NEW DELHI: Indian pubcaster DD has been seen as a laggard in the Indian broadcasting space, way behind private satellite TV channels. Its news service DD News has been spoken about in high light as being more news driven than other private channels which tend to focus on more trivial matters in their chase for TRPS. But this despite it is perceived as something audiences don’t tune in to.
Shattering that “so-called myth” is Prasar Bharati CEO Jawhar Sircar. Speaking to indiantelevision.com Sircar says that The DD Newsnight on Doordarshan News in English topped all news channels for five weeks at a stretch from week 14 (24 March-30 March) to week 18 (21-27 April) in TAM’s weekly ratings for 2013.
He further adds that this is an all-time record, particularly for English news.
He claims that DD Samachar in Hindi was first among all news channels (including terrestrial) in that period; it was third amongst all Indian cable and satellite channels.
The ratings relate to the news slots between 8.00 pm to 9.00 pm (when Hindi NewsNight is telecast on DD Samachar) and 9.00 pm to 10.00 pm when English NewsNight is telecast on DD News.
Citing TAM data for the whole universe (cable, satellite and terrestrial), Sircar says that NewsNight in English on DD News raked in 0.95 average TVR in the 9.00 pm to 10.00 pm slot while the Hindi NewsNight on DD Samachar reported 1.14 average TVR in the 8.00 pm to 9.00 pm.
In case of only CS4+ and satellite excluding terrestrial, News Night on DD Samachar (0.84 average GRPs) ranked third behind Aaj Tak (0.93 average GRPs) and ABP News (0.91 average GRPs). NewsNight on DD News in English chalked up 0.76 average TVR as against CNNIBN’s 0.09 average TVR, NDTV’s average 0.06 TVR, and Times Now’s average 0.05 TVR.
Ironically, the ratings have come at a time when DD has filed for legal redress against TAM India’s ‘misuse of monopoly’ and the Competition Commission of India has commenced an inquiry into the allegations.
Sircar said, “Though we have our problems with TAM India, and we have filed a petition, even they have admitted that DD has started topping the English news channel genre, between 9 and 10 PM when DD’s ‘Newsnight’ is telecast in English.”
