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Tag: Vividh Bharati

  • 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.

     

  • Films’ miscalculated releases & no face or value

    Films’ miscalculated releases & no face or value

    Four films releasing in one week, all lacking in face value with no star who can pull the audience and worst of all, the wrong period to release, bang on the day the Ganesh Festival started.

    Ganesh festival has never been the right time to release a film and expect people to flock to cinema halls. This festival which was celebrated as a public event in Maharashtra mainly with some influence till Surat in Gujarat, and Baroda and Indore both having considerable Maharashtrian population being erstwhile Maratha states and, a part of Karnataka.

    Now, the festivities are almost pan India and catching up. Entire Maharashtra celebrates this festival and, now, the celebrations have spread equally across entire Gujarat, MP, Karnataka and heading towards other parts of India.

    To add to the miscalculated release, the Ram Rahim court ruling made matters worse as it just about ruled out people in the two states of Haryana and Punjab as well as the parts of Delhi venturing out to watch a movie.
    Considering the quantum of punishment to the accused baba, there is little hope of moviegoers stepping out in the affected areas. Then, there are flood situations in parts of East to contend with.

    Here is the gory picture:

    *A Gentleman, an unlikely title which failed to convey anything what the film was about, backfired. If you don’t have enough imagination to name your film, why go ahead and make one at all? Don’t know who uses this word gentleman anymore!

    The film opened badly and remained almost stagnant on day two, Saturday. The film showed a marginal increase on Sunday to end its opening weekend with Rs 113 million.

    *Babumoshai Bandookbaaz, an odd title for an all-India audience, again shows lack of imagination. The film goes haywire within minutes after its start. It starts with the Vividh Bharati signature tune playing and Kishore Kumar songs on the air but, soon, shifts to the mobile phone era! Nobody ages in this film and you don’t know where it is all happening.

    A total bankruptcy of ideas, the film managed to cross the Rs 10 million on the opening day, nothing changed on day two and day three as the film collected Rs 35 million for its opening weekend.

    *The fact that the company with a sound background and pedigree, Yash Raj Films should release its all new star cast, Qaidi Band, during the Ganpati Festival, showed a lack of acumen. The film had nothing going for it anyways so why this hasty release? The fact that the film carried the dreams of many newcomers, it deserved a better exploitation.

    The film hovered around Rs 3-million figure over its first weekend and can be called the worst failure from Yash Raj Films who, when they make such economical films, are known to cash in from various sources while also creating a library.

    *Sniff is poor as collections remained poor at about Rs 4 million for the first weekend.

    *Bareilly Ki Barfi falls short of its target as the poor opening took its toll and the film showed only a marginal improvement over its first weekend even as the collections started diminishing as the new week began. The film ended its first week with Rs 165 million.

    *Partition: 1947 (Hindi-Dubbed) meets with a disastrous outcome managing to collect just about Rs 7 million in its opening week.

    *Toilet Ek Prem Katha adds a handsome Rs 266 million in its second week taking its two-week tally to Rs 1.2 billion.

    *Mubarakan collected Rs 11 million in its fourth week taking its four-week total to Rs 564 million.

  • Mann ki Baat ten-second ad rate is Rs 200,000

    NEW DELHI: The rate of ten-second advertisements on AllIndia Radio for the prime minister Narendra Modi’s ‘Mann ki Baat’ is Rs 2,00,000, the Parliament has been told.

    This rate is for advertisement booking of AIR consisting of 200 primary channels/local radio stations, 41 Vividh Bharati stations and 30 FM Rainbow and gold channels, the minister of state for information and broadcasting Rajyavardhan Rathore said in reply to a question.

    The duration of the respective episodes does not have any bearing on the rates since no sponsorships are booked for the programme for the entire broadcast.

    Thirty-eight advertisers listed by the minister include the Election Commission, 11 central ministries, some autonomous departments or organisations under the government and some private advertisers.

    The programme is put out in all regional languages under the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution. The translation is done by AIR with the resources available with it. Apart from a meagre amount for regional translation as per AIR’s fee structure, no significant expenditure is incurred.

    A total of 33 editions of ‘Mann Ki Baat’ have been aired till date since the first edition of the programme was aired on 3 October 2014.

  • Pvt FM channels yet to touch 300; AIR targets another 115 locations

    Pvt FM channels yet to touch 300; AIR targets another 115 locations

    NEW DELHI: After almost two decades of introduction of the scheme, there are only 267 private FM channels operational in the country. Even the second batch of Phase III auctions was stopped before all the channels were auctioned and there was no bid for 44 cities.

