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Television first came to India in the form of Doordarshan (DD) on Sept 15, 1959. Doordarshan is the National Television Network of India and also one of the largest broadcasting organizations in the world. At present there are more than 100 different channels operating with nearly 15-16 Television companies beaming programmes to India. The major players being Doordarshan, STAR TV (Satellite Television Asia Network), Zee Television, United Television, CNN, Sony Television, ATN (Asia Television Network), BBC World, SUN TV, Discovery Channel, TNT and Others. India’s television business has an estimated $3.4 billion in revenue in 2005, according to PricewaterhouseCoopers. It is also starting to exert greater cultural influence. Media penetration in India
Note: Television ownership is growing fast here, and it has plenty more room to expand. There are roughly 119 million homes with televisions in India by 2004-end, making it the third largest television market in the world after the United States and China, up from 88 million in 2000. About 55 percent of these depend on neighborhood cable. The current number of television households is about the same as in the United States (100 million), though for India that amounts to only about half of the country’s households, compared with 98 percent in the United States. An estimated nine million television sets were sold in India in 2004. The percentage of households with televisions was approximately 66% in fiscal 2005. As on 29th February 2000, Doordarshan operates 21 channels, has a network of 1090 transmitters and also via satellite, puts out over 1,393 hours of programmes every week. The terrestrial signals of Doordarshan can reach 87.9 percent of the country's 1 billion people. There are 64 TV sets and 17.2 cable subscribers per 1,000 people (1996). Except Doordarshan all the Satellite channels reach viewers through Cable TV networks. Doordarshan channels come through Terrestrial transmission as well as through satellite networking. Cable Television first seen in the Westerns parts of India came as a cost effective alternative for watching feature films on Video Cassette Players (VCPs) for the middle and lower middle class population. CNN was the first of the satellite channels to make an entry into Indian homes during the Gulf War in 1991 followed by STAR TV in Dec 1991. The increase in the number of channels has led to a rise in demand for television software which in turn has led to increase in the number of Production companies. The software support for the most of the channels comes through in-house production or commission of programmes to private producers. The main source of revenue for all the TV channels is from advertisement and sponsorship of programmes and slots. Television accounts for nearly 25% of the total media spend with Doordarshan's share being 60% of the overall TV ad spend and the balance 40% being distributed among the various satellite channels. In the last four years a number of commercial satellite channels have made an entry into Indian homes through various Cable TV network. But Doordarshan has maintained more than 85% of the total viewership. Doordarshan has a three-tier primary programme service - the National, the Regional and the Local. In the national programmes the focus is on the national culture and the programmes include news, current affairs, science, cultural magazines, serials, music, dance, drama and feature films. The regional programmes carried on all the transmitters in the different states of India also deal with similar programmes but in the language and idiom of the particular region. The local programmes are area specific and cover local issues featuring local people. The motivation for the world entertainments industry to turn its attention to India is the sheer numbner of the target audience and their increasing inclination to spend on entertainment. Together with which the onslaught of new Indian and multinational brands will mean larger and large ad budgets.
Advertising spending
on Indian television increased by 21 percent a year, on average, from 1995
to 2005, when it reached $1.6 billion, according to ZenithOptimedia, which
tracks advertising globally. Double-digit growth rates are expected to
continue for years. |
Fast
Facts: - DD is the amongst the largest broadcasting companies in the world. - The terrestrial signals of DD can reach 89.6 percent of the country's 1 billion people - 119 million homes in India have a TV set . - Total viewership at 415 million people is amongst the highest in the world. |
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