I&B Ministry
Prasar Bharati advisor reviews DD marketing and policies
NEW DELHI: Former Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB) Secretary and now Prasar Bharati advisor Sunil Arora yesterday asked Doordarshan to adopt the best policies of the industry, even as he approved the planned auction of slots on DD National.
During a review meeting with Doordarshan where the director-general Supriya Sahu and other senior officials were present, Arora was apprised of the content mix, methodology of audience research and slotting process of the programmes.
Arora also reviewed the marketing strategies and efforts being made to augment revenues for Doordarshan. He emphasised that DD should leverage the flagship schemes of the government to showcase the developmental initiatives.
Arora is considered as one of the favourites to succeed Jawhar Sircar as the chief executive officer of Prasar Bharati who demits office in first week of November 2016. In the interim, member (personnel) Suresh Panda has been asked to hold interim charge by the Board, subject to the final approval of MIB.
Under the Prasar Bharati Act, a new CEO will be selected by a three-member high-level committee headed by the Vice-President of India.
I&B Ministry
Prasar Bharati sets EPG standards for DD Free Dish platform
New specs define 7-day guide, LCN mapping, and device compatibility.
MUMBAI: Your TV guide just got a backstage pass structured, scheduled, and far more in sync. Prasar Bharati has released detailed technical specifications for Electronic Programme Guide (EPG) services on DD Free Dish, laying down a standardised framework for how channels and programme information are organised and delivered. At the core of the update is a defined EPG data structure, covering genre-based categorisation, scheduling formats, and Logical Channel Numbering (LCN). The aim is simple: make navigation less guesswork and more guided experience across the platform’s over 40 million households.
The specifications also introduce a seven-day programme guide window for each channel, alongside clear rules for channel grouping and LCN mapping effectively deciding not just what you watch, but how easily you find it.
On the technical front, the document outlines requirements for Program Specific Information (PSI) and Service Information (SI), including descriptor usage across tables such as PAT, BAT and NIT. It further details service lists and network linkage parameters, giving OEMs and developers a clearer blueprint for integration.
Importantly, the framework is designed to work seamlessly with television sets equipped with in-built satellite tuners, enabling users to access DD Free Dish directly without additional hardware, an incremental but meaningful step towards simplifying access.
The platform will continue to operate on GSAT-15 transponders, using MPEG-4 compression and DVB-S2 transmission standards, ensuring continuity even as the interface evolves.
While largely technical, the move signals a broader push towards standardisation and user-friendly discovery in India’s free-to-air ecosystem because sometimes, the real upgrade isn’t what’s on screen, but how easily you get there.
