Balaji & Saaibaba bag prime time slots on DD National..

Prashant Shridhar

DD Free Dish Expert
Contributor
Joined
22 Sep 2011
Messages
2,861
Reaction score
3,302
NEW DELHI: Balaji Telefilms bid
successfully for four slots, and
Saai Baba Telefilms bagged two
slots on Doordarshan’s prime time
slot auctions, although financial
statistics were not revealed. Bag
Films and Media of Delhi, which
had also been shortlisted, failed to
pocket any slot.

However, Doordarshan sources
said that, as the RFP (request for
proposal) document had made it
clear that no party could bid for
more than three slots in a week,
Balaji may lose one slot after full
examination of the bids received.

No bid was received for three
slots: 10 pm to 10.30 pm and
10.30 to 11 pm from Monday to
Thursday, and for 7pm to 8pm
slot on Sunday. Thus, the
successful bids by Balaji are for 8
pm to 8.30 pm and 8.30 - 9pm
from Monday to Friday, and 9 pm
to 9.30 pm and 9.30 pm pm to
10.00 pm from Monday to
Thursday.

Saai won the bids for 7.30 pm to
8 pm from Monday to Friday, and
8 pm to 9 pm on Saturday and
Sunday.

Thus, Doordarshan has managed
to get successful bidders in its
third attempt since it announced
its decision to auction the prime
time slots early this year. Each
time, DD had to make some
concessions over its initial RFP.
After a Prasar Bharati Board
meeting in October, Doordarshan
had announced a series of
concessions once the
programmers come on board,
including lowering the base price
for a 30-minute slot to Rs.
1,50,000.

DD sources told
indiantelevision.com that the only
eligibility criterion that has been
relaxed is that the basic price for
auction has come down to Rs
1,50,000 (Rs 1.5 lakh) for a 30-
minute slot. It was Rs 250.000
when the auction was announced
in June this year, and was
decreased to Rs 200,000 when
the new date was set in early
September 2016.

However, most of the other
eligibility norms remain the same
as earlier in the New Content
Acquisition Scheme that has been
approved by Prasar Bharati Board.
Producers/production houses that
have produced at least 200 hours
of general entertainment
programming, including feature
film productions in any Indian
language in the last three years,
and have a turnover of minimum
Rs. 30 million per annum in the
field of TV and film production in
the last three financial years are
eligible to apply.

Applicants for weekend slots in
the genres of reality, game and
quiz are required to have
produced 100 hours of such
content in the last three years.
However, DD sources told
indiantelevision.com that certain
changes had been made for
successful bidders to promote
their programmes.
Successful bidders will now also
be allowed to approach and obtain
advertisements from public
service undertaking for their
programmes on Doordarshan,
which was not permitted earlier.
Doordarshan has also laid down a
compulsory number of
promotional commercials, which
will be free, on various channels
of Doordarshan network.
In addition, successful bidders
will be allowed to ‘bank’ their free
commercial time. That is, in case
a successful bidder has not
exhausted the number of
promotional commercials
(totalling 240 seconds) permitted
before the telecast of a particular
programme, the balance can be
used as and when the programme
picks up in popularity.

The exit option has also been
relaxed: in case a producer
decides to opt out of the scheme,
he will need to give only 45 days
notice instead of three months.
The lock-in period for this has
also been reduced from one year
to six months.
 
Overhaul and strengthening of DD in full swing

Twenty studio centres of Doordarshan are being renovated with replacement of old ageing equipment as part of the 12th Plan Schemes, the Parliament has been told.
In addition, old 100 W Low Power Transmitters (LPTs) are being replaced by 500W Automode LPTs, and upgradation is underway of 18 existing Earth Stations and replacement of Digital Satellite News Gathering System (DSNG).
The minister of state for information and broadcasting Rajyavardhan Rathore said in reply to a series of questions that these are part of some schemes of modernisation/ upgradation of Studios, Transmitters and Satellite Broadcast equipment which have been approved.
Replacement of old transmitters (LPT & HPT) has enhanced the system’s reliability & performance quality of Doordarshan.
Rathore said digital transmission has enabled the viewers to receive multiple TV channels in their fixed/mobile receive sets with suitable additional hardware.
With the induction of digital equipment, technical quality of programme production and post production has improved.
Doordarshan has 228 High Power Transmitters (HPTs) and 806 Low Power Transmitters (LPTs) in its terrestrial TV network.
Doordarshan has been assigning priority to strengthen TV coverage in border areas of the country. Special packages for expansion and improvement of Doordarshan services in the border areas have been formulated from time to time.
Doordarshan’s FreeDish DTH signals can be received anywhere in the country including border areas with the help of small sized dish receiving units.
The Minister said the technical quality of Doordarshan transmission both in satellite and terrestrial mode along the border areas is quite satisfactory.
As part of continuing schemes of the 12th Plan, transmitter projects approved for implementation in Jammu and Kashmir are High Power Transmitters (HPTs) at Green Ridge; at Himbotingla, Natha Top (Patnitop), and at Rajouri (for DD National and DD News).
The target to complete these projects in phased manner has been set for about two years.
In Gujarat, three transmitters HPT Bhuj, LPT Punandhro and LPT Rapar are in operation in Kutch district. Parts of the district are covered by HPT Radhanpur. An old ageing HPT at Bhuj was replaced by new 10 KW HPT in 2015.

Overhaul and strengthening of DD in full swing | Indian Television Dot Com
 
Back
Top Bottom