New Delhi: After the prime time programming slot auction that concluded in December. Public Broadcaster Doordarshan is all set to roll out new television shows that are being produced by leading Production houses like Ekta Kapoor’s Balaji Telefilms and Saaibaba Telefilms that will go on-air from February 2017.
The new TV show genre ranges from youth-oriented shows to family dramas and music reality shows in a bid to revive the ratings and revenues of the network.
Balaji Telefilms Ltd bagged three slots of half an hour each between 8 PM to 9:30 PM from Monday to Thursday. As for Friday, the production house won two slots between 8 PM to 9 PM.
DD National presently runs Pavitra Bandhan, mythological show Siya Ram and daily soap Pammi Beauty Parlour during prime time on weekdays that are being produced by Balaji Telefilms. On the other hand, Saaibaba Telefilms will be contributing majorly in Non-fiction front by producing music-focused fiction and reality shows for Doordarshan.
Saaibaba Telefilms won three slots in the auction—one half an hour slot from Monday to Friday and two one-hour slots for Saturday and Sunday.
Prasar Bharati, which runs Doordarshan and All India Radio, had put up 7-11pm slots on all weekdays on auction in May, while keeping the 7-8pm slot on Saturdays for its own content. The auction concluded earlier in December.
However, some of the slots which did not receive any bid in the first auction, have been put up for sale again. The broadcaster had issued a request for proposal (RFP) in the last week of December, inviting applications for the slots between 10-11pm (two half an hour slots) and 7-8pm on Sunday.
The decision to auction programming slots is a part of Prasar Bharati’s efforts to revamp the entire Doordarshan network.
