 | |
 Doordarshan Bhawan atMandi House,New Delhi | |
| Type | |
|---|---|
| Branding | DD |
| Country | |
| Availability | India |
| Motto | सत्यम् शिवम् सुंदरम् ("Truth, Shiva (the Lord)& beauty") |
| Headquarters | New Delhi, Delhi |
Broadcast area | Indian Subcontinent |
| Owner | Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Government of India |
| Parent | Prasar Bharati |
Key people | Mayank Kumar Agrawal (CEO) |
Launch date | 15 September 1959; 65 years ago (1959-09-15) |
Picture format | 1080i (HDTV) (downscaled to 16:9 576i for the SDTV feed) |
Callsign meaning | DoorDarshan |
Official website | www |
| Language | Hindi,English,Urdu,Tamil,Telugu,Kannada,Malayalam,Marathi,Bengali,Gujarati,Meitei,Assamese,Odia |
Doordarshan (lit. 'distant vision,television'), abbreviated asDD, is India'sstate-ownedpublictelevision broadcaster. Established by theGovernment of India on 15 September 1959,[1] it is owned by theMinistry of Information and Broadcasting and constitutes one ofPrasar Bharati's two divisions.[2] Doordarshan, one of India's largest broadcasting organisations in terms of studio andtransmitter infrastructure, delivers television,radio, online, and mobile services across metropolitan and regional India, as well as internationally. It also broadcasts via digital terrestrial transmitters.
The channel began modestly as an experimental broadcaster inDelhi on 15 September 1959, with a small transmitter and a makeshift studio. Regular daily transmission commenced in 1965 as part ofAll India Radio, with a five-minute news bulletin read byPratima Puri.Salma Sultan joined Doordarshan in 1967, and became a news anchor. Thereafter,Gitanjali Aiyar, Neethi Ravindran, and Rini Simon became popular news anchors in the 1970s.[3]
Krishi Darshan, which debuted on Doordarshan on 26 January 1967, holds the distinction of being Indian television's longest-running programme.[4]
Television services were expanded toBombay (now Mumbai) andAmritsar in 1972. By 1975, only seven Indian cities had access to television, with Doordarshan being the sole provider in the country.
On 1 April 1976, television services were officially separated from radio.[5]All India Radio and Doordarshan were placed under the management of separate Directors-Generals in New Delhi. In 1982, Doordarshan transitioned into a national broadcaster.[6]
National telecasts (DD National) were introduced in 1982.Colour television in India was introduced with the live telecast of Prime MinisterIndira Gandhi's Independence Day speech on 15 August 1982, followed by the colour broadcast of the1982 Asian Games held in Delhi.[7][8] Two years later, Doordarshan evolved into a structured TV network. The sole TV channel was split into DD-1, a nationally broadcast channel, and DD-2, a city-focused channel. In 1993, they were rebranded as DD National and DD Metro, respectively, to compete with the then-newly privatised television industry.
The live telecasts of the opening and closing ceremonies of the2012 Summer Olympics were aired on Doordarshan's national channel, whileDD Sports offered round-the-clock coverage of the event.[9]
On 17 November 2014, Doordarshan director-general Vijayalaxmi Chhabra introduced a pink-and-purple colour scheme with a new slogan:Desh Ka Apna Channel ("The country's own channel").[10] In 2017, Doordarshan operated a network of nearly 1,400 terrestrial transmitters and had 46 studios producing television programmes.[11] After the introduction of private channels, Doordarshan has faced challenges in maintaining its position in the television industry.[12] Currently, Doordarshan is focusing on improving its studios and programmes, with its primary aim being to serve the nation..[13]
DD National andDD News[14]—along with 17 regional satellite channels, 11 state networks, an international channel (DD India), a sports channel (DD Sports), cultural and informative channels likeDD Bharati andDD Urdu, and an agricultural channel,DD Kisan. On DD National (formerly DD-1), regional and local programs are aired on a time-sharing basis for terrestrial broadcasting only. DD News, launched on 3 November 2003, replacedDD Metro (formerly DD-2), providing 24-hour news coverage. These channels are relayed through all terrestrial transmitters in India. The regional-language satellite channels consist of two components: a regional service for a specific state (relayed by all terrestrial transmitters in that state) and additional regional-language programs available through cable and DTH operators. DD Sports broadcasts both national and international sporting events and is the only channel to air rural sports such askho-kho andkabaddi.
