ITV

Tag: DD

  • DD begins work on next year’s govt. funding

    DD begins work on next year’s govt. funding

    NEW DELHI: India’s television pubcaster Doordarshan, managed by Prasar Bharati, has begun an annual exercise to convey to the government the level of funding it could need for next financial year beginning April 1, 2017.

    While directing the various units  and centres under DD to send in their financial demands, a communiqué from the DD Directorate clarified that such budgeting should not  include any (financial) provisions for vacant posts.

    Prasar Bharati, which runs DD and All India Radio, like many other public broadcasters of the world, is funded with public money that the government allocates to it as part of the country’s annual budgetary
    proposals.

    The official communication from DD head office added that any liabilities from previous year’s budgetary support should be detailed, including separately listing reasons for exceeding allocated budgets for the financial year 2015-16 as also enumerating the likely effect that payment of certain government allowances, bonuses and increased payout to employees likely to have.

    It is estimated that Prasar Bharati has around 40,000 employees on its rolls.

    Though Prasar Bharat is an autonomous organisation, formed under an Act of Parliament of 1990 that was notified only in 1997 paving the way for its formal set up, a majority of its employees are still categorised as government officials, a hangover of pre-Prasar Bharati days when DD and AIR were media units of Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB). Hence, any revision of pay scales for government officials, as notified earlier this year, has an effect of Prasar Bharati officials too.

    ALSO READ:

    DD sets up ‘War Room’ to revitalise programming & revenues

  • DD in process of strengthening its coverage in J and K, to be completed in 2017-18: Naidu

    DD in process of strengthening its coverage in J and K, to be completed in 2017-18: Naidu

    NEW DELHI: Projects to set up five new High Power TV transmitters in Jammu and Kashmir are presently at various stages of implementation and are targeted for completion during 2017-18.

    Stating this, Information and Broadcasting Minister M Venkaiaih Naidu told the Rajya Sabha that Doordarshan at present has 243 TV transmitters of varying power functioning in border districts of the country.

    Strengthening of the terrestrial coverage of AIR and Doordarshan to counter foreign broadcast signal along border areas is a priority of Government and is an ongoing process.

    Special packages for expansion and improvement of Doordarshan and AIR services in the border areas have been formulated from time to time, the Mnister said.

    All the areas uncovered by terrestrial transmission (including those in border areas) alongwith rest of the country, have been provided with multi-channel TV coverage through Doordarshan’s free to air DTH service DD Freedish.

    DTH signals can be received anywhere in the country including border areas with the help of small sized dish receive units.

    Freedish is now installing Indian Conditional Access System (iCAS) to keep track of the number of subscribers, and is also moving from MPEG 2 to MPEG 4 to enable it to increase the number of channels that can be carried by Freedish.

  • DD in process of strengthening its coverage in J and K, to be completed in 2017-18: Naidu

    DD in process of strengthening its coverage in J and K, to be completed in 2017-18: Naidu

    NEW DELHI: Projects to set up five new High Power TV transmitters in Jammu and Kashmir are presently at various stages of implementation and are targeted for completion during 2017-18.

    Stating this, Information and Broadcasting Minister M Venkaiaih Naidu told the Rajya Sabha that Doordarshan at present has 243 TV transmitters of varying power functioning in border districts of the country.

    Strengthening of the terrestrial coverage of AIR and Doordarshan to counter foreign broadcast signal along border areas is a priority of Government and is an ongoing process.

    Special packages for expansion and improvement of Doordarshan and AIR services in the border areas have been formulated from time to time, the Mnister said.

    All the areas uncovered by terrestrial transmission (including those in border areas) alongwith rest of the country, have been provided with multi-channel TV coverage through Doordarshan’s free to air DTH service DD Freedish.

    DTH signals can be received anywhere in the country including border areas with the help of small sized dish receive units.

    Freedish is now installing Indian Conditional Access System (iCAS) to keep track of the number of subscribers, and is also moving from MPEG 2 to MPEG 4 to enable it to increase the number of channels that can be carried by Freedish.

  • DD Free Dish looking for tenant?

    DD Free Dish looking for tenant?

    MUMBAI: Pubcaster Doordarshan is looking for a tenant for a vacant slot it has on its Free Dish platform. The condition it has laid out for this is that it should become an occupant only for the month of August. And the cost of doing so: Rs 4.90 crore for the month.

