ITV

Tag: Doordarshan

  • Prasar Bharati to MIB: No plans to stop commissioning of programmes

    Prasar Bharati to MIB: No plans to stop commissioning of programmes

    NEW DELHI: Prasar Bharati has assured the Information and Broadcasting Ministry (I&B) that there are no plans to stop commissioning of programmes by Doordarshan.

     

    However, a Doordarshan source told Indiantelevision.com that the commission has taken on a new form. It is now a Self Financed Commissioning in the sense that the producer makes the series at his or her own cost initially after getting it cleared from DD and then later gets the costs reimbursed.

     

    DD has decided to procure content through various notified schemes such as Self Finance Commissioning (SFC), Revenue Sharing Mode (RSM) for producers/simulcast, and Advertisement Funded Programme (AFP). The Revenue Sharing Scheme (Producers/Simulcast) also allows Doordarshan to collaborate with some private channels for sourcing some high quality software in the simulcast mode content on favourable terms.

     

    Proposals have been invited for DD National Network and for the upcoming DD Kisan channels under the SFC scheme. Doordarshan is directly selling airtime to agencies and clients in the media market.

     

    Prasar Bharati is an autonomous body not owned by the state but does receive Government support in the form of grants-in-aid. Its objectives as Public Service Broadcaster are not directed towards profits but towards reaching out to all sections of society in all corners of the country, the question of losses/profits does not arise.

     

    The source said it was the constant endeavour of DD to improve upon its programmes by reviewing the content and quality from time to time with the view to sustain the interest of the viewers.

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

    Prasar Bharati eyes wider reach for DD India via international satellites

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

     

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

     

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

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

     

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

     

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

  • DD to introduce new infrastructure for 35th National Games

    DD to introduce new infrastructure for 35th National Games

    MUMBAI: Indian pubcaster Doordarshan is planning an expansive coverage of the 35th National Games through its main sports and numerous regional channels. This will include live telecasts, highlights and news based programs of the Games.

     

    Doordarshan will start telecasting special programs on Games from 31 January to 14 February, 2015. This includes the opening and closing ceremonies of the National Games.

     

    DD sports, DD National and all other regional language channels including DD Malayalam will telecast the opening and closing ceremony of the Games, live. These channels will also air special programs during the National Games.

     

    From 1 February, Doordarshan will telecast the events live on most of its regional channels. Round the clock coverage of the Games including highlights, news based programs and interviews are also on the cards.

     

    Most of the popular games like athletes, aquatics, football, basketball, kabaddi, tennis, gymnastics, handball, badminton and boxing will be telecast live on Doordarshan. Other events will find space as highlights.

     

    To make the Games a visual treat, Doordarshan is planning to bring in its entire resources and high-tech equipments including HD OB vans, under water cameras, high – tech graphic technologies etc.

     

    High Definition camera used in international events like Commonwealth Games will be used for the first time in the forthcoming National Games.

     

    The 35th edition of the National Games will see more than a total of 9515 participants, among them 7464 are athletes and 2051 of them are non-playing participants such as coaches, team managers and other supporting officials.

     

    Run Kerala Run, the curtain-raiser to the Games, turned out to be a huge success on as people of all walks of life thronged the streets to make it a phenomenal event. It was an occasion for the people of the State to join hands and pledge support to the Games being hosted by Kerala for the second time since 1987. From Parassala in the South to Manjeswaram in the North the simultaneous Run, at all its 21 mega points, 226 mini mega points, and over 10,000 ordinary points, attracted extraordinary crowds.

     

    Sachin Tendulkar held centre stage in the capital, while the other district headquarters had its own star attractions, notably Malayalam film heroes Mohanlal in Kochi and Dileep in Kottayam.

  • Doordarshan relaunches website to increase accessibility

    Doordarshan relaunches website to increase accessibility

    NEW DELHI: In keeping with its pledge to give a new look to all its properties, Doordarshan has revamped its website www.ddindia.gov.in.

     

    The new look of the website is fresh, vibrant, contemporary and colourful. The emphasis is as much on aesthetic appeal as it is on content and administration related details. The new website also offers ease of navigation as it has dedicated pages of each national channels including one for DD Kisan channel, which is yet to be launched.

