiatives in the different sectors aimed at enhancing the outreach of policies and programmes across platforms. Some of the initiatives undertaken have been innovative, involving people’s participation, enhancing government’s presence on the social media platforms and strengthening communication at the grassroots. Some of the key initiatives are as under:

     

    Initiatives under Swachh Bharat Mission

    As part of the Swachh Bharat Mission, the Ministry initiated a 360 degree multimedia campaign to enhance the outreach and impact of the Mission. All media units were involved in outlining audience specific content, tools and action plan. Intensive discussions were held with key stakeholders of the mission and innovative strategies were incorporated across media platforms for greater visibility and impact. Some of the key initiatives undertaken by the Ministry are as follows:
     

    Three Day Rashtriya Bal Film Mela on the theme “Swachhta”

    Organized by the Children’s Film Society of India (CSFI) on the occasion of National Children’s Day celebrations, the three day festival provided an opportunity for children to appreciate high-quality film content, experience value-based entertainment, and to trigger their imagination about environment conservation and cleanliness. The festival showcased a bunch of internationally acclaimed children’s films on the theme of cleanliness.

    The Festival featured interactive workshops on film-making, film appreciation, animation, Charlie Chaplin’s Mimes and storytelling. Live dance performances, magic act, sand act, and puppetry along with various competitions such as painting on the theme, ‘Swachhta’, and digital collage on the theme ‘Clean India’ and the craft of making utility items from waste materials, were being organized on the sidelines of the festival.

     

    1. Creation of Audio-Visual Spots on Swachh Bharat Mission.
    2. Animation / short video competition (less than three minute duration) organized on the digital volunteer platform of the Ministry with 15 October as deadline.
    3. Launch of Photo-Competition depicting “before and after pictures of cleanliness” on the digital volunteer platform with 15 October as deadline.
    4. Creation of an animation film by New Media Wing
    5. Crowd sourcing for the design of print advertisements
    6. Developing platform specific content on social media
    7. Creation of banners, logos and e-mailers for spreading of the message through social media
    8. Jingles on All India Radio
    9. Community Radio Mobilization to effectively reach the grass root communities
    10. Advisory to private TV & FM channels to become part of the campaign so as to enhance impact and outreach of the mission
    11. Anchor based and in-house serials on DD & AIR
    12. News bulletins through special success stories on DD & AIR
    13. Interactive programmes on DD & AIR
    14. Public Information Campaigns to focus on the core issues of the mission.
    15. Interpersonal communication strategies through field units of the Ministry.

     

    Launch of the DAVP Calendar, “Clean India, Green India”: The year 2015 calendar has been developed on the theme of “Clean India Green India” with focus on “Swachhta” and environment issues. The January page of the Calendar displayed the launch of the “Swachh Bharat Mission by Hon’ble Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi. While the February page carried the message of ‘Swachh Vidyalaya’ and ‘Bal Swachhta Abhiyan’, the March page was designed on the theme, ‘Rejuvenating Rivers.’ The April Page of the Calendar portrayed “Clean Hospitals: A Healthy India,” May depicted the cleanliness drive of Railways, June focused on Rejuvenation of the River Ganges, ‘Namami Gange’, and July on people’s participation in Swachh Bharat Movement. The August page was on the theme of Clean Villages; the month of September highlighted Solar Energy as clean and renewable source of energy; October depicted Wind Power as pollution free source of energy and November emphasized the need to preserve Himalayan Ranges. Wildlife conservation was the theme for December.

     

    For the first time ever, a mobile app of the calendar has been developed. The mobile App would provide access to the latest tweets from the PMO, the YouTube channel of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, and the press releases on the PIB website. In addition to being a window for all websites of Government of India, this informative application would serve as a planner to the users bringing news updates from AIR and DD News. The mobile app was developed for Android platforms initially, which would be made available on other mobile platforms also in due course of time.

     

     

    Organising Press Conferences to highlight achievements and initiatives of the Government:The strategy adopted has been extremely successful in positioning the visibility of Government’s initiatives across media platforms.

     

    Multimedia Exhibition on Former Prime Minister Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee:The Ministry of I&B has mounted a multimedia exhibition under the aegis of DAVP on the former Prime Minister Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee. The exhibition would serve as an inspiration and learning to the people in understanding the life and contributions of Shri Vajpayee as a politician, statesman, and poet. The exhibition was inaugurated by Union Minister of Finance, Corporate Affairs, and Information & Broadcasting Shri Arun Jaitley on 20 December, 2014.

