ITV

Tag: Doordarshan

  • DD Freedish sets reserve price of Rs 4.3 crore for 25th e-auction

    DD Freedish sets reserve price of Rs 4.3 crore for 25th e-auction

    NEW DELHI: After several auctions, Doordarshan has raised its reserve price to Rs 4.3 crore for the 25th e-auction for its free-to-air DTH platform Freedish. The auction will be held on 18 January in an attempt to touch the target of 112 television channels in the next few months.
     
    Doordarshan had until now set a reserve price of Rs 3.7 crore per slot (as in the last few auctions) for the online e-auction, though Indiantelevision.com had learnt that the bid amount went up to Rs 4.7 crore in earlier e-auctions. The reserve price in the 15th e-auction was Rs 3 crore and was raised to Rs 3.7 crore in the 16th auction.
     
    DD sources refused to divulge the number of slots being auctioned to prevent bidders forming consortia to bid or resort to other malpractices.
     
    These sources told this website that Freedish will be encrypted shortly from Mpeg2 to Mpeg4 to keep a tab on the number of subscribers, but it would remain free-to-air.
     
    The e-Auction will be conducted by C1 India, Noida which also conducted the first stage of the FM Radio Phase III auctions on behalf of Prasar Bharati.   
     
    Currently, Freedish has 64 channels including its own channels, and Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha TV.
     
    The participation amount (EMD) in the e-auction is Rs 1.5 crore, which will be deposited in advance before or by 12 noon on 18 January 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 10 lakh 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 1.1 crore will be deposited within one month of placement and another Rs 1.1 crore within two months along with service tax of 14.5 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.
  • WRC meet turns down 470-698 MHz spectrum band to India for mobile communication

    WRC meet turns down 470-698 MHz spectrum band to India for mobile communication

    NEW DELHI: Following the World Radiocommunication Conference (WRC) last month in Geneva, the Information and Broadcasting Ministry has been informed that the frequency band 470-698 MHz has not been identified for International Mobile Telecommunication (IMT) for India.

     

    Conveying this information received from the Communications and Information Technnology Ministry, Minister of State for I&B told Parliament today that his Ministry and Prasar Bharati had earlier given their concurrence to the proposal in this regard from the Telecom Department.

     

    He said the I&B Ministry had laid down the condition that this was acceptable provided the present and future requirements of Doordarshan and terrestrial broadcasting will be given due priority.

     

    The Communications & IT Ministry after due approval and a decision by Committee of Secretaries sent a proposal for identification of the frequency band 470-698 MHz for IMT services for India under Agenda item 1.1 of WRC of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU).

  • AIR/DD engineers to inspect MSO set-ups for DAS; b’casters asked to stop signals to unlicensed MSOs

    AIR/DD engineers to inspect MSO set-ups for DAS; b’casters asked to stop signals to unlicensed MSOs

    NEW DELHI: Broadcasters have been asked to ensure that signals should not be made available to those multi-system operators (MSOs), who have not received registration from the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB) and who do not provide digital encrypted signals in Digital Addressable System (DAS) Phase III areas from the cut off date of 31 December.

     

    This was conveyed at a meeting convened by the MIB with over 120 MSOs, which was held prior to a meeting of the Task Force over the weekend for the third phase of DAS.

     

    The Ministry has deployed engineers from All India Radio and Doordarshan to inspect the technical set ups of MSOs.

     

    The status of digitisation and stock & supply position of set top boxes (STBs) was also reviewed and all stakeholders were requested to ensure that seeding of STBs is completed in Phase III areas by 31 December so that consumers do not face any difficulty due to stoppage of analogue signals.

     

    In the 12th Task Force meeting held over the weekend presided over by its chairman and Ministry Special Secretary J S Mathur and Joint Secretary (Broadcasting) R Jaya, broadcasters were advised to increase the frequency of publicity on cable TV digitisation and to ensure that it is carried by all the approved TV channels. 

     

    While a public awareness campaign is being carried by all stakeholders; the meeting was told that the multilingual Toll Free Helpline and 12 Regional Units are operational.

     

    The government has updated the list of urban areas to be covered in Phase III for 24 States & Union Territories after comments from State/UT Governments.

