ITV

Tag: Doordarshan

  • Efforts to procure creative local content for ‘DD kids’ under way, says Supriya Sahu

    NEW DELHI: Doordarshan director-general Supriya Sahu has said that efforts were in progress to explore and procure creative local content that appeals not only to children but also to adults in the proposed DD Kids television channel.

    Sahu said that it was important that children should not be treated as a commodity to attract advertisements as was happening in some private channels, and therefore the content has to be strong and specific to them.

    Speaking at the launch of the ninth edition of Gali Gali Sim Sim, she said programmes such as DD’s ‘Main kuch bhi kar sakti hoon’ which is among the top 10 programmes in India showed that meaningful content could also be made interesting and entertaining.

    Sahu said the idea of a channel for children had come up when a DD team visited Uttar Pradesh villages to examine the reach of FreeDish. In spite of the free offering, she said, she found that several homes did not take FreeDish because it did not have any channel for children.

    Earlier, Sahu had told indiantelevision.com that the pubcaster had earlier in the year sent a concept note to the information and broadcasting ministry which had now asked it to work out details. Sahu said that the pubcaster was presently studying possible partnerships and various models, apart from studying the availability of content.

    She said that she was confident that this would “materialise soon”.

    Sahu also pointed out that the durect-to-home platform of Doordarshan, FreeDish, had all kinds of programming but nothing for the kids. It was therefore considered important to launch such a channel. She said DD Freedish was reaching 22 million homes at present and so there was no reason for not having a channel for the young.

    In fact, she said the issue had also been discussed at FICCI Frames in March this year. It was pointed out that kids’ channels in India were roughly about three per cent of the total number of channels with limited Indian content. Programming for children for television is a responsible job; sensible children’s programming has the objective of making youngsters imbibe a sense of responsibility and morality.

    To strengthen the kids’ content industry and bring about sustainability, stability and growth to the artiste community and other stakeholders in the industry, there was consensus that India needs a free-to-air terrestrial kids channel. There was general agreement that, since Doordarshan is the only channel to have such a wide reach, it is the only capable broadcast channel to make kids content available on a wide scale nationally.

    At DD, she had said, they were working hard to create a dedicated content think tank of experienced personalities to rope in the best content and mentor progression. Earlier in 2015, the wishlist of the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry included a plea to the pubcaster to launch DD kids.

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  • Rs 200 mn allocated for free DTH in border areas

    NEW DELHI: An allocation of Rs 200 million has been made for setting up direct-to-home receiver sets of Doordarshan’s FreeDish in tribal, remote and border areas, the Parliament has been told.

    Minister of state for information and broadcasting Rajyavardhan Rathre said 30,000 DTH receiver sets would be distributed in consultation with state governments. He said that DTH receiver sets had been distributed in the past by Doordarshan in selected areas.

    The question in the Parliament related to distributing free DTH connections in Naxal-hit areas.

    An earlier separate report stated that Prasar Bharati may be distributing for free around a million direct- to-home (DTH) set-top boxes in Naxal-hit areas of India.

    Besides a dedicated DD channel for Chhattisgarh, then union minister of information and broadcasting M Venkaiah Naidu had stated that a high-power transmitter would be commissioned in Jagdalpur (Bastar district headquarter) which would beam signal of AIR Jagdalpur to a radius of 200 km.

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  • Prasar Bharati prog selection flawed, N-E producers allege

    MUMBAI: The North-East Film & TV Producers and Directors Forum, rejecting Prasar Bharati’s final list, has demanded a time-bound and impartial enquiry into commissioned programmes selection process. It has allegined discrepancies in the selection of proposals for commissioned programmes and violation of norms for the north-east Doordarshan channels.

    Aspirants from across India had submitted a total of 1,104 proposals against the notification dated 28 December 2016 issued by the Prasar Bharati, and each one of them paid a non-refundable fee of Rs 25,000, thereby generating Rs 27.6 million revenue for Doordarshan.

