ITV

Tag: Doordarshan

  • DD commences e-auction of six slots for its DTH Platform

    DD commences e-auction of six slots for its DTH Platform

    NEW DELHI: In an effort to reach its target of 97 channels by the end of this year, Prasar Bharati is auctioning six slots on its free-to-air direct-to-home platform DD Direct Plus by e-auction.

    A Bangalore based private firm – Synise Technologies – has been chosen to conduct the e-auction which commenced yesterday.

    It is also learnt that Prasar Bharati is considering carrying out a change in its policy to try and get the best of channels on its DTH service.

    Currently, Doordarshan’s DTH platform offers 59 channels of which 30 are private, 21 of DD, Lok Sabha TV, Rajya Sabha TV and two channels run by the UGC.

    Four foreign channels – NHK, ABC, France 24 and Russia Sunday – complete the bouquet of channels on the DTH wing.

    “The capacity to carry channels on our DTH wing is set to increase significantly as Doordarshan is planning to buy equipment that will allow it to utilise an additional transponder on satellite INSAT 4B,” a DD official told indiantelevision.com.

    Prasar Bharati CEO Jawhar Sircar has earlier said another aspect that the broadcaster is considering is how it can get better quality channels on its DTH wing. “We are considering framing a policy by next year which will allow the best of channels to be shown on our DTH platform,” Sircar said.

    There was a need to consider a new policy which would be transparent but also to ensure that the best of channels prefer to come to the Doordarshan platform so that they can be shown to viewers all across the country, he said.

  • Doordarshan to live stream India’s 67th Independence Day celebration on YouTube

    Doordarshan to live stream India’s 67th Independence Day celebration on YouTube

    NEW DELHI: Doordarshan, which is telecasting the Independence Day celebrations live from Red Fort, will in association with YouTube live stream the 67th Indian Independence Day celebrations and the Prime Minister’s address to the Nation for 2013.

     

    This association will enable millions of Indians worldwide to enjoy high definition live feed on Doordarshan’s YouTube channel (www.youtube.com/DoordarshanNational) and get front row access to all the celebrations lined up for the grand event.

     

    The live stream will be available on 15 August from 6:25 am onwards, capturing the flag-hoisting ceremony by the Prime Minister from the historic Red Fort, Delhi.
    Users will also be able to enjoy highlight clips from the Independence Day celebrations.

     

    Speaking on the association with YouTube, Doordarshan director general Tripurari Sharan said, “We are delighted to associate with YouTube to share the Independence celebrations with Indians across the globe. Streaming Independence Day celebration live on YouTube will help us to reach the global audience in a format which best suits today’s generation. Our streaming of the 67th Republic Day Parade also received a tremendous response with over 100,000 views. Our objective is to cater to our Indian and global audiences and take events of national importance not only to their TV screens.

     

    Commenting on the initiative YouTube director content partnerships Gautam Anand, said, “We are delighted to partner with Doordarshan to join the celebration of India’s 67th Independence Day live from the historic Red Fort on YouTube. This is the first time we are live streaming India’s Independence Day celebrations and we hope that our users will enjoy the telecast wherever they’re in the world.”

  • Over 29,500 DTH sets provided free by the government in 16 states

    Over 29,500 DTH sets provided free by the government in 16 states

    NEW DELHI: A total of 29,782 direct-to-home boxes are set to receive Doordarshan’s free-to-air DD Direct Plus, including 20,397 in hilly areas of Himachal Pradesh, which have been provided by the government to 16 states where terrestrial signals are not easily available.

    These include 2,277 in Rajasthan and 1,942 in Madhya Pradesh, according to the Information and Broadcasting Ministry.

    Doordarshan provides free-to-air with a bouquet of 59 TV channels (19 Doordarshan channels and 40 other TV channels). DTH signals can be received by using a set top box and small sized dish receiver units.

    As these signals can be received anywhere in the country except Andaman and Nicobar Islands, DTH service in C-band with bouquet of 10 channels is in operation in the Islands.

    The DTH sets have been provided in various states for uncovered areas as part of DTH Scheme and Special NE package (Phase-I).