     

    In response to the concerns raised by some of the stakeholders about delay in signing of interconnection agreements between Broadcasters and some MSOs, it was decided that these MSOs may furnish the details of pending cases to the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) by the middle of this month for holding immediate meeting with Broadcasters.

     

    As was earlier reported by Indiantelevision.com, TRAI will hold a meeting with stakeholders on 18 December to iron out any problems in this regard.

     

    In the meeting with MSOs, it was emphasised that MSOs must carry public awareness campaign on cable TV digitisation on their local channels and by distribution of leaflets, holding meetings and putting kiosks etc.

     

    A demo of the MIS system, which has been deployed to collect seeding data of STBs online from all operators, was also made.

     

    MSOs who have not started feeding the seeding data in MIS were advised to start immediately and update it regularly.

     

    It was informed that multilingual Toll Free Telephone Number 1-800-180-4343 to answer queries of stakeholders, including consumers, for seamless transition to digitisation is already operational and they were advised to publicise it.

     

    As was reported earlier, all stakeholders were told categorically that there would be no extension of the deadline for Phase III and analogue signals should be switched off from 1 January, 2016 in all urban areas of the country. The final phase covering the rest of India will be completed by 31 December, 2016.

     

    TRAI had earlier asked all stakeholders to apprise it by 28 October of any problems arising out of finalising agreements amongst various stakeholders.

  • DD to telecast special programme on mental health problems & prejudices

    DD to telecast special programme on mental health problems & prejudices

    NEW DELHI: The Doordarshan flagship programme Aaj Savere will focus on issues relating to mental health awareness and public education.

     

    Consultant psychiatrist Dr Avdesh Sharma will discuss the work being done in public education by him during the programme at 7.30 am on 17 December. 

     

    The programme will be beamed on the national channel and will discuss the global scenario and India centric issues around mental health and its impact on health, relationships, society and the economy. The aim is also to reduce the stigma and discrimination towards persons with mental illnesses and their families.

     

    It will also highlight initiatives and innovations in Public Education & Awareness building initiatives led by Dr Sharma in the capital that are being planned by the World Psychiatric Association. 

     

    The discussion would also cover the role of various stakeholders in Mental Health including physicians, caregivers, NGOs, alternative therapists and spirituality.

     

     

     

  • No plans for new DD transmitters except some in border areas: Rathore

    No plans for new DD transmitters except some in border areas: Rathore

    NEW DELHI: The Government has no plans for new Doordarshan transmitters for expansion of terrestrial coverage except a few in border areas, the Parliament was told by Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting Rajyavardhan Rathore.

     

    Doordarshan has 67 kendras (studio centres) and 1,416 transmitters in the country and therefore there is no need for expansion in view of multi channel coverage having been provided to all the areas uncovered by terrestrial transmission (including those located in rural/ remote/ backward/tribal regions) along with rest of the country through DD’s free-to-air DTH service Freedish.

     

    Uttar Pradesh has the highest number of seven studios, followed by Jammu and Kashmir with four. Although other states have a maximum of two studios, each one of them widens its reach through high power transmitters, lower low power transmitters; very low power transmitters and transposers.

     

    Rathore also told the Parliament that all areas uncovered by terrestrial transmission along with the rest of the country have been provided with multi channel TV coverage through Freedish. DTH signals can be received anywhere in the country with the help of small sized dish receive units and require only a one-time payment for purchasing the units.

     

    The four new TV transmitter projects in Jammu and Kashmir presently under implementation are High Power Transmitters (HPTs), Rajouri (DD1 & DD News); HPT, Green Ridge; HPT, Himbotingla; and HPT Natha Top (Patnitop). The Timeline for transmitters at Rajouri is 2016 and for other locations is 2017.

  • DD Freedish set to beam up to 250 channels under 12th Plan

    DD Freedish set to beam up to 250 channels under 12th Plan

    NEW DELHI: Doordarshan’s free-to-air (FTA) direct-to-home (DTH) Freedish, which currently has only 64 slots for television channels and is expected to go up to 112 by March-end, has received a shot in the arm for upgradation to 250 TV channels under the 12th Plan.

