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Tag: Doordarshan

  • Free DD Free Dish STBs distributed in J&K

    Free DD Free Dish STBs distributed in J&K

    MUMBAI: Union Minister for Environment, Forest & Climate and Information & Broadcasting Prakash Javadekar and Minister of State (Independent Charge), Ministry of Development of North East Region; Minister of State PMO; Minister of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions; Department of Atomic Energy; Department of Space Jitendra Singh on Saturday launched a spectrum of initiatives for the state of Jammu and Kashmir.

    In a vibrant launch ceremony held at SKICC, Srinagar Governor of Jammu and Kashmir Satya Pal Malik and both the ministers in presence of other dignitaries distributed Doordarshan’s Free Dish Set Top Boxes (STBs) in Jammu and Kashmir besides launching half an hour Dogri programme and News Bulletin from DD Kashir and the signature tune of the channel.

    The STBs will be provided free of cost and the audience will be able to view 100 channels for free.

    Addressing the gathering, Javadekar appreciated the efforts of the MIB especially Doordarshan for reaching out to the public in border areas to disseminate the message of information, education and entertainment.

    He said that after the basic necessities, information and entertainment are the most important needs of the people and the central government under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi is taking all the steps to reach out to the people to ensure these facilities.

    Lauding the role of All India Radio, the minister said that PM Modi has very ably utilised the services of such medium through Mann Ki Baat which has now become very popular.

    Javadekar said that Doordarshan and All India Radio have credibility which gives these channels an edge over the others who sometimes get carried away with rumours. Doordarshan is an institution of trust, he further added.

    MoS PMO Jitendra Singh appreciated the efforts taken by Doordarshan to reach out to the people throughout the country. The launch of Dogri programme and news bulletin will go a long way in bringing sense of pride and oneness among the people. He termed Doordarshan as a single channel that can bring hearts together.

    Governor of Jammu & Kashmir Satya Pal Malik while addressing the audience said that the people living in border areas will surely get benefitted with this initiative. The problems of the youth of the state need to be addressed in order to bring in peace and prosperity in the region. He impressed upon Doordarshan and All India Radio to keep spreading out to the remotest of corners to provide information to the last mile.

    Chairman, Prasar Bharati A Surya Prakash, while addressing the audience highlighted the qualities of DD Free Dish DTH and termed it as the tools of empowerment. He laid emphasis on the commitment of the Government to bring peace and prosperity across the region.

    Secretary, Information & Broadcasting Amit Khare, director general, Doordarshan Supriya Sahu, chief secretary, Government of Jammu and Kashmir BVR Subrahmanyam and other State and Central Government officials were also present on the occasion.

    The news bulletin will be telecast daily at 6 pm on DD Kashir in digital mode. The signature tune, which resonates with the spirit of the valley, has been composed by Rahul Sharma.

  • How Doordarshan aims to fill void of GECs’ exit from Free Dish, FTA space

    How Doordarshan aims to fill void of GECs’ exit from Free Dish, FTA space

    MUMBAI: Public broadcaster Prasar Bharati, during its 154th board meeting, gave Doordarshan a major shot in the arm as it approved, in principle, significant investment in new and quality content during the year 2019-2020. The meeting was chaired by Prasar Bharati chairman A. Surya Prakash in the presence of the CEO Shashi Shekhar Vempati and member Rajeev Singh.

    According to Vempati, the plan for new content on Doordarshan will be finalized in the next few days. This infusion of fresh content by Doordarshan should fill the vacuum from the exit of several GEC channels from the free-to-air (FTA) space in general and from DD Free Dish in particular, Vempati hopes.

    While BARC India has not been making its viewership data public in recent weeks, the importance of DD Free Dish as a platform has become abundantly clear going by the measurement since 1 March. This underscores the opportunity for Doordarshan to regain its space in GEC genre, Vempati added.

    Post the implementation of TRAI tariff order, several major broadcasters like ZEE and Star India have converted their FTA channels into pay and taken off popular channels from Doordarshan's FTA DTH platform Free Dish.

    The planned investment in new content on Doordarshan will be targeted towards capturing this opportunity, Vempati stated.

