Old is gold?

Because, boy oh boy, is the picture big and complex. What lies ahead of DD is treacherous ground with potholes and pitfalls. In this case, autonomy is just another word for nothing left to lose (as Janis Joplin might have sung). The government may grant autonomy with a sense of great accomplishment (and so say all of us) but this is just the beginning, not the end. Autonomy to do what and for whom? That’s one big question mark.And here is the knave in the pack: central to the concept of autonomy, is financial independence.

Estimates suggest that DD, alone, runs on approximately Rs 800-900 crore, annually. Last year, it earned Rs 570-odd crore in commercial revenue (and once you subtract the 15 per cent advertising commission that amount is reduced to about Rs 450 crore). Which leaves a gap of roughly Rs 350-Rs 450 crore. Who is going to bridge it? Why the government of course.

Thus, the Prasar Bharati Board is faced with an unenviable and contradictory situation: it is financially beholden to the government but it has to find ways and means to end this dependency before the government decides to cut its subsidies.

Welcome to autonomy. Everyone since Jawaharlal Nehru has wanted DD to be BBC. If only it were a question of changing letters of the alphabet. The BBC, as we know, was/is financially independent with funds from the levy of an annual license fee on all TV set owners. That’s what gives it Credibility with a capital C.

Contrary to popular opinion, credibility does not flow out of news bulletins giving BJP more exposure on DD during the present political crisis; credibility lies in DD being master of its own destiny in everything. How can you be credible if you cannot even support yourself? How can you be a credible national, public TV network unless you recognise the needs and desires of the people who watch TV? Realising and fulfiling those needs or desires is, therefore, another big question.

So even as DD sets off after BBC, the Board must draw up a blueprint for DD’s future, one that looks towards financial autonomy and meets public’s expectations (if these can be identified). It has to ask itself: who represents its target audience? The urban upper, middle, lower classes? The rural rich or poor? The Gujarati, the Tamil…. the illiterate, the women, the children… You see how complicated the choice is?

Most of us would agree that public service television of the BBC kind, is desirable for DD, even necessary. We need, deserve an alternative to so much junk in the name of pure entertainment. The dilemma for the Prasar Bharati Board is how to fund a quality, public service broadcasting system (BBC’s programmes cost a pretty paisa) without undermining it. One of the ways suggested is that DD2 be converted into a national, commercially-driven entertainment channel while DD1 is retained as the public service channel. Perfect, always supposing that DD2 can earn enough for both. But with so many channels available and advertising being spread thinly across them, this might be more appealing in thought than in execution.

Also, if you look at Doordarshan’s current revenue earners, they’re limited to roughly 8-10 predominantly films, film-based shows, mythologicals and a few serials. No room for them on public service TV. But if you remove them and introduce serious entertainment (produced by God knows whom), will viewers watch DD1 or will they simply switch to Zee, Sony or DD2? So, should DD cut its nose, it might spite its face.

Let’s face it: TV is entertainment as much as it is news and current affairs. The two have to be skillfully, felicitously joined in holy matrimony. That’s an immediate task before the Prasar Bharati Board. Then, there are long term issues, many, many of them: upgrading technology, fighting off or meeting the challenge posed by one Mr.Bill Gates, reaching out to and including those whose lives are never reflected on the box, decentralising, regionalising, localising, educating India’s Ritas, entertaining its beti-betas….

The old maybe gold, but are they up to it?