Doordarshan ‘revamp’ wins strategym prize

It took a lot of television watching to make a research paper, for a bunch of students from Jamnalal Bajaj Institute of Management Studies. The group of five second year students, who won the institute’s annual paper presentation competition – “Strategym – on Thursday, suggested a model for revamping Doordarshan, the national television network. They watched two hours of television on average, daily, for three months.

It took a lot of television watching to make a research paper, for a bunch of students from Jamnalal Bajaj Institute of Management Studies. The group of five second year students, who won the institute’s annual paper presentation competition – “Strategym – on Thursday, suggested a model for revamping Doordarshan, the national television network. They watched two hours of television on average, daily, for three months.

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The winning team proposed, a “hybrid model” for the broadcaster, through a combination of licensing (with a certain portion of electricity tax going to Doordarshan) and revenue through advertising.

The group also suggested a new logo for the channel, different scheduling slots and separation of “infotainment” and entertainment. “We wanted to revamp the channel while staying within its framework as a national broadcaster,” said Natasha Bharvani, 23, a student.

Mukesh Sharma, deputy director general of Doordarshan, one of the panelists who judged the paper, said he would be forwarding their research to the head of Prasar Bharti.

The research, conducted over four months involved a survey of 200 consumers, interviews with DD officials and private channels.