| Speaking to indiantelevision.com today, an official
of Prasar Bharati, which manages DD and All India Radio, said the
finance ministry had raised some objections on the expenses involved
on going on to a digital platform. "But now we are reworking
the proposal to cut down on the finances involved and would approach
the finance ministry again next week," the official added.
Incidentally, paring down of DD’s international forays, along with
some other issues like money that is owed to the organisation by
superstar Amitabh Bachchan, is likely to figure in a board meet
of Prasar Bharati, which is scheduled for early next week.
The proposal of two DD channels, DD News and DD International,
to be on the BskyB platform would have cost Prasar Bharati Rs. 80
million annually. Plus, there were some other expenses to complete
the formalities in the UK.
The Rupert Murdoch-controlled British Sky Broadcasting is the operator
of the UK’s largest digital television platform and a leading broadcaster
of sports, movies, entertainment and news.
The original proposal to take DD channels to the UK had been cleared
by the Prime Minister’s Office during the previous Bharatiya Janata
Party-led coalition government.
However, some Prasar Bharati officials have also said that finance
ministry’s objections look trivial considering other national broadcasters
from the region, like Pakistan TV, are already in markets like the
US and the UK catering to people of their respective country’s origin.
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