Doordarshan will launch a 24-hour terrestrial news channel, requiring no cable connection to be viewed, from November 3 this year.
A terrestrial channel is transmitted through microwave link and needs only an antenna for transmission to homes unlike a satellite channel which needs a cable connection.
Announcing the launch of DD News, Prasar Bharti CEO K S Sarma said the government has sanctioned Rs 54 crore (Rs 540 million) per year for this channel and an additional Rs 20 crore (Rs 200 million) has been sanctioned for the five remaining months of this fiscal.
"However, I have taken up the challenge to raise revenue from a terrestrial channel. My target is to raise Rs 2 crore (Rs 20 million) for the next five months of this fiscal, Rs 27 crore (Rs 270 million) in 2004-05 and Rs 54 crore (Rs 540 million) in the next fiscal through advertising revenue," Sarma told newspersons in New Delhi on Wednesday.
"We have decided to outsource business news, Bollywood and what is being called the rural news on DD News. All remaining programmes will be done in-house," he said.
Sarma said the maximum amount of programming to be outsourced on the new channel would be five hours per day.