    DD has issued an email circular – a copy of which has reached indiantelevision.com today – wherein it has asked private broadcasters to send in their expression of interest to take up the vacant slot. It, however, has cautioned that the carriage fee needs to be paid in advance along with service tax. It has also stated that the slot will be filled on a first come first serve basis.

    DD Free Dish has a bouquet of 104 video channels and 51 radio channels, according to the updated channel list (till 2 August 2016) on its website.

    DD Free Dish which is beaming DD Direct Plus/Free Dish off GSAT-15 at 93.5 East has a total of six – five in MPEG-2 and one in MPEG-4 – transponder frequencies for its service.

    The DTH provider added Zee News on Free Dish on 1 August after it won the e-auction on 28 July 2016. The Hindi news channel is also available as a FTA on Dish TV.

  • DD Free Dish looking for tenant?

    DD Free Dish looking for tenant?

    MUMBAI: Pubcaster Doordarshan is looking for a tenant for a vacant slot it has on its Free Dish platform. The condition it has laid out for this is that it should become an occupant only for the month of August. And the cost of doing so: Rs 4.90 crore for the month.

    DD has issued an email circular – a copy of which has reached indiantelevision.com today – wherein it has asked private broadcasters to send in their expression of interest to take up the vacant slot. It, however, has cautioned that the carriage fee needs to be paid in advance along with service tax. It has also stated that the slot will be filled on a first come first serve basis.

    DD Free Dish has a bouquet of 104 video channels and 51 radio channels, according to the updated channel list (till 2 August 2016) on its website.

    DD Free Dish which is beaming DD Direct Plus/Free Dish off GSAT-15 at 93.5 East has a total of six – five in MPEG-2 and one in MPEG-4 – transponder frequencies for its service.

    The DTH provider added Zee News on Free Dish on 1 August after it won the e-auction on 28 July 2016. The Hindi news channel is also available as a FTA on Dish TV.

  • DD e-auction process to start anew; permits film prod houses participation

    DD e-auction process to start anew; permits film prod houses participation

    NEW DELHI: Doordarshan, which had put the initiative of the e-auction of its slots under suspension on the basis of queries and proposals, has now decided to allow renowned film production houses also to enter the fray. In a major decision to start the entire e-auction process de novo, Prasar Bharati has decided to roll out the process from 1 November instead of 1 October.

    The Prasar Bharati Board, which considered the various responses and queries to the earlier announcement on Doordarshan’s website in mid-May this year, decided that the condition of applicants having at least 300 hours of TV productions may be reduced to 200 hours.

    A senior Prasar Bharati official told indiantelevision.com that the earlier condition that only those who had experience in television production was being done away with and major film production houses will also be allowed to bid to take part in the auction of the prime time slots. The official said details were being finalized and would be announced shortly.

    Earlier, it had been announced to invite eligible producers to create and market fresh content on the channel for a fixed tenure extending up to three years.

    Encouraged by its success in e-auction slots in FM Radio Phase III, Prasar Bharati shortlisted some slots in DD prime time that will be put up for e-auction to attract high quality content on its national and regional channels.

    DD sources said the policy encourages private entrepreneurs to produce cutting edge general entertainment programming with a commitment for providing wholesome family enjoyment.

    The technical and financial criteria for the new policy will be notified separately. The sale of slots to be auctioned will be through e-auction mode

    The roll out of the Slot Sale Policy will commence with DD’s flagship channel ‘DD National’ on its prime time slots will then be progressively extended to other slots and channels.

    The base price for DD National Prime Time is being kjept reasonable keeping in view the content environment and market economics to attract bidders. In the draft notification for Sale of Slots on Prime Time of DD National (to be separately notified), the Minimum Floor Price for DD National Prime Time is proposed to be Rs Two lakh for each 30 minute time slot between 7-11 PM (excluding feature film slots).

    The slot price increase is to be based on half yearly reviews through a transparent mechanism linked to the ratings achieved in the slot.

    The slots available for bidding would be for a sequence of slots for daily strips on weekdays/weekends.

    The aim is to follow a transparent bidding process so that opportunities are made available to all.

    Give more Free Commercial Time (FCT) to the Bidder or slot holder. For Sale of Slots on Prime Time of DD National, the Free Commercial Time (FCT) will be enhanced from the existing 2.5 minutes to 4.0 minutes for every 30 minute slot.

