Parliament Question: Fall in Viewership of National Broadcasting Organisations

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF INFORMATION AND BROADCASTING LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2048 (TO BE ANSWERED ON 11.02.2026) FALL IN VIEWERSHIP OF NATIONAL BROADCASTING ORGANISATIONS

2048. SHRI T R BAALU:

Will the Minister of INFORMATION AND BROADCASTING be pleased to

state:

(a) whether the Government is aware that the viewership of National broadcasting organisations both television and radio has fallen sharply as the private channels are far ahead in terms of quality and popularity;

(b) if not, the details of the number of viewership, earnings and profitability during the last five years of Doordarshan and All India Radio vis-a-vis private television and radio channels; and

(c) the details of budgetary support provided to national broadcasting organisations during the last five years and the purpose for which it was given served? ANSWER THE MINISTER OF STATE FOR INFORMATION AND BROADCASTING AND PARLIAMENTARY AFFAIRS (DR. L. MURUGAN)

(a) to (c): Prasar Bharati functions as the country’s Public Broadcaster, as mandated under Section 12 of the Prasar Bharati Act. In accordance with this statutory role, it operates as a public service broadcaster, primarily undertaking pro bono and public interest broadcasting activities. These include providing broadcast coverage to rural, tribal, underdeveloped, border, and Left Wing Extremism (LWE)-affected areas, as well as other strategically significant regions that remain underserved due to the lack of commercial viability for private broadcasters. Prasar Bharati operates with a 'Nation First' ethos, prioritizing public service over commercial gains.The Government of India supports through a Central Sector Scheme “Broadcasting Infrastructure and Network Development (BIND)” for development, modernization and upgradation of broadcasting infrastructure for Prasar Bharati, including that of All India Radio (AIR).

Outlay for this scheme is Rs. 2539.61 crore for the years 2021-26. During the last five years from 2020-21 to 2024-25, the total budgetary support

provided to Prasar Bharati was approximately ₹ 14,421 crore, which includes expenditure towards salaries of Government employees on deemed deputation to Prasar Bharati, as well as allocations under the BIND Scheme.

As per the Gross Unique Viewership estimates provided by M/s Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC), the subscribed Doordarshan channels recorded a cumulative viewership of 372.8 crore from 2021 till January 2026. Akashvani and Doordarshan channels are continuously enhanced through sustained improvements in content quality, regular audience feedback, and the introduction of new and engaging programme formats.

Some of the new-age initiatives undertaken by Prasar Bharati include -  Prasar Bharati's OTT platform “WAVES" launched in 2024 o Multi-genre digital streaming aggregator platform providing infotainment content in multiple Indian Languages o Various channels of Doordarshan and AIR network are integrated into this platform  DD Free Dish (Free-to-Air Direct-To-Home) o Grown significantly from 104 channels in 2019 to 510 channels now o Includes private and educational TV channels, besides the Doordarshan channels.

o 48 Akashvani radio channels  NewsOnAir App o More than 260 live radio channels of Akashvani. *****