     

    The exhibition portrays the life of Shri Vajpayee, through a display of around 250 photographs, which reflect 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 his life will be showcased through photo and electronic exhibition. Scrollers, translites, LED walls, large fascia and title boards are the major attractions of the exhibition. The exhibition was open to public from 20 – 25 December, 2014.

     

    Establishment of Social Media Presence of Government of India: In order to facilitate Ministries/Departments in registering their presence on social media by utilizing the services of the Communications Hub established by the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting, the ministry organized a half day training workshop on 11 July, 2014 at the National Media Centre. The response was very encouraging as about 150 officers representing 59 Ministries/Departments attended the workshop. An interactive Q&A session was also held before concluding the workshop and induction material including a handbook on social media was also distributed to all the participants.

     

    Third and fourth phase of digitization: A Task Force has been constituted with the approval of MIB to steer the remaining two phases i.e., Phase III and Phase IV of digitization in India. The Task Force is headed by the Additional Secretary of the Ministry and comprises stakeholders from various ministries, departments and industry representatives. The constitution of the Task Force paves the way for implementation of digitization initiative in India, which will see digitization of about 8 crores cable TV homes in India. This will bring India in the league of developed nations. It is also a step towards the Prime Minister’s dream of a Digital India, as digitization will enable quick penetration of broadband connectivity in India.

     

    Government of India vide Notification dated 11 September, 2014 has revised the timeframe for digitization for Phase-III and IV of the Cable TV. As per revised guidelines, Phase-III and IV of Cable TV would be completed by December 2015 and December 2016 respectively.

     

    Third phase of FM radio auction: The Cabinet Note on third phase of FM has been moved for cabinet approval. This decision of the Ministry of I&B will pave the way for e-auction of FM Phase-III channels.

     

    Goa declared the permanent destination for International Films Festival of India: In order to develop the “Brand IFFI” on the lines of other international film festivals, Goa has been declared as the permanent destination for International Films Festival of India (IFFI). The IFFI platform propagated the theme “Green India, Clean India” at all the major events organized under its banner.

     

    North East Film Festival: For the first time, a three-day North East Film Festival was held in Delhi (Siri Fort Complex) on a grand scale. It will henceforth be an annual feature, a prominent event in the film festival calendar of the Directorate of Film Festivals. The Festival concluded on 24 August, 2014.

     

    FTII, SRFTII to be institutes of national importance: In order to provide statutory backing through an act of Parliament to declare both the institutes as Institutes of National Importance the government has proposed a Bill. The proposed Bill would enable both the institutes to award its own degrees and diplomas and start new activities on the lines of IITs and IIMs. Cabinet Note has been moved.

     

    Meeting with stakeholders related to Set-Top-Boxes to promote indigenization of digitization: Efforts were taken to fulfill the long pending demand of domestic manufacturers of Set-Top-Boxes (STBs) to get tax concession (C Form benefit) in order to compete with imported STBs. A letter was written by Hon’ble MIB to Hon’ble Finance Minister to resolve the issue of C-Form concession to domestic manufacturers. This was followed by a meeting by Hon’ble MIB with senior officials from Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Commerce, Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises, Department of Electronics and Information Technology, Department of Telecom, Bureau of Indian Standards etc., and other industry stakeholders like indigenous STB manufacturers, DTH Association and MSO Associations etc. As a result of continuous follow up, Department of Telecom has confirmed Set Top Box as “Telecom Network Equipment”. The proposal has also been approved by the Ministry of Finance and a letter has already been issued to all the State Governments, Commissioners of Taxes and other concerned that STB will get the facility of ‘Form C’.

     

    e-initiatives: The Office of Registrar of Newspapers for India, M/o I&B has streamlined its Single Window Public dealing mechanism at its office. The RNI has achieved 100% success in online e-filing of Annual statements by publishers for 2013-14. The software module has been finalized for online filing of title verification application. It has also started sending automatic SMS intimation about status of title and registration application to publishers.