    This will ensure that there is no competition between DD and the Bidder/slot holder in vying for the same clients and advertisements. Successful bidders would be free to procure advertisements from all clients within their entitlement of FCT with the exception of Government and PSU (Public Sector Undertaking) clients.

    Bids may be invited for any/various combinations of/all slots as detailed below:

    i) For a single standalone slot
    ii) For longer time durations comprising of more than one slot for catering to the needs of telecasting special events, feature films etc.
    iii) For a single slot on weekly basis
    iv) For a sequence of slots in the same time band running over certain number of days in a week (e.g. Monday-Thursday; Monday-Friday; Saturday-Sunday, etc.)

    The decision regarding inviting bids in respect of slots will be at the sole discretion of Doordarshan after taking into account its programme requirements for any channel or time band.

    The website www.ddindia.gov.in gives detailed information for applicants.

    Earlier, Prasar Bharati Chief Executive Officer Jawhar Sircar told www.indiantelevision.com that this would bring about greater transparency and also put the onus on the successful bidder to ensure good content.

    Sircar in an exclusive interview had said that the e-auction would be completely transparent, stressing that the “cost of transparency is very heavy.”

    When his attention was drawn to the earlier system where renowned filmmakers were attracted by Doordarshan to make serials, he said that kind of system had led to monopolization.

    He admitted that he had initially faced internal resistance to his plan for e-auction of prime time slots.

    (DD has already announced that this is being done an experimental basis and may be extended to its other channels if the scheme is accepted.)

    He had said he was confident that audience loyalty, sentiment, and reach of Doordarshan would help to make the scheme a success.

  • DD e-auction process to start anew; permits film prod houses participation

    DD e-auction process to start anew; permits film prod houses participation

    NEW DELHI: Doordarshan, which had put the initiative of the e-auction of its slots under suspension on the basis of queries and proposals, has now decided to allow renowned film production houses also to enter the fray. In a major decision to start the entire e-auction process de novo, Prasar Bharati has decided to roll out the process from 1 November instead of 1 October.

    The Prasar Bharati Board, which considered the various responses and queries to the earlier announcement on Doordarshan’s website in mid-May this year, decided that the condition of applicants having at least 300 hours of TV productions may be reduced to 200 hours.

    A senior Prasar Bharati official told indiantelevision.com that the earlier condition that only those who had experience in television production was being done away with and major film production houses will also be allowed to bid to take part in the auction of the prime time slots. The official said details were being finalized and would be announced shortly.

    Earlier, it had been announced to invite eligible producers to create and market fresh content on the channel for a fixed tenure extending up to three years.

    Encouraged by its success in e-auction slots in FM Radio Phase III, Prasar Bharati shortlisted some slots in DD prime time that will be put up for e-auction to attract high quality content on its national and regional channels.

    DD sources said the policy encourages private entrepreneurs to produce cutting edge general entertainment programming with a commitment for providing wholesome family enjoyment.

    The technical and financial criteria for the new policy will be notified separately. The sale of slots to be auctioned will be through e-auction mode

    The roll out of the Slot Sale Policy will commence with DD’s flagship channel ‘DD National’ on its prime time slots will then be progressively extended to other slots and channels.

    The base price for DD National Prime Time is being kjept reasonable keeping in view the content environment and market economics to attract bidders. In the draft notification for Sale of Slots on Prime Time of DD National (to be separately notified), the Minimum Floor Price for DD National Prime Time is proposed to be Rs Two lakh for each 30 minute time slot between 7-11 PM (excluding feature film slots).

    The slot price increase is to be based on half yearly reviews through a transparent mechanism linked to the ratings achieved in the slot.

    The slots available for bidding would be for a sequence of slots for daily strips on weekdays/weekends.

    The aim is to follow a transparent bidding process so that opportunities are made available to all.

    Give more Free Commercial Time (FCT) to the Bidder or slot holder. For Sale of Slots on Prime Time of DD National, the Free Commercial Time (FCT) will be enhanced from the existing 2.5 minutes to 4.0 minutes for every 30 minute slot.

    This will ensure that there is no competition between DD and the Bidder/slot holder in vying for the same clients and advertisements. Successful bidders would be free to procure advertisements from all clients within their entitlement of FCT with the exception of Government and PSU (Public Sector Undertaking) clients.