  • DD Free Dish e-auction: 15 MPEG4 slots sold

    DD Free Dish e-auction: 15 MPEG4 slots sold

    MUMBAI: The first annual e-auction for MPEG4 slots on Doordarshan’s FTA DTH platform FreeDish, witnessed intense competition. After robust bidding, a total of 15 MPEG4 slots were successfully sold to channels across genres and languages.

    Prasar Bharati CEO Shashi Shekhar Vempati said on Twitter that the slots were being taken at an average price that was nearly eight to nine times the invitational price. “With this overall projected annual revenue from DD Free Dish will cross 400 cr between MPEG2 and MPEG4 slots,” he added.

    Vempati added that the new line up of 15 channels will be published on Monday, subject to completion of procedural formalities. He also mentioned that three slots have been reserved for public broadcasting purposes.

    Earlier in February, 40 MPEG2 slots were successfully sold under revised guidelines after recommencement of e-auction. Vempati said that the estimated revenue from the sold slots is Rs 395 crore and added that the new channels will be on air from 1 March 2019.

    The Prasar Bharati Board gave a green signal to e-auctioning of DTH slots on DD FreeDish in January. The e-auctioning was arbitrarily called off in October 2017. Earlier, FreeDish would conduct the e-auction every couple of months to award vacant channel slots to private broadcasters. The last e-auction was held In July 2017.

    While revealing the new policy guidelines, Vempati had said a key consideration factored in was to increase the diversity of content available on FreeDish and to expand its reach across India, especially within the non-Hindi speaking states.

  • Prasar Bharati survey to gauge demand for sporting events coverage soon

    Prasar Bharati survey to gauge demand for sporting events coverage soon

    MUMBAI: Prasar Bharati CEO Shashi Shekhar Vempati has revealed that a survey will soon be conducted to assess the demand for sports coverage on the public broadcaster’s platforms like Doordarshan (DD) and All India Radio (AIR). Vempati, however, pointed out that sports coverage by a public broadcaster is determined by factors like rights and monetisation opportunities.

    “Coverage of sports by the public broadcaster within its limited means depends on several factors including but not limited to availability of rights, monetisation potential etc. We will be conducting survey shortly to assess demand,” he said.

    The ongoing Indian Premier League is being covered by the BBC for its radio listeners. Not only is AIR not covering the IPL, but it also hasn’t been associated with a bilateral cricket series in India since 2014. Responding to a question on the same, Vempati pointed a finger at the Indian board.

    “At this time there is no proposal from BCCI regarding IPL on radio. Question best answered by BCCI on why IPL radio rights have not been offered in India while internationally they have been made available,” he remarked.

    However, Vempati was optimistic about agreeing to a deal with the Indian cricket board ahead of the next bilateral series at home.

    “As far as bilateral series in India goes, coverage on radio will commence once BCCI and All India Radio finalise MoU on the same. I am optimistic we will be able to narrow the gaps soon and before the next bilateral series happens in India” he said.

    Last year, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB) proposed to amend rules relating to mandatory sharing of feeds of sports of national importance with not only the pubcaster but with other distribution platforms. Reason for proposed changes: people with less purchasing power should not lose out on sporting excitement.

    The MIB said in a notice issued on 17 October 2018, adding that public comments were invited within a month (later extended) on the changes proposed in the relevant regulation relating to sharing by rights-holding private TV channels of broadcasting feed with the pubcaster.

  • DD Free Dish e-auction for vacant MPEG4 slots on 27 March

    DD Free Dish e-auction for vacant MPEG4 slots on 27 March

    MUMBAI: Doordarshan will conduct the 39th e-auction for filling up of vacant MPEG-4 slots of its FTA DTH platform Free Dish w.e.f 27 March 2019. Only satellite channels licensed by the Ministry of I&B would be allowed to participate in the e-auction.

    Bidding in the e-auction of vacant unreserved MPEG-4 slots will be for an initial period open to all genre (language) channels at an invitation reserve price of Rs 5 lakh.

    International public broadcasters licensed/registered by the Ministry of I&B can also participate in e-auction.

    “We request all those channels that could not bid for MPEG2 slots for various reasons to consider bidding for the MPEG4 slots,” Prasar Bharati CEO Shashi Shekhar Vempati said.

