Lok Sabha Question No. 2292 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2015-12-11
Subject: Coverage of National Channel
Ministry: INFORMATION AND BROADCASTING
Asked by: RAMCHARAN BOHARA, RAYAPATI SAMBASIVA RAO

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF INFORMATION & BROADCASTING

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2292 TO BE ANSWERED ON 11.12.2015

## COVERAGE OF NATIONAL CHANNEL

## 2292.  SHRI RAM CHARAN BOHRA: SHRI RAYAPATI SAMBASIVA RAO

Will the Minister of INFORMATION AND BROADCASTING be pleased to state:

- (a) whether the operational cost of the Doordarshan (DD) is constantly increasing while its revenue has not recorded any significant growth, if so, the details thereof during each of the last three years and the current year;
- (b) the  steps  taken/proposed  to  be  taken  by  the  Government  to  bail  out Doordarshan from its financial crisis;
- (c) whether the Government has undertaken a comparative study with regard to coverage  of  various  prime  time  channels vis-a-vis national  channels  in  different categories;
- (d) if  so,  the  details  and  findings  thereof  along  with  the  measures  taken  by  the Government to increase the coverage of national channel in the country; and
- (e) the  future  action  plan  being  prepared  by  the  Government  to  revamp  DD channels to compete with the private channels?

## ANSWER

## THE MINISTER OF STATE  IN THE  MINISTRY  OF  INFORMATION  AND BROADCASTING [COL RAJYAVARDHAN RATHORE (Retd.)]

- (a) Prasar Bharati has informed that with inflation and rising costs of TV channels, DD  has  also  experienced  gradual  increase  in  operational  costs.    In  addition,  the implementation of various recommendations of 6 th  Central Pay Commission has led to increase in administrative and staff related expenses.

The details of expenditure incurred by Doordarshan during the last three years and the current financial year are as under:-

(Rs. in Crore)

| Category                                                  |   2012-13 |   2013-14 |   2014-15 |   2015-16 (upto Oct. 2015) |
|-----------------------------------------------------------|-----------|-----------|-----------|----------------------------|
| Salary and other operating expenses (Revenue Non-Plan)    |   1614.09 |   1705.25 |   1899.87 |                    1118.7  |
| Grant-in-Aid Content Development (Revenue Plan)           |     61.02 |     42.84 |     32.68 |                      19.8  |
| Technical Infrastructure and Modernisation (Capital Plan) |    208.08 |    197.75 |    200.43 |                      48.94 |
| Total                                                     |   1883.19 |   1945.84 |   2132.98 |                    1187.44 |

Since  Prasar  Bharati  is  a  Public  Service  Broadcaster,  its  functioning  cannot  be guided  purely  by  commercial  motives.  However,  Prasar  Bharati  is  adopting  an aggressive marketing strategy to increase the revenue receipts besides putting into the  best  use  its  spare  infrastructure  available  with  the  field  formations  across  the country. The details of gross revenue earned during  the  last  three  years and  the current year is as under:-

| Financial Year   |   Gross Revenue (Rs. in Crores) |
|------------------|---------------------------------|
| 2012-13          |                         1298.16 |
| 2013-14          |                         1295.96 |
| 2014-15          |                         1124.43 |
| 2015-16          |                          604    |

- (b) Ministry of Information and Broadcasting provides financial support to Prasar Bharati under Plan and Non Plan heads, in the form of Grants-in-aid. In the current financial year (2015-16), an amount of Rs.605.03 crore has been allocated to Prasar Bharati under Plan Head and Rs.2342.12 crore has been allocated under Non-Plan.