    Bids may be invited for any/various combinations of/all slots as detailed below:

    i) For a single standalone slot
    ii) For longer time durations comprising of more than one slot for catering to the needs of telecasting special events, feature films etc.
    iii) For a single slot on weekly basis
    iv) For a sequence of slots in the same time band running over certain number of days in a week (e.g. Monday-Thursday; Monday-Friday; Saturday-Sunday, etc.)

    The decision regarding inviting bids in respect of slots will be at the sole discretion of Doordarshan after taking into account its programme requirements for any channel or time band.

    The website www.ddindia.gov.in gives detailed information for applicants.

    Earlier, Prasar Bharati Chief Executive Officer Jawhar Sircar told www.indiantelevision.com that this would bring about greater transparency and also put the onus on the successful bidder to ensure good content.

    Sircar in an exclusive interview had said that the e-auction would be completely transparent, stressing that the “cost of transparency is very heavy.”

    When his attention was drawn to the earlier system where renowned filmmakers were attracted by Doordarshan to make serials, he said that kind of system had led to monopolization.

    He admitted that he had initially faced internal resistance to his plan for e-auction of prime time slots.

    (DD has already announced that this is being done an experimental basis and may be extended to its other channels if the scheme is accepted.)

    He had said he was confident that audience loyalty, sentiment, and reach of Doordarshan would help to make the scheme a success.

  • AIR revenue has shown gradual growth; DD has not: Govt

    AIR revenue has shown gradual growth; DD has not: Govt

    NEW DELHI: In a digital age when most entertainment is downloadable and proliferation of television has made information easily accessible to general public, it’s heartening to note that pubcaster radio is holding its own against public-funded television.

    Minister for Information and Broadcasting (MIB) M Venkaiah Naidu informed Lok Sabha (Lower House of Parliament) that All India Radio, managed by pubcaster Prasar Bharati, has shown a gradual increase in revenues.

    The MIB minister added that on the other hand Doordarshan’s revenue generation has been below par.

    According to Naidu, operational cost of Doordarshan and All India Radio, however, is going north as a result of increased manpower hiring and resultant hike in remunerations and benefits given to government officials.

    Though Prasar Bharati is an autonomous body, the government has been providing non-plan support for meeting 100 per cent expenses towards salary and salary-related expenses and under planned expenditure for technical capital requirements.

    Prasar Bharati has received a total of Rs 9486.52 crore between 2013-2014 and June 2016 as plan or non-plan grant from MIB.

    During these years, the amount peaked in 2015-16 when the total grant was Rs 2795.89 crore.

    Year-wise Details of total expenditure and Revenue of DD and AIR during last five years are given as under:

    (Rs. in crore)

    All India Radio

    Year        Total expenditure          Revenue earned (Exclusive of Service Tax)

    2011-12   1213.58                                       325.01

    2012-13   1322.06                                     319.50

    2013-14   1460.33                                     367.50

    2014-15   1615.70                                     435.10

    2015-16   1710.08                                     447.76

    (Rs. in crore)

    Doordarshan

    Year       Total expenditure          Revenue earned (Exclusive of Service Tax)

    2011-12    1381.38                                              735.32

    2012-13    1501.64                                            1025.78

    2013-14     1602.94                                           1043.13

    2014-15     1815.22                                             911.01

    2015-16     1863.60                                            755.79

    Meanwhile, Naidu added that AIR has no mechanism to undertake audience measurement at regular intervals through field surveys.

    In the year 2014, DD National’s all-India audience ratings were 0.17%. In the year 2015, the ratings percentage dropped to 0.10% owing to the fact that the ratings agency did not cover 100 per cent of DD National on an all- India basis, MIB minister explained to Parliament.

    Government also admitted that increasing reach of other TV channels, mainly privately-owned, into rural areas has eaten into the share of DD viewership.

    In the current year, till the 27th week of 2016, ratings percentage of DD National was 0.11% as per data generated by Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC), which is an industry initiative.

    EXPENDITURE ON TRANSMITTERS: Over Rs 1,033 crore has been spent by DD on maintenance of low-power and very low powered transmitters.

    The total expenditure incurred by Doordarshan during the last three years was 2013-14 Rs. 318.16 crore; 2014-15 Rs. 349.66 crore and

    2015-16 Rs. 365.65 crore.

    Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting Rajyavardhan Rathore told the Lok Sabha that Prasar Bharati has 368 very low power TV transmitters (VLPTs) in the country.

