LOK SABHA
Doordarshan has constituted
a Research Advisory Committee consisting of eminent personalities
in the field of Communication Research to advise Doordarshan on
strengthening in-house research and improving programme content/quality.
The rating agencies’
sample does not adequately represent the viewership of Doordarshan.
The sample size of the outside rating agency is limited to only
27 cities/towns, whereas the reach of Doordarshan lies in smaller
cities and villages also. Doordarshan’s Research Unit is being
revamped suitably to facilitate proper assessment and to incorporate
a feedback mechanism to enable restructuring of content and format
of programme, according to viewers’ needs and preferences.
To meet the challenges
posed by changes in the market scenario, Doordarshan has taken
various steps in order to increase viewership and boost revenue
during the coming years. These include improvement in the quality
of content and presentation of channels, improvement in the quality
of transmission, usage of more flexible rate card to meet challenges
of the competitive market environment, introduction of effective
system of advertising of Doordarshan’s channels and programmes.
Steps have also been taken to exploit full commercial potential
of various programmes. Doordarshan has created its own marketing
set up and a separate Development Communication Division to look
after business of various Government Ministries/Departments and
Public Sector Undertakings.
This information
was given by Minister of Information and Broadcasting, Smt. Sushma
Swaraj in a written reply to a question by Prof. Ummareddy Venkateswarlu
in Lok Sabha today.