     

    Boost to Community Radio movement in the Country:Hon’ble MIB has been given a lot of emphasis on reaching out to the people especially in rural and marginalized areas with effective development communication. Community Radios are one of the best tools to touch the lives of millions of people as it is the platform, which provides an opportunity to community to not only receive messages from Government but also provide its feedback, which ensures two-way communication. An announcement has been made by Hon’ble Finance Minister in his budget speech allocating an amount of Rs 100 crores for “Supporting Community Radio Movement in India.” This would enable setting up of 600 community radio stations across the country in the 12th Five Year Plan. The resources would also be utilized for enhancing awareness, building capacities of community radio operators and promoting innovations in the sector. Funds would also be provided to various CR operators as a matching grant for setting up /upgrading community radio stations. At present 170 community radios are operating in various parts of India and about 200 are in the pipeline. This major initiative of the new government will strengthen the connect with the population living in rural and marginalized areas.

     

    A monitoring mechanism is also being set up to monitor community radio stations live at Electronic Media Monitoring Centre.

     

     

    Simplification of Procedures for granting Television licenses for starting additional television channels: Ministry of I&B grants permission to private television channels in India. At present about 800 TV channels have already been permitted by the Ministry of I&B. India has a huge broadcasting industry, thanks to the large number of television channels providing news and entertainment in various languages both at the national and regional level. Many companies desirous of starting new television channels have been approaching the Ministry to simplify procedures for launch of additional television channels. The issue of grant of additional television channels had become complicated as previously it was decided that for starting every additional TV channel security clearance would be required even for the same company and same set of Directors, who had been security cleared earlier, within the period of validity of such security clearance.

     

    Proposal cleared for Rs 600 crore National Film Heritage Mission (NFHM) to preserve India’s film legacy: The revised EFC proposal for a Rs 600 crore National Film Heritage Mission project to preserve India’s filmic legacy was cleared by the Expenditure Finance Committee in the Ministry of Finance on 3 July, 2014. The modalities are being worked out to launch it at the earliest.

     

    Peoples’ participation in Government Advertising through Crowd-Sourcing of Advertisements: The advertisement for the important events being designed on the crowd-sourcing model. Independence Day advertisement designed on these lines and DAVP has invited suggestions for the proposed advertisement to be brought out on 5 September to observe “Teachers Day”.

     

    Adopting 360 degree approach to information dissemination: Designing integrated campaigns based on the 360 degree approach, the core theme touching all tools including the contemporary as well as new media. For Independence Day, the advertisements were crowd-sourced for the first time and coverage was extended to all media platforms.

     

    Transparency Steps have also been taken by the Ministry to enhance transparency and expedite approvals for which Open House Meetings have been started for Community Radio applicants on the first of every month. For Multi System Operators (MSOs), Open House meetings are held every week on Tuesday. For television applicants, Open House meetings are held every fortnight i.e., on 5th and 20th of every month. This provides an opportunity to applicants to have a direct interaction with the Ministry officials and clarify their doubts as well as to get the status of their pending applications. This has enhanced transparency and accountability in the grant of various permissions to applicants of Community Radios, television channels, MSO permissions etc.

     

    Screening of rare archival footage: A half an hour film, “Road To Freedom,” was produced by the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting, based solely on rare archival footage. It was screened on DD (National) on 15 August, 2014. More such films will be produced and screened on days like 2nd October, 26th January and such like.

     

    Organisation of One Day Workshop on ‘Crisis Communication’:  In pursuance of the decision taken in Committee of Secretaries (CoS) meeting held on 1 July 2014 to consider measures to upgrade the efficacy of control and response system of Government in crisis situation, Ministry of Information organized a one day training session for senior officers of various Ministries/ Departments on ‘Communicating with Media’ through Indian Institute of Mass Communication (IIMC) on 22 September, 2014 at National Media Centre.

     

    (These are purely personal views of I&B Ministry secretary Bimal Julka and indiantelevision.com does not necessarily subscribe to these views.)

  • Architect of autonomy for AIR DD breathes his last

    Architect of autonomy for AIR DD breathes his last

    NEW DELHI: Veteran journalist BG Verghese, who in 1975 won the Ramon Magsaysay award for outstanding journalism, died on 30 December, aged 87.

    Verghese, a former editor of the Hindustan Times, passed away at 6 p.m. at his son’s residence, a family member said. The former information advisor to Prime Minister Indira Gandhi leaves behind wife Jamila and sons Vijay and Rahul.

    Verghese headed the group set up by the then Information and Broadcasting Minister L K Advani during the Janata Party rule in 1977 to work on an autonomous All India Radio and Doordarshan. The Verghese Committee recommended setting up Akash Bharati as an autonomous trust,

    Born on 21 June 1927, he was a veteran journalist. He was editor of the leading papers The Hindustan Times (1969–75) and The Indian Express (1982–86).In 1975, he received the Ramon Magsaysay award for outstanding contribution to journalism. Since 1986, he has been associated with the New Delhi think-tank Centre for Policy Research.