    Information and Broadcasting Minister Arun Jaitley told Parliament that the Department of Space had agreed in principle to provide additional transponders on new GSAT 15 satellite required for 250 TV channels

    Meanwhile, he said that DD was facing issues in implementing Conditional Access System (CAS), which is a part of upgraded system. But it had now decided to adopt Indian Conditional Access System (Indian CAS), which is being finalised by Department of Electronics and Information Technology. As was reported earlier by Indiantelevision.com, DD is acquiring the Bangalore based ByDesign India’s CAS.

    Late last year, the Department of Electronics and Information Technology (DeitY) approved a proposal by ByDesign India to develop an Indian conditional access system. ByDesign was to receive a support amount of Rs 19.79 crore from DeitY to develop the new system in association with Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC).

    The ByDesign model is totally indigenous and built for DVB-C setup. This CAS solution will enable broadcasters to control access to their services by viewers, and thereby enabling them to extend their business models to subscription based schemes. 

    Apart from the TV channels, Freedish also beams 21 All India Radio (AIR) channels. 

    DD director general C Lalrosanga had earlier told Indiantelevision.com that the DTH player will switch over to MPEG 4 from the current MPEG 2 in two phases. “The first phase may begin by early next month,” he informed.

    Meanwhile even as regional channels of DD switched over to INSAT 4B, DD’s main channels have also shifted to GSAT 10, which was launched in September 2012. The regional channels were shifted in view of End of Life (EOL) of INSAT-3A as declared by Indian Space Research Organisation. Four new transponders have been provided for these channels on INSAT-4B by ISRO. 

    It has 12 Ku-Band, 12 C-Band and 6 lower extended C-Band Transponders. 

    Now GSAT 10 started transmission on C-Band transponders.

    The channels that have been switched to GSAT 10 are DD National, DD News, DD Bharati, DD Sports, DD Urdu, DD India, Rajya Sabha TV and DD HD.

     

    Department of Space sources told this website that GSAT 15 satellite will ultimately accommodate Freedish, as it has more capacity of transponders to provide more bandwidth and better coverage. 

    GSAT-15 satellite, launched recently, has planned its mission for 12 years and this satellite will be located at same direction of INSAT-3A / INSAT-4B satellite at 93.5° East Longitude.

    GSAT-15 carries 24 Ku-band transponders with 36 Mhz high bandwidth.

    GSAT-15 also has two GAGAN navigational payloads and 2 Ku-Band beacons. This satellite will be use mainly for Direct to Home services, radio navigation services and VSAT services.

  • Inflation, 6th Pay Commission taking toll on Prasar Bharati: Rathore

    Inflation, 6th Pay Commission taking toll on Prasar Bharati: Rathore

    NEW DELHI: Prasar Bharati earned Rs 604 crore in revenue as against expenditure of Rs 1187.44 crore up to October this year for the financial year 2015-16.

     

    Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting Rajyavardhan Rathore told the Parliament today that the revenue in 2014-15 was Rs 1124.43 crore as against expenditure of Rs 2132.98 crore, in 2013-14 it was Rs 1295.96 crore against expenditure of Rs 1945.84 crore and revenue in 2012-13 was Rs 1298.16 crore as against expenditure of Rs 1883.19 crore.

     

    The Minister added that Prasar Bharati had said that with inflation and rising costs of TV channels, Doordarshan has also experienced gradual increase in operational costs. In addition, the implementation of various recommendations of 6th Central Pay Commission has led to increase in administrative and staff related expenses.

     

    Since Prasar Bharati is a public service broadcaster, its functioning cannot be guided purely by commercial motives.

     

    However, the Minister said Prasar Bharati is adopting an aggressive marketing strategy to increase the revenue receipts besides putting into best use its spare infrastructure available with the field formations across the country.

     

    The Ministry provides financial support to Prasar Bharati under Plan and Non Plan heads, in the form of grants-in-aid. In the current financial year (2015-16), an amount of Rs 605.03 crore has been allocated to Prasar Bharati under Plan Head and Rs 2342.12 crore has been allocated under Non-Plan.

