GOVERNMENT TIGHTENS GRIP ON DD

A major shakeup in Doordarshan, the national broadcaster, is in the offing. The changes being sought to be effected are likely to start off with a new programming policy to be put in place which will get DD new fares.

Apart from that some top level official changes will also happen. Acting chief executive of Prasar Bharti Corporation (PBC), O.P. Kejriwal, is to go and is likely to be replaced by a temporary CEO who will be a government nominee.

According to information & broadcasting (I&B) minister, Pramod Mahajan, "DD's programming quality has gone down and this has started telling on the revenues of DD. We are planning a overhaul of DD and All India Radio."

Mahajan said that new programmes are to be introduced on DD which will be aimed at not only educating the masses, but also entertaining them. "We cannot let DD degenerate, though we undertsand the government cannot take direct control of DD as Prasar Bharati is an an autonomous body."

A close aide of Mahajan pointed out that a government nominee, additional secretary in the ministry, R.R. Shah, is likely to replace Kejriwal as the temporary CEO of the PB Corporation till the selection committee completes its formalities for a permanent replacement.

This step is being viewed in the PBC as a "backdoor entry of the government with an aim to destroy the autonomy of the Corporation." Said a senior board member, Rajendra Yadav, "If a government nominee is put in CEO's place, then the whole purpose of autonomy will be defeated."

Another board member, B.G. Verghese said, "We are all for autonomy and if the need arises we'll seek an audience with the President of India to seek redressal."

But for the time being, government is all set to take control of DD and AIR and whether Prasar Bharati board members like it or not, the Corporation has not done its cause any good by getting involved in unavoidable controversies, like the contentious issue of marketing of World Cup matches on DD.

On that front, charges and counter charges have been flying thick and fast between DD, Stracon, and Nimbus. Stracon had initially got the contract to market air time during the World Cup telecast on DD but that had been taken away from it as Nimbus had raised a stink about the way the deal was struck. The Mumbai High Court had decreed that air time deal should be awarded to Nimbus two days before the start of the World Cup. Nimbus had failed to get a bank guarantee for the telecast and the PBC chief had dipped into the I&B's coffers to pay the English cricket board for the rights. Then, Nimbus instead of paying the full guarantee amount by bank draft had issued a cheque for a sum of Rs 125 million, which its promoter Harish Thawani did not allow DD to encash. Some DD officials then raised Cain saying that the Nimbus deal too was fishy. Thawani retaliated by saying that DD was corrupt. Stracon's Ray meanwhile maintained an `I told you' attitude.

At the time of writing, all three had demanded that an inquiry be carried out into the entire case. It's not as if the fracas affected DD's commercial revenues too much because each match telecast so far on the state-owned network has been choc-a-bloc with ads. Industry observers, however, expect DD to make a loss on the World Cup telecast too.