India’s Public Service Broadcaster, Prasar Bharati has brought 11 more state Doordarshan channels on satellite footprint. The new channels include 5 for the Northeastern states of the country. “Glad to note that Prasar Bharati has brought 11 more State DD Channels on the Satellite footprint of India through DD Free Dish. This includes five channels for Northeastern states. This will go a long way in strengthening regional cultures and fulfilling people’s aspirations,” said PM Modi. The states which got DD free Dish channels are Goa, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Tripura and Uttarakhand.
Congratulations to the people of Chhattisgarh, Goa, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Tripura and Uttarakhand for getting their own Doordarshan channels on DD Free Dish for the first time!
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) March 9, 2019
Doordarshan comes under Prasar Bharati, an independent body set up under Prasar Bharati Act, 1990. The act was enacted on 15th September and since then Doordarshan and All India Radio operate under the same umbrella. It is notable that the act was passed and enacted under a non-Congress government. Congress has nurtured and nourished state monopoly over media since the days of independence.
Moreover, Doordarshan for long remained the major source of entertainment for the Indian Public. Popular shows like Shaktimaan, Mahabharta, Alif-Laila, Flop Show, Malgudi Days, Nukkad, Chitrahaar etc got enormous viewership.
The smaller states will now have access to free to air TV channel. Given the deteriorating states of private channels, the audience in the states will benefit with the increasing outreach of Doordarshan. Recently, DD India which is targeted at the Indian audiences living abroad made it to the top five English News Channels as per the latest BARC data. The channel made a surprise entry at the second position with ratings of 557. Republic TV led the genre with ratings of 667. Times Now got the third position with ratings of 511.
The fact that DD India has seen an unprecedented rise in its viewership levels also implies that other channels which earlier enjoyed popularity with the Indian audiences are now lagging behind. It seems that there is a sense of disillusionment towards the mainstream media. This disillusionment can be attributed, in part, to the brazen propaganda for a particular ideology among a dominant section of the mainstream media. Especially when it comes to the English News Channels, most of them are not even subtle when it comes to their propagandist character.
For several decades, these news channels and their “eminent journalists” have been tirelessly and relentlessly trying to serve a particular ideology. Some of these eminent journalists have now become infamous for their biases and prejudices. The resurgence of DD India thus goes on to show that the Indian audience is no longer going to tolerate this noise. The falling standards of these news channels have thus directly helped DD India.
Also Read: Akashvani Radio: History, Origin, Growth and works