    Forum general secretary Neeraj Deka alleged that only 10 per cent of the submitted proposals were considered for the final selection, and if that were to be the case, why did Prasar Bharati not clearly mention it in the notification, the Assam Tribune reported. Deka added that such selection process indicated that the authorities concerned were interested in collecting revenue from private producers than making judicious distribution of assignments among the producers of the region.

    Deka alleged most of the committees were headed by some performing artiste, ordinary actor or an official who had negligible experience in art and culture, whereas most of the renowned and experienced producers had submitted their proposals after worthwhile research. The persons in the evaluation committee, Deka alleged, were incapable of judging the concept.

    As per the Guidelines for Commissioned Programmes for Telecast on North-East DD Channels-2016, the joint secretary, ministry of DoNER was supposed to be a part of the evaluation process, but he was never a part of the process.

    Forum president Sunil Rajkowar alleged that the stated facts showed that the evaluation of proposals was flawed and Prasar Bharati and Doordarshan violated the guidelines and acted arbitrarily in preparing the final list of producers.

    In the scheme, there was reservation of 50 per cent from north-east-based producers, but some producers had applied for the commissioned programme from two different addresses – one from the north-east and another from New Delhi, Rajkowar alleged. He said that proved how undue advantage had been given to some of ‘selected’ producers by Prasar Bharati.

    Deka alleged that Prasar Bharati authorities in New Delhi did not bother to respond to the issues  that had been taken up with them on several occasions.

    ALSO READ :

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    Sam Pitroda report on Prasar Bharati revamp caught in legal wrangles

  • Doordarshan rev shows minor increase, ops costs decline

    NEW DELHI: Doordarshan has earned revenue of just Rs 8.32 billion as against a total operational cost of Rs 20.89 billion which included Rs 14.19 billion given as salary support by the government during 2016.17.

    Minister of state for information and broadcasting Rajyavardhan Rathore said the Government is providing grants-in-aid to Prasar Bharati (All India Radio and Doordarshan) for 100 per cent salary support and central sector scheme (erstwhile Plan grant) for creation of capital assets and content development for Kisan Channel.

    In 2015-16, DD earned revenue of just Rs 7.56 billion as against a total operational cost of Rs 18.7292 billion which included Rs 11.74 billion as salary support. In 2014-15, DD earned revenue of only Rs 9.12 billion as against a total operational cost of Rs 18.16 billion which included Rs 10.65 billion given as salary support.

    The rest of the operational costs of Rs 6.70 billion in 2016-17, Rs 6.99 billion (2015-16) and Rs 7.52 billion (2014-15) came from Internal and Extra-Budgetary Resources (IEBR) of Doordarshan. All these amounts are exclusive of service tax, the Minister said.

    The Minister said there has been a gradual increase in the operational costs of Doordarshan primarily attributable to hike in staff salaries in the wake of implementation of recommendations of 7th Central Pay Commission.

    However the other operating expenses have decreased due to strict financial prudence, the Minister claimed. The declining revenue trend over the recent past has also been arrested and increased by about 10 per cent last year.

    Also Read:

    Doordarshan mulls reach extension in south & east markets with new regional offerings

    Doordarshan: Soaps & travelogues make Arun Prabha shortlist, presentations early July

  • FreeDish auction on 22 Aug, different reserve prices for GEC & news

    NEW DELHI: Doordarshan’s FreeDish is all set to hold its second e-auction with differential reserve prices for general entertainment channels and news channels.

    The 37th e-auction is slated for 22 August and the reserve prices for general entertainment channels will be Rs 80 million but the reserve price for news and current affairs channels will be Rs 65 million.

    With the completion of MPEG4 trials, the total strength of the platform will go up to 104, over the next few months. Earlier this year, Parliament was informed FreeDish had got approval to increase this capacity to 250 channels and DD sources had told indiantelevision.co that will happen ion the third quarter of 2018.

    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.   

    The participation amount (EMD) in the e-Auction for GEC channels is Rs.28 million while it is Rs 22.8 million for news channels. This has to be deposited in advance before or by 12 noon on the date of auction along with processing fee of Rs.25,000 (non-refundable).

    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.

