The broadcaster has also been called to clarify why was it not reviewing its DD FreeDish ( DD Direct plus / DD DTH /Direct to home) programme, that the ministry said, benefited only private channels and brought repeatedly liability to the govt.
The DD Free Dish is a free-to-air digital direct broadcast satellite TV service owned and operated by Prasar Bharati (Doordarshan or DD). Currently, there are seventy two TV channels on DD Free Dish and reaches around twenty two million households.
The letter sent by the I&B ministry to Prasar Bharati chief executive officer Shashi Shekhar Vempati said that it's been determined that DD Free Dish was subsiding private channels/serial producers, going against Union Cabinet’s approval. The letter also aforementioned delay at the level of creating changes within the policy from Prasar Bharati’s side was adding to the Doordarshan losses on a daily basis.
Reminding the broadcaster that it had not replied to any of the ministry’s eight letters since Nov 2017, a senior ministry official, in a strongly-worded letter, said DD FreeDish was giving channels for as low as Rs 6-8 crore that didn't cover the value per channel and that, as per Prasar Bharati's estimates, comes to Rs 250 crore per channel.
“The I&B ministry through a letter in Nov 2003 conveyance sanction on the growth of TV coverage said the scheme should be sustainable, demonstrable and may not entail any continual liability for the govt,” the letter said. The ministry has said DD Free Dish was too subsidising private channels, that is one of the reasons for accumulation of “non-recovery and non-payment of space charges” over the year.
In every of the letters sent to Prasar Bharati, the ministry has reminded the broadcaster that channels, once paying Rs 6-8 crore, are slated to earn Rs 500- 700 crore and consists of names like Sony mix, Star bharat and zee Anmol which shouldn't qualify for subsidy.
Ministry officials said by DD’s own admission, it telecasts twenty three channels at a complete price ofRs 8,333 core, or Rs 360 crore per channel, and a “pragmatic expansion programme taking into account generation of content and advertising earnings would have been better”.
The ministry has additionally reminded the public broadcaster regarding the telecommunication Disputes Settlement and appellate assembly order dated Oct 27, that suggested Prasar Bharati to hold out a comprehensive review of the policy on DD Free Dish.
“The ministry is simply concerned regarding the exchequer's cash. there's no doubt that a revenue sharing arrangement in allotting free dish channels would have earned DD a higher amount all these years,” a senior official at the ministry said.
The I&B ministry and Prasar Bharati are involved in struggle with the latter claiming violation in its autonomy and also the former saying its intervention is limited to asking for fiscal prudence.
The ministry’s letter invoked Section 24 of Prasar Bharati Act, stating that “ under the power of central government to get info that the govt. may need the corporation to furnish info that the govt. considers necessary.” Prasar Bharati officials declined to comment on the story.
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