New Delhi : DD News, which prides itself in being the only bilingual channel in the country offering news in Hindi and English, has proposed to reinvent itself amid a growing realisation that the bilingual offer has left the viewer quite confused and resulting falling viewership.
Subject to clearance from the Prasar Bharati Board, the channel, which also lacks staff strength as compared to private news broadcasters, is proposing to do away with the current bilingual model and have separate channels catering to Hindi and English news viewers.
“On the same platform we broadcast Hindi, English, Urdu and Sanskrit news and also the bulletin for hearing impaired, catering to different population needs at the same time. It becomes difficult to figure out when to watch English or Hindi news bulletins,” a senior DD official said.
The Prasar Bharati Board has asked DD News organisers to work out the modalities of running the channels. Director General, News, Akshay Kumar Raut, confirmed that the channel is working on the proposal but refrained from putting a date to it.
He said he is in the process of finalising the proposal and would take it to the board soon. Mr. Raut also acknowledged that Hindi programming was stronger than English programming.
But getting the approval of the board is only a part of the process. Doordarshan, though autonomous on paper, depends on the Information and Broadcasting Ministry for financial support. Over 70 per cent of the budgetary allocation of the Ministry is earmarked for Prasar Bharati Corporation — the parent body of DD and All India Radio — and its 22,000-odd employees.
Prasar Bharati Corporation is known to spend not much on programming. Of the total budgetary allocation of Rs. 3,711.11 crore to the Information and Broadcasting Ministry, nearly Rs. 2,869.55 crore is set aside for Prasar Bharati Corporation as grant-in-aid.
Of this, a bulk is spent on salary and administrative expenses, leaving the corporation with little money for software programming. How the new news channels kick off with little budgetary support remains to be seen.
