Tag: DD

FreeDish’s first e-auction after upgradation in Mar

NEW DELHI: A new era begins for Doordarshan’s free to air direct to home platform FreeDish as it takes the first major step to mark towards its target of 104 television channels by March end with its 32nd e-auction which will help it cross the existing capacity of eighty channels.

With MPEG4 under final trials and existing channels having received extensions for their licences, the next e-auction of DD FreeDish is slated for 14 February 2017.

With this new leap, DD has also raised its reserve price to Rs 48 million per slot from the hitherto Rs 43 million. Earlier, the price for one channel went up to Rs 53 million and gave DD the confidence to raise the pricem which had been Rs 37 million till 2015 but was raised to Rs 43 million for the 25th e-auction in January 2016.

The e-Auction will be conducted by M/s. C1 India Pvt. Ltd., Noida which also conducted the FM Radio Phase III auctions on behalf of Prasar Bharati.

DD refused to disclose the number of slots being put up for e-auction as officials claim this leads to unhealthy practices.

Doordarshan had in October last year formally announced that FreeDish was capable of carrying 104 television channels and 24 channels would be added to the existing 80 channels after the launch of MPEG4 technology.

While three new channels were added in an auction held over two days in mid-October, another 24 got their licences renewed for a year. DD officials also confirmed that FreeDish will soon be capable of carrying up to 250 channels.

In line with the ‘Digital India’ and ‘Make in India’, DD has decided to implement Indian CAS (iCAS) on DD FreeDish Platform. iCAS (which is an initiative of the central government) is being introduced in 24 MPEG-4 channels. The introduction of iCAS will provide enhanced viewing experience.

DD officials said these additional 24 MPEG-4 SDTV channels will be available to viewers in FTA mode. The existing viewers will continue to get 80 SDTV channels, but will have to obtain iCAS-enabled authorised set-top boxes for accessing all 104 channels.

Although FreeDish will remain free to air with no monthly or periodic fee, the viewers will be required to register with DD FreeDish on getting the new STB from Doordarshan authorised STB dealers.

Slots on DD FreeDish are allocated to private channels through a transparent system of e-auction. DD earned Rs 980 million in 2014-15, Rs 1800 million in 2015-16, and Rs 1040 million till September in 2016-17. The 31st auction brought Rs 1293 million In October 2016.

FreeDish was launched with a modest bouquet of 33 channels in December 2004, and now carries eighty TV channels and 32 radio channels. This includes 22 Doordarshan channels and two parliamentary channels, seven general entertainment channels, 18 movie channels, 13 news channels, seven music channels, three religious channels and eight channels of other genres. All All India Radio stations also piggy-back on the platform.

The participation amount (EMD) in the e-Auction is Rs.15 million which has to be deposited in advance before or by 12 noon on the date of auction along with processing fee of Rs.10,000 (non-refundable) in favour of PB (BCI) Doordarshan Commercial Service, New Delhi.

Incremental amount for the auction will be Rs one million and the time for every slot e-auction will be of fifteen minutes duration. This may be extended by five minutes if a bid is received before the closing time.

Of the reserve price, Rs 11 million will be deposited within one month of placement and another Rs 11 million within two months along with service tax of 15 per cent on the bid amount.

The balance bid amount will be deposited within six months, failing which the deposited amount will be forfeited and the channel discontinued after a 21-day discontinuation notice.

DD officials said implementation of iCAS and authorisation of STB original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) by Doordarshan will give a major thrust to ‘Make in India’ and ‘Digital India’. At present, a majority of STBs are imported. However, the introduction of iCAS will help in standardisation of STBs and encourage quality STB manufacturing in India.

Also read:

FreeDish ready to beam 104 TV channels; 24 on MPEG4

Three new TV channels join DD FreeDish bouquet; 24 get extension

Next FreeDish auction after MPEG4 operationalisation

February 6, 2017
DD to offer 104 channels & MPEG-4 STBs by Mar-end

MUMBAI: Doordarshan is preparing to offer 104 channels by March-end, the pubcaster’s director-general Supriya Sahu has said. Also, with the aim of expanding its DTH platform, Doordarshan is actively considering coming out with new set-top boxes having MPEG-4 technology.

‘FreeDish’, at present, she said, has 20 million subscribers, and is the market-share leader among the seven India-based DTH players.

Sahu told PTI that the initiative was to introduce conditional access system in the DD set-top boxes. They were getting into the new MPEG-4 technology. By March-end, she said, DD would want to enhance the number of existing channels from 80 to 104.

She also said that Doordarshan’s five channels — National, News, Sports, Kisan and local — were available through digital terrestrial transmission (DTT). DTT allows Doordarshan subscribers to watch channels for free on their Android phones with a small dongle, without internet.

By 2018, she said, 44 additional cities would become digital where DTT would then be available.