    Verghese attended The Doon School. He then studied Economics at St. Stephen’s College, Delhi and pursued a Master’s degree from Trinity College, Cambridge. While at Doon, Verghese edited The Doon School Weekly.

    Verghese started his journalistic career in The Times of India. He was information adviser to Prime Minister Indira Gandhi in 1966-69 and wrote her speeches. Subsequently, he joined as editor, Hindustan Times, but he lost his post for criticising Indira Gandhi during the dark years of the Emergency. His integrity in those years earned him immense respect and he was awarded the Ramon Magsaysay award that year. Immediately afterwards, he contested Lok Sabha elections in 1977 from Mavelikkara in Kerala but lost.

    A crusader for civil rights, Verghese has long worked on problems of development. He was also on the Editors Guild of India Fact Finding Mission after the Gujarat riots, 2002.

    He has written extensively on developmental issues. Waters of hope (1990) and ‘Winning the future (1994) discuss managing the Himalayan watershed. Design for tomorrow (1965), India’s North East resurgent and Reorienting India: Rage, reconciliation and security (2008) are other books with a progressive theme. He is also the author of Warrior of the Fourth Estate (2005), an acclaimed biography of Ramnath Goenka, owner of the Indian Express. In October 2010, he published his autobiography First Draft: Witness to Making of Modern India, which discusses the steady degradation of democratic processes during the tenures of Indira Gandhi and her son Rajiv.

     

  • CAG hauls up DoS on DTH satellite capacity management

    CAG hauls up DoS on DTH satellite capacity management

    MUMBAI: The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India has laid its report ‘management of satellite capacity for DTH service by Department of Space’ on the table of  Parliament. And the report has severely criticised the entire process of satellite capacity management right from planning of satellite capacity, to allocation and leasing of transponders.

     

    The CAG audit was to evaluate whether planning and realisation of satellite capacity for DTH service was done with a view to give economic, efficient and effective service, whether allocation of satellite space was transparent, fair and equitable and whether transponder lease agreements safeguarded the financial interest of the government.

     

    Failures of DoS

     

    The DoS has been lagging in its launch of satellites leading to losses of revenue as well as trust. Out of the nine satellites with 218 Ku band transponders, planned during the 11th five year plan, only three were realised with 48 transponders. This was only 22 per cent of the target.

    The audit report states that despite having sufficient funds, DoS did not consider procured launches for its ready satellites or acquire satellites in orbit and position it under the orbital slot coordinated by India. Technical problems with transponders and satellites committed for DTH also hampered the DoS and hence it was forced to use these capacities as a replacement for satellites being decommissioned.  Because it could not  fulfill the needs of the DTH operators, they migrated to foreign satellite systems. Of the 76 transponders which DTH operators were using only 19 of these were on Indian satellites in July 2013. That number fell to seven when, in July 2013, Tata Sky surrendered its 12 transponders and migrated to a foreign satellite. The DTH service providers later did not prefer to return to INSAT due to trust deficit. Crowding of foreign satellites would affect the INSAT system and result in non availability of the strategically important slots for India. This clearly has lead to  loss of opportunities for revenue generation and strategic interests.

     

    GSAT8 which was initially intended for DTH use ended up being allocated for non DTH use after a three year delay.  GSAT9 and GSAT15 were not launched citing non availability of launch vehicle GSLV. The audit saw that two other satellites were launched through procured launches. Rs 250 crore and Rs 345.36 crore were spent for launching GSAT 8 and GSAT 10.

     

    CAG also stated that the prices of transponders from foreign satellites were increased by 5 to 33 per cent over one to six year period, while INSAT users paid the same charge for over six to 10 years. When the DoS did decide to raise prices by 15 per cent, it was never carried out.

     

    The report gives the following recommendations:

    1.    DoS and ICC may frame a transparent policy for allocation of satellite capacity for DTH services and all future satellite capacity allocations may be made based on the same.

    2.    DOS may consider creating Ku band satellite capacity for DTH services commensurate with the demand in the sector and requirement for national and strategic applications.

    3.    DoS may clearly define short term and long term strategy for allocation of Ku band satellite capacity to DTH service providers on domestic and foreign satellites to ensure continuity to the existing users as well as to bring those DTH service providers using foreign satellites back to INSAT/GSAT system.

