Doordarshan – Indian public service broadcaster

a division of Prasar Bharati. It is one of the largest broadcasting organisations in India in terms of the studio and transmitter infrastructure. Recently, it has also started broadcasting on Digital Terrestrial Transmitters. On 15 September 2009, Doordarshan celebrated its 50th anniversary. The DD provides television, radio, online and mobile services throughout metropolitan and regional India, as well as overseas through the Indian Network and Radio India. For the London Olympics, live telecasts of the opening and closing ceremonies of the games were broadcast on its national channel. DD sports channel has provided round the clock coverage of sport events.

Beginning

Doordarshan had a modest beginning with an experimental telecast starting in Delhi on 15 September 1959, with a small transmitter and a makeshift studio. The regular daily transmission started in 1965 as a part of All India Radio. Doordarshan began a five-minute news bulletin in the same year in 1965. Pratima Puri was the first newsreader. Salma Sultan joined Doordarshan in 1967 and later became a news anchor. The television service was extended to Bombay (now Mumbai) andAmritsar in 1972. Up until 1975, only seven Indian cities had a television service and Doordarshan remained the sole provider of television in India. Television services were separated from radio on 1 April 1976. Each office of All India Radio and Doordarshan were placed under the management of two separate Director Generals in New Delhi. Finally, in 1982, Doordarshan as a National Broadcaster came into existence. Krishi Darshan was the first program telecast on Doordarshan. It commenced on 26 January 1967 and is one of the longest running programs on Indian television.

Nationwide transmission

National telecasts were introduced in 1982. In the same year, colour TV was introduced in the Indian market with the live telecast of the Independence Day speech by then prime minister Indira Gandhi on 15 August 1982, followed by the 1982Asian Games which were held in Delhi. Now more than 90 percent of the Indian population can receive Doordarshan (DD National) programmes through a network of nearly 1,400 terrestrial transmitters. There are about
46 Doordarshan studios producing TV programmes today. Channels

Doordarshan operates 21 channels – two All India channels – DD National and DD News, 11 Regional language Satellite Channels (RLSC), four State Networks (SN), an International channel, a Sports Channel DD Sports and two channels Rajya Sabha TV & Lok Sabha TV for live broadcast of parliamentary proceedings. On DD National aka (DD-1), Regional programs and Local Programs are carried on time-sharing basis. DD News channel, launched on 3 November 2003, which replaced the DD Metro formally known as (DD-2) Entertainment channel, provides 24-Hour news service.

The Regional Languages Satellite channels have two components – The Regional service for the particular state relayed by all terrestrial transmitters in the state and additional programs in the Regional Language in prime time and non-prime time available only through cable operators. DD-Sports Channel is exclusively devoted to the broadcasting of sporting events of national and international importance. This is the only Sports Channels which telecasts rural sports like Kho-Kho, Kabbadi etc. something which private broadcasters will not attempt to telecast as it will not attract any revenues. Active Doordarshan

It is an Interactive Service of Tata Sky to show TV Channels of Doordarshan which are not available on Tata sky as normal channels. Active Doordarshan channels are DD Kashir, DD Podhigai, DD Punjabi, DD Sahyadri, DD Chandana and DD Girnar. DD has its own DTH service called DD Direct Plus. It is free of charge. International broadcasting

DD India is broadcast internationally via satellite. It is available in 146 countries worldwide; however, information on receiving this channel in other countries is not easily available. In the UK, DD-India was available through the Eurobird Satellite on the Sky system on Channel 833 (the logo is shown as Rayat TV). The timing and programming of DD-India international is different from that of India. Transmissions via Sky Digital (UK & Ireland) ceased in June 2008 and those via DirecTV in the United States in July 2008. Criticisms

Allegations of bias
Doorsharshan does not have an independent editorial control unlike the BBC. Prasar Bharati, its parent body has all board members appointed by theGovernment of India acting through the Information and Broadcasting Ministry. This control is evident in a budget that allows expenditure on “propaganda and public relations”. It has been actively used especially during the Emergency for government propaganda. In 2004, it censored the airing of a controversial documentary on Jayaprakash Narayan, one of the opposition leaders during the Emergency.[8] During Operation Blue Star, only government sources were used for reporting the story. Here Doordarshan was complicit in the production of a video that claimed acts of violence which when investigated by independent journalists were found to be false. Commercial viability

Once private television channels were allowed in 1991, Doordarshan has seen a steep decline in viewership in homes with cable and satellite television, which in 2002 was just at 2.38% for DD National. While it earns significant advertising revenue due to the compulsory feed given to it by the highest bidder to national events including cricket tournaments ]there has been a proposal to give it funds by imposing a license fee to own a television in India like the BBC. However this is unlikely to be imposed keeping in view the financial constraints of the average Indian.