Doordarshan
Doordarshan (abbreviated as DD; lit. 'distant vision, television') is an Indian state-owned public television broadcaster founded by the Government of India, owned by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting and one of Prasar Bharati's two divisions.[1] As one of India's largest broadcasting organisations in studio and transmitter infrastructure, it was established on 15 September 1959.[2] Doordarshan, which also broadcasts on digital terrestrial transmitters, provides television, radio, online and mobile services throughout metropolitan and regional India and overseas.
History[edit]
Beginnings[edit]
The channel began modestly as an experimental broadcaster in Delhi on 15 September 1959, with a small transmitter and a makeshift studio. Regular daily transmission started in 1965 as part of All India Radio, with a five-minute news bulletin read by Pratima Puri. Salma Sultan joined Doordarshan in 1967, and became a news anchor. Later Gitanjali Aiyar, Neethi Ravindran, and Rini Simon became popular news anchors in the '70s.[3]
Krishi Darshan debuted on Doordarshan on 26 January 1967, and is the Indian television's longest-running programme.[4]
Television service was extended to Bombay (now Mumbai) and Amritsar in 1972. Until 1975, only seven Indian cities had television service, and Doordarshan was the country's sole television provider.
Television service was separated from radio on 1 April 1976.[5] The All India Radio and Doordarshan were placed under the management of separate directors-general in New Delhi. In 1982, Doordarshan became a national broadcaster.[6]
Nationwide transmission[edit]
National telecasts (DD National) were introduced in 1982. Colour television began in India with the live telecast of the Independence Day speech by Prime Minister Indira Gandhi on 15 August of that year, followed by the colour telecast of the 1982 Asian Games in Delhi.[7][8] Two years later, Doordarshan as a TV network finally took shape: the then sole TV channel was split into the nationally aired DD-1 and city channel DD-2, later rebranded in 1993 as DD National and DD Metro to catch up with the then newly privatised TV industry.
Live telecasts of the opening and closing ceremonies of the 2012 Summer Olympics were broadcast on its national channel, and DD Sports provided round-the-clock coverage.[9]
On 17 November 2014, Doordarshan director-general Vijayalaxmi Chhabra introduced a pink-and-purple colour scheme with a new slogan: Desh Ka Apna Channel ("The country's own channel").[10] Doordarshan transmitted over a network of nearly 1,400 terrestrial transmitters in 2017, with 46 studios producing TV programmes.[11] After the introduction of the private channels, Doordarshan is struggling to keep its position in the television space.[12] Currently Doordarshan is trying to improve its studios and programmes while its primary aim is to serve the country.[13]
Channels[edit]
Doordarshan operates 46 studios and 33 television channels, including the two pan-India channels (DD National and DD News),[14] 17 regional satellite channels, 11 state networks, an international channel (DD India), a sports channel (DD Sports), DD Bharati, DD Urdu as the cultural and informative channels and an agricultural channel, DD Kisan. On DD National (formerly DD-1), regional and local programs are carried on a time-sharing basis for terrestrial broadcasting only. DD News was launched on 3 November 2003 by replacing DD Metro (formerly known as the DD-2 entertainment channel), which provides 24-hour news. These channels are relayed by all terrestrial transmitters in India. The regional-language satellite channels have two components: a regional service for a particular state (relayed by all terrestrial transmitters in the state), and additional programs in the regional language available through cable operators and DTH operators. DD Sports broadcasts sporting events of national and international importance. It is the only sports channel which telecasts rural sports such as kho-kho and kabbadi.
A new regional channel, DD Arunprabha (a 24/7 satellite television channel focusing on the North Eastern region) was scheduled to begin its broadcasting on 15 February 2018;[15][16] however, its launch was placed on hold.[17] DD Arunprabha was launched on 9 February 2019.[18]
On 9 March 2019, Prasar Bharati brought 11 more state DD channels to the satellite footprint of India through DD Free Dish. This includes five channels for the North-eastern states: DD Bangla, DD Chhattisgarh, DD Goa, DD Haryana, DD Himachal Pradesh, DD Jharkhand, DD Manipur, DD Meghalaya, DD Mizoram, DD Nagaland, DD Tripura and DD Uttarakhand.[19][20] DD Bangla, launched on 9 August 1975, consisting of soap operas, infotainment series, news and current affairs, social programs and films in Bangla in its programming.
On 13 April 2020, DD Retro[21] was launched by Prasar Bharati and showed old classic Hindi serials of Doordarshan. The service, however, shortly ceased its operations on 1 April 2023, due to the low viewership.