     

    The Ministry has also allocated (through its Office Memorandum dated 27 August, 2015) a sum of Rs 11,116.79 crore [Rs 11,116.76 crore under Revenue Section and Rs 0.02 crore as Token Supplementary and Rs 0.01 crore as Token Supplementary under Capital Section as first batch of supplementary grant 2015-16] to Prasar Bharati subsequent to the approval of Ministry of Finance for the following:

     

    (i) Conversion of a sum of Rs 5684.34 crore towards Loan-in-Perpetuity and Capital Loan into Grants-in-Aid for the period 1 April, 2000 to 31 March, 2010.

     

    (ii) Waiver of an amount of Rs 4082.88 crore towards interest on Loan-in-Perpetuity, interest on Capital Loan and Penal Interests for the period 1 April, 2000 to 31 March, 2010.

     

    (iii) Waiver of a sum of Rs 1349.54 crore towards accumulated arrears of Space Segment and Spectrum Charges accrued to Prasar Bharati up to 31 March, 2011.

  • Doordarshan signs MOU to disseminate key health related schemes

    Doordarshan signs MOU to disseminate key health related schemes

    NEW DELHI: Doordarshan’s terrestrial and satellite channels will run video spots produced and provided by the Health Ministry aimed at informing and educating the target group of audience about sustained health campaigns.

     

    A memorandum of understanding (MOU) was signed today between Doordarshan and the Health and Family Welfare Ministry to facilitate the telecast of Ministry related video spots on Doordarshan’s national and regional networks.

     

    The MoU was signed by K.B. Agarwal, Additional Secretary, on behalf of the Health Ministry and Doordarshan director general C Lalrosanga. This MoU was signed in the presence of Health Ministry B P Sharma.

     

    The Health Ministry has placed business in excess of Rs 50 crore for this purpose. In turn Doordarshan has offered a special bonus plan to the Ministry, thus contributing towards the government goal of health for all.

     

    Sharma said this MoU would help the Health Ministry to disseminate its programmes of health and special messages of prevention of health across the country in different languages through the vast network of Doordarshan, which has the highest reach especially in rural areas.

     

    Lalrosanga said Doordarshan as a public service broadcaster has the primary responsibility to help various Ministries and Government departments to disseminate their schemes of social development to the needy and this is the primary reason that Doordarshan has extended special schemes to help the Ministry in reaching their target group. 

     

    Additional secretary N S Kang; joint secretaries Dharitri Panda and Rakesh Kumar; director Manisha Verma from the Health Ministry and DD additional director general Ranjan Mukherjee and deputy DG C K Jain were also present on the occasion.

  • DD Sports to telecast Indigenous Games Festival

    DD Sports to telecast Indigenous Games Festival

    NEW DELHI: DD Sports, the country’s only free-to-air (FTA) sports channel, will be telecasting the Indigenous Games, which commenced today (10 December) in Imphal.

     

    Slated to continue till 12 December, the Games bring together the indigenous people from different states of the country to showcase unique sports.

     

    The events will also be packaged and showcased on other channels of Doordarshan.

     

    The first edition of the Games was held in Mizoram. Manipur has a rich history and legacy in the indigenous games and the idea is to bring this forth to the national audience.

     

    The second edition of the Indigenous Games Festival commenced with the opening ceremony in the presence of Manipur Chief Minister Okram Ibobi Singh. The 60-minute opening ceremony showcased the ethnic culture of the native states to the larger television audience.

     

    With an estimated population of 84.3 million, Indigenous people comprise 8.2 per cent of the India’s population.

     

    Like the National Games, Indigenous games are no ordinary sporting competition as they provide an opportunity to show to the country some of the oldest forms of human civilization. India has conducted national games starting from 1924 but this is the first time tribes from all over the country will come together  to compete.

  • Doordarshan’s regional services to shift to new satellite

    Doordarshan’s regional services to shift to new satellite

    NEW DELHI: The regional language channels of Doordarshan will be off air for about five hours on 10 December to enable a shift to a new satellite.

     

    The Regional services, currently being beamed from INSAT-3A are being shifted to INSAT-4B with effect from 10 December.

     

    This is being done in view of End of Life (EOL) of INSAT-3A as declared by Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO).

     

    Four new transponders have been provided for these channels on INSAT-4B by ISRO.

     

    The services will remain off air from 00:00 to 05:00 hrs on 10 December.