Doordarshan Is No. 1 English News Channel, Claims Prasar Bharati

Doordarshan (DD) News channel is ranked first in the English genre and 12th in the Hindi genre, Prasar Bharati has informed the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB).

The public broadcaster has sourced the data to Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC). Prasar Bharati claimed in the Lok Sabha that on an all-India basis (WK-8 to WK-11), DD News garnered the leadership position in the English news genre with 31 GVL (NCCS 22+AB Male). Republic TV was at the second position with 8 GVL and CNBC TV18 on the third spot with 7 GVL, it claimed. In the Hindi genre (NCCS 15+), DD News stands at the 12th position with 128 GVL.

In the annexure submitted in the House, Prasar Bharati has also mentioned that DD News strives to deliver factual and balanced news and is recognized for its credibility as a public broadcaster. It cannot be compared with private news channels which have a commercial orientation.

While Prasar Bharati claims that DD is the leader in the English genre, the channel, interestingly, is primarily a Hindi news channel which runs English language content only for a few hours.