India now has close to 900 private TV channels. Apart from this, there is mushroom growth of OTT platforms recently. In this crowded place, DD has to hold its own. It is India’s public broadcaster. As we have observed, DD used to be part time channel, but only in the late 1990s, it became a full-fledged 24-hour channel. Most of the DD channels since than have been revamped. Some of the channels have been renamed.

Prasar Bharati now runs DD and All India Radio. DD has a three-tier programming service — national, regional and local. DD covers the whole country, and should now focus on enhancing its quality of content. It does not figure in the top 10 Hindi GEC channels. ( BARC ). DD competes with FTA ( free-to-air ) channels. Then it has to compete with DTH channels. DD has been used to reach the rural markets.