Doordarshan to launch Urdu channel in 2006
New Delhi: UNI
A New Year's gift awaits the over 120-million-strong Urdu-speaking people in the country with Prasar Bharati announcing to launch an exclusive Urdu channel from January 1, 2006.
Announcing this at a press conference here on Friday, Information and Broadcasting Minister S Jaipal Reddy said the launch of the channel would take at least six months for recruiting personnel and developing software for it.
An amount of Rs 65.7 crore had been set aside to prepare the software for the channel, which would beam at lest seven hours of programme every day, to begin with, he said.
He said Prasar Bharati had accepted a request to this effect made by the Central Government.
The Minister said there was no dearth of Urdu journalists in the country to help develop the channel.
''To start with, a sum of Rs 200 crore is proposed to be provided in the 2005-06 Budget for the channel, which will dish out both news and entertainment programmes,'' he pointed out.
Allaying doubts about the commercial viablity of the proposed channel in view of the competition from the existing private Urdu channels, Mr Reddy said Prasar Bharati is a public broadcaster and it has to cater to the needs of all sections of society.
''Urdu boasts of a rich literature, and over a hundred million people speak and understand it. It is imperative to start such a channel,'' he added.
While the channel was not being started keeping commercial viability in view, attempts would be made to earn revenue.
http://www.deccanherald.com/deccanherald/jun242005/update158292005624.asp
We can just hope that competition will make ETV Urdu's program even better.
A New Year's gift awaits the over 120-million-strong Urdu-speaking people in the country with Prasar Bharati announcing to launch an exclusive Urdu channel from January 1, 2006.
Announcing this at a press conference here on Friday, Information and Broadcasting Minister S Jaipal Reddy said the launch of the channel would take at least six months for recruiting personnel and developing software for it.
An amount of Rs 65.7 crore had been set aside to prepare the software for the channel, which would beam at lest seven hours of programme every day, to begin with, he said.
He said Prasar Bharati had accepted a request to this effect made by the Central Government.
The Minister said there was no dearth of Urdu journalists in the country to help develop the channel.
''To start with, a sum of Rs 200 crore is proposed to be provided in the 2005-06 Budget for the channel, which will dish out both news and entertainment programmes,'' he pointed out.
Allaying doubts about the commercial viablity of the proposed channel in view of the competition from the existing private Urdu channels, Mr Reddy said Prasar Bharati is a public broadcaster and it has to cater to the needs of all sections of society.
''Urdu boasts of a rich literature, and over a hundred million people speak and understand it. It is imperative to start such a channel,'' he added.
While the channel was not being started keeping commercial viability in view, attempts would be made to earn revenue.
http://www.deccanherald.com/deccanherald/jun242005/update158292005624.asp
We can just hope that competition will make ETV Urdu's program even better.
1 Comments:
An all-Urdu channel is a very good news. I hope the new channel includes educational aspects in addition to promoting literary aesthetics. May it survive for ever.
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