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Prasar Bharati looking at relaunching DD News

Submitted by ITV Production on Jun 14, 2002

Less than six months after Prasar Bharati shut down its Doordarshan News channel due to lack of viewership, the pubcaster is contemplating reviving it.
This was confirmed to indiantelevision.com by a senior Prasar Bharati official today. It needs noting that when DD News closed down on 26 January after 18 months on air, there were simply no takers for the channel despite the increased interest in news post-11 September. The idea then was to devote more time on DD1 to news and current affairs.

What seems to have brought around this turnaround in thinking seems to have been the communal strife that Gujarat state witnessed as well as the ongoing tensions with neighbouring Pakistan. The private news channels have gone from strength to strength following these events with blanket coverage of the events.

The government appears to have come round to the view that a dedicated news channel is an absolute must in these times of uncertainty to work as a vehicle to better represent the government‘s side of the story.

Word of a rethink on DD News comes at a time when Doordarshan is working overtime to spruce up its new presentation team with the help of the BBC and there is a spurt of interest among private players to launch news channels.

Scientific-Atlanta appoints David Wheeler Australia, NZ country head

Submitted by ITV Production on Jun 14, 2002

News Headline

Scientific Atlanta has announced that in order to increase its focus on the Asia marketplace it has named David Wheeler as country manager for Australia and New Zealand.

An official release informs that the strategic acquisition of BarcoNet late last year by Scientific-Atlanta offers many benefits to cable operators, programmers and broadcasters from the converged strengths of the two organizations.

Around the world, Wheeler and other Scientific-Atlanta managers are rolling out the company‘s integrated strategy of products, systems and services under the banner ‘Stronger Connections, Broader Possibilities‘.

Wheeler, who will be based in Sydney, returns to his native Australia following previous assignments with Scientific-Atlanta in Australia, Singapore and the US. Most recently he served as senior director, marketing for Scientific-Atlanta‘s Media Networks business unit - responsible for world wide marketing of the highly successful PowerVu digital video distribution system.

Scientific-Atlanta views Australia as an advanced broadcast and cable market populated by consumers who are early adopters of new technologies and applications.