    Prasar Bharati has informed that 21 channels of All India Radio are available through the platform throughout the country.

    S.No.
    Name of the State
    No. of DTH sets provided
    1.
    Arunachal Pradesh
    108
    2
    Assam
    332
    3
    Chhattisgarh
    528
    4
    Gujarat
    1253
    5
    Himachal Pradesh
    20397
    6
    Jammu & Kashmir
    500
    7
    Karnataka
    1500
    8
    Madhya Pradesh
    1942
    9
    Manipur
    108
    10
    Meghalaya
    107
    11
    Mizoram
    106
    12
    Nagaland
    108
    13
    Rajasthan
    2277
    14
    Sikkim
    108
    15
    Tripura
    108
    16
    Uttarakhand
    300

  • AIR, DD to beam President’s address and PM flag hoisting on 15 August

    AIR, DD to beam President’s address and PM flag hoisting on 15 August

    NEW DELHI: All India Radio and Doordarshan will beam the message of President Pranab Mukherjee to the nation on the eve of Independence Day on 14 August.

     

    The flag hoisting ceremony and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s message to the nation from the ramparts of Red Fort will also be beamed live on 15 August.

     

    While the President’s address will be from 7:00 pm on 14 August in English followed by a Hindi translation, the Independence Day programme will commence from 06:25 am.

     

    AIR will broadcast both the events on all its medium wave channels including the Indraprastha channel and Vividh Bharati, and also on the two FM channels, FM Gold and FM Rainbow, apart from all regional kendras.

     

    The regional channels will broadcast translations in regional language of the President’s broadcast. Doordarshan will telecast the events on DD National, DD News, DD Bharati, and DD Sports.

     

    Both AIR and DD will also beam a round-up of the events all over the country later in the evening on 15 August.

  • Ministry of Information and Broadcasting introduces ‘New Media Wing’

    Ministry of Information and Broadcasting introduces ‘New Media Wing’

    NEW DELHI: Almost a year after guidelines were framed for the use of social media by government agencies and citizen engagement for e-governance projects, the proposal for establishing a ‘New Media Wing’ in the Information and Broadcasting Ministry for publicising its initiatives through multiple social media platforms has received the official nod.

     

    The move has come even as the government is gearing itself for the general elections next year. Both All India Radio and Doordarshan launched its new series yesterday to highlight the initiatives of the government.

     

    According to the proposal approved by the union cabinet, the new wing to be headed by a joint secretary level officer would address the communication and dissemination requirements of the government on social media platforms. The wing would integrate the communication tools horizontally and vertically through various social media platforms.

     

    The proposal for establishment of new media wing has been drawn on the basis of the experience of the initiative undertaken by the ministry recently, on a pilot basis to position itself on the social media platforms such as YouTube, Facebook and Twitter.

     

    The administrative and operational support will be provided by a unit under the ministry – the Research Reference and Training Division – which would be the new wing.

     

    The expenditure for establishing the wing and the recurring expenditure thereon would cost the exchequer an amount of Rs 22.5 crore during the 12th Five Year Plan (1012-17) which has been approved by the cabinet committee for economic affairs under the development communication and information dissemination plan scheme of the ministry.

     

    In August last year, the government had issued framework and guidelines to enable the various agencies to create and implement their own strategy for the use of social media. The document was to help them to make an informed choice about the objective, platforms, resources, etc. to meet the requirement of interaction with their varied stakeholders.

     

    The official statement had then said, “As more and more projects are getting implemented, an increasing need has been felt for wider and deeper participation of an engagement with all stakeholders to ensure that citizen centricity is maintained in all projects. There is now a consensus that citizen participation and civic engagement are the building blocks for good governance and e-governance is a critical component of good governance.

     

    It had added that, “Media is transforming the way in which people connect with each other and the manner in which information is shared and distributed. While at a personal level, the uptake and usage of social media is gaining rapid popularity, use and utility of such media for official purpose remain ambiguous. Many apprehensions remain including, but not limited to, issues related to authorisation to speak on behalf of department/ agency, technologies and platform to be used for communication, scope of engagement, creating synergies between different channels of communication, compliance with existing legislations etc.”