    Information and broadcasting ministry sources had earlier told Indiantelevision.com’s sister company that the aim was to continue till all the channels slated in the second batch were auctioned, but breaks will have to be taken for weekends and national holidays.

    The first phase in 1999 saw the start of 21 FM channels in 12 cities although 37 were sold in 19 cities. The auction was for 108 channels in forty cities.

    The second phase in 2005 saw the operationalisation of 219 channels in 86 cities although 245 channels were sold in 87 cities. The auction was for 337 FM channels in 91 cities.

    In view of the third phase covering 839 FM channels, it was decided to hold the auction in batches.

    The first batch between July and September last year led to the operationalisation of 27 channels in 21 cities although a total of 97 channels were sold in 56 cities (one channel is awaiting security clearance). The batch was to cover 135 channels in 69 cities.

    The second batch meant to auction 266 channels in 92 cities commenced on 26 October 2016 and was stopped on 13 December.

    In all, 14 bidding companies had been shortlisted for taking part in the second batch but only M/s South Asia FM Ltd was allotted FM channels in Surat, Amritsar, Patna, Chandigarh and Jammu.

    However, the ministry sources said that a full report would be released shortly.

    While All-India Radio has around 416 FM channels at present, it has plans for targeting another 115 locations in the near future. Besides FM Rainbow and FM Gold, Vividh Bharati has already come on FM and several other channels are planned to be put on FM even as they continue to be beamed on Medium Wave.

    In the second batch of Phase III, Hyderabad and Dehradun remained at top with Rs 23,43,48,266 and Rs 15,61,00,590 respectively on the 26th day with the completion of three rounds taking the total to 100.

    Other than Hyderabad and Dehradun, the top 16 cities remained static with bids of more than Rs 32 million. The bids at Alappuzha (Alleppey), Erode, Hubli-Dharwad, Nellore, Salem, Vellore and Vijaywada remained at just over Rs 70 million while bids for Tiruchy was just above Rs 50 million and Tirupathi, Puducherry and Muzaffarpur to a little over Rs 40 million. Amravati, Bhavnagar, Jamnagar and Ujjain bid a little over Rs 35 million and Mysuru a little over Rs 32 million.

    Also Read :

    South Asia FM bags five channels in first round of the second batch of FM Batch III

  • Pvt FM channels yet to touch 300; AIR targets another 115 locations

    Pvt FM channels yet to touch 300; AIR targets another 115 locations

    NEW DELHI: After almost two decades of introduction of the scheme, there are only 267 private FM channels operational in the country. Even the second batch of Phase III auctions was stopped before all the channels were auctioned and there was no bid for 44 cities.

    Information and broadcasting ministry sources had earlier told Indiantelevision.com’s sister company that the aim was to continue till all the channels slated in the second batch were auctioned, but breaks will have to be taken for weekends and national holidays.

    The first phase in 1999 saw the start of 21 FM channels in 12 cities although 37 were sold in 19 cities. The auction was for 108 channels in forty cities.

    The second phase in 2005 saw the operationalisation of 219 channels in 86 cities although 245 channels were sold in 87 cities. The auction was for 337 FM channels in 91 cities.

    In view of the third phase covering 839 FM channels, it was decided to hold the auction in batches.

    The first batch between July and September last year led to the operationalisation of 27 channels in 21 cities although a total of 97 channels were sold in 56 cities (one channel is awaiting security clearance). The batch was to cover 135 channels in 69 cities.

    The second batch meant to auction 266 channels in 92 cities commenced on 26 October 2016 and was stopped on 13 December.

    In all, 14 bidding companies had been shortlisted for taking part in the second batch but only M/s South Asia FM Ltd was allotted FM channels in Surat, Amritsar, Patna, Chandigarh and Jammu.

    However, the ministry sources said that a full report would be released shortly.

    While All-India Radio has around 416 FM channels at present, it has plans for targeting another 115 locations in the near future. Besides FM Rainbow and FM Gold, Vividh Bharati has already come on FM and several other channels are planned to be put on FM even as they continue to be beamed on Medium Wave.

    In the second batch of Phase III, Hyderabad and Dehradun remained at top with Rs 23,43,48,266 and Rs 15,61,00,590 respectively on the 26th day with the completion of three rounds taking the total to 100.

