Evolution of Television Broadcasting in India

Study Notes

Television Broadcast has started as an experimental basis with a financial grant from UNESCO on 15th September 1959.
In 1965, daily one-hour program with a news bulletin was started.
Before 1990s, Doordarshan had monopolized newscast on television.
As a public broadcaster, Doordarshan presented the news in naturalized manner. All controversial issues were pushed under the carpet.
The ruling government had a strong hold on the television broadcasting. Doordarshan news bulletins were unable to provide the international news to the national viewers.
The news was liberated from the confines of the DD newsroom and gained in objectivity and credibility when New Delhi Television (NDTV) produced ‘The World This Week’ at every Friday night in 1988.
In 1989, NDTV produces India’s first live televised coverage of the country’s general elections. The critical and commercial success of the coverage sets a new standard for Indian television.
International satellite television was introduced in India by CNN through its coverage of the Gulf War in 1991.
In August 1991, Star Plus became the first satellite channel to beamed the signal to Indian subcontinent.
India’s first privately owned Hindi channel Zee TV started in October 1992.
The list was followed by Sony and other domestic channels such as Eenadu, Asianet and Sun TV.
Doordarshan had faced a stiff competition in news and public affairs programming and planned to sell some slots for news programme under sponsored category.
In February 1995, NDTV becomes the country’s first private producer of the national news ‘News Tonight’.
In the same year, TV Today Network occupied a 20 minutes slot in DD Metro channel and aired a Hindi and current affairs programme ‘Aaj Tak’.
Nalini Singh produced 5 minutes fast paced, condensed daily news capsule Ankhon Dekhi.
Doordarshan’s monopoly was broken in 1992, when the media houses started to produce news magazines, entertainment magazines and news programs for different channels.
Television Eighteen India Limited (TV18) started India’s first ever entertainment magazine ‘The India Show’ on Star Plus in 1993.
To provide India centric News, Zee Television launched the news and current affairs channel Zee News in 1995.
Star TV beamed its exclusively 24-hour news channels, Star News in 1998. Star made a contract of five year with NDTV for outsourcing of news and related programming for this news channel.
In November 1999, TV18 entered into a 49:51 joint venture with CNBC Asia to launch CNBC India.
TV Today group launched a 24-hour Hindi news channel ‘Aaj Tak’, in December 2000.
NDTV’s five years contract with

Description

Test your knowledge of the history and evolution of television broadcasting in India, from the early days of Doordarshan to the emergence of private channels and the impact of international satellite television.