The Ministry has also allocated vide its Office Memorandum dated 27 th  August 2015 a sum of Rs.11116.79 crore [Rs.11116.76 crore under Revenue Section and Rs.0.02 crore  as  Token  Supplementary  and  Rs.0.01  crore  as Token  Supplementary  under Capital  Section  as  first  batch  of  supplementary  grant  2015-16]  to  Prasar  Bharati subsequent to the approval of Ministry of Finance for the following:-

- (i) Conversion of a sum of Rs. 5684.34 crore towards Loan-in-Perpetuity and  Capital  Loan  into  Grants-in-Aid  for  the  period  01.04.2000  to 31.03.2010.
- (ii) Waiver of an amount of Rs. 4082.88 crore towards interest on Loan-inPerpetuity, interest on Capital Loan and Penal Interests for the period 01.04.2000 to 31.03.2010.
- (iii) Waiver of a sum of Rs. 1349.54 crore towards accumulated arears of Space Segment and Spectrum Charges accrued to Prasar Bharati upto 31.03.2011.

(c) to (e):   Prasar Bharati is a member of Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC) which is an industry body to design, commission, supervise and own an accurate,  reliable  and  timely  television  audience  measurement  system  for  India. Prasar  Bharati  collects  viewership  data  from  BARC.    Comparative  viewership  of various prime time channels vis-a-vis National Channels in different categories as per Broadcast Audience Research Council  (BARC) data is placed at Annexure-A.

As informed by Prasar Bharati, it is a constant endeavor of Doordarshan to improve upon its programmes by reviewing the content and quality from time to time with the view to sustain the interest of the viewers. Doordarshan procures content through various  notified  schemes  such  as  Self  Finance  Commissioning  (SFC),  Revenue Sharing  Mode  (RSM)  for  producers/simulcast,  Advertisement  Funded  Programme (AFP). The Revenue Sharing Scheme (Producers/Simulcast) also allows Doordarshan to collaborate with some private channels for sourcing some high quality software in the simulcast mode, on favorable terms.

The Prasar Bharati Board has decided to invite good external programmes to be telecast on all its channel, in different phases, through the sponsored mode.

*****

Hindi GECs

S.No.

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

Sports

S.No.

1

2

3

4

Channel

STAR Plus

Colors

Zee Anmol

Zee TV

STAR Utsav

Life Ok

Sony TV

SONY SAB

Sony Pal

Rishtey

DD National

&TV

Zindagi

Big Magic

Zee Smile

Sahara One

Channel

Ten Sports

STAR Sports 3

STAR Sports 1

STAR Sports 2

Wk 44

0.38

0.32

0.32

0.33

0.23

0.24

0.16

0.15

0.11

0.12

0.11

0.07

0.01

0.00

0.00

0.00

Wk 44

0.05

0.02

0.02

0.01

Wk 45

0.36

0.31

0.32

0.30

0.22

0.20

0.14

0.16

0.14

0.13

0.12

0.06

0.01

0.01

0.00

0.00

Wk 45

0.05

0.03

0.02

0.02

Rating %

Wk 46

0.38

0.33

0.32

0.31

0.23

0.22

0.18

0.17

0.16

0.14

0.11

0.07

0.01

0.01

0.00

0.00

Rating %

Wk 46

0.04

0.03

0.03

0.02

Wk 47

0.39

0.33

0.33

0.30

0.24

0.21

0.18

0.17

0.14

0.13

0.11

0.07

0.01

0.01

0.00

0.00

Wk 47

0.07

0.04

0.04

0.01

Avg

0.38

0.32

0.32

0.31

0.23

0.22

0.17

0.16

0.14

0.13

0.11

0.07

0.01

0.01

0.00

0.00

Avg

0.05

0.03

0.03

0.02

S.No.

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

S.No.