    Other than Hyderabad and Dehradun, the top 16 cities remained static with bids of more than Rs 32 million. The bids at Alappuzha (Alleppey), Erode, Hubli-Dharwad, Nellore, Salem, Vellore and Vijaywada remained at just over Rs 70 million while bids for Tiruchy was just above Rs 50 million and Tirupathi, Puducherry and Muzaffarpur to a little over Rs 40 million. Amravati, Bhavnagar, Jamnagar and Ujjain bid a little over Rs 35 million and Mysuru a little over Rs 32 million.

    Also Read :

    South Asia FM bags five channels in first round of the second batch of FM Batch III

  • Digital & print media ad policy aimed at transparency, accountability: Naidu

    Digital & print media ad policy aimed at transparency, accountability: Naidu

    NEW DELHI: Information and Broadcasting Minister M Venkaiah Naidu today said a Digital Media & New Print Media Advertisement policy was framed recently to promote transparency and accountability in issuing of advertisements.

    Addressing the first consultative meeting of members of Parliament attached to his Ministry since he took charge, he apprised the members about the three-member committee constituted by the Ministry to address the issues related to Content Regulation in Government Advertising. (The Committee had been formed after orders by the Supreme Court in a case relating to government advertisements.)

    All India Radio had completed the FMization of all channels of Vividh Bharati all over the country.

    Noting that the focus of the Ministry had been to streamline processes and promote transparency and accountability in its functioning, he said the e-auction of the first batch of has successfully & transparently completed e-auction of first batch of private FM radio channels Phase-III comprising 135 channels in 69 existing cities of Phase-II. He added that Private FM Radio has been permitted to broadcast at no cost AIR News for listeners to get credible information apart from entertainment.

    He said the Ministry had played a critical role in the communication and outreach activities for the Government Flagship schemes and Initiatives such as Swachh Bharat Abhiyan, Make in India, Beti Bachao Beti Padhao, etc. through 360 degree Multimedia campaigns. Minister of State Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore was also present in the meeting.

    Naidu said that in order to harness the India’s soft power in film sector, the Ministry is in the process of setting up of National Centre of Excellence for Animation, Gaming and VFX (NCOE) in Maharashtra. The institute would be a world class institution to provide skilled manpower in this emerging area.

    A Film Facilitation Office to promote and facilitate film shootings by foreign film makers in India. The Ministry has also included “Most Film Friendly State” as a special category award in National Film Awards this year. The Shyam Benegal Committee report for holistic interpretation of the provisions of the Cinematograph Act/ Rules was under consideration of the Ministry.
    Referring to the Publications Division which was the subject of the meeting, Naidu said the Division may approach stakeholders as part of corporate social responsibility to sponsor books for schools and libraries across the country. This would enhance the visibility of the rich collection of Divisions publications and at the same time making these books available to the younger generation in far off and remote villages.

    He said the Ministry would consider the possibility of publishing Employment News in regional languages also. He added that the Division would consider bringing out books regarding the contribution of large number of heroes of India’s struggle struggle from different regions who have not been given the recognition that they so rightly deserved.
    Members of the committee said efforts needed to be taken to enhance the visibility of the rich and diverse collection of books. This could be initiated through appropriate promotional and marketing strategies. Efforts needed to be taken to reach out the younger generation and publish books of their interest. Contemporary publication trends also needed to be a part of the vision and way forward strategy.

    A presentation was made by Joint Secretary Mihir Kumar Singh on behalf of the Ministry giving an overview of the steps and initiatives undertaken so far by the Division as well as the future roadmap for the Publications Division. Members of the committee were specially apprised of the digitization and e-initiatives of the Publications Division including the e-version of 100 volumes of Collected Works of Mahatma Gandhi.

    Parliamentarians Ms V. Sathyabama, Madhusudan Mistry and Vivek Gupta, Dr Sanjay Jaiswal, Ms Dev (Moon Moon Sen) Varma, and Harivansh attended the meeting.

  • Digital & print media ad policy aimed at transparency, accountability: Naidu

    Digital & print media ad policy aimed at transparency, accountability: Naidu

    NEW DELHI: Information and Broadcasting Minister M Venkaiah Naidu today said a Digital Media & New Print Media Advertisement policy was framed recently to promote transparency and accountability in issuing of advertisements.