    If required, Prasar Bharati/Doordarshan can extend e-auction to the next day or as the case may be.

    Recently the pubcaster sold 40 MPEG2 slots for Rs 395 crore.

    As shared by Prasar Bharati, the highest bid price in Bucket A+ was Rs 15.05 crore, while it was Rs 12.45 crore in Bucket A. Bucket B commanded a top bid of Rs10.95 crore. In Bucket C, which saw the toughest competition, the highest bid was Rs 8.95 crore. Bucket D saw a top bid of Rs 6.1 crore.

    After the e-auction, Vempati asserted that the language diversity on DD FreeDish has also seen an expansion with Marathi channels taking up slots.  He also added that nearly eight new channels have taken up space across various categories and genres in various languages.

  • ISSF signs deal with SPN India for rifle and pistol World Cup broadcast

    ISSF signs deal with SPN India for rifle and pistol World Cup broadcast

    MUMBAI: The International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF) has signed a deal with Sony Pictures Network India to broadcast the World Cup, according to the Press Trust of India. The sport of shooting will have live television coverage of the World Cup Rifle/Pistol at Dr Karni Singh Range, Tughlakabad from 20-28 February 2019.

    The Indian shooting will have a great opportunity to project its bright image, with assured high-quality live television coverage of the tournament. Even though shooters from around the world will be eyeing the 16 Olympic quota places on offer, in eight events for men and women, for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, it will be an ideal platform for the Indian shooters to show case their class and strike power.

    “Sony will be covering the World Cup. Doordarshan will also broadcast. Since the World Cup is an ISSF event, the world body has signed the deal with Sony Television not only for this World Cup but other World Cups as well,” The National Rifle Association of India president Raninder Singh said.

    The sport of shooting which rarely gets broadcast support will be seen once again on the main-stream sports broadcast platform like Sony. Earlier India had conducted the Asian Olympic qualifying event before the Rio Olympics which was broadcasted live on Star Sports network in 2015-16.

    “We are not taking any funds from the government for organising the event, and the ISSF is taking care of the production cost of the television coverage,” he said.

    During the press conference, the NRAI president also declared that a lot of national shooting associations will be coming with their presidents to watch the World Cup, including the ones from Gautemala, Mexico and Russia. Singh said the range was getting ready to host the World Cup, especially with a nice setting in the final hall.

    The NRAI president also expressed hope that in the long run, the national championships would have television coverage. He said there was considerable potential to take the sport forward as 7,000 athletes competed in the last national championships.

  • iTV Network strengthens senior editorial team

    iTV Network strengthens senior editorial team

    Noida : As part of its strategic review, iTV Network has restructured and strengthened its national editorial team.  

    Sarvesh Tewari has been appointed as Managing Editor -News for INDIA NEWS, India’s leading Hindi news channel.

    In his new role, Tewari shall be responsible for managing day-to-day newsroom operations and strengthening newsgathering processes. He will be responsible for heading the news desk, news programming, news production and other input functions. With a career spread over 20 years, Tewari has worked with established names in the media domain such as Aaj Tak, NDTV, Zee News, Live India, Voice of India, HT Media and most recently at News Nation Network, as Executive Editor.

    Rana Yashwant has been appointed to the newly created position of Managing Editor – Programming and Branded Content for India News. His responsibilities will include daily special shows, weekend programmes, branded content, brand integration, brand innovation and events.

    Kartikeya Sharma, Founder and Promoter of iTV Network, said, “High-quality content is at the core of our work at iTV Network and this new structure is designed to meet the long-term needs of the business. Internally, it will allow swifter decision-making and better cross platform working. Externally, we will be better equipped to meet the challenges of the rapidly changing media environment. We are confident that Tewari’s vast knowledge and domain prowess will hold INDIA NEWS in good stead and his entry will definitely help us consolidate our position further.” He further added that “I would like to congratulate Rana for his new responsibility. Rana is highly experienced in the television industry, and I’m confident that these changes to structure will only add to the quality of content we provide to our viewers’ every day.”

    On his appointment, Tewari said, “I look forward to working with the talented and impressive pool of reporters and producers, and to reach the viewers through innovative, informative and credible content.”