    Unsuccessful bidders will get back the participation amount within three weeks of the results while that of successful bidders will be adjusted against the third and final instalment of the carriage fee.

    If the successful bidder fails to put his channel on the allotted slot within a month, the allotment will be cancelled and the participation fee forfeited. Successful bidders have to sign and return an agreement within fifteen days of allotment.                                                                                                          

    The first installment of 25 per cent of the bid price with the applicable service tax will have to be paid within one month from date of placement of channel.

    The second installment of 25 per cent of the total bid price along with the applicable service tax will have to be paid within four months of placement of channel.

    The third installment of remaining amount after adjusting the participation fee and previous installments but adding the applicable service tax will be deposited within seven months of placement of channel.

    If any of the installments is not paid in time, a penal interest of 14.5 per cent per annum will be levied.

    If there is failure in depositing an installment for two months, the deposited participation amount along with any installment paid will be forfeited and the channel discontinued after a 21-day discontinuation notice.

    In line with the ‘Digital India’ and ‘Make in India’, DD has implemented Indian CAS (iCAS) on DD FreeDish Platform. iCAS (which is an initiative of the central government).

    DD officials said the existing viewers will continue to get 80 SDTV channels and 32 radio channels, but will have to obtain iCAS-enabled authorized set-top boxes for accessing all new channels.

    Although Free Dish 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 authorized STB dealers.

    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 standardization of STBs and encourage quality STB manufacturing in India.

    With analogue having been switched off, Parliament had been told that many stakeholders feel that FreeDish is the best option in Phase IV which covers rural India.

    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. The All-India Radio stations also piggy-back on the platform.

    Also read:

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    FreeDish: English news channel among two come aboard (Updated)

    FreeDish creates record, sells 11 slots for Rs 851 million

  • PM Modi live-streams new ideas to youth

    NEW DELHI: Drawing a parallel between the five years between 1942 (Quit India call) and 1947 (independence) to the period from 2017 to 2022 when the country will mark 75 years of freedom, the prime minister Narendra Modi has called upon the ‘online world’  to contribute innovatively for building of the New India.

    The radio broadcast was visually adapted by Doordarshan and other private TV and news channels in India and broadcast simultaneously. Similarly, radio in the private sector patched AIR. All DTH platforms also carried it. It was telecast on DD News, DD National, DD Bharati, DD Urdu and DD Kisan.

    It was live streamed for global audience and is accessible through mobile app, All India Radio Live.

    During his 34th Mann ki Baat broadcast from All India Radio, he said he would “particularly like to call upon the online world, since wherever we may be, we are almost always online; so I would like to invite the online community and specially my young friends to come forward and contribute innovatively.”

    In the broadcast which was also shown on Doordarshan channels with relevant archival footage with reference to the freedom struggle, Modi said the young can use technology – videos, posts, blogs, scripts, novel ideas – to put forward all these. He wanted the young to “transform this campaign into a people’s movement”.

    He said: “A Quit India Quiz is also being launched for my young friends on NarendraModiApp. This quiz is an attempt to familiarise the youth with India’s glorious history and the heroes of the freedom movement. It is my belief that you will surely publicise and spread awareness about this quiz”.

    The broadcast was originated by All India Radio, Delhi, and was by all AIR stations, all AIR FM channels (FM Gold and FM Rainbow), local radio stations, Vividh Bharati stations and five community radio stations.

    The regional versions of the Mann Ki Baat were originated by the capital AIR stations in non- Hindi speaking zones and broadcast immediately after the Hindi broadcast, and repeated at 8 pm last night. The regional versions were relayed by all AIR stations including local radio stations in the respective states.

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  • Doordarshan seeks GenNext appealing logo, contest opens

    NEW DELHI: For most Indians past forty, the first image that comes to mind when thinking about television is the Doordarshan logo that evokes nostalgia and it is only the younger generation that associates TV with other private channels.

    With an aim to reach out to the GenNext, the Government has decided to have a new logo, and has opened up this for open competition.

    The present logo, which was originally drawn in 1959 when Doordarshan first began its broadcasts from 15 September that year, resembles an eye which appears apt since TV is all about attracting eye-balls.