    The junior MIB minister said that while no in-house survey has been conducted to assess LPT (low power transmitters) viewership by DD, BARC too doesn’t provide such data.

    Prasar Bharati has decided to close four LPTs as they lie in the coverage zone of nearby high power transmitters (HPTs) in Madhepura (Bihar); Simri Bakhtiarpur (Bihar); Khagaria (Bihar); and Kalna (West Bengal).

    Rathore also added that upgradation/modernization of Doordarshan Kendras is a continuous process.

     

  • AIR revenue has shown gradual growth; DD has not: Govt

    AIR revenue has shown gradual growth; DD has not: Govt

    NEW DELHI: In a digital age when most entertainment is downloadable and proliferation of television has made information easily accessible to general public, it’s heartening to note that pubcaster radio is holding its own against public-funded television.

    Minister for Information and Broadcasting (MIB) M Venkaiah Naidu informed Lok Sabha (Lower House of Parliament) that All India Radio, managed by pubcaster Prasar Bharati, has shown a gradual increase in revenues.

    The MIB minister added that on the other hand Doordarshan’s revenue generation has been below par.

    According to Naidu, operational cost of Doordarshan and All India Radio, however, is going north as a result of increased manpower hiring and resultant hike in remunerations and benefits given to government officials.

    Though Prasar Bharati is an autonomous body, the government has been providing non-plan support for meeting 100 per cent expenses towards salary and salary-related expenses and under planned expenditure for technical capital requirements.

    Prasar Bharati has received a total of Rs 9486.52 crore between 2013-2014 and June 2016 as plan or non-plan grant from MIB.

    During these years, the amount peaked in 2015-16 when the total grant was Rs 2795.89 crore.

    Year-wise Details of total expenditure and Revenue of DD and AIR during last five years are given as under:

    (Rs. in crore)

    All India Radio

    Year        Total expenditure          Revenue earned (Exclusive of Service Tax)

    2011-12   1213.58                                       325.01

    2012-13   1322.06                                     319.50

    2013-14   1460.33                                     367.50

    2014-15   1615.70                                     435.10

    2015-16   1710.08                                     447.76

    (Rs. in crore)

    Doordarshan

    Year       Total expenditure          Revenue earned (Exclusive of Service Tax)

    2011-12    1381.38                                              735.32

    2012-13    1501.64                                            1025.78

    2013-14     1602.94                                           1043.13

    2014-15     1815.22                                             911.01

    2015-16     1863.60                                            755.79

    Meanwhile, Naidu added that AIR has no mechanism to undertake audience measurement at regular intervals through field surveys.

    In the year 2014, DD National’s all-India audience ratings were 0.17%. In the year 2015, the ratings percentage dropped to 0.10% owing to the fact that the ratings agency did not cover 100 per cent of DD National on an all- India basis, MIB minister explained to Parliament.

    Government also admitted that increasing reach of other TV channels, mainly privately-owned, into rural areas has eaten into the share of DD viewership.

    In the current year, till the 27th week of 2016, ratings percentage of DD National was 0.11% as per data generated by Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC), which is an industry initiative.

    EXPENDITURE ON TRANSMITTERS: Over Rs 1,033 crore has been spent by DD on maintenance of low-power and very low powered transmitters.

    The total expenditure incurred by Doordarshan during the last three years was 2013-14 Rs. 318.16 crore; 2014-15 Rs. 349.66 crore and

    2015-16 Rs. 365.65 crore.

    Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting Rajyavardhan Rathore told the Lok Sabha that Prasar Bharati has 368 very low power TV transmitters (VLPTs) in the country.

    The junior MIB minister said that while no in-house survey has been conducted to assess LPT (low power transmitters) viewership by DD, BARC too doesn’t provide such data.

    Prasar Bharati has decided to close four LPTs as they lie in the coverage zone of nearby high power transmitters (HPTs) in Madhepura (Bihar); Simri Bakhtiarpur (Bihar); Khagaria (Bihar); and Kalna (West Bengal).

    Rathore also added that upgradation/modernization of Doordarshan Kendras is a continuous process.

     

  • Producers question DD’s decision to call of prime time slot auctions

    Producers question DD’s decision to call of prime time slot auctions

    MUMBAI: When Prasar Bharati had announced that it would auction its prime time slots between 7 pm to 11 pm on Doordarshan, the leading production houses in the country had received it with enthusiasm. Here was a chance for them to expand their audience base through DD’s terrestrial distribution network and reach the rural market that so many brands are vying to address. Some of the big name production houses did send in their bids including Balaji Telefilms, Keylight Productions, and Shakuntalam Telefilms. And it seemed that DD was going to get back in the ratings game after all.