     

    Touted to be the corporate website, Doordarshan’s new launched website further links the user to all regional channels existing websites. The latest topics on the homepage range from specific details on the only free to air DD Free Dish to news headlines to scheduled movies of the week and easy social media accessibility. Also, via website, users would be able to access the live streaming of DD News.

     

    The website also offers a clickable option for the users to view the website in four different colour themes. The users can also change the sizes of the fonts for ease of legibility. An added new feature that merits mention is the dynamically updated programme schedule of national channels with regular update being done remotely by “What’s On India.” This channel guide allows users to view the programmes being telecast for that particular time band on each channel, as well as the programmes lined up for the entire day.

     

    The multi-media gallery section incorporated in the newly launched website details the users on the latest developments and upcoming events at Doordarshan.

     

    For greater speed and ease of navigation, superior technology has been incorporated while designing the website. Access to sub-sections has been made quicker and easier. The browsing experience on www.ddindia.gov.in has been made richer.

     

    This mobile-friendly and content rich website is being maintained by the National Informatics Centre.

  • DD digitizes 20,000+ hours of archival recordings; to outsource digitization

    DD digitizes 20,000+ hours of archival recordings; to outsource digitization

    NEW DELHI: Doordarshan, which commenced digitization of its archival recordings in 2003, had spent Rs 9.57 crore until October last year out of the allocation of Rs 19.21 crore allocated for the purpose under the Eleventh Plan.

     

    DD was allocated a further Rs 16.32 crore under the 12th Plan, which as remained unutilized until October last year.

     

    In addition, DD spent sums of Rs 4.59 crore (out of the available Rs 4.82 crore), Rs 3.35 crore (out of the available Rs 3.56 crore), Rs 3.47 crore (out of the available Rs 4.27 crore and Rs 2.89 crore (from the Rs 4 crore) for 2010-11, 2011-12, 2012-13 and 2013-14 respectively for this digitization from the Internal Extra Budgetary Resources (IEBR) of Prasar Bharati.

     

    Doordarshan has digitized 20,139 hours of recordings. Among these, AIR digitized material include archival records of Mahatma Gandhi, Sardar Patel, Dr. B.R. Ambedkar, Maulana Azad, Netaji Subash Chandra Bose, Dr. Rajendra Prasad and many other national leaders and Doordarshan recordings are under 38 categories, which include rare archival records of several national leaders.

     

    Prasar Bharati sources told Indiantelevision.com that it plans to outsource the digitization process, and has issued an Expression of Interest (EOI) calling for applications from private entities for digitization of its archival / legacy programmes.

     

    However, as per sources, digitized archives of Doordarshan are not accessible to the people through mobile phone applications.

  • Channels asked to cover Republic Day with sign language interpretation from DD News

    Channels asked to cover Republic Day with sign language interpretation from DD News

    NEW DELHI: Private television channels, which normally re-transmit the signals of Doordarshan relating to the Republic Day Parade, have been asked to carry the sign language interpretation following a demand by the hearing impaired.

     

    DD News always telecasts the Parade with simultaneous sign language interpretation.

       

    The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting said in an advisory that it had received the request from the hearing impaired to ‘help them connect meaningfully with this important National Day.’

     

    As in previous years, DD will provide this feed free of cost to private channels.

     

    The Ministry noted, “Whereas the media has always been in the forefront of taking up important issues covering national integration, the progress of disadvantaged sections of the society etc. would be another step in the right direction by media to facilitate access to the Parade commentary to differently abled people. It is in this spirit that all TV channels interested in carrying the live telecast of the Republic Day Parade with commentary are advised to carry the signals of DD News with sign language interpretation.”

     

  • There is more to January than Republic Day, DD Bharati programmes show

    There is more to January than Republic Day, DD Bharati programmes show

    NEW DELHI: The onset of the Basant Panchami festival and the month of Magh in the Hindu calendar will be marked by DD Bharati with the launch of its special series “Maihar Gharana.”