    And although the accompanied music has undergone some minor change, it also generally remains the same – steeped in classical music.

    But seeing the need to connect a whole new generation of youth with DD, a contest has been announced.

    And although the last date for the contest is 13 August 2017, around 650 entries have already been received. The winning entry will get a prize of Rs 100,000.  

    The aim should be that the new logo, while recalling the strong nostalgia associated with the DD brand, should reflect the aspirations of new India.

    As Prasar Bharati CEO Shashi Shekhar Vempati has said, “children of liberalisation who have not grown up with Doordarshan.”

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    Prasar Bharati Board favours separate DD News Hindi & English channels

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  • No anomaly in DD news correspondents’ designations, says Irani

    NEW DELHI: The Government has said that there is no anomaly in the designations of news correspondents in Doordarshan. Information and broadcasting minister Smriti Zubin Irani has told the Parliament that the recruitment rules of 24 March 2014 had said that the posts in the TV news correspondents cadre are designated as TV news correspondent (TVNC), special news correspondent, and principal correspondent.

    The process of framing of the Rules for the posts of TV news correspondent (TVNC), TV assistant news correspondent (TVANC) & TV assistant news editor (TVANE) was initiated in 1997 but due to various procedural requirements/inter-ministerial consultation/approvals involved, could be processed and finalized only after creation of posts in promotional hierarchy in TVNC cadre on 27 August 2010.

    Finally after all inter-ministerial consultations/approvals and the creation of three posts in promotional hierarchy in TV News Correspondent (TVNC), the Recruitment Rules for these employees have been notified on 24 March, 2014, which, inter-alia, provide for promotion to the higher grades.

    Promotion of officers in each cadre is governed by their Recruitment Rules providing eligibility conditions for promotion and designation. Accordingly, the designations of officers change consequent upon such promotion.

    In reply to another question, the minister of state Rajyavardhan Rathore said officials and news professionals from various categories are nominated for conferences and training programmes depending on the nature of such events and suitability/availability of such personnel. These nominations in reference to training and conference are made with the approval of the competent authority, depending on the nature of event and based on the recommendation of Doordarshan News.

    Staff from various categories, including TVNCs/TVANCs is sent abroad for VVIP/ Coverages as per suitability/ availability of personnel and requirement of organization.

    Suitability and competence as assessed by Competent Authority in Doordarshan News and approved in Prasar Bharati Secretariat is the criteria of selection of persons for a particular task.

  • Talent shortage in Prasar, manpower audit under way, admits Irani

    NEW DELHI: Admitting there was an overall shortage of talent in Prasar Bharati, minister of information and broadcasting Smriti Zubin Irani said a manpower audit was in progress in this regard by the pubcaster.

    Answering a question in the Parliament, she said several sanctioned posts were lying vacant. She said that audit being done on the recommendation of the Sam Pitroda Committee report, was expected to be completed during 2017-18.

    Earlier this year, a Parliamentary Committee had said that minimal action had been taken on the report submitted in February 2014 to revitalize Prasar Bharati.

    The Committee also noted that the Department of Expenditure has expressed inability to undertake the work of man power audit despite assurances in reply to several questions in Parliament.

    The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Information Technology which also examines issues relating to I and B Ministry recommended that the terms for reference for conduct of manpower audit be worked out and the manpower audit which is critical to both All India Radio and Doordarshan completed within the current financial year 2017-18 as assured to the Committee.

    It noted that the Ministry had asked Prasar Bharati to prepare an action plan on the 26 recommendations of the Sam Pitroda Committee.

    The Parliamentary Committee expressed concern that ‘there is no progress in the issue of man power audit’.

    When Prasar Bharati was suggested to explore the feasibility of manpower audit through some reputed public/private agencies, the Internal Finance Division advised for pre-determination of terms of reference for conduct of manpower audit before inviting quotations from reputed audit organization.