    Commenting on his new role, Rana said, “I am thankful to INDIA NEWS for an opportunity as this one. The channel has been built on key pillars of integrity, speed and accuracy, and I am certain that we will continue to deliver value for all our viewers and stakeholders.”

    Tewari is a graduate from Lucknow and holds a post-graduate degree in Mass Communication from Indian Institute of Mass Communication. He has also done screenplay writing for Doordarshan documentaries.

  • Prasar Bharati’s Shashi Shekhar Vempati on DD India revamp, OTT plan, TRAI tariff regime

    Prasar Bharati’s Shashi Shekhar Vempati on DD India revamp, OTT plan, TRAI tariff regime

    MUMBAI: Shashi Shekhar Vempati is the first private sector executive to have a place on the Prasar Bharati hot seat. He is also one of the youngest CEOs at the organisation and in 2017 propelled it towards becoming a corporate 21st century public broadcaster.

    The pubcaster isn’t buckling under to the digital wave. The new Prasar Bharati under his vision is ready for the digital era. Recently, Doordarshan revamped DD India to an English news channel. In the latest week’s Broadcast Audience Research Council data, DD India is ahead of all private English news channels in the core target audience of NCCS AB: Males 22+ individuals.  

    Indiantelevision.com caught up with Vempati to talk about the success of DD India after the revamp, tariff order and Doordarshan’s OTT platform plans. Here are the excerpts:

    How has DD India made it to top slot in English news list? Any change in programming line-up?

    I think this needs a little bit of clarification. We have always known that the English viewership base of DD News was always quite high, but then DD news being a bi-lingual channel over the years, was being measured and reported in the Hindi genre. So, as a result, there was no reflection in BARC data of the size of the English viewership.

    What has really changed is that last year the Prasar Bharati board took a decision that we will have an English news channel in addition to the Hindi news channel and we will eventually position it as our offering to the international space as well. The reason is India doesn’t have a strong global voice unlike BBC, Al Jazeera, Russia Today and CGTN. So, with that in mind, we re-positioned DD India as the English news channel, where the English content of the news generated by DD News will also go.

    Over the last six months, BARC has started measuring it, but they have not reported it. They started reporting it from January in the English news genre. What was already a reality is now getting publicised.

    How many hours of English content is there on the channel?

    Close to 70 per cent of the Fixed Point Chart (FPC) is English news and the rest is English documentaries as of now. But the work is in progress and over the next few weeks we will increase that and it will become a full-fledged English news channel. The next big thing will be DD News and DD India becoming full-fledged Hindi and English news channels respectively.  

    What is your point of view on mandatory sharing of sports feed with the public broadcaster? Will we see IPL this time on DD?

    See when ever such a consultation happens, MIB takes feedback of all the stake holders, so our role comes much later. At this time there is no such proposal to share IPL matches. If there is anything we will let you know.

    CCEA recently approved the ‘Broadcasting Infrastructure and network development’ scheme of Prasar Bharati. How do you plan to use the budget allocated for it?

    The scheme approved by CCEA will include some expansion, modernisation of studios and upgrading of satellite infrastructure. We have a long pending modernisation. (These are some long pending modernisation. Provisions have been kept for modernisation of existing equipment/facilities in studios which are essential to sustain the ongoing activities and also for High Definition Television (HDTV) transmitters at Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and Kolkata.)

    What is the status of the proposed Doordarshan OTT platform? What type of content will the platform have?

    Sometime in 2019, we will get to it. Right now our priority is news. It is a little early to comment on that. Firstly, we have to get our basic digital assets in place, which is what we are doing right now with the rollout of our iOS and Android apps which happened on the budget day.

    We have about 55 or more active YouTube channels. Digitisation of the archive is happening. At some point in 2019 we will put out the OTT platform for some of the premium content and rare archive and upgraded content.

    What’s your take on the TRAI tariff order?

    I think India, as a market, is clearly innovating on pricing and this tariff order reflects that. It shows the move towards greater subscription-based revenues for the media industry and I think it is a positive move in that direction. From both consumer and the broadcaster standpoint it is a positive move. It also gives flexibility to the consumer.

