CEO of the LSTV Rajiv Mishra said that the public broadcaster, which entered the seventh year of its operation last month, has also registered a growth of over 300 per cent in viewership in the first quarter.
Mishra told reporters that the channel, which only accepts advertisements from government departments and public sector undertakings, has generated Rs 4.83 crore in the first quarter as against only Rs 31.75 lakh.
He said that the growth in revenue would no longer keep the channel "dependent on the government exchequer".
Besides, he said that a few channels have signed an MoU with the LSTV under which they could utilise the content produced by it at a nominal annual fee of Rs three lakh.
Several programmes on the LSTV have got "good TRP" despite being a "very serious" channel, he said adding that "live coverage of the Lok Sabha is my USP".
Mishra said that the advertisement rates on LSTV have been "bare minimum" --Rs 600 for a ten second spot--and the ad sales have grown due to the fact that the channel is being seen as a "very good medium".
Replying to a question, he said personally he did not see any harm in getting advertisements from the private sector for LSTV which has been scrupulously observing the code of conduct for advertisements.
LSTV is a Parliament Channel mandated to telecast live the proceedings of the Lok Sabha