Sahu said that DD had the capacity for 10 channels through DTT, adding that, once IIM Ahmedabad, entrusted with the task of preparing a business plan on DTT roadmap, gave its report by March first week, Doordarshan would decide on its strategy of providing additional five channels through DTT.

DTT, she said, was already available in 16 cities. By March, it would be available in Hyderabad, Srinagar and Thiruvananthapuram.

January 17, 2017
DD to offer 104 channels & MPEG-4 STBs by Mar-end

MUMBAI: Doordarshan is preparing to offer 104 channels by March-end, the pubcaster’s director-general Supriya Sahu has said. Also, with the aim of expanding its DTH platform, Doordarshan is actively considering coming out with new set-top boxes having MPEG-4 technology.

‘FreeDish’, at present, she said, has 20 million subscribers, and is the market-share leader among the seven India-based DTH players.

Sahu told PTI that the initiative was to introduce conditional access system in the DD set-top boxes. They were getting into the new MPEG-4 technology. By March-end, she said, DD would want to enhance the number of existing channels from 80 to 104.

She also said that Doordarshan’s five channels — National, News, Sports, Kisan and local — were available through digital terrestrial transmission (DTT). DTT allows Doordarshan subscribers to watch channels for free on their Android phones with a small dongle, without internet.

By 2018, she said, 44 additional cities would become digital where DTT would then be available.

Sahu said that DD had the capacity for 10 channels through DTT, adding that, once IIM Ahmedabad, entrusted with the task of preparing a business plan on DTT roadmap, gave its report by March first week, Doordarshan would decide on its strategy of providing additional five channels through DTT.

DTT, she said, was already available in 16 cities. By March, it would be available in Hyderabad, Srinagar and Thiruvananthapuram.

January 17, 2017
Colors Infinity tops English entertainment; DD leads HSM news

MUMBAI: The last week of 2016, that is, week 52 witnessed English Entertainment emerging as the number one gainer in week 39 of Chrome Data and Analytics. The sector registered 16.0 per cent opportunity to see (OTS) and Colors Infinity led the genre with 45.7 per cent OTS.

Next in the row is Hindi News in Hindi-speaking market (HSM) which recorded 14.7 per cent of OTS with DD News leading the sector with 98.6 per cent OTS.

English News genre stood at three number with 10.9 per cent OTS and Loksabha TV bagged the first spot with 93.5 per cent OTS.

Hindi Movies genre registered 9.8 per cent OTS across HSM market with Max in the lead with 93.0 per cent OTS.

The music segment in the same market registered 8.6 per cent OTS with Sony Mix topping the chart with 91.0 per cent OTS.

Sports, religious and youth genres are among the losers of week 51. Sports section across India bagged 1.4 per cent OTS and DD sports became the most viewed channel in that segment with 91.6 per cent OTS. Religious genre recorded 1.3 per cent OTS with Aastha in the lead with 99.0 per cent OTS.

Last in the same category is the youth genre across Hindi-speaking market with 0.4 per cent OTS and Channel V registered 89.0 per cent OTS.

January 3, 2017
Colors Infinity tops English entertainment; DD leads HSM news

MUMBAI: The last week of 2016, that is, week 52 witnessed English Entertainment emerging as the number one gainer in week 39 of Chrome Data and Analytics. The sector registered 16.0 per cent opportunity to see (OTS) and Colors Infinity led the genre with 45.7 per cent OTS.

Next in the row is Hindi News in Hindi-speaking market (HSM) which recorded 14.7 per cent of OTS with DD News leading the sector with 98.6 per cent OTS.

English News genre stood at three number with 10.9 per cent OTS and Loksabha TV bagged the first spot with 93.5 per cent OTS.

Hindi Movies genre registered 9.8 per cent OTS across HSM market with Max in the lead with 93.0 per cent OTS.

The music segment in the same market registered 8.6 per cent OTS with Sony Mix topping the chart with 91.0 per cent OTS.

Sports, religious and youth genres are among the losers of week 51. Sports section across India bagged 1.4 per cent OTS and DD sports became the most viewed channel in that segment with 91.6 per cent OTS. Religious genre recorded 1.3 per cent OTS with Aastha in the lead with 99.0 per cent OTS.

Last in the same category is the youth genre across Hindi-speaking market with 0.4 per cent OTS and Channel V registered 89.0 per cent OTS.

January 3, 2017
DD favours big production houses, lament N-E producers; seek sops

MUMBAI: The Producers’ Council, a north-eastern states association of the empanelled private producers of Doordarshan, has accused Doordarshan of uploading on its website two controversial notifications that could spell disaster for the local programme producers.

The association lamented that the notifications, that were biased against programme producers of the region, had been planned to benefit big production houses of Mumbai and Delhi, the Assam Tribune reported.

