News Broadcasting
13 private FTA channels to join DD’s DTH service
MUMBAI: National broadcaster Doordarshan has roped in 13 private satellite channels to come onto its free-to-air (FTA) direct-to-home (DTH) service.
“A total of 30 channels will be available on our DTH service called DD Direct Plus,” said Prasar Bharati chairman MV Kamath while addressing a press conference today in Mumbai. This will include Doordarshan’s family of 17 channels.
The private channels are Aaj Tak, Headlines Today, BBC World, Zee News, Zee Music, STAR Utsav, ETC Punjabi, Kairali (Malayalam), Sun TV (Tamil), Jain TV, Aakaash Bangla and CMM Music. While Jain TV has signed the agreement, the other channels have lent their confirmation through fax, e-mail, letter or by telephone.
Consumers will have to invest Rs 3,000-3,500 on a dish and set-top box (STB), said Kamath. But there is no hidden or monthly bill for the service. “We are trying to give the people the best of programmes at no cost. In many countries, DTH is a pay system,” Kamath stressed.
The date of launch, however, is yet to be fixed. “The test signals are on. A formal launch is expected to be announced after the (state) elections,” said DD Kendra Mumbai director Mukesh Sharma.
DD’s DTH service has channels from the news, music and vernacular language genres. “Personally I feel a movie channel will add strength to our platform,” said Sharma.
AIR DTH service will be operating through the Prasar Bharati DTH platform with uplinking facilities at Todapur, Delhi. Though there is a provision for 20 radio channels, in the first phase 10 AIR channels are being launched. These are AIR Hindi, Begali, Telugu, Marathi, Tamil, Punjabi, Gujarati, Kannada, Vividh Bharti and north-east services.
AIR currently produces news and programme content in 66 different languages and dialects and broadcasts through its terrestrial network of 215 stations. But terrestrial networks have the limitation of the programmes being available only within the coverage areas of the transmitters. The DTH service of AIR will make available to listeners across the country the multi-lingual broadcasts originating from different stations.
The TV and radio programmes can be received anywhere in the footprint area of the satellite with a 60-90 cm dish, converter and STB. The output of the STB is connected to a TV set. With a selection, the TV can be used for either watching TV programme or listening to radio programmes. During the radio programme, the screen is either blank or gives a fixed picture display. The DTH service will operate through satellite NSS-6, located at 95-degree east in the geo-stationary orbit.
DD is distributing 10,000 DTH receiver systems in public institutions like schools, panchayats and youth clubs across the country, said Sharma. Out of these, about 1,100 systems are to be installed in the north-east region.
News Broadcasting
CNN-News18 to air live counting day coverage for five state election results on May 4
The channel is rolling out its biggest election coverage machinery yet for results day on 4th May
NOIDA: The votes have been cast. Now comes the reckoning. CNN-News18 is pulling out all the stops for results day on 4th May, when counting begins across five battleground states — West Bengal, Assam, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and the Union Territory of Puducherry — in what promises to be one of the most closely watched electoral verdicts in recent memory.
The channel’s coverage, titled Battle for the States: The Verdict, kicks off at 7am and runs through the day across linear TV, connected television and YouTube. It is the culmination of CNN-News18’s multi-format editorial initiative, Battle for the States, which has tracked the polls from the beginning under the theme Road to Power.
At the operational heart of the coverage will be the Live Results Hub, the channel’s central command centre built to collate, verify and process real-time data flowing in from reporters stationed at counting centres across constituencies. The hub combines newsroom intelligence, analytics and on-the-ground reporting to deliver what the channel promises will be the fastest and most accurate results coverage in English news.
Leading the on-air charge will be primetime anchors Rahul Shivshankar, Anand Narasimhan, Aman Sharma, Nabila Jamal and Shivani Gupta. They will be joined by a wide panel of commentators including author Chetan Bhagat; GVL Narasimha Rao, senior leader of the BJP; Smita Prakash, editor of ANI; activist Saira Shah Halim; political analyst Sumanth C Raman; Abhijit Iyer Mitra, senior fellow at IPCS; Amitabh Tiwari, founder of VoteVibe; columnist Abhijit Majumdar; Nalin Mehta, managing editor of MoneyControl; political analyst Tehseen Poonawalla; senior journalist Subir Bhaumik; and political analyst Manojit Mandal.
Shivshankar, who serves as editorial affairs director at CNN-News18, set out the stakes plainly. “Counting day is one of the most watched events in the electoral cycle, where speed and credibility are tested in real time,” he said. “Battle for the States: The Verdict is built on that promise, combining ground reporting, sharp analysis and cutting-edge election technology to give viewers the clearest and fastest route to the verdict. On May 4, CNN-News18 will once again be the nation’s most trusted channel to witness democracy in action.”
Smriti Mehra, chief executive of English and Business News at Network18, framed the coverage in broader terms. “Elections are defining national events, and audiences turn to brands they trust in moments that matter,” she said. “CNN-News18 has consistently led from the front in every election coverage, and this special programming reflects the scale of our ambition and editorial strength.”
The channel has form here. It claims to have been India’s most preferred English news destination for election results for the past 20 years, covering everything from the 2024 general elections to the Delhi, Maharashtra, Bihar and BMC polls on the back of what it calls an “Always First, Always Right” record. Five states, one day, and a nation waiting for answers. The clock starts at 7am on 4th May.
