DD, Prasar Bharati at odds over slot sale
NEW DELHI: When India’s public broadcaster decides to revamp its entertainment policy, it also leads to prime time drama.
Prasar Bharati wants prime time slots on Doordarshan (DD) to be auctioned, a move that will bring an end to the practice of commissioning TV serials and other content.
DD has a small problem with the proposal: there are no qualified bidders even after two rounds of auction.
Sources said that in the first round, only seven bidders applied for prime time slots between 7-11pm on week days while only three bidders came forward for the second round. Both the times, no bidder qualified.
According to sources, Prasar Bharati chief Jawhar Sircar has argued in favour of slot sales by citing DD’s ‘dwindling’ ratings and revenue. However, DD’s director general Supriya Sahu has countered Sircar’s claim, asserting that the public service broadcaster generated a profit of `5 crore between April-July 2016, sources added.
DD had enjoyed large scale popularity in the 1980s and 90’s through family dramas like ‘Buniyaad’ and mythological series ‘Mahabharat’. Prasar Bharati pointed out to the I&B ministry that slots were also sold during the height of DD’s popularity and it paid dividends.
At present, DD follows the policy of self-financed commissioning (SFC) under which it pays a show’s producers for their content and also undertakes the responsibility of generating revenue through advertisements.
Sources in the ministry added that following the poor response to the auction policy, DD has extended the SFC scheme for the soaps that are being televised.
To resolve the tussle between DD and Prasar Bharati, a meeting has been scheduled for September 27. A Prasar Bharati board member said while Sircar is keen to roll out the bidding process by October end, DD wants more time to iron out the policy.
DD is also concerned that after selling prime time TV hours it might land in an awkward situation if the government wishes to air public interest programmes during the same time.