Doordarshan (abbreviated as DD;

Hindi Hindi ( Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of northern, central, eastern, and western India. Hindi has been ...

: , ) is an Indian

public service broadcaster Public broadcasting involves radio, television and other electronic media outlets whose primary mission is public service. Public broadcasters receive funding from diverse sources including license fees, individual contributions, public financing ...

founded by the

Government of India The Government of India (ISO: ; often abbreviated as GoI), known as the Union Government or Central Government but often simply as the Centre, is the national government of the Republic of India, a federal democracy located in South Asia, ...

, owned by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting and one of

Prasar Bharati Prasar Bharati (abbreviated as PB; Hindi: ''Praśar Bharati'', lit. Indian Broadcaster) is India's state-owned public broadcaster, headquartered in New Delhi. It is a statutory autonomous body set up by an Act of Parliament and comprises the ...

's two divisions. One of India's largest broadcasting organisations in studio and

transmitter In electronics and telecommunications, a radio transmitter or just transmitter is an electronic device which produces radio waves with an antenna. The transmitter itself generates a radio frequency alternating current, which is applied to the ...

infrastructure, it was established on 15 September 1959. Doordarshan, which also broadcasts on digital terrestrial transmitters, provides television,

radio Radio is the technology of signaling and communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 30 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transmi ...

online In computer technology and telecommunications, online indicates a state of connectivity and offline indicates a disconnected state. In modern terminology, this usually refers to an Internet connection, but (especially when expressed "on line" o ...

and mobile service throughout metropolitan and regional India and overseas.

History

Beginnings

The channel began modestly as an experimental broadcaster in

Delhi Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, primarily its western or right bank, Delhi shares borders ...

on 15 September 1959, with a small transmitter and a makeshift studio. Regular daily transmission started in 1965 as part of

All India Radio All or ALL may refer to: Language * All, an indefinite pronoun in English * All, one of the English determiners * Allar language (ISO 639-3 code) * Allative case (abbreviated ALL) Music * All (band), an American punk rock band * ''All'' (All ...

, with a five-minute news bulletin read by Pratima Puri.

Salma Sultan Salma Sultan (born 16 March 1944) is an Indian television journalist and director. Having worked as a news anchor in Doordarshan from 1967 till 1997, she later went into directing television shows. Sultan had initiated a trend-wearing a signatur ...

joined Doordarshan in 1967, and became a news anchor. '' Krishi Darshan'' debuted on Doordarshan on 26 January 1967, and is Indian television's longest running program. Television service was extended to

Bombay Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second-m ...

(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. 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.

Nationwide transmission

National telecasts (

DD National DD National (formerly DD1) is a state-owned public entertainment television channel in India. It is the flagship channel of Doordarshan, India's public service broadcaster, and the oldest and most widely available terrestrial television chann ...

) was introduced in 1982.

Colour television Color television or Colour television is a television transmission technology that includes color information for the picture, so the video image can be displayed in color on the television set. It improves on the monochrome or black-and-white t ...

began in India with the live telecast of the Independence Day speech by

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister i ...

Indira Gandhi on 15 August of that year, followed by the colour telecast of the

1982 Asian Games The 9th Asian Games ( hi, 1982 एशियाई खेल) were held from 19 November to 4 December 1982, in Delhi, India. 74 Asian and Asian Games records were broken at the event. This was also the first Asiad to be held under the aegis of t ...

. 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''. Live telecasts of the opening and closing ceremonies of the 2012 Summer Olympics were broadcast on its national channel, and

DD Sports DD Sports is an Indian sports channel telecasting from Central Production Centre Delhi, India. It is a part of the Doordarshan family of networks, and is the main public sports broadcaster in India. History DD Sports was launched on 18 March ...

provided round-the-clock coverage. On 17 November 2014, Doordarshan director-general Vijayalaxmi Chhabra introduced a pink-and-purple colour scheme and a new slogan: ''Desh Ka Apna Channel'' ("The country's own channel"). Doordarshan transmitted over a network of nearly 1,400 terrestrial transmitters in 2017, with 46 studios producing TV programmes. After the introduction of private channels Doordarshan is struggling to keep its position in the television space. Currently Doordarshan is trying to improve its studios and programmes while its primary aim is to serve the country.

Channels

Doordarshan operates 46 studios and 21 television channels: two all-India channels (

and

DD News DD News is an Indian news channel of Doordarshan, it is India's only 24-hour terrestrial TV news channel broadcasting solely in Hindi, and formerly in English. The Prasar Bharati Board approved the proposal to start a 24-hour news channel in p ...

