Doordarshan

**Doordarshan** (**दूरदर्शन**, ), also known as **DD** (**डीडी**), is India’s government-owned public TV broadcaster. It was started by the Government of India on 15 September 1959. It is part of Prasar Bharati and is run by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting. Doordarshan is one of the biggest broadcasting networks in India. It provides TV, radio, online, and mobile services across cities, towns, villages, and even other countries. It also uses digital transmitters to broadcast its programs.

## History 
### Beginnings 
Doordarshan started in a simple way as a test TV channel in Delhi on 15 September 1959. It had a small transmitter and a temporary studio. Regular daily shows began in 1965, and Doordarshan was then a part of All India Radio. The first news bulletin was just five minutes long and was read by Pratima Puri. In 1967, Salma Sultan joined as a news reader and later became well-known. In the 1970s, Gitanjali Aiyar, Neethi Ravindran, and Rini Simon also became popular as Doordarshan news anchors.

*Krishi Darshan*, which debuted on Doordarshan on 26 January 1967, is considered Indian television's longest-running programme.

Television services grew to include Bombay (now Mumbai) and Amritsarin 1972. By 1975, only seven cities in India had access to TV, and Doordarshan was the only television broadcaster in the entire country.

On 1 April 1976, television was officially separated from radio in India. All India Radio and Doordarshan got their own separate Directors-General in New Delhi. In 1982, Doordarshan became a national broadcaster.

### Nationwide transmission 
Doordarshan started national broadcasts in 1982 with DD National. Colour TV in India also began that year, starting with the live broadcast of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi's Independence Day speech on 15 August 1982. Soon after, the 1982 Asian Games in Delhi were shown in colour too. In 1984, Doordarshan became a more organised TV network. Its only channel was divided into two: DD-1 for national shows and DD-2 for city-focused programs. In 1993, these were renamed DD National and DD Metro to compete with the growing private TV channels.

The live telecasts of the opening and closing ceremonies of the 2012 Summer Olympics were aired on Doordarshan's national channel, while DD Sports offered round-the-clock coverage of the event.

On 17 November 2014, Doordarshan's director-general Vijayalaxmi Chhabra launched a new pink-and-purple logo and a new slogan: *Desh Ka Apna Channel* ("The country's own channel"). By 2017, Doordarshan had almost 1,400 terrestrial transmitters and 46 studios making TV shows. However, after private TV channels became popular, Doordarshan faced difficulty staying competitive. Today, it is working on improving its studios and content, focusing mainly on serving the people of India.

Doordarshan runs many TV channels, including:

* DD National (formerly DD-1) and DD News
* 17 regional satellite channels and 11 state networks
* An international channel (DD India)
* A sports channel (DD Sports)
* Cultural and informative channels like DD Bharati and DD Urdu
* An agriculture-focused channel (DD Kisan)

On DD National, regional and local shows are shown at specific times, mainly for terrestrial (antenna-based) broadcasts.

DD News, launched on 3 November 2003, replaced DD Metro (which was earlier DD-2) and now gives 24-hour news. All these channels are available through antenna transmitters across India.

The regional-language channels include:

* A state-focused service broadcast via all transmitters in that state
* Extra regional shows that can be watched through cable or DTH (Direct-to-Home) services

DD Sports airs both national and international sports and is the only channel in India that also shows traditional rural games like *kho-kho* and *kabaddi*.

A new regional channel, DD Arunprabha, was initially scheduled to begin broadcasting on 15 February 2018, focusing on the North Eastern region of India as a 24/7 satellite television channel. However, its launch was delayed and eventually took place on 9 February 2019.

On 13 April 2020, Prasar Bharati launched DD Retro, a channel dedicated to airing classic Hindi serials from Doordarshan. However, the service ceased operations on 1 April 2023 due to low viewership.

## Channel list 
Doordarshan operates 40 channels, including HD feeds.

### National channels (7) 
### Regional channels (28) 
### HD channels (5) 
### Former channels 
## International broadcasting 
The DD India satellite channel has been shown in 146 countries. In the United Kingdom, it was available on Sky channel 833 under the name Rayat TV, using the Eurobird satellite. However, the broadcast on Sky Digital ended in June 2008, and the broadcast in the United States through DirecTV also stopped the next month, in July 2008.

## Record viewership during the pandemic COVID-19 
Ramayan, shown on DD National, set a world record as the most-watched entertainment show globally. On 16 April 2020 at 9:00 p.m., it was watched by 77 million people. In total, the show reached over 285 million viewers during its broadcast.

During the COVID-19 lockdown, Doordarshan brought back many old popular shows like:

* *Mahabharat*
* *Chanakya*
* *Shri Krishna*
* *Malgudi Days*
* *Byomkesh Bakshi*
* *Shaktimaan*

Because people loved this content, Prasar Bharati launched a new channel called DD Retro, which only shows classic old programs. Within five weeks, DD Retro got almost 50 million viewers.

Doordarshan also helped a lot during the pandemic, sharing important COVID-19 awareness messages and programs, reaching over 400 million people during the first wave in 2020.

## References