    4.    DOS may incorporate price revision clause in long term transponder lease agreements and revise the transponder prices in time to avoid extending undue benefit to the service providers.

    The CAAG report has also stated that the DoS also botched up on the INSAT coordination committee (ICC), which was set up to allocate satellite capacity. The ICC went into cold storage after June 2004, and was revived only in May 2011. In the seven years in between, the DoS directly allocated satellite capacity to DTH providers, which was not as per Satcom policy. The procedure for allocation of satellite transponders was not framed by the ICC; DoS thus committed capacity to operators without an ICC approved procedure. Even the Ministry of information and broadcasting which is responsible for broadcasting in India and is a member of the ICC was kept out of the decision making process as the ICC never met for seven years.

     

    Then DoS gave precedence to Tata Sky – though it was fifth in queue – and allotted capacity to it on INSAT 4A over Doordarshan, CAG has stated in its report. DoS said that DD had been given space on NSS-6 prior to allocation of INSAT 4A to Tata Sky and the state broadcaster could migrate only  after the end of its contract period. But it did not state if it first made the offer for INSAT 4A capacity to DD, which the latter turned down. This is significant in the context that DoS granted exclusive rights to Tata Sky.

    Tata Sky’s transponders on INSAT 4A were functioning with reduced power and it voiced concerns about the health of the satellite and urged the government to launch GSAT 10 to avoid adverse impact on its business.

    GSAT10 was launched only in 2012 and in 2013, Tata Sky declined to shift satellites citing that this won’t give it the additional space it now needed and moved on to its MPEG-4 conversion technique.

    Tata Sky had been committed exclusive first right of refusal by DoS for using Ku band transponders, which was not done with other DTH providers, the CAG has stated. “This created a difficult situation for DoS in allocating its Ku band transponders in the slot to any other DTH service provider or usage. Consequently, DoS did not allocate Ku band transponders of GSAT 10 to any other user fearing litigation from Tata Sky,” reads the report. It also adds that this location was “advantageous to Tata Sky, since the communication satellites occupying this slot could uniformly access the length and breadth of the country”.

    Thereby, the 12 Ku band transponders remained idle, which could have ideally generated more than Rs 82.80 crore a year. While DoS stated that GSAT 10 was just spare capacity the CAG says it does not accept this answer. “Spare capacity of Ku band on GSAT 10 was not a planned option, but a fall back option since Tata Sky was given exclusive first right of refusal on INSAT 4A. Pending Tata Sky’s decision, the 12 transponders could not be utilised otherwise, with the implied pecuniary loss to the public exchequer. Audit further observed that allocation of satellite capacity being the responsibility of ICC, the decision to keep satellite capacity as spare was taken without the specific approval of ICC,” it states.

    When the audit pointed the preferential allocation to DoS, the latter held a meeting with the DTH operator which agreed to relinquish its right. However, no formal amendment was effected as of March 2014. “The fact, however, remained that DoS did not give exclusive right of first refusal to any other DTH service provider, indicating that DOS gave a preferential treatment to Tata Sky over other DTH service providers,
    ” states the report.

    The following are mentioned as the special terms and conditions of the agreement with Tata Sky:

    – Commitment for satellite capacity was open ended, with provision for additional transponder capacity whereas in other agreements the satellite capacity was committed for the period of lease only.

    -Credits were provided in the case of interruption in service for more than 30 minutes to 24 hours at slab rates, whereas in the other agreements the credits were provided for interruption of more than one hour on proportionate basis.

    -There was a provision for inspection of customer’s earth station by DoS at the request of Tata Sky, where as this facility was not extended to the other DTH service providers.

    -Tata Sky was allowed to assign any of its rights or delegate any of its obligations to its affiliates upon reasonable prior written notice to DoS, whereas this was not extended to the other DTH service providers.

    -Chairman of Tata group was one of the non-functional directors in the board of directors of Antrix. Although there might be no direct impact on the decision making process within Antrix, allocation of Ku band transponders of INSAT 4A on exclusive basis to Tata Sky does raise the question of conflict of interest.

