A month to go, DD’s channel in news for low funds, format

This time DD has taken the sponsorship route and has decided to outsource five hours of programming. But at Rs 10,000 prime time, the rate card is cheap with 210 seconds of free commercial time to sell. For non-prime time news it is Rs 5,000. Officials say the prices will be fixed next week.

Yet, the producers are not giving up. While familiar television names are negotiating, others are dropping names — big names, powerful ministers — to psyche officials to give them programmes. ‘‘We have asked them to go to the ministers,’’ officials said, conceding that lobbying is peculiar to DD, where officials are perceived as regular sarkari babus despite the corporation tag.

Officials are not sure of the shape DD News will take but there will be regular rural programmes, news from Bollywood and other current affairs programmes. And with elections in five states in November-end, the Government too feels the need for a ‘‘government-managed’’ channel. The news channel will replace DD Metro.

The channel, relaunched as DD News, will be available on the terrestrial mode through a microwave link for greater viewership. Only an antenna would be needed to view the channel, sources said on Saturday. Much has changed since DD hired 21 correspondents (17 remain) a year ago to start a news channel. It still feels the need for outsourcing programmes. An additional Rs 20 crore has been sanctioned for the five remaining months of this fiscal. The budgetary support, sources said will be for two years. A proposal on the Corporation’s plans to launch its Direct to Home platform is pending clearance from the Government.

Unlike the BBC, which is also funded and has a bulk of its money coming from licensing television set owners, and which has changed over the years with some aggressive reporting and scoops, breaking news is still a distant dream on DD. But like the BBC, DD is always in news.