ITV

Tag: public broadcasters

  • Central government drives Bind scheme with Rs 2,539 crore push

    Central government drives Bind scheme with Rs 2,539 crore push

    NEW DELHI: India’s public broadcasters are in the middle of their most ambitious revamp in decades. The government told Parliament this week that its Broadcasting Infrastructure and Network Development (Bind) scheme — approved for 2021–26 with an outlay of Rs 2,539.61 crore — is advancing on schedule, with close to Rs 981 crore already spent.

    The five-year programme is designed to modernise Doordarshan and Akashvani (All India Radio) with digital transmission, high-definition studios, new FM towers and a wider footprint in border, tribal and left-wing extremism–affected regions. The ministry said no major funds have lapsed, though procurement delays occasionally slowed spending, now being addressed through tighter monitoring.

    One of Bind’s biggest successes is the expansion of DD Free Dish, India’s only free-to-air DTH service. Channel count has surged from 104 in 2019 to 510 today, including 92 private broadcasters, 50 Doordarshan services and 320 educational channels. Popular Akashvani stations such as FM Gold, Rainbow and Vividh Bharati are also available on the platform, making free access to information and entertainment more widely available.

    Akashvani’s terrestrial coverage now spans 90 per cent of India’s geography and 98 per cent of its population. Alongside its traditional FM network, more than 260 AIR channels are now accessible through the NewsonAIR mobile app. To further strengthen reach, 59 new FM transmitters have been approved under the scheme.

    In parallel, Prasar Bharati has entered the OTT space with Waves, launched in 2024. The digital platform aggregates infotainment, news, education and cultural content, and integrates feeds from Doordarshan and AIR. Officials say Waves is helping extend public broadcasting to younger, mobile-first audiences and to Indians overseas.

    The Bind scheme, covering all states, represents an attempt to reposition public service broadcasting in a hyper-fragmented media market.

    For New Delhi, the strategy is as much about access as it is about influence — ensuring that public broadcasting reaches underserved communities while competing with private players on technology and content.

     

  • Public broadcasters of India and Ethiopia to work in exchange of content

    NEW DELHI: India and Ethiopia have agreed to have an institutional mechanism for collaboration between public broadcasters of both the countries in areas of content generation and capacity building of officials.

    The two countries also decided to strengthen cooperation in critical areas related to communication and outreach and this cooperation would be worked out through a policy and institutional framework in the various domains.

    This was decided in a meeting between Information and Broadcasting Minister M Venkaiah Naidu and an Ethiopian delegation led by its communications minister Negeri Lencho

    India would provide full support to Ethiopia for capacity building in critical subjects related to communication and journalism through the Indian Institute of Mass Communications.

    The possibility of student exchange programmes between educational institutions of both the countries was also discussed.

  • 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.