The Prasar Bharati has decided to phase out analog terrestrial TV transmitters of Doordarshan and move towards a digital network which will open the possibility of city-specific channels, the public broadcaster said today.
The in-principle approval was given to this effect at the Prasar Bharati board meeting recently.
"Landmark decision by Prasar Bharati to shutdown analog terrestrial TV transmitters of Doordarshan (DD), which was long pending," Prasar Bharati, which runs Doordarshan, said in a tweet.
Quoting its CEO Shashi S Vempati, the public broadcaster said, "Long pending move, which, as per Prasar Bharati's own deadline, was to be completed by 2017".
In case of analog transmission, only one channel can be transmitted through a transponder whereas in case of digital transmission, multiple channels can be transmitted.
The digitisation could also open the possibility of new channels catering exclusively to cities, with local content like informing public about traffic jams or weather reports.
"Viewers can watch city specific channels with a digital network," the Prasar Bharati said.
The initiative will also provide an option to connect with the audience via their dialects.
The existing 1,412 analogue TV transmitters in the country serve about 88 per cent of the population.
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