In a communique released to the press in Guwahati, the council alleged that the first of the two DD notifications announces a fresh set of guidelines for commissioned programmes for telecast on North East DD-channels in which it was mentioned that only half of the programmes made in this category would be reserved for the residents o the North-Eastern states. The organisation mentioned that there were previous attempts to work in the interests of the so-called big production houses, and has demanded that the previously agreed formula of reserving 75 per cent programmes for producers of the North East should be retained.

As reported by indiantelevision.com earlier, though DD Doordarshan mentioned in its notifications that it would adopt a communication strategy that would attract viewership through a content mix which would be sensitive to the aspirations of the local population, the association maintained, it would not be possible to ensure this if producers from outside the region are assigned programmes.

Doordarshan had also hiked the non-refundable processing fees payable by producers by a whopping 500 per cent from Rs 5,000 to Rs 25,000. Since Doordarshan’s operations in the North East were part of its social commitment and are specially funded by the Government of India, the council reasoned, that processing fees payable by producers of the North East should be unchanged.

It said that it had no objection if producers from outside the region were charged at the enhanced rate.

The association also mentioned of the DD notification inviting proposals for its upcoming 24×7 satellite channel DD-Arunprabha in the Commissioned Programmes Category.

DD-Arunprabha had been operating from DDK, Itanagar, and DD claimed the channel would attract young people of NE with contemporary entertainment shows embedded with informative content.

However, the programme content, the council claimed, would be affected if producers were not provided reasonable time to conceive and formulate the same, stating that producers had been provided only 20 days to formulate programmes and dispatch them by mail to reach Delhi by 17 January, 2017.

As reported by indiantelevision.com earlier, proposals had been invited for subjects as myriad as thrillers, mythological serials, daily soap operas, telefilms, quiz shows and travelogues either in English or in Hindi with preference being given to programmes based on themes and subjects relevant to the region. The council has sought that the local producers should be given at least a month additional time and that the last date be extended up to 28 February, 2017.

Also Read:

DD Arunprabha invites proposals in seven categories

Rs 100 million added to DD & N-E regional units’ allocation

DD catering to N-E states’ language & culture

January 2, 2017
DD favours big production houses, lament N-E producers; seek sops

MUMBAI: The Producers’ Council, a north-eastern states association of the empanelled private producers of Doordarshan, has accused Doordarshan of uploading on its website two controversial notifications that could spell disaster for the local programme producers.

The association lamented that the notifications, that were biased against programme producers of the region, had been planned to benefit big production houses of Mumbai and Delhi, the Assam Tribune reported.

In a communique released to the press in Guwahati, the council alleged that the first of the two DD notifications announces a fresh set of guidelines for commissioned programmes for telecast on North East DD-channels in which it was mentioned that only half of the programmes made in this category would be reserved for the residents o the North-Eastern states. The organisation mentioned that there were previous attempts to work in the interests of the so-called big production houses, and has demanded that the previously agreed formula of reserving 75 per cent programmes for producers of the North East should be retained.

As reported by indiantelevision.com earlier, though DD Doordarshan mentioned in its notifications that it would adopt a communication strategy that would attract viewership through a content mix which would be sensitive to the aspirations of the local population, the association maintained, it would not be possible to ensure this if producers from outside the region are assigned programmes.

Doordarshan had also hiked the non-refundable processing fees payable by producers by a whopping 500 per cent from Rs 5,000 to Rs 25,000. Since Doordarshan’s operations in the North East were part of its social commitment and are specially funded by the Government of India, the council reasoned, that processing fees payable by producers of the North East should be unchanged.

It said that it had no objection if producers from outside the region were charged at the enhanced rate.

The association also mentioned of the DD notification inviting proposals for its upcoming 24×7 satellite channel DD-Arunprabha in the Commissioned Programmes Category.

DD-Arunprabha had been operating from DDK, Itanagar, and DD claimed the channel would attract young people of NE with contemporary entertainment shows embedded with informative content.

However, the programme content, the council claimed, would be affected if producers were not provided reasonable time to conceive and formulate the same, stating that producers had been provided only 20 days to formulate programmes and dispatch them by mail to reach Delhi by 17 January, 2017.

As reported by indiantelevision.com earlier, proposals had been invited for subjects as myriad as thrillers, mythological serials, daily soap operas, telefilms, quiz shows and travelogues either in English or in Hindi with preference being given to programmes based on themes and subjects relevant to the region. The council has sought that the local producers should be given at least a month additional time and that the last date be extended up to 28 February, 2017.

Also Read:

DD Arunprabha invites proposals in seven categories

Rs 100 million added to DD & N-E regional units’ allocation

DD catering to N-E states’ language & culture

January 2, 2017
Rs 100 million added to DD & N-E regional units’ allocation

NEW DELHI: Doordarshan News and 30 regional news units (RNU) have been allocated an additional Rs 100.8 million for the current year, taking the total allocation to about Rs 474 million for expenses that include payment to stringers and to the news agencies — United News of India and Press Trust of India.