    But then suddenly a couple of days later, the pubcaster once again announced that it was calling off the entire time slot privatization process after receiving applications for the bid scheduled on 17 and 18 July. DD’s move was met with much skepticism and disappointment.

    “The auction being called off was very unfortunate.  At the end of the day, these (channels under Prasar Bharati and its content) are all national assets that need to be taken care of in the best possible manner,” says one of the producers who had put in his bid. “If you initiate something like this, you would want the broadcaster to see it through its logical conclusion Though I am sure DD has had its reasons, and that the impact will be felt more on its part, I feel that it’s the nation’s loss.”

    The reason for nixing the auction that DD gave was because several applications did not meeting its eligibility criteria, and many defaulted on the application fee of Rs 5000 for the bid —  as reported by media. To this, many producers who had applied for the auction have raised their eyebrows.

    “I really can’t ascertain the reason. The fact that top producers wanted to bid to enter the auction and be a part of the DD story was reason enough to qualify them. There was no reason to disqualify them on technical grounds. What is the point of having made all the effort and getting disqualified over a Rs 5000 entry fee? I find this reason baseless,” expresses another disgruntled producer.

    It is to be noted that Prasar Bharati required eligible bidders to have logged a revenue of at least Rs 5 crore per annum in each of the past three financial years and to have  produced at least 300 hours of Hindi general entertainment programming in the past two calendar years.

    Undoubtedly, in a bid to ‘introduce fresh programming to get eyeballs back,’ DD had placed its bets high.

    But were the promised returns from the said deal as lucrative for the production houses?  “When I went through the request for proposals (RFP) document earlier, we found the proposal very unavailable at that point,” divulges a major contributor to India’s Hindi general entertainment channels who chose to opt out of the auctions after going through the particulars of the deal.

    “I had personally requested for certain changes in the RFP document, to which DD had answered saying that it can’t be done. DD must have had its own point of view on the matter and I am not denying them of it. Having said that I am not surprised it was  called off. The issue was more financial than creative, for that matter. We felt the producers should have been given more space on how to produce, what to produce and the terms of slot retention as well. Given the broadcaster’s parameters, it is best that DD maintained and ran its own prime time,” he further opines.   

    Seconding this opinion, another veteran producer  of the television world (who had been approached to bid but declined) explained why the idea was dubious from the start.

    “I knew that the entire process would be botched up right from the start,” he says. “The thinking in DD needs to change. When it is inviting private sector producers to produce content, then it needs to give them what private channels would do in exchange for air time barter deals. At one stage, DD could get by with its high demands from advertisers, and media agencies because it was the only player in the rural areas and had huge audiences. Now the scenario has changed and other broadcasters also have their share of the viewership.

    “DD’s processes are bureaucratic and antiquated and it is not responsive to market demands like the private channels are. For us, it didn’t make economic sense to invest in the time slots and produce content for the channel without any guarantee of returns on them. Moreover there is no clarity to DD’s marketing and promotional strategy for the shows. It doesn’t have a system in place for cross promotional marketing between its shows, something very important and inherent to the current broadcast business. Then there is the issue of dealing with DD’s inhouse producers who are too scared and go only by the rules and some of them also misuse the rules.”

    After this singular failure of the time slot auctions, observers wonder whether DD will be able to once again go down that street. And whether it will be able to gain the producers’ trust and confidence if it does make another try.

    The new DD director general Supriya Sahu has her task out and she has to decide on whether the broadcaster should take the commercial route or stick to its knitting of public service broadcasting and forget about generating revenues. If it is the latter, then she needs to simply ask for more government funds and improve the quality of public service programmes by retraining its pool of existing in-house talent.

    Industry is watching to see the path she chooses.

    DD officials spoke to indiantelevision.com off the record after the story was published. This is what they said: “Those who sent in names for bidding were disqualified on some ground or other as they failed to fulfil the rules and regulations for the auctions. The auctions have not been cancelled, but suspended for the present.The Prasar Bharati Board will meet on 26 July where it will take further decisions on the matter – this may include some changes in rules and regulations.”

    (Updated on 20 July 2016 3:26 pm)