Doordarshan will launch a 24-hour news channel from November 3 this year with the Union Cabinet on Friday clearing a proposal for starting the channel by closing the DD Metro.
With a recurring expenditure of Rs 54 crore (Rs 540 million), the government would provide budgetary support for the first two years during which it would have to become self-sufficient, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj told reporters after the Cabinet meeting.
Terrestrial viewers as well as the satellite signal viewers would be able to receive the proposed channel thereby giving it a distinctive edge over private satellite news channels.
DD Metro terrestrial channel can be received by about 43 per cent of the population.
Prasar Bharati board at its meeting on July 11 had decided to launch the news channel as it felt that there was a need for a dedicated news channel on the Doordarshan platform to exploit the twin advantage of viewers loyalty to DD and the revenue potential of terrestrial channel.
At present, DD telecasts news bulletins from Delhi Kendra for a total of three and a half hours every day and the regional news units put out news bulletins for a total time of approximately twelve and a half hours daily.
