Baljit Singh Lalli, who took charge as chief executive officer of Prasar Bharati at the end of December 2006, is an Indian Administrative Service officer of the 1971 batch from the Uttar Pradesh cadre with vast administrative and managerial experience spanning over three decades.
In an interview to indiantelevision.com's BB Nagpal, Lalli answered various questions relating to the falling revenue of Doordarshan, the cricket telecast rights controversies and other issues.
Excerpts:
Doordarshan’s gross revenue fell by about Rs 1300 million to RS 8,182.2 million in 2006-07, as compared to RS 9,469.6 million in 2005-06. But the gross revenue of All India Radio rose marginally by RS 148.2 million to RS 2,836.5 million in the same period. To what do you attribute these losses? |
Why is it that Prasar Bharati wakes up so late to bid for the cricket telecast rights and then has to pass a mandatory sharing legislation? |
For a long time, Prasar Bharati has been talking of strengthening its marketing strategy, but the results do not seem to be showing?
AIR has already made more than five times the projected revenue from cricket. You should also not forget that Prasar Bharati is a public broadcaster and cannot resort to generating revenues the way some other channels can. At the same time, we are now having closer monitoring of the marketing activity, and are also recruiting professionals for the work. |
A Comptroller and Auditor General Report talks of losses on various counts, including arbitrary fixation of advertisement rates for feature films to favour certain filmmakers. How will you ensure proper checks and balances? |
An Acquisition Policy announced by Doordarshan to acquire quality programmes has reportedly led to scams including submission of duplicate or blank tapes? |
But this has already led to an order for transfer of senior officers in Doordarshan who have been in their posts for more than six years? |
You had announced earlier that Prasar Bharati would switchover to the Indian satellite Insat-4B by June. Is that work on schedule and how many transponders will you be using?
The shift from the Netherlands-based NSS 6 will not only mean savings in foreign exchange, but also clarity in picture since the Indian satellite is better placed than the European satellite. Prasar Bharati pays NSS around RS 225 million annually. The initiative was motivated by patriotic instincts. Insat-4B is located in a geostationary orbit of 93.5 degrees East, which is closer to Indian than NSS 6, which is located at 95 degrees East. |
What about the commitment by Isro to Sun TV because of the loss of Insat-4C? |
What are you doing to effect a smooth transition to Insat-4B?
DD’s DTH would be available across five transponders in the KU Band on Insat-4B, on the frequencies 10990, 11070, 11150, 11490 and 11570 MHz on vertical polarisation and a uniform symbol rate of 27500 ksps. |
'We have now taken steps to streamline the marketing procedures. Also, the attempt is to bring in greater synergy between All India Radio and Doordarshan'
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Will DD Direct continue to be Free-to-air? |
The Planning Commission’s Sub-Group on ‘Going Digital’ has recommended that Doordarshan should commence digital terrestrial transmission by the 2010 Commonwealth Games, and should have a phased approach for going digital covering all the seven mega cities by 2011 in the first phase and the rest of the country by 2013.
We have made some proposals which are with the Planning Commission. In fact, this is a major thrust area in the Eleventh Five-Year Plan. I personally met officials of the Planning Commission recently and gave a projection of RS 5000 crore (RS 50 billion).
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Has Prasar Bharati begun working on plans for optimum coverage of the Commonwealth Games? |
A Technical Group had been set up to examine Encryption Mandate for DD signals, particularly for cricket telecasts. There appears to be a lot of disagreement among members of the Group on the issue. What is the position about this? |
Prasar Bharati had announced a policy on telecasting series based on Indian Classics. What is the progress on that front? |
The concerned Parliamentary Standing Committee has expressed its displeasure over the progress in Digitalisation and building of archives for Prasar Bharati? |
DD India is available via Satellite all over the world, but there are few takers even in countries with large Indian population. DD has had to tie up with local cable operators in the United Kingdom recently. What are you doing to popularized Indian channels in other countries?
DD India has seven Hindi and six English news bulletins daily, while DD News has 19 English and 24 Hindi news bulletins daily respectively. Although both these satellite channels are free to air and could be seen anywhere in the world, this is the second time that Prasar Bharati has entered into an agreement with a distributor to ensure the channels reach viewers’ homes.
Prasar Bharati also has a similar arrangement in the United States with companies owned by persons of Indian origin. The aim will also be to reach out in the Middle East, Malaysia, the rest of Europe, Canada and so on, and the broadcaster has invited ‘Expressions of Interest’ from entrepreneurs in these countries. |
Prasar Bharati Act has provision for Broadcasting Council which never came into existence. Will this become redundant under the new Bill that provides for a Regulatory Authority? |
Doordarshan has launched the Digital Video Broadcasting – Handheld (DVB-H) as a Pilot Project in Delhi. What about other cities? |
There have been promises for increasing a scientific temper in the country through the media. The private channels have not done much, and DD’s efforts in the initial years also appear to have come to a stop? |
What specific programmes are being telecast to mark 150 years of the freedom struggle? |