  • DD India to reposition as English channel; digital platform to launch before elections

    DD India to reposition as English channel; digital platform to launch before elections

    MUMBAI: Even as all the private media houses are gearing up for the general election, public broadcasters Doordarshan and All India Radio (AIR) are not lagging in their attempts to make hay out of the most lucrative season for news channels.

    According to ThePrint, DD India will be revamped and positioned as an English news channel for the global audience soon while AIR is planning to launch a 24×7 news stream in the next few weeks. Apart from this, Prasar Bharati News Service, a 24×7 digital platform for the global audience, is also set to begin in the next few weeks which is conceptualised along the lines of BBC and CNN in 2017 by a panel headed by Prasar Bharati chairman A Surya Prakash.

    The digital platform will broadcast international news to a global audience to counter anti-India narratives in the foreign media. According to reports, the platform will be an app-based interface that will offer services in multiple languages and publish news in the form of text, video, podcast and alerts.

    About the content, Vempati said, “The contents on these channels will be guided by the Prasar Bharati Act, which lays out quite clearly the mandate of the public service broadcaster.”

    The plan for the new 24X7 AIR stream is to broadcast news bulletins primarily in English and Hindi which will go live in the next few weeks.

    “AIR did not have any such channel. News bulletins were broadcast sporadically in gaps across the AIR network,” Prasar Bharati CEO Shashi Shekhar Vempati told ThePrint.

    A 24×7 stream, officials said, will help expand the reach of AIR news significantly, running parallel to AIR’s recent decision to share its unaltered news feed with private FM channels as a pilot project.

    FM radio channels are currently not allowed to produce and broadcast their own news bulletins, so the move will help the wider dissemination of AIR news since nearly 235 private radio stations across India have already registered with Prasar Bharati to source AIR news content.

  • Prasar Bharati to TRAI: OTTs streaming live TV should mandatorily carry all Doordarshan channels

    Prasar Bharati to TRAI: OTTs streaming live TV should mandatorily carry all Doordarshan channels

    MUMBAI: Public broadcaster Prasar Bharati has suggested to the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) that certain norms be made mandatory for OTT providers, in order to bring them on a level playing field with TV broadcasters and not just limit their comparison to telecom service providers (TSPs). OTT providers should abide by certain rules including one that OTT platforms streaming live TV should mandatorily carry all Doordarshan channels like DTH, MSOs or cable operators do.

    Under these regulations, Prasar Bharati is of the view that those OTT services should be included that provide audio/video content or broadcast services such as live, delayed or on-demand content. Such apps ‘should comply’ with basic regulatory and legal conditions which could be a subset of those that currently exist for TV broadcasters.

    Prasar Bharati made these suggestions as part of its comments to a recent TRAI consultation paper. While the consultation paper only looks at comparing OTTs to TSPs, Prasar Bharati feels that since several OTTs are providing content that is parallel to linear TV, it is only fair that when rules are made, it is taken into account that they not only substitute TSPs but even traditional broadcasters. After this, the type of service provider should also be made a criterion for creating regulatory and licensing norms.

    Prasar Bharati feels that currently, OTTs have a free reign but if OTT providers are relaying news content then they should register with the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB). The need for regulation, in this case, is especially high given the rising incidences of fake news and mischievous reporting. The regulations will also make OTT providers accountable and responsible especially if some content could be deemed to be ‘against national security’.

    It also brought into focus the system of audience measurement that has been established for linear TV and the same should also be applicable when these channels are shown live on OTT platforms.

    Prasar Bharati also sees the positive side of OTTs being helpful during calamities and natural disasters where it could prove as an important tool for broadcast. For this, it says that there needs to be synergy between various stakeholders.

    TRAI released a consultation paper on regulatory framework for OTT communication services in November. “The authority has chosen in this consultation to focus only on regulatory issues and economic concerns pertaining to such OTT services as can be regarded the same or similar to the services provided by TSPs,” TRAI said in the release. The paper mainly focused on issues regarding the relationship between OTTs and TSPs.

    The pubcaster has strongly advocated for basic regulatory and legal conditions to be applied to OTT providers offering broadcast services through internet.