     

    The series features four stars of Ustad Baba Allaudin Khan Maihar Gharana: sitar maestro Pt. Ravi Shankar, Ali Akbar Khan, Sharan Rani Backlliwal and Pt. Vishwa Mohan Bhatt.

     

    Ustad Baba Allauddin was regarded throughout India as a musician saint and remained a student of music till the age of 70 completely mastering the Dhrupad and instrumental compositions of the Seni Gharana and adding innumerable new compositions and many new Ragas, such as Hemant, Shobhavati, Durgeshwari etc.

     

    Basant Panchami, announces the arrival of spring (Basant), the bosom friend of Kamdev – the god of love. DD Bharati commences the series with a special archival performance of sitar player of country and abroad, Pt. Ravi Shankar, followed by Ali Akbar Khan in the next week. The series commences on 24 January at 9 pm and repeat telecast at 5 am and 1 pm.

     

    President Pranab Mukherjee’s broadcast to the nation will be telecast on 25 January from 07:30 pm to 8 pm on all DD channels. 

     

    The 66th Republic Day Parade will be telecast from 9 am on 26 January on all DD channels.

     

    The Beating Retreat ceremony, which officially denotes the end of Republic Day festivities, will also be telecast live. It is conducted on the evening of 29 January, the third day after the Republic Day. It is performed by the bands of the three wings of the Defence forces: the Army, Navy and the Indian Air Force. The venue is Raisina Hills starting from Rashtrapati Bhavan and the adjacent Vijay Chowk, flanked by the north and south blocks of the Central Secretariat towards the end of Rajpath from 04:45 pm to 06:15pm. It concludes with the lighting of the entire Central Secretariat and all Government buildings on both sides of Rajpath.

  • DD Urdu launches new talent show on ghazal singing

    DD Urdu launches new talent show on ghazal singing

    NEW DELHI: Doordarshan has launched a new talent show on ghazal singing, Jashn-e-Begum Akhtar, to commemorate the centenary year of Padma Bhushan Begum Akhtar, on DD Urdu.

     

    The all India hunt has been conceptualised to look for a talented voice that can carry forward the legacy of ghazal singing. The idea of the show is to encourage the youth to reunite with their roots and values and appreciate the beauty and dignity of Urdu language.

     

    The regional rounds of this competition were held at five regional kendras: Kolkata, Hyderabad, Lucknow, Delhi and Mumbai, to facilitate equal representations from different regions. There were 112 participants from Delhi.

     

    Participants between the age group of 18 to 40 years were invited to take part in the reality show. The selected 15 candidates from each of the regional rounds performed in the mega and pre-final rounds that were held in Delhi from 9 to 14 January.

     

    The singers were judged by an esteemed panel of Padamshri Dhrupad exponent Shanno Khurana, Padamshri Shovana Narain, Dr. Rahat Indori and Prof. Wasim Barelvi. Popular playback singer and performer Peenaz Masani was the anchor for this series. Along present along with the panel were eminent classical vocalist Rita Ganguly, who had conceived the programme in 2012 and Additional Director General Anita Sinha, who got it cleared and executed.

     

    The final round will be held in March 2015, where five finalists will perform in front of personalities like Kavita Krishanmurthi, Hari Haran, Javed Akhtar, Gulzar and Zakir Hussain. The top finalists will be awarded suitably. The finalists are Rageshree Das (Kolkata), Oshin Bhatia (Delhi), Krishna Nand (Lucknow), Santa Kundu (Kolkata) and Sourabh Salunke (Mumbai).

     

    The various selection rounds will be telecast on DD Urdu, DD National and DD Bharati.

     

  • DD Bharati to air live coverage of dance & music festivals in January

    DD Bharati to air live coverage of dance & music festivals in January

    NEW DELHI: Even as it depends on Doordarshan archives for its programming, DD Bharati has planned several live reportage during this month, apart from the telecast of the Republic Day Parade.
     
    There is a subtle relationship between ancient places of worship and classical dances. The gracefully dipping and rising contours of these temples does reveal that it is the same lyricality, which one perceives in the movements of Indian dances. The temple architecture of ancient India as well as classical dances were born of the same aesthetic sensibilities. That is the probable reason for important dance festivals to be held against the ideal backdrop of ancient temples.
     