Of this, Prasar Bharati has sanctioned a sum of Rs 620,000 for the news agencies which includes an additional Rs 260,000 approved earlier this week.

Thus, the budget for DD News has gone up to Rs 240 million with the additional Rs 54 million.

The RNUs getting additional budget from the north-eastern states are — Agartala, Aizwal, Guwahati, Itanagar, Imphal, Kohima and Shillong. Jammu, Leh and Srinagar in Jammu and Kashmir will also benefit.

The other RNUs are — Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Bhopal, Bhubaneswar, Chandigarh, Chennai, Hissar, Hyderabad, Jaipur, Jallandhar, Kolkata, Lucknow, Mumbai, Panaji, Patna, Raipur, Ranchi, Shimla, Thiruvananthapuram and Vijaywada.

Also Read:

Govt denies move to stop broadcast of Hindi news bulletins from Delhi: Rathore

December 26, 2016
Rs 100 million added to DD & N-E regional units’ allocation

NEW DELHI: Doordarshan News and 30 regional news units (RNU) have been allocated an additional Rs 100.8 million for the current year, taking the total allocation to about Rs 474 million for expenses that include payment to stringers and to the news agencies — United News of India and Press Trust of India.

Of this, Prasar Bharati has sanctioned a sum of Rs 620,000 for the news agencies which includes an additional Rs 260,000 approved earlier this week.

Thus, the budget for DD News has gone up to Rs 240 million with the additional Rs 54 million.

The RNUs getting additional budget from the north-eastern states are — Agartala, Aizwal, Guwahati, Itanagar, Imphal, Kohima and Shillong. Jammu, Leh and Srinagar in Jammu and Kashmir will also benefit.

The other RNUs are — Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Bhopal, Bhubaneswar, Chandigarh, Chennai, Hissar, Hyderabad, Jaipur, Jallandhar, Kolkata, Lucknow, Mumbai, Panaji, Patna, Raipur, Ranchi, Shimla, Thiruvananthapuram and Vijaywada.

Also Read:

Govt denies move to stop broadcast of Hindi news bulletins from Delhi: Rathore

December 26, 2016
DD’s digital terrestrial transmission meet today as TRAI paper awaits finalisation

NEW DELHI: Even as a consultation paper on Digital Terrestrial Transmission by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India is pending finalisation, Doordarshan is holding a workshop with stakeholders to explore the potential of DTT services.

The workshop on “Digital Terrestrial Transmission: Business Opportunities” is being organized on 23 December 2016 in the capital and will be addressed by experts.

Experts from the Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad, various stakeholders including Content providers, private broadcasters, receiver manufactures, and officers at Doordarshan will be participating in this workshop.

In the paper issued on 22 June 2016, TRAI wanted to know if stakeholders perceive the need for introduction of DTT in multiple broadcasting distribution platforms and what the appropriate strategy for DTT implementation across the country should be.

indiantelevision.com had earlier reported that the government was in the final stages of this exercise. Later, the website quoted then Prasar Bharati Chief Executive Officer Jawhar Sircar as saying that the pubcaster had itself cleared this more than a year earlier, even while pointing out that this would necessitate use of the Prasar Bharati infrastructure.

DD, which presently has exclusive domain over terrestrial broadcasting, ranks amongst the world’s largest terrestrial television networks. It has a network of 1412 analog transmitters that provide TV services through two national channels namely, DD National and DD News. In addition to this, the network also broadcast several regional TV channels over the terrestrial network in a time sharing mode to meet the local and regional needs of people in different parts of the country. All TV channels provided by DD are free-to-air.

In its paper, TRAI had asked whether DTT broadcasting should be opened for participation by the private players, and which model or a combination thereof for Dtt will be most suitable in Indian context.

Trai also wanted to know what the approach for implementing DTT network (MFN/SFN/Hybrid) should be and how many digital multiplex per DTT operator should be planned for metro, major cities, urban and rural areas.

Expert opinion had also been sought on the most appropriate frequency band as per National Frequency Allocation Plan 2011 for implementation of Digital terrestrial transmission including mobile TV.

The DTT platform is flexible and content format agnostic – newer formats of TV channels such as HD TV, 3D TV, UHD TV, data and radio services etc. can thus be delivered with reduced transmission power requirements. Digitisation also allows for government bodies to reclaim spectrum and repurpose it.

With standardized DTT transmission and clear advantages in terms of effective frequency utilization as well as enhanced TV quality, many countries the world over have laid down clear roadmaps to switch-off analog terrestrial TV transmission with a transition to DTT. In India, though work for changeover from Analog terrestrial transmission to digital terrestrial transmission by DD has already commenced, a clear roadmap is however unavailable.

December 22, 2016