  • Prasar Bharati’s Rs 280 crore debt to govt agencies

    Prasar Bharati’s Rs 280 crore debt to govt agencies

    NEW DELHI: The empire is striking back. The Indian government today said it is taking action at the appropriate level to recover Rs 279.64 crore that is owed by All India Radio and Doordarshan to different government agencies for usage of transponders on ISRO satellites and also the spectrum during 2011-12 and 2012-13.

     

    Prasar Bharati is itself expected to pay the various Central/State/Paramilitary/police organisations the cost of safeguarding the infrastructure, installations, land, buildings of AIR and DD, (such as the Mumbai Kendra pictured here) located across the country

     

        
    However, the government has already waived a sum of Rs 1349.54 crore that was due to various agencies till 31 March 2011 following the recommendation of the group of Ministers on Prasar Bharati in September 2011.

     

     

    Information and Broadcasting Minister Manish Tewari told Parliament today that Prasar Bharati owes Rs 163.26 crore to the Indian Space Research Organisation for space segment and Rs 116.38 crore to the Communication and Information Technology Ministry as spectrum charges for these two years.

     

    Of the dues, the share of All India Radio for 2011-12 and 2012-13 is Rs 36.46 crore (Rs 16.26 crore and Rs 20.2 crore respectively) while that of Doordarshan is Rs 243.18 crore (Rs 63.4 crore and Rs 179.78 crore respectively).

     

    The Minister clarified that the government only meets the full bill for salary of the employees of the public service broadcaster, as recommended by the GoM.

     

    Prasar Bharati is itself expected to pay the various Central/State/Paramilitary/police organisations the cost of safeguarding the infrastructure, installations, land, buildings of AIR and DD located across the country.

     

    It also meets the salary and allowances of police and paramilitary personnel engaged by it out of its internal resources.

     

    The annual dues on account of dues for such services are in the region of Rs 72 crore.

     

    The Minister said if the pubcaster is unable to make a payment in a certain year, it makes sure this is done in the next financial year.

  • DD, AIR to commence fiction series depicting issues of rural India

    DD, AIR to commence fiction series depicting issues of rural India

    NEW DELHI: Come Thursday and Doordarshan and All India Radio will air fiction shows which highlight the travails of the rural poor and how flagship programmes help them overcome their problems. While DD will showcase Poorva Suhani Aayi Re, the All India Radio will air Priya.

     

    Poorva Suhani Aayi Re is a 52 episode soap directed by Sanjiv Kaul of Kyunki Saas bhi kabhi bahu thhi fame. Priya is a 12 episode show which will reach audiences pan-India through AIR’s various channels, in 22 languages. The protagonists of both programmes are women – Poorva being a married woman and Priya a poor uneducated girl.

     

    While the soap on Doordarshan will be aired every Thursday at 10.00 pm, the AIR series will be broadcast on different channels at different times. Produced by AIR Delhi, it will be broadcast every Thursday with effect from 8 August at 6.15 to 6.30 pm from Vividh Bharati MW 219.3 mtr. i.e. 1368 KHz and every Friday from 9 August on FM (Gold) 106.4 MHz at 12.10 pm to 12.25 pm, on FM (Rainbow) 102.6 MHz at 2.45 pm and also on Indraprastha Channel MW 366.3 mtr. – 819 KHz at 12.45 pm to 1.00 pm in Women’s Programme Aadha Akash Hamara.

     

    Poorva Suhani Aayi Re tells the story of the illiterate village girl Poorva, a highly motivated woman who through her courage and commitment gives a voice to her fellow villagers and makes them aware of the benefits of various welfare schemes and policies and helps them to improve their living standards.

     

    The serial takes viewers on the journey of Poorva and how slowly she plays a pivotal role in shaping the future of the village/ panchayat, fight for the rights of people and empowering the voiceless. Poorva Suhani Aayi Re, will showcase real life success stories of people who have benefited from the government’s policies, in a fiction format.