), 17 regional satellite channels, 11 state networks, an international channel (

DD India DD India is an international state-owned English language news and current affairs channel from India. The service is also aimed at the overseas market, similar to WION, CNN International, BBC World News, DW, TV5Monde, VOA, NHK World, Arirang ...

), a sports channel (

), DD Bharati, DD Retro,

DD Urdu DD Urdu is an Indian free-to-air television channel broadcasting from the Doordarshan Studios in Delhi. It broadcasts entertainment, cultural , news and infotainment Infotainment (a portmanteau of ''information'' and ''entertainment''), al ...

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, launched on 3 November 2003 replacing

DD Metro DD Metro also known as DD 2 was an Indian free-to-air television channel. It was launched in 1984 as DD2 in Delhi as an alternative to DD National. Later, it increased its coverage area by expanding to Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai. In 1993, the ...

(formerly known as the DD-2 entertainment channel), 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 Kho kho or kho-kho is a traditional Indian sport that dates back to ancient India. It is the second most popular traditional tag game in the Indian subcontinent after kabaddi. Kho kho is played on a rectangular court with a central lane connec ...

and

kabbadi Kabaddi is a contact team sport. Played between two teams of seven players, the objective of the game is for a single player on offence, referred to as a "raider", to run into the opposing team's half of the court, touch out as many of their ...

. A new regional channel, DD Arunprabha (a 24/7 satellite television channel focusing on the North Eastern region) was scheduled to begin on 15 February 2018; however, its launch was placed on hold. DD Arunprabha was launched on 9 February 2019. On 9 March 2019,

brought 11 more State DD Channels on the Satellite footprint of India through

DD Free Dish DD Free Dish (previously known as DD Direct Plus) is an Indian free-to-air satellite television provider. DD Free Dish DTH service is owned and operated by Public Service Broadcaster Prasar Bharati. It was launched in December, 2004. In March 2 ...

. This includes five channels for Northeastern states. This will go a long way in strengthening regional cultures and fulfilling people's aspirations. These are –

DD Bangla DD Bangla is an Indian Bengali-language free-to-air state-owned television channel owned by state-owned broadcaster Doordarshan Network. It was formerly known as DD-7 and DD National Kolkata. It broadcasts from Kolkata, Shantiniketan and Jalpai ...

DD Chhattisgarh DD Chhattisgarh is a state owned TV channel telecasting from Doordarshan Kendra Chhattisgarh. DD Chhattisgarh (DD Raipur) Channel available on DD Free dish channel number 84. List of programs broadcast by DD Chhattisgarh * Programme Highlight ...

DD Goa DD, dd, or other variants may refer to: Arts and entertainment *"D.D.", a track on mixtape ''Echoes of Silence'' by The Weeknd * DD (character), a character in ''The Saga of Seven Suns'' novels by Kevin J. Anderson *DD National or DD1, an Indi ...

, DD Haryana, DD Himachal Pradesh, DD Jharkhand, DD Manipur, DD Meghalaya,

DD Mizoram DD Mizoram is a state owned TV channel telecasting from Doordarshan Kendra Mizoram. See also * List of programs broadcast by DD National * All India Radio * Ministry of Information and Broadcasting * DD Direct Plus * List of South Asian telev ...

DD Nagaland DD, dd, or other variants may refer to: Arts and entertainment *"D.D.", a track on mixtape ''Echoes of Silence'' by The Weeknd * DD (character), a character in ''The Saga of Seven Suns'' novels by Kevin J. Anderson *DD National or DD1, an Indi ...

DD Tripura DD Tripura is a state-owned television channel owned by Doordarshan, serving the Indian state of Tripura. It was formerly known as Doordarshan Kendra Agartala until 21 January 2021, when it was renamed to its current name. It also commenced fu ...

and DD Uttarakhand. DD Bangla launched on 9 August 1975, the network's programming consists of soap operas, infotainment series, news and current affairs, social programs and films in

Bengali language Bengali ( ), generally known by its endonym Bangla (, ), is an Indo-Aryan language native to the Bengal region of South Asia. It is the official, national, and most widely spoken language of Bangladesh and the second most widely spoken o ...

. On 13 April 2020, DD Retro was launched by

which showed old classic Hindi serials of Doordarshan.

Channel list

International channels

National channels

Regional channels

State Network

UT Network

Former Channels

International broadcasting

The

satellite channel has been broadcast in 146 countries. In United Kingdom, it was available through the

Eurobird Eurobird was a series of satellites owned and operated by Eutelsat. The Eurobird satellites provided broadcasting and telecommunication services primarily to the Western and Central European region from orbital positions of 9, 25.5 and 33 degrees ...

satellite on the Sky system's channel 833; its logo was Rayat TV. Transmission via Sky Digital ended in June 2008, and via

DirecTV DirecTV (trademarked as DIRECTV) is an American multichannel video programming distributor based in El Segundo, California. Originally launched on June 17, 1994, its primary service is a digital satellite service serving the United States. I ...

in the United States the following month.

