(28 December 2005 7:30 pm)

MUMBAI / BANGALORE: Doordarshan has shifted all its channels from Insat 2E to Insat 3A and Insat 3C. This follows a request from the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) which is planning to create a demand for its other location frequencies besides 83 degree East.

While DD Sports, DD Bihar and DD West Bengal are now available on Insat 3C at the 74 degree East frequency, the rest of the DD channels including DD National, DD News and DD Sahyadri are placed in Insat 3A at the frequency of 93.5 degree East.

"This is a planned restructuring of traffic. AT Insat 2E's 83 degree East frequency, we need capacity as we want to accommodate more customers," Isro contract management and legal services director SB Iyer told indiantelevision.com.

Private broadcasters on Insat 2E will, however, continue to beam from that satellite as they are bound by an agreement with Intelsat. "Since private broadcasters have a contract with Intelsat, they are not shifting. Currently, it is only Doordarshan which has shifted its channels," Iyer says.

Private broadcasters who are using Insat 2E include Aaj Tak, CNBC Aawaz, Channel 7, Headlines Today, Sab TV, ETV, Jaya TV, Asianet, Indiavision, Kairali, People TV and Amrita TV.

The DD channels will ultimately move to Insat 4B which is set for launch in July 2006. "We have shifted the DD channels temporarily on to these frequencies. They will later move to Insat 4B which is planned for launch in July," says Iyer.