    But the Committee noted that Prasar Bharati was yet to take a decision in the matter. “The Committee need not emphasise that manpower related issues have time and again affected the efficiency and performance of the organization. Prasar Bharati in order to achieve its vision and compete with private broadcasters needs to attract, retain and develop talent in the organization. It needs to respond to changing market conditions and make an assessment of its manpower requirement to overcome the competency gaps”, the Committee said.

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  • What’s exciting Gajendra Singh about his new shows on DD

    MUMBAI: There’s a lot of excitement in Gajendra Singh’s voice. Most of us know him as Gaj – the creator of the super-successful musical formats on Zee TV — Antakshri, SaReGaMa in the early part of the cable and satellite TV revolution.  Today, as the founder of production house Saaibaba Telefilms, Gaj  is quite gung-ho about his  new show that is making its debut on the national pubcaster Doordarshan.

    Titled Suron Ka Eklavya – it’s intention is to find singing talent in an interesting format which seeks reversion to retro songs of three singing legends – Kishore Kumar, Lata Mangeshkar and Mohammed Rafi – with the help of well-known music directors  Bappi Lahiri, Jatin Pandit and Ismail Darbar, who will serve as mentors to the contestants.

    “Music has been my forte and  I have always endeavored to produce innovative shows. The idea is to build a bridge between the old era and the young generation,” says Gaj.  “Lata Mangeshkar, Mohd Rafi and Kishore Kumar are the pillars of film music, and therefore, even today, their songs and music are a reference point for the new generation. This show will present the songs in their signature styles but with fresh voices and innovative performances.”

    Launched on World Music Day, ‘Suron Ka Eklavya will begin  airing on Doordarshan from 29 July in the 8-9pm time slot on weekends.

    Gaj says it has taken his production house close to a year to get his show on air. “We went through the bidding process,” he says. “We were shortlisted and had to pass all the criteria that Doordarshan asked us to. And, I am happy to have got this far.”

    Suron Ka Eklavya will feature three teams which have been labeled as gharanas (houses) –  Lata Mangeshkar Gharana, Kishore Kumar Gharana and Mohammad Rafi Gharana. Contestants will sing old songs in fresh voices retaining the signature style of the respective legends with the help of their mentors and will be judged on their craft and talent. The tagline of the show is: “Andaaz Wahi Awaaz Nayi” (Retaining the style, but in a new voice).

    Going forward, Suron Ka Eklavya will also witness celebrity guests including both, actors and musicians. The production house is in talks with singers such as Sonu Nigam, Shreya Ghoshal and Sunidhi Chauhan.

    The 52-episodic talent hunt has been conceptualised by Singh and will be directed by Ashok Singh. The set has been executed by Bhavik and Munna.

    The title track of Suron Ka Eklavya  has been sung by Shaan and Anwesha, the lyrics have been penned by Swanand Kirkire and the show will be hosted by the young and dynamic Abhas Joshi.

    Filming is on at Mumbai’s Filmalaya Studio with a 15 camera set-up. “We are not maintaining a bank of 15- 20 episodes as we will be shooting live and editing on the fly and in post thereafter every week,” says Singh. “We have created a wonderful set with the best lights,  music and technicians, and have invested around Rs 2-3 million in audio, so  that we can get the best acoustics.”

    And what’s good is that Gaj is on the way to recouping his investment of around Rs 450,000 per weekly slot on DD National and production cost of Rs 2.5 million per episode. Indian Oil Corp has come on as a title sponsor whereas Vicco has come in as associate sponsor.

    “The powered by slot is yet open and we are also looking for other associates as well,” says Gaj.

    He reveals that Saaibaba Telefilms is also working on another fiction show MBA Sarpanch which is a biopic of Chhavi Rajawat who left her corporate job and city life to help develop rural India. She became the sarpanch (head of a village administration) of Soda, a village 60 kilometers from Jaipur, Rajasthan. Her grandfather Brig Raghubir Singh had been the sarpanch of the same village 20 years before Rajawat’s election.

    The  half hour show is slated to launch in August and will aired at 7:30 time from Monday – Friday on DD. It has been written by veteran Shanti Bhushan, and has been directed by Sanjeev Chadda who as done a couple of shows with Balaji Telefilms.

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