1

2

3

4

Channel

STAR Plus

Colors

Zee Anmol

Zee TV

STAR Utsav

Life Ok

Sony TV

SONY SAB

Sony Pal

Rishtey

DD National

&TV

Zindagi

Big Magic

Sahara One

Zee Smile

Channel

Ten Sports

STAR Sports 3

STAR Sports 1

Ten Cricket

Wk 44

4.08

3.48

3.47

3.61

2.44

2.60

1.72

1.66

1.20

1.26

1.16

0.79

0.06

0.05

0.05

0.02

Wk 44

0.51

0.24

0.25

0.08

Channel Share

Wk 45

Wk 46

Wk 47

3.63

3.08

3.20

3.06

2.23

2.01

1.42

1.60

1.36

1.26

1.19

0.59

0.07

0.06

0.03

4.00

3.48

3.33

3.28

2.41

2.27

1.89

1.74

1.67

1.48

1.19

0.77

0.07

0.06

0.04

0.03

0.03

Channel Share

Wk 45

Wk 47

Wk 46

0.47

0.28

0.22

0.21

0.46

0.34

0.28

0.16

0.73

0.44

0.37

0.15

4.08

3.49

3.50

3.20

2.53

2.18

1.93

1.81

1.47

1.32

1.13

0.72

0.08

0.06

0.04

0.02

ANNEXURE A

ANNEXURE REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PARTS (c) TO (e) OF LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2292 FOR ANSWER