     

    Speaking at a press meet today, Kaul said that the series had been suitably dramatised to ensure viewer interest and aims at being a propagandistic programme. “We want to give the real picture of rural India. TV is not about stars but about the script. Certain actors become stars only because of good scripts.”

     

    Doordarshan director general Tripurari Sharan said that the series is based on real-life stories of women in different parts of the country, who have come into the vortex of democracy. “Though an element of drama has been added to keep the viewer glued, the stories are based on real experiences,” he informed.

     

    Denying any allegations on the series being a propaganda for the elections next year he said, “Even series like Hum and Jamuniya dealt with similar subjects.”

     

    Among the others present in the press meet were deputy director general Ranjan Thakur and Raj Shekhar Vyas. Addressing the media Thakur said, “The role of the public service broadcaster has acquired a new meaning in the past two years.”

  • ABC International to be beamed on the DD Direct Plus

    ABC International to be beamed on the DD Direct Plus

    NEW DELHI: The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) has decided to hitch on to DD Direct Plus, the country’s only free to air direct-to-home platform. The channel has also decided to collaborate with Prasar Bharati in other fields like archives and indigenous and classical music for both television and radio.

     

    This was stated by both Prasar Bharati chief executive officer Jawhar Sircar and ABC CEO Lynley Marshall during a discussion prior to the formal signing of a memorandum of understanding with Doordarshan.

     

    Marshall said: “India has a rich heritage of classical music, and we at ABC can contribute by making available its collection of aboriginal and indigenous music for both Doordarshan and All India Radio.”

     

    Appreciating the gesture, Sircar said that Indians needed to know more about Australia than what they read in newspapers or saw on foreign television channels.

     

    The new carriage agreement, Sircar said, “Aims to strengthen the partnership between the two public broadcasters.”

     

    “With this agreement, ABC International will be available on DD Direct Plus from 1 November,” added Doordarshan director general Tripurari Sharan.

     

    Australia Network is Australia’s international television service, beaming 24×7 to more than 40 countries across Asia, the Pacific and Indian subcontinent. Its mission is to promote television and digital service that informs, entertains and inspires audience, with a unique Australian perspective.

     

    The agreement was signed by Marshall and Sircar at a function attended by Sharan, DD News director general S M Khan and additional director general Ranjan Thakur apart from several senior members of both DD and All India Radio.

     

    With this agreement DD, fulfils a part of its public service mandate to develop knowledge, broaden horizon and showcase the diverse culture of Australia.

     

    Marshall welcomed the new partnership with Doordarshan, describing it as a significant alignment of the two respected public broadcasters in the Asia-Pacific Region. The partnership between Doordarshan and ABC will open many doors not only for carrying ABC International on DD’s platform, but also to explore specific areas like co-production activities, exchange of TV programmes, exchange of radio and FM (including music), interesting films, audio-visual materials regarding culture, history and geography from both the countries. These steps will help bring people of both the countries understand each other better and forge understanding and empathy.

     

    Marshall also hopes to strengthen programming for children through this bond. “India will be interested in more news from Australia,” said Sircar.

     

    Thakur informed Indiantelevision.com that they had earlier also signed an agreement with France 24. “This international english channel will also feature on DD Direct Plus platform from 1 November,” said Thakur.

     

    At present DD offers 59 channels in its bouquet on DTH platform. “We expect to get the permission to increase the capacity to 97 by December,” he added.

  • Focus’s new campaign for brand ‘New Holland’ consolidates its position as a technology leader

    Focus’s new campaign for brand ‘New Holland’ consolidates its position as a technology leader

    Mumbai: New Holland Fiat (India), part of the CNH Global group (one of the world’s leading Agricultural and Construction Equipment Manufacturing Company), has entrusted Focus Circle with a responsibility of deriving a new positioning the brand with a 360 degree campaign. Focus has been the brand custodian for New Holland for the past two years for the Indian market, and with the growing mechanization needs of agricultural industry which are directly depending on latest technology, they realised that it was the right time for the brand to directly communicate with their target audience using the TVC and digital space as primary platforms.

