The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh / Visakhapatnam News : AIR to launch DTH radio channel

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Oct 05, 2004

Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh - Visakhapatnam

AIR to launch DTH radio channel

By Our Staff Reporter

VISAKHAPATNAM, OCT. 4. All India Radio (AIR) will launch a direct-to-home (DTH) radio channel for broadcast through television.

Same dish antenna

The satellite broadcast would use the DTH platform of Doordarshan. The service can be accessed with the same dish antenna used for DTH TV, but a radio receiver has to be used. The 24-hour radio service dispenses with the limitations of terrestrial broadcasting and mainly aims at catering for non-residents who are living away from their own place. The radio will focus on infotainment as distinct from the earlier thrust on education.

Giving details of the DTH radio at a press conference here on Monday, the AIR Visakhapatnam Station Director, K.V. Hanumantha

Rao, said that the Visakhapatnam station would also broadcast the DTH programmes but they would be confined to the transmission area of the station.

``The transmission is expected to begin in the next three or four months. The DTH radio is designed to cover all the Indian Ocean countries, from Indonesia to the Gulf,'' the Superintendent Engineer, K.S. Sarma, said. Because of the present high cost of radio receivers for DTH service, about Rs. 50,000 to Rs. 60,000, community sets would be affordable. Ultimately, the cost is expected to come down to about Rs. 6,000.

Mr. Hanumantha Rao said that in the first phase of DTH radio 10 channels covering several regional languages would be introduced. The second phase would feature more regional and tribal languages and a channel each for Carnatic and Hindustani classical music.

More phone-ins

AIR, Visakhapatnam, is also introducing more phone-in programmes in its Yuvavani programme, including quiz, recitation of poems, and an English programme. It is bringing changes in its literary programmes by broadcasting writings of authors and poets of the region in its `Sahititiram'. Book reviews and `Samasyapooranam' will be broadcast on Wednesdays. The women's programmes will carry interviews with women who have distinguished themselves in various fields. In the children's section, on every second Saturday and fourth Sunday phone-in programmes will be broadcast.

The Programme Executives, V. Mukunda Sarma, N. Venugopal and R.V. Ramana Murthy, detailed the changes.

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