     

    Tata Sky MD & CEO Harit Nagpal sent out a response to indiantelevision.com on the CAG report.  Said he: “While the SATCOM policy allowed DTH platforms, both Indian and foreign satellites, it stated that proposals envisaging use of Indian satellites would receive preferential treatment. Tata Sky is  the only Platform that stayed with DOS, while others migrated to foreign satellites.  While we continue to wait for allocation of incremental capacity, we have invested over Rs 500 Cr to migrate to new compression standards to ensure carriage of channels for our customers, despite a shortage of transponders.”

    DoS agreed to lease 6.25 transponder units in INSAT 4B satellite at Rs 4.75 crore per transponder. However, the report found that DoS actually charged Sun Direct only for six transponders leading to a loss of Rs 46.92 lakh. It also allowed a bonus free access for 1.5 months after the permitted three months, leading to a loss of Rs 3.56 crore.

    In the case of Prasar Bharati, the DoS allocated an additional transponder to PB but did not enter into a firm agreement or MoU. PB then informed that due to this, it did not use the added space, thus leading to a loss of Rs 5.9 crore for lease, that wasn’t collected by DoS.

     

    Click here for the full report

  • 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. 

  • How DTH got digitisation right

    How DTH got digitisation right

    MUMBAI: Two years gone, two more in hand. But the cable TV industry is still grappling with getting its act right for digitisation. It was 10 years ago when the direct to home (DTH) players entered the Indian market with huge tasks in hand: introduce and convert people from the analogue regime into the digital ecosystem.

    Currently, the DTH sector commands about 36 million active subscribers (as per the recent TRAI report). While Dish TV was first to enter, it was soon followed by Tata Sky, Sun Direct, Airtel Digital TV, Videocon d2h and Reliance Digital. Not to forget, Prasar Bharati’s DD Freedish.

    How did the DTH industry manage to cultivate the business model which the MSOs are still finding cumbersome? Ask the DTH players and they say, it is because of their direct contact with the customer. “We were able to deal directly with the customer and provide a business model the way we wanted to. There isn’t any intermediary,” says Dish TV CEO RC Venkateish.

    Agrees Sun Direct CEO Mahesh Kumar, “DTH adopted the retail distribution model akin to aggressive FMCG/ telecom companies which is purely B2C. Majority of the employees at the senior and middle level are from the retail background.”

    The MSOs on the other hand had been running the analogue business, handled mostly by the local cable operators (LCOs). It was only after being pressurized by the government and regulator that they finally took up digitisation and started work on creating a proper business model. Tata Sky CEO Harit Nagpal feels that MSOs are working like puppets. “Cable operators are looking at digitisation as forced upon them. Digitisation is not about putting a box; this is inconvenient for the customer. It has to be sold to the customer as empowerment and not as a curse. DTH has done that.”

    While initially convincing the customer to switch from analogue to digital DTH wasn’t easy, what went in their favour was superior product offering with better quality sound and picture and selection of channels and packaging. “When DTH first came, it was the only digital offering. The country was largely analogue. That was the big advantage we had. We started from zero and had the opportunity to build the billing system and packaging,” says Venkateish.

    The claims made by DTH ops were supported by setting up call centres, backend and investment in brand building. However, what all executives agree as the best tool is the prepaid mode of payment. “The biggest success factor of the DTH model is the prepaid model which is a very transparent business model,” says Kumar.

    Nagpal feels that the crux of their model is the consumer centric approach, which MSOs don’t have. “You can activate and deactivate channels and packages whenever you want. Go on a holiday and don’t recharge. This is not yet possible in cable. The benefits of flexibility and empowerment in the case of DTH are in the customers’ hands,” he says.

    The only difference in the two is the pricing models for packages. While DTH starts its base pack at around Rs 200 to Rs 220, cable gives the entire channel list for approximately Rs 250. But Nagpal disagrees, stating that MSOs are not subject to taxes and also gets carriage fees from broadcasters. Whereas DTH, despite paying taxes and also paying for content, gives channels at a decently low cost with options of adding more.

    Kumar points out that DTH community has been able to segment the market and the customer which has helped the industry to do up-selling and consistently improve average revenue per user. Though the initial uptake of dishes was slow, over the years it has picked up speed. The choice of packages, HD channels, addition of newer channels and easy payment methods have put them on the better side of digitisation.  

    While DTH did have the upper hand in entering the market with a fixed plan of action, it is about time the MSOs come to terms with getting addressable digitisation done rather than just fixing boxes in homes. “DTH got digitisation right because we looked at it from what benefits it has to customer and not what the regulator is asking me to do,” points out Nagpal.

     

  • 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.