    The first phase involved creation of the TVC campaign, which focuses on the integration of technology in the life of a farmer. Sharing greater insights on the overall campaign and the concept of the TVC, Rahool Talukdhar, National Creative Director, Focus Circle said “Using TVC to communicate to niche audience was extremely stimulating. To understand a brand like New Holland which is one of the global leader in its space, the core strategy and messaging enables us to build up connection with audiences leading to sustainable engagement unlike a B2C segment. Besides, it’s great to work with a brand that can give you the freedom of applying integrated services as the efforts can be synchronised well. The core objective of the campaign is to communicate to the direct and indirect audience that New Holland being the pioneer in tractor technology, it should be the ONLY choice of every progressive farmer in the country.”

    As a major global player in the agriculture equipment market, New Holland has been growing consistently in India. New Holland aims at customising and creating mass awareness through the digital platforms for effective impact & reach to the potential fraternity.

    Highlighting her brief to the agency and the core objective Ms. Seema Singh, GM- Corporate Communication, , New Holland Fiat India said “Agricultural sector in India is going through a transitional phase from traditional farming to mechanized farming; which is the need of the time due to various reasons such as labour shortage, need for faster crop cycles and quality food grains as an output of farming. And to cater to this growing need of the segment, which needs a whole range of solutions that would ease agricultural operations. Observing the scope and the willingness of the farmers to explore newer technology, we wanted to offer our global expertise to add value to the Indian agricultural sector. Searching for effective media to communicate the same to the direct and indirect audiences was a challenge. We jointly worked out an impactful road map with Focus, to ensure that we are able to successfully achieve our business objective of creating strong brand image and further strengthening it.”

    The focus is to stream line the core communication across all platforms and increase the scope of communication about the brand in the market to increase the awareness amongst direct and indirect audiences. With an objective to reach out to the farming and agricultural community across India the campaign was scheduled to running across PTC, Doordarshan, India TV, Aaj Tak and ETV with focus on agriculturally rich states of Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, UP, MP, Gujarat and Maharashtra. With the digital mandate in the pipeline the agency will aim at streamlining the core message through all communication & execution platforms for brand engagement.

  • Mumbai’s cable TV operators battle on Maharashtra entertainment tax

    Mumbai’s cable TV operators battle on Maharashtra entertainment tax

    MUMBAI: There’s a battle royale brewing in India’s entertainment and commercial capital Mumbai. On one side is the Cable Operators’ & Distributors Association (CODA) led by its president Anil Parab. On the other side is the Maharashtra government.

    Parab has threatened to switch off all news channels – including Marathi, English and Hindi – when the Maharashtra assembly convenes for its Monsoon session starting 15 July. What’s bugging cable operators is the entertainment tax that is levied by the Maharashtra government.

    “At Rs 45 per subscriber, it is too high,” says InCable managing director Ravi Mansukhani.

    Parab says that this should be brought down to Rs 15 per set top box or subscriber. “We had agreed to the government’s demand to take it up to Rs 45 from Rs 30 per subscriber earlier because they said cable TV subscriber connectivity declaration was at 30 per cent at that time. Now with digitisation coming in and declarations going up to 100 per cent we believe the tax should go down. Not only will the government’s entertainment tax collections go up, it will also be fair to the cable TV community.”

    Entertainment tax in Delhi is Rs 20, while in others it is zero and yet others keep it in the five per cent to six per cent range. Estimates are that the government has collected around Rs 3.34 crore in entertainment tax from the cable TV operators this year.

    Parab, a legislator and lawyer himself, says he had even met up with deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar on the same earlier, and has asked for a meeting with Maharashtra revenue minister Balasaheb Thorat this week. “I hope to get a positive response. If we don’t then the news channel blackout will spread to the rest of Maharashtra too as I have been getting calls from those in the interiors too expressing their support.”

    Parab is quite clear none of the channels will be spared, not even Doordarshan. “We will go all the way,” says he.

    Indeed. Are those in the corridors of power in Maharashtra listening?