Get ready for a new look Doordarshan

NEW DELHI: With the TV wars hotting uponce again, Doordarshan is determined to emerge as an active player. Realisingthat a sizable viewership alone does not guarantee revenue, DD is now determinedto acquire a more upmarket profile.The recent Television AudienceMeasurement (TAM) ratings for news channels from mid-February to mid-April showsDD1’s vierwership being pegged at over 90 per cent of all televisionaudience homes.In cable and satellite (C&S) homes, DD News wasviewed by 54 per cent of all TV homes. In comparison, Aaj Tak had a 30 per centshare, Zee News a 12 per cent share, Star News a ten per cent share, SaharaSamay a three per cent share and the newly-launched NDTV channel less than a oneper cent share of C&S homes, according to TAM reports."We are ona come back trial and believe our turnaround strategy must start with news,"said DD director general CY Quereshi.Quereshi recently got hisentire news team together to list out what they thought were majororganisational glitches. They gave DD news 49 minuses and only 24 pluses. Theirmost-frequently touted criticism — DD News had overweight, agingbroadcasters.Quereshi hired an independent recruitment agency ACFerguson which aided in recruiting 24 new faces. Another problem that DD isnegotiating is the arbitrary changing of programmes. "DD ends up losing as muchas Rs 30-40 lakh per month when its programs are shifted at a short notice,"says Quereshi.The broadcaster has also decided to set up its ownmarketing outlets in all the metros. "Under pressure from ourrivals, we realised the major marketing agencies were not coming to us. With ourown outlets in place, our ad positions have shown a five-fold increase," says KSSarma, CEO Prasar Bharati Corporation.This boycott by marketingagencies saw DD’s revenues plummet from the Rs 601 crore in 96-97 to Rs419 crore in 98-99. In comparison, Star TV earnings have trebled and 2001-02 sawit earn Rs 900 crore while Zee TV earned Rs 600 crore.Doordarshanhas now decided to hire two ad agencies J. Walter Thompson and TWB Anthem togive them a new look.