Record viewership during pandemic

Ramayan on DD National created a world record by becoming highest viewed entertainment programme globally. The 9 PM show on 16 April 2020 was watched by a mammoth 7.7 crore (77 million) viewers. The show managed to reach more than 28.5 crore (285 million) viewers through the length of the broadcast. As a broadcasting response to nation-wide lockdown, apart from Ramayan, many other nostalgia shows were broadcast on DD network. These included Mahabharat, Chanakya, Shri Krishna, Byomkesh Bakshi and Shaktimaan. In light of increasing public demand for such retro content, Prasar Bharati launched ‘DD Retro’ as a full-time channel dedicated for the same. The channel started garnering viewership of almost 5 crore (50 million) within five weeks of its launch. Delivering on its mandate of public messaging, DD network, through COVID-focused awareness messages and shows, reached more than 40 crore (400 million) viewers during first wave of the pandemic in 2020.

Criticisms

is Doordarshan's parent body, and its board members are appointed by the

through the Information and Broadcasting Ministry. Doordarshan has been used, especially during the

Emergency An emergency is an urgent, unexpected, and usually dangerous situation that poses an immediate risk to health, life, property, or environment and requires immediate action. Most emergencies require urgent intervention to prevent a worsening ...

, to disseminate government propaganda. During

Operation Blue Star Operation Blue Star was the codename of a military operation which was carried out by Indian security forces between 1 and 10 June 1984 in order to remove Damdami Taksal leader Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale and his followers from the building ...

in 1984, only government sources were used to report the story. Doordarshan was complicit in the production of a video claiming acts of violence which, when investigated by independent journalists, were found to be false. In 2004, it censored a controversial documentary on

Jayaprakash Narayan Jayaprakash Narayan (; 11 October 1902 – 8 October 1979), popularly referred to as JP or ''Lok Nayak'' ( Hindi for "People's leader"), was an Indian independence activist, theorist, socialist and political leader. He is remembered for l ...

, an opposition leader during the Emergency. In 2014, When Doordarshan broadcast a 70-minute

Vijayadashami Vijayadashami ( sa, विजयदशमी, Vijayadaśamī, translit-std=IAST), also known as Dussehra, Dasara or Dashain, is a major Hindu festival celebrated at the end of Navaratri every year. It is observed on the tenth day in the Hind ...

speech by

Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh ( ; , , ) is an Indian right-wing, Hindu nationalist, paramilitary volunteer organisation. The RSS is the progenitor and leader of a large body of organisations called the Sangh Parivar (Hindi for "Sangh family ...

(RSS) leader

Mohan Bhagwat Mohan Bhagwat (, Marathi pronunciation: oːɦən bʱaːɡʋət̪ born 11 September 1950) is an activist currently serving as the 6th and current Sarsanghchalak of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh in India. He was chosen as the successor to ...

, the Narendra Modi administration and the

BJP The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP; ; ) is a political party in India, and one of the two major Indian political parties alongside the Indian National Congress. Since 2014, it has been the ruling political party in India under Narendra Mo ...

were criticised for "misusing" the public broadcaster. According to DD director-general Archana Datta, the "speech was like any other news event; therefore, we covered it." Since private television channels were authorised in 1991, Doordarshan has experienced a steep decline in viewership. Although it earns significant advertising revenue—due to its compulsory feed—from the highest bidder for national events (including cricket matches), there has been a proposal to fund it by imposing a licence fee to own a television in India.

References

External links

Durdarshan official site

Doordarshan news site

DD News
on

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DD News
on

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{{CATV * Television networks in India Television stations in India Companies based in New Delhi Mass media companies established in 1959 Television channels and stations established in 1959 1959 establishments in Delhi Foreign television channels broadcasting in the United Kingdom Multilingual broadcasters Producers who won the Best Debut Feature Film of a Director National Film Award Producers who won the Best Film on Environment Conservation/Preservation National Film Award Producers who won the Best Film on Family Welfare National Film Award Producers who won the Best Film on National Integration National Film Award Producers who won the Best Film on Other Social Issues National Film Award Television broadcasting companies of India Mass media companies of India

Broadcasting Broadcasting is the distribution of audio or video content to a dispersed audience via any electronic mass communications medium, but typically one using the electromagnetic spectrum ( radio waves), in a one-to-many model. Broadcasting beg ...