That the public broadcaster, Prasar Bharati is in trouble, is old news. The
organization has not been doing well for some years now. Initially modeled on
British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), Prasar Bharati today finds itself in
doldrums, with serious trouble on the manpower and funding front. Besides the
broadcaster is unable to meet the technological challenges. It is far behind in
terms of technology currently being used, which is affecting its transmission
and standing in the market.
Candidly, chief executive officer, BS Lalli admits that Prasar Bharati has
not been able to fulfill the vision for which it was set up, “We haven't been
very successful in setting the benchmarks for the industry. The vision that was
there for Prasar Bharati of excellence in programming has not been fulfilled.”
Prasar Bharati's saga of irregularity reached an influx point recently when
the Information & Broadcasting Ministry gave a report on the functioning of its
Board, which has been surrounded by allegations of financial irregularity. CVC
is also probing the financial irregularities at Prasar Bharati. Last year, there
were some management related issues as well when the chairman of the Board, Arun
Bhatnagar and CEO, Lalli were at loggerheads.
The organization is today beset with funding and manpower issues. Funding
remains one of the key issues being faced by the broadcaster. This obviously has
to do with the inherent structure of the organization. While the broadcaster has
revenues, it is also funded by the Ministry of I&B. So the broadcaster is not
only supposed to compete with the other players in the market, but at the same
time be a bridge between the government and the citizens of the country.
BBC, on the other hand, is funded by an annual television license fee, which
is charged to all households of the UK using capable equipment to record or
receive live TV broadcasts. The level of the fee is set by the UK Government
under a multi-year agreement with the Corporation.
“Funding issue has been taken care off to some extent since we have our own
revenues now. Though we are not making any profit as of now, we have been able
to stop the downward trend. Our revenue is between Rs 1,200-1,300 crore and
around Rs 2,000 crore is coming to us from the government funds. We have been
able to stop the downward trend and as of now we are looking at a 10% growth,”
says Lalli.
Manpower is another major issue plaguing the broadcaster. As of now, it has
40,000 employees under its aegis. There is a shortage of another 25,000
employees. Prasar Bharati has got the approval to recruit another 2,000
employees, and the process is likely to start soon. There is an acute shortage
of manpower. Besides, the employees are unhappy because of stagnation.
Dissatisfaction and frustration is eating into its work culture. The broadcaster
hasn't recruited in the last sisxteen years.
“There are several management and work related issues, which we haven't been
able to resolve even after being in existence for the last twelve years. We have
been saddled with some legacy issues. Apart from shortage of manpower, there is
an issue of stagnation of employees,” says Lalli.
The employees of Prasar Bharati were recognized as government servants on
deputation by the government order dated October 5, 2007. So the employees are
central government employees and can avail similar benefits. This was a
significant move since Prasar Bharati is an autonomous body. The order came as a
relief to employees of AIR and Doordarshan.
 |
| “We haven't been very successful
in setting the benchmarks for the industry. The vision that was there for
Prasar Bharati of excellence in programming has not been fulfilled”
BS Lalli,
CEO, Prasar Bharati |
Problems and challenges notwithstanding, the public broadcaster is in a
combative mood and is planning to not only ebb the downward flow but to gain the
market share also.
New Strategy
Going forward, the broadcaster is banking on mobile TV and HDTV initiative
to boost its fortunes. Prasar Bharati is working on a new business model with
accent on mobile TV to increase its revenue. Doordarshan had launched it earlier
this year on a pilot basis and sees immense revenue earning potential given its
first mover advantage. The organization has been looking at ways to generate
some extra money and hopes things would look up soon.
The mobile TV, in association with Nokia on DVB-H technology, would be
available to subscribers within a radius of 10-12 km from Akashvani Bhavan on
Parliament Street in the capital city. Currently, eight channels of Doordarshan
are available on mobile TV platforms, which would be later increased to sixteen.
The DVB-H enabled mobile handset currently comes at a price of Rs 30,000 but the
broadcaster believes this price would come down significantly. Prasar Bharati
would be investing around Rs 100 crore in the project and believes that it would
turn out to be a significant revenue generator in the near future.
Where content is concerned, the public broadcaster is planning to focus on
regional channels and to improve programming content. It is also planning to
digitize its content and archives, which can further be an additional source of
income.
“We have one of the best infrastructure. We are planning to move from analog
to digital. We have around 1,430 transmitters today, out of which 630 will be
left behind when we move to digital. Besides, we would have to syngerize between
Doordarshan and All India Radio transmitters,” says Lalli.
DD News has also been given a new look recently. However, the focus area of
the news remains the same. “Going forward, we plan to focus on socially relevant
programs, but the format remains entertaining. As a broadcaster, we have to
transmit socially relevant messages. For instance, we started `Kyon Ki Jeena
Issi Ka Naam Hai'. Where news is concerned, our focus remains plain vanilla news
without any hype. This will remain the same,” says Lalli.
Prasar Bharati's DTH service remains one of the focus areas of the
organization. Doordarshan has one-of-its-kind DTH service in the world which is
a combination of paid and free-to-air. As of now, it has seventy-five channels,
out of which fifty-nine are free-to-air and the rest are paid.
Elaborating on the major concern for the organization, Lalli says, “My major
concern right now is how to make our programs more meaningful, which cut across
the diversity of our people and still appeal to them. Our programs also have to
attract a wide variety of people. Our programs also have to address the issues
being faced by the citizens of the country. It is our endeavor to make programs
on socially relevant issues like health, religious harmony, etc. We have to be
the bridge between the government and the people. All this has to be combined
with entertainment.”
Lalli is also upbeat about the forthcoming Commonwealth Games. Prasar Bharati
recently came out with an Expression of Interest (EoI) for the coverage of the
forthcoming Commonwealth Games, 2010.
The Commonwealth Games will be broadcast using high definition (HDTV) format.
Under the CWG rules, it is mandatory for the host broadcasters to produce a feed
of the games in this format, so the public broadcaster doesn't have much option
but to do so and have the application up and running before the games begin.
HDTV format requires at least three times more bandwidth compared to the
standard telecast currently used by most broadcasters in the country. However,
both picture and sound quality in this format is far superior. DD will need to
upgrade its infrastructure in Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, and Chennai to broadcast
in HDTV format. The I&B Ministry has already shortlisted five broadcasters and
their consortium partners, from which the contract for the production of CWG
2010, will be awarded to one, based on financial and technical bidding. Tokyo
Broadcasting, Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, USA's International Sports
Broadcasting, and International Games Broadcast services are among the five
international production companies that are said to be in the race.
Keeping the expenditure of the Commonwealth Games in mind, the ministry has
increased the loan to Prasar Bharati by 36%. For 2009-10, the ministry will
offer a loan of Rs 356 crore, up from Rs 262 crore in 2008-09.
A lot needs to be done before Prasar Bharati is able to tackle the issues
being faced. As Ambika Soni pointed out in an interview, Prasar Bharati needs a
`mindset change' more than anything else. It has a lot going for it. The reach
of DD and AIR, coupled with the best infrastructure, make it a formidable
combination. It is upto the organization to make the best of it.
Gagandeep Kaur
gagandeepk@cybermedia.co.in
Page(s) 1
Print
Comment
Email
Digg
Del.icio.us
Reddit