A new regional channel,DD Arunprabha, was initially scheduled to begin broadcasting on 15 February 2018,[15][16] focusing on theNorth Eastern region of India as a 24/7 satellite television channel. However, its launch was delayed[17] and eventually took place on 9 February 2019.[18]
On 9 March 2019,Prasar Bharati expanded the satellite footprint of India throughDD Free Dish by adding 11 more state DD channels. This included five channels for the North Eastern states:DD Bangla,DD Chhattisgarh, DD Goa,DD Haryana,DD Himachal Pradesh,DD Jharkhand, DD Manipur, DD Meghalaya,DD Mizoram, DD Nagaland,DD Tripura, andDD Uttarakhand.[19][20]DD Bangla, launched on 9 August 1975, features a programming mix that includes soap operas,infotainment series, news and current affairs, social programs, and films, all inBangla.
On 13 April 2020, Prasar Bharati launchedDD Retro,[21] a channel dedicated to airing classicHindi serials from Doordarshan. However, the service ceased operations on 1 April 2023 due to low viewership.
Doordarshan operates 40 channels including HD feeds.
| Channel | Programming | Language | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| DD National | General Entertainment andNews | Hindi and English | Previously DD 1 |
| DD News | News | Hindi | Replaced DD 2 (DD Metro) |
| DD India | News | English | Previously DD International |
| DD Sports | Sports | Hindi and English | |
| DD Bharati | Art andCulturalInfotainment | Hindi and English | Replaced DD 3 |
| DD Kisan | AgriculturalInfotainment | Hindi | |
| DD Urdu | Infotainment | Urdu |
| Channel | Language |
|---|---|
| DD National HD | Hindi,English |
| DD India HD | English |
| DD News HD | Hindi |
| DD Sports HD | Hindi,English |
| DD Tamil HD | Tamil |
| Channel | Language | From | Until |
|---|---|---|---|
| DD Metro | Hindi | 1984 | 2003 |
| DD Retro | Hindi | 2020 | 2023 |
TheDD India satellite channel has been broadcast in 146 countries. In theUnited Kingdom, it was available through theEurobird satellite on the Sky system's channel 833, under the logo Rayat TV. However, transmission viaSky Digital ended in June 2008, followed by the termination of its broadcast viaDirecTV in theUnited States the following month.
 | This articleappears to beslanted towards recent events. Please try to keep recent events in historical perspective andadd more content related to non-recent events.(March 2023) |
TheRamayan on DD National set a world record by becoming the highest-viewed entertainment programme globally. The 9 pm show on 16 April 2020 was watched by 77 million viewers.[23] The show reached over 285 million viewers during its broadcast. In response to the nationwide lockdown, DD network aired several nostalgic shows, includingMahabharat,Chanakya,Shri Krishna,Malgudi Days,Byomkesh Bakshi, andShaktimaan. Due to increasing public demand for such content, Prasar Bharati launched DD Retro, a full-time channel dedicated to these classics. Within five weeks of its launch, DD Retro garnered viewership of nearly 50 million. Additionally, DD network played a key role in public messaging during the pandemic, reaching over 400 million viewers with COVID-19 awareness messages and shows during the first wave in 2020.
Prasar Bharati is the parent body of Doordarshan, and its board members are appointed by theGovernment of India through theMinistry of Information and Broadcasting.[24][relevant? –discuss]
Doordarshan has been used, particularly during theEmergency, to disseminate government propaganda.[25] DuringOperation Blue Star in 1984, only government sources were relied upon for reporting the events. Additionally, Doordarshan was involved in the production of a video that claimed acts of violence, which, when investigated by independent journalists, were found to be false.[citation needed]
In 2004, it censored a controversial documentary onJayaprakash Narayan, an opposition leader during the Emergency.[26]
In 2014, Doordarshan broadcast a 70-minuteVijayadashami speech byRashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) leaderMohan Bhagwat, which led to criticism of theNarendra Modi administration and theBJP for "misusing" the public broadcaster. DD Director-General Archana Datta responded, stating, "The speech was like any other news event; therefore, we covered it."[27][28][29]
Since private television channels were authorised in 1991, Doordarshan has experienced a steep decline in viewership.[30] Although Doordarshan earns significant advertising revenue—due to its compulsory feed from the highest bidder for national events, including cricket matches[31]— there has been a proposal to fund the network by imposing alicence fee for owning a television in India.[32]
Afilm named after the broadcaster, spiritually motivated by the 2003German filmGood Bye, Lenin!, was released in February 2020.
the well-known program Krishi Darshan, which started its telecast on January 26, 1967... 'informing' and 'educating' the farmers about improving agricultural productivity
...The centre broadcasts most of its programs in the Manipuri language...
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