New Delhi [India], October 3: At 67, Doordarshan has everything a broadcaster would spend decades trying to build: a national network, studios, archives, brand recall, institutional reach, and an extraordinary emotional connect with generations of Indians. Yet it is struggling with the one thing that ultimately determines the survival of a television network: the ability to consistently attract and retain viewers.
There was a time when Doordarshan never had to chase viewers. It was the only channel most Indian households had, and its serials were watched by millions at once. Nobody markets a shared habit.
That habit is long gone. Prasar Bharati has the widest physical reach in the country, along with the infrastructure and staff to run it. What it does not have is viewers. Even free-to-air private channels such as “Dangal” now pull attention away from DD National, and while private networks offer 4K streaming, many DD channels still lag on high-definition.
According to a media expert, the problem lies less in resources than in how the organisation works. Layers of bureaucracy, friction within the cadres, and slow procedures have kept the broadcaster tied to its own processes while competitors kept changing.
“The organisational balance between engineering, administration and creative programming needs urgent review,”
the expert said.
“A broadcaster cannot allow technical and administrative structures to overshadow professional editorial and creative leadership.”
The top rungs, including the Additional Director General and Deputy Director General posts, are largely held by engineering and technical officers. There are no executive producers whose only job is content. The result shows on screen. Most of DD National’s content is “para drop,” meaning it lands on the schedule from above instead of winning its place. There is no tendering, no committee to evaluate proposals or scripts, and little creative quality check before a programme airs. The line-up mixes entertainment, rural, and devotional content, so the channel has no clear identity.
Sales and marketing is another weak spot. An official source said DD National spends roughly Rs 20 lakh per episode on each of the eight shows it telecasts in prime time daily, yet these programmes bring in hardly any revenue. The source added that the function is headed by an engineering-cadre officer of DDG rank rather than a sales professional hired from the market.
It was not always like this. Producers once stood in line to submit proposals to Doordarshan, and that competition produced the classic shows this generation still remembers. When slots are handed out without a contest, nobody has a reason to bring their best.
Prasar Bharati’s answer is WAVES OTT, its direct-to-consumer streaming platform. It has made DD content easier to find online, but it still works more like a library than a service people open every evening. Doordarshan’s social media accounts have a decent following, yet individual shows get little push there. A show that goes out with no teaser, no outdoor campaign, no influencer tie-up, and no targeted social media effort reaches only the people who already happened to be looking. Private platforms build buzz for weeks before a premiere, and that gap is hard to close by simply being available.
Three fixes come up repeatedly: an open, competitive process for proposals with executive producers hired to run programming; HD on every channel and 4K-ready infrastructure; and planned marketing campaigns across print, digital, and social media.
None of this requires building anything new. The towers, the studios, and the reach already exist. With professional creative leadership added, Prasar Bharati could go from being a channel people can find to one they actually choose to watch.
Disclaimer: Views expressed above are the author’s own and do not reflect the publication’s views.