    Addressing the first consultative meeting of members of Parliament attached to his Ministry since he took charge, he apprised the members about the three-member committee constituted by the Ministry to address the issues related to Content Regulation in Government Advertising. (The Committee had been formed after orders by the Supreme Court in a case relating to government advertisements.)

    All India Radio had completed the FMization of all channels of Vividh Bharati all over the country.

    Noting that the focus of the Ministry had been to streamline processes and promote transparency and accountability in its functioning, he said the e-auction of the first batch of has successfully & transparently completed e-auction of first batch of private FM radio channels Phase-III comprising 135 channels in 69 existing cities of Phase-II. He added that Private FM Radio has been permitted to broadcast at no cost AIR News for listeners to get credible information apart from entertainment.

    He said the Ministry had played a critical role in the communication and outreach activities for the Government Flagship schemes and Initiatives such as Swachh Bharat Abhiyan, Make in India, Beti Bachao Beti Padhao, etc. through 360 degree Multimedia campaigns. Minister of State Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore was also present in the meeting.

    Naidu said that in order to harness the India’s soft power in film sector, the Ministry is in the process of setting up of National Centre of Excellence for Animation, Gaming and VFX (NCOE) in Maharashtra. The institute would be a world class institution to provide skilled manpower in this emerging area.

    A Film Facilitation Office to promote and facilitate film shootings by foreign film makers in India. The Ministry has also included “Most Film Friendly State” as a special category award in National Film Awards this year. The Shyam Benegal Committee report for holistic interpretation of the provisions of the Cinematograph Act/ Rules was under consideration of the Ministry.
    Referring to the Publications Division which was the subject of the meeting, Naidu said the Division may approach stakeholders as part of corporate social responsibility to sponsor books for schools and libraries across the country. This would enhance the visibility of the rich collection of Divisions publications and at the same time making these books available to the younger generation in far off and remote villages.

    He said the Ministry would consider the possibility of publishing Employment News in regional languages also. He added that the Division would consider bringing out books regarding the contribution of large number of heroes of India’s struggle struggle from different regions who have not been given the recognition that they so rightly deserved.
    Members of the committee said efforts needed to be taken to enhance the visibility of the rich and diverse collection of books. This could be initiated through appropriate promotional and marketing strategies. Efforts needed to be taken to reach out the younger generation and publish books of their interest. Contemporary publication trends also needed to be a part of the vision and way forward strategy.

    A presentation was made by Joint Secretary Mihir Kumar Singh on behalf of the Ministry giving an overview of the steps and initiatives undertaken so far by the Division as well as the future roadmap for the Publications Division. Members of the committee were specially apprised of the digitization and e-initiatives of the Publications Division including the e-version of 100 volumes of Collected Works of Mahatma Gandhi.

    Parliamentarians Ms V. Sathyabama, Madhusudan Mistry and Vivek Gupta, Dr Sanjay Jaiswal, Ms Dev (Moon Moon Sen) Varma, and Harivansh attended the meeting.

  • Modi lauds AIR for Mann ki Baat simulcast across radio, TV, DTH, internet

    Modi lauds AIR for Mann ki Baat simulcast across radio, TV, DTH, internet

    NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi has lauded All India Radio for broadcasting his monthly Mann ki Baat in regional languages on the day he talks to the nation.

    The broadcast is visually adapted by Doordarshan and other private TV and news channels in India simultaneously. Similarly, radio in the private sector patches AIR. All DTH operators also carry it.

    It is live streamed for global audience and is accessible through mobile app, allindiaradio.gov.in, apart from the narendramodi.in/mankibaat, mygov.in, and the Narendra Modi app.

    During his monthly broadcast for this month, he said he was also gratified that people were writing to him either on the Narendra Modi app, or mygov.in.

    This was the twentieth time that he talked to the nation through the broadcast which coincided with the completion of two years of his government which assumed office on 20 May 2014.

    He said that initially, a ten-digit missed call had to be made to get a call back to listen to his broadcast. But now one had to dial 1922 toll free and listen to him.

    The broadcast by the entire network of AIR includes all stations, all AIR FM channels (FM Gold and FM Rainbow), local radio stations, Vividh Bharati Stations and five community radio stations.

    It is also broadcast by the Urdu and Hindi Services of the External Services of All India Radio for listeners in the Indian sub-continent and the Indian diaspora spread across the globe.

    The regional versions of the Mann Ki Baat are played at capital AIR stations in non-Hindi speaking zones at 8.00 pm hours on the same day. The regional versions are relayed by all AIR stations including local radio stations in the respective states. The English version of Mann Ki Baat is also broadcast by AIR Delhi at 8.00 pm the same day and also broadcast by the General Overseas Service.

