News Broadcasting
DD irked at Zee’s including its FTA channels as part of Dish TV’s DTH
NEW DELHI: Prasar Bharati has taken umbrage to Subhash Chandra companies — ASC Enterprise and Zee Telefilms — including more than the mandated number of Doordarshan channels in the KU-band direct-to-home (DTH) television service being marketed under the Dish TV brand name.
“The Zee people are showing DD channels without authorization on the DTH service, which is not free to air and is subscription-based. We are concerned about this,” Prasar Bharati CEO KS Sarma said today during an interaction with journalists.Though ruling out initiating any legal action against Dish TV, Sarma said the least that could have been done was to inform them that DD channels were part of the DTH package. “I have written to them on this,” he added.
When asked whether any talks regarding money had taken place, Sarma said that Prasar Bharati had been informed by the ASC-Zee combine that after the DTH service crossed the 200,000-mark subscriber base, DD would get Rs 1 per channel per subscriber. Globally, channels get anywhere between $ 10-30 per channel per subscriber from the DTH service operator, he opined.
However, when indiantelevision.com contacted Zee Telefilms vice-chairman Jawahar Goel, he expressed ignorance about any letter from Prasar Bharati on the issue. “As and when we hear from DD, we’ll take up the matter at the right forum,” he said, adding that if DD wanted, they’d be happy to remove all DD channels.
Meanwhile, Sarma pointed out that DD’s own DTH project — scheduled to go on air on 2 April — is on track with the tenders for uplinking being finalized at the moment.
The non-subscription based DTH service, Sarma said, is being started by DD as a “substitute to terrestrial expansion”, which would have, otherwise, cost much more.
News Broadcasting
CNN-News18 to host Kolkata Town Hall on Hooghly River
‘Bhalobasa Bengal Inspiring Bharat’ event on April 20 brings cultural icons, trailblazing women and leaders aboard a cruise to celebrate Bengal’s enduring influence.
MUMBAI: Bengal is about to make fresh waves on the Hooghly and this time the current is pure conversation. CNN-News18 is taking its iconic Town Hall format to the waters of the iconic Hooghly River on 20 April 2026 with a special edition titled ‘Bhalobasa Bengal – Inspiring Bharat’. The floating event will celebrate the state’s rich cultural legacy and how its ideas, creativity and spirit continue to shape the rest of the country.
The unique riverside setting draws on Bengal’s history as a cradle of reform, art and intellectual thought. The speaker line-up mirrors that diversity: cultural heavyweights Mithun Chakraborty and Sreenanda Shankar will share the stage with trailblazing “Devis” such as Tanya Sanyal (India’s first woman firefighter in aviation), Ipsita Chakraborty (Kolkata’s first woman bartender) and Reshma Nilofer Visalakshi (Nari Shakti awardee and marine pilot). Music will flow through the celebrated pianist-vocalist duo Sourendro and Soumyojit, while public life and governance will be represented by Smriti Irani, Leander Paes, Saira Shah Halim, Keya Ghosh, Rekha Patra, Roopa Ganguly and Babul Supriyo.
CNN-News18, editorial affairs director, Rahul Shivshankar, said the event honours voices that carry Bengal’s legacy forward. Smriti Mehra, CEO – English & Business News, Network18, added that Bengal’s stories resonate far beyond its borders, especially as the state heads into polls.
From the first woman to battle flames in the skies to legendary actors who shaped Indian cinema, the gathering promises a rich mix of inspiration, courage and candid dialogue. In a city where culture has always flowed as freely as the river itself, CNN-News18 is turning the Hooghly into a floating forum for ideas that matter.
Tune in on 20 April on CNN-News18, CTV and YouTube to catch Bengal’s heartbeat in full flow.
