The Hindu Business Line : Doordarshan not to charge rental for DTH

DOORDARSHAN is to start direct-to-home (DTH) telecast this month, FM radio stations are to multiply, All India Radio is to widen its reach and community radio stations are set to grow. "This will be a fairly important year for broadcasting," said the Union Minister for Information and Broadcasting, Mr S. Jaipal Reddy.

In an interaction with presspersons at The Hindu here on Saturday, Mr Reddy said that the DTH telecast would only involve a one-time expenditure of about Rs 3,000 for reception. The subscribers will not face a rental charge. With four transponders available there will be space for about 40 channels. It offers major potential in extending the reach of the national broadcaster and catering to a wider range of the public.

Apart from the Doordarshan channels, some private channels will also be available. These include the Sun network, Aaj Tak, Headlines Today, Zee, and "I have also spoken personally to BBC'', he said.

The DTH will also help deliver educational programmes more effectively. Though there is the Government-sponsored `Gyandarshan', the cable operators are not willing to accommodate it . The public had been able to watch the recent Olympics because the cable operators had to oblige due to popular demand. Even the DD is at the mercy of the 50,000 cable operators, he said.

It is only the DTH and broadband, operating simultaneously, that can bypass the operators. The DTH can accommodate about 200 channels.

Incidentally, Prasar Bharti paid out over Rs 26 crore to telecast the Olympics and lost about Rs 18 crore in the process; it recovered only about Rs 7-8 crore. The broadcaster's annual expenditure is about Rs 1,800 crore but its revenue is about Rs 600 crore, and the Government makes good the balance as a grant every year.

The Government is considering whether to have a main regulator for this sector or one for carriage and another for content. Britain and the US have gone for a grand convergence regulator. But they have done it after long years of consideration, he said.

An advantage of the DTH is that 20 radio channels will also be available, and these will be of FM quality on this platform.

The Government is hoping to expand the number of FM radio stations. At the present level of technology, there is space for about 400 stations. Earlier efforts had not come up to expectations because of the losses allegedly suffered by the existing players.

On the recommendations of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India the Government is working on a formula by which the FM radio stations can be expanded. "The emphasis is on expansion, we are determined to set it up this fiscal year." There is a potential for about 400 stations, and that represents huge potential income to the Government, the Minister said.

However, a decision whether to permit news channels in the FM basket is yet to be taken.

Community radio stations could also be expanded, and there is space for about 4,000 stations. But a major constraint has been the stringent regulations and the number of clearances from various agencies including the Home Ministry and the Intelligence Bureau. "I am trying to liberalise, simplify and rationalise the rules," he said.

The AIR is also expanding. It currently covers about 30 per cent of the population and by the end of the current plan period it will reach 50 per cent.

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