  • Modi lauds AIR for Mann ki Baat simulcast across radio, TV, DTH, internet

    Modi lauds AIR for Mann ki Baat simulcast across radio, TV, DTH, internet

    NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi has lauded All India Radio for broadcasting his monthly Mann ki Baat in regional languages on the day he talks to the nation.

    The broadcast is visually adapted by Doordarshan and other private TV and news channels in India simultaneously. Similarly, radio in the private sector patches AIR. All DTH operators also carry it.

    It is live streamed for global audience and is accessible through mobile app, allindiaradio.gov.in, apart from the narendramodi.in/mankibaat, mygov.in, and the Narendra Modi app.

    During his monthly broadcast for this month, he said he was also gratified that people were writing to him either on the Narendra Modi app, or mygov.in.

    This was the twentieth time that he talked to the nation through the broadcast which coincided with the completion of two years of his government which assumed office on 20 May 2014.

    He said that initially, a ten-digit missed call had to be made to get a call back to listen to his broadcast. But now one had to dial 1922 toll free and listen to him.

    The broadcast by the entire network of AIR includes all stations, all AIR FM channels (FM Gold and FM Rainbow), local radio stations, Vividh Bharati Stations and five community radio stations.

    It is also broadcast by the Urdu and Hindi Services of the External Services of All India Radio for listeners in the Indian sub-continent and the Indian diaspora spread across the globe.

    The regional versions of the Mann Ki Baat are played at capital AIR stations in non-Hindi speaking zones at 8.00 pm hours on the same day. The regional versions are relayed by all AIR stations including local radio stations in the respective states. The English version of Mann Ki Baat is also broadcast by AIR Delhi at 8.00 pm the same day and also broadcast by the General Overseas Service.

  • AIR appoints releaseMyAd as its first virtual agency

    AIR appoints releaseMyAd as its first virtual agency

    MUMBAI: All India Radio (AIR) has joined hands with releaseMyAd as its first ever virtual advertising agency, which is authorised to accept and process radio advertisement bookings for its network of stations.

     

    AIR’s stations include Akashvani, Vividh Bharati, FM Rainbow and FM Gold.

    As one of the country’s foremost welfare awareness medium, AIR’s reach surpasses that of any other private FM station.

     

    To reinforce its presence in the virtual world, releaseMyAd.com will meet AIR’s twin objectives of optimum inventory utilisation as well as revenue augmentation.

     

    The facility allows advertisers to book ads online across all channels of AIR with a mouse-click. As an online media option, releaseMyAd makes mass media advertising options accessible to all by effectively matchmaking between media owners and advertisers.

     

    Talking about the initiative, AIR additional director general Amitabh Shukla said, “This initiative, a part of AIR’s ambitious web-enabled services for its patrons will not only assist us in adequate utilisation of last minute inventory that goes wasted if not put to use but will also fetch us valuable extra revenues.”

    “AIR is an extensive government owned network that has exclusive rights over communications by every ministry. Be it the Parliamentary talk, World Cup commentary or the Prime Minister’s monthly address, this is the only platform that gives access to these. We want to help advertisers to capitalise on AIR’s monopoly on content that is news, sports or common welfare driven. It has such wonderful properties and scope to offer. We shall now play a significant part in communicating its vision and enabling whatever opportunities it has to offer,” added releaseMyAd founder Sharad Lunia.

     

    AIR has complete national reach from the main urban centres to the tier 3 cities and even the most far flung rural sections of the country with its three tier broadcasting system. With its concept of local radio constituting the third tier of broadcasting, there are stations in all district headquarter towns.

     

    However, accessing businesses in the farthest corners who could utilise the radio for advertisements becomes very difficult for AIR. Moreover, given their location, the business owners too don’t end up reaching out to the relevant sources for the purpose.

     

    “Even seasoned advertisers who want to advertise on AIR are not too sure about how to reach out to them. It is not possible for Prasar Bharati to set up offices in every nook and corner of its broadcast boundaries. ReleaseMyAd will now do the needful to bridge this huge gap between businessmen and their remotely situated target groups,” Lunia added.

     

    At a time when the country is riding a huge startup tide that is slowly transforming the landscape, this move on the AIR’s part will help the new wave of enterprises effectively reach out to audiences in every nook and corner of India.