    DD Bharati will cover live the three-day Mukteswar Odissi dance festival that gets underway at the Mukteswar temple premises in Bhubaneswar from 14 to 16 January featuring solo dances by Sujata Mohapatra, Sangeeta Dash and Naba Kishore Mishra; duets by Lingaraj Pradhan-Sanjukta Dutta, Rashmi Raj-Biswabhusan Mohapatra and Debasish Patnaik-Niladri Bhusan Mohanty besides group presentations by the Vitalina Lobach and troupe from Russia, Poushali Mukerjee’s troupe from Kolkata and Odisha Dance Academy, Bhubaneswar.
     
    Mukteshwar Temple in Bhubneswar famous for its elegantly carved arched gateway is considered as one of the finest examples of Orissan Architecture. The complex of this legendary temple serves as the venue of the Mukteshwar Dance Festival. The festival celebrates the unrivalled charisma of Odissi, the classical dance form of Orissa.
     
    DD Bharati will also telecast live some sequences from the Sirpur National Dance and Music Festival from Raipur on 16 January from 8 pm, on 17 January from 6 pm, and on 18 January from 8 pm.
     
    Perched on the banks of Mahanadi, Sirpur is a small town located 85 km away from the state capital, Raipur and has astonishing monuments in the form of temples and Buddhist monasteries (Viharas), all set into a picturesque canvas of exquisite nature and meditative peace. In the midst of this exoticism and mysticism unfolds the much acclaimed Sirpur National Dance and Music Festival – held year after year in the month of January, under the auspices of the Chhattisgarh Tourism Board.

     

    Amongst the renowned Indian and international artistes who will grace the festival this year are Kathak dancer and Hindustani classical music vocalist Pt. Birju Maharaj, English percussionist Peter Robert Lockett, American saxophonist and composer George Brooks, Jazz percussionist – Phil Maturano, Indian playback singer Anuradha Paudwal, Indian musician and sitar player Shujaat Husain Khan, Indian classical musician and santoor player Rahul Sharma.
     
    DD Bharati will return to Bhubaneswar for live reportage of the Rajarani Festival from 18-20 January from 6-8 pm. The Rajarani Music Festival, held in the courtyard of the Rajarani Temple in Bhubneswar, is one such occasion to celebrate the richness and originality of Indian classical music. Evening concerts by great maestros of Indian Classical music fill the air with enchanting chimes. The Festival will showcase mandolin exponent U. Srinivas from Chennai, legendary Carnatic vocalist M. Balamuralikrishnan, celebrated couple – violinist L.Subramaniam and Kavita Krishnamurti.

     

  • DD operational costs more than double its revenue till Oct in 2014-15

    DD operational costs more than double its revenue till Oct in 2014-15

    NEW DELHI: Doordarshan earned revenue of Rs 525.09 crore up to October 2014, but its operational costs during 2014-15 up to the same month was Rs 1169.58 crore.

    According to Prasar Bharati sources there has been some increase in the operational cost of Doordarshan due to various factors such as hike in salary, widening the eligibility for air travel entitlement, payment of tuition fee, leave encashment with LTC, Modified Assured Career Progression, etc. in the wake of implementation of recommendations of the Sixth Central Pay Commission.

    The operational cost of DD was Rs 1945.84 crore as against revenue of Rs 1145.44 crore for 2013-14, while the operational cost was Rs 1883.19 crore as against revenue of Rs 1138.23 crore in 2012-13.

    Sources informed Indiantelevision.com that Prasar Bharati strictly follows austerity measures and other economy instructions issued by the Finance Ministry from time to time for reducing operating expenses.

    The source added that the pubcaster had been striving hard to maximise revenue generation by adopting measures like aggressive marketing strategy, appropriate utilisation of spare infrastructure available with DD, content improvement, introduction of Direct To Home (DTH) services, sharing of towers etc.

    In accordance with a Cabinet approval on 14 September 2012, the Government agreed to provide 100 per cent expenses towards salary and salary related expenses during the years from 2012-13 to 2016-17.