ON 11.12.2015

Source: BARC

All India, NCCS 4+

All India, NCCS 4+

Avg

3.95

3.38

3.38

3.29

2.40

2.27

1.74

1.70

1.43

1.33

1.17

0.72

0.07

0.06

0.04

0.03

Avg

0.54

0.33

0.28

0.15

| 5     | Ten Cricket            | 0.01   | 0.02   | 0.02   | 0.01   | 0.02   | 5     | STAR Sports 2    | 0.08   | 0.21   | 0.16   | 0.09   |                     |           |      |         |    |      |
|-------|------------------------|--------|--------|--------|--------|--------|-------|------------------|--------|--------|--------|--------|---------------------|-----------|------|---------|----|------|
| 6     | Sony SIX               | 0.01   | 0.01   | 0.01   | 0.01   | 0.01   | 6     | Sony SIX         | 0.09   | 0.07   | 0.08   |        | 0.06                | 0.14 0.08 |      |         |    |      |
| 7     | DD Sports              | 0.00   | 0.00   | 0.00   | 0.00   | 0.00   | 7     | DD Sports        | 0.03   | 0.03   | 0.03   |        | 0.03                | 0.03      |      |         |    |      |
| 8     | NEO Prime              | 0.00   | 0.00   | 0.00   | 0.00   | 0.00   | 8     | STAR Sports 4    | 0.02   | 0.02   | 0.03   |        | 0.01                | 0.02      |      |         |    |      |
| 9     | NEO Sports             | 0.00   | 0.00   | 0.00   | 0.00   | 0.00   | 9     | Ten Action       | 0.03   | 0.02   | 0.01   |        | 0.01                | 0.02      |      |         |    |      |
| 10    | Sony Kix               | 0.00   | 0.00   | 0.00   | 0.00   | 0.00   | 10    | Sony Kix         | 0.01   | 0.01   |        | 0.02   | 0.02                | 0.02      |      |         |    |      |
| 11    | STAR Sports 4          | 0.00   | 0.00   | 0.00   | 0.00   | 0.00   | 11    | NEO Prime        | 0.00   | 0.00   | 0.00   |        | 0.05                | 0.01      |      |         |    |      |
| 12    | Ten Action             | 0.00   | 0.00   | 0.00   | 0.00   | 0.00   | 12    | NEO Sports       | 0.00   | 0.00   | 0.00   |        | 0.00                | 0.00      |      |         |    |      |
| S.No. | Channel                | Wk     | Wk 45  | Wk 46  | Wk 47  | Avg    | S.No. | Channel          | Wk 44  | Wk 45  |        | Wk 46  | Channel Share Wk 47 | Avg       |      | Rating% | 44 |      |
| 1     | Aaj Tak                | 0.04   | 0.05   | 0.05   | 0.04   | 0.05   | 1     | Aaj Tak          | 0.41   | 0.53   |        | 0.47   | 0.45                | 0.47      |      |         |    |      |
| 2     | India TV               | 0.04   | 0.04   | 0.04   | 0.03   | 0.04   | 2     | India TV         | 0.41   | 0.45   |        | 0.39   | 0.34                | 0.40      |      |         |    |      |
| 3     | ABP News               | 0.03   | 0.05   | 0.03   | 0.03   | 0.04   | 3     | ABP News         | 0.36   |        | 0.49   | 0.34   | 0.32                | 0.38      |      |         |    |      |
| 4     | News Nation            | 0.03   | 0.04   | 0.03   | 0.03   | 0.03   | 4     | Zee News         | 0.30   |        | 0.36   | 0.35   | 0.29                | 0.33      |      |         |    |      |
| 5     | Zee News               | 0.03   | 0.04   | 0.03   | 0.03   | 0.03   | 5     | News Nation      | 0.30   | 0.36   |        | 0.32   | 0.28                | 0.32      |      |         |    |      |
| 6     | India News             | 0.02   | 0.03   | 0.02   | 0.02   | 0.02   | 6     | India News       | 0.24   | 0.28   |        | 0.22   | 0.23                | 0.24      |      |         |    |      |
| 7     | News 24                | 0.02   | 0.03   | 0.02   | 0.02   | 0.02   | 7     | News 24          | 0.25   |        | 0.28   | 0.20   | 0.19                | 0.23      |      |         |    |      |
| 8     | IBN 7                  | 0.02   | 0.02   | 0.02   | 0.01   | 0.02   | 8     | IBN 7            | 0.18   |        | 0.19   | 0.17   | 0.15                | 0.17      |      |         |    |      |
| 9     | DD News                | 0.01   | 0.01   | 0.01   | 0.01   | 0.01   | 9     | DD News          | 0.09   |        | 0.13   | 0.09   | 0.08                | 0.10      |      |         |    |      |
|       | NDTV India             | 0.01   | 0.01   | 0.01   | 0.01   | 0.01   |       | Tez              | 0.08   |        | 0.10   | 0.10   | 0.07                |           |      |         |    |      |
| 10    |                        | 0.01   |        |        |        |        | 10    |                  |        |        |        |        | 0.08                | 0.09      |      |         |    |      |
| 11    | Tez                    |        | 0.01   | 0.01   | 0.01   | 0.01   | 11    | NDTV India       | 0.08   |        | 0.08   | 0.01   | 0.09 0.01           | 0.08      |      |         |    |      |
| 12    | CNN IBN                | 0.00   | 0.00   | 0.00   | 0.00   | 0.00   | 12    | Dilli Aaj Tak    | 0.01   |        | 0.01   |        |                     | 0.01      |      |         |    |      |
| 13    | Dilli Aaj Tak          | 0.00   | 0.00   | 0.00   | 0.00   | 0.00   | 13    | Times Now        | 0.01   |        | 0.01   | 0.01   | 0.01                | 0.01      |      |         |    |      |
| 14    | India Today Television | 0.00   | 0.00   | 0.00   | 0.00   | 0.00   | 14    | Total TV         | 0.01   |        | 0.01   | 0.01   | 0.01                | 0.01      |      |         |    |      |
| 15    | Living India News      | 0.00   | 0.00   | 0.00   | 0.00   | 0.00   | 15    | CNN IBN          | 0.01   | 0.01   |        | 0.01   | 0.00                | 0.01      |      |         |    |      |
| 16    | NDTV 24x7              | 0.00   | 0.00   | 0.00   | 0.00   | 0.00   |       | NDTV 24x7        | 0.01   |        | 0.01   | 0.01   | 0.00                |           |      |         |    |      |
| 17    | News X                 | 0.00   | 0.00   | 0.00   | 0.00   |        | 16    | Living India ews | 0.01   |        | 0.00   | 0.00   |                     | 0.01 0.00 | 0.00 |         |    | 0.00 |
| 18    | Times Now              | 0.00   | 0.00   | 0.00   | 0.00   | 0.00   | 17    | India Today      | 0.00   |        | 0.00   | 0.00   | 0.00                |           |      |         |    |      |
|       |                        |        |        |        |        |        | 18    | Television       |        |        |        |        |                     | 0.00      |      |         |    |      |
| 19    | Total TV               | 0.00   | 0.00   | 0.00   | 0.00   | 0.00   | 19    | News X           | 0.00   |        |        | 0.00   | 0.00                | 0.00      |      |         |    |      |
|       |                        |        |        |        |        |        |       |                  |        |        | 0.00   |        |                     |           |      |         |    |      |

*****