Doordarshan posts faster growth in FY17 than All India Radio

Prasar Bharati’s Doordarshan has seen faster growth than its radio operations under All India Radio (AIR) in the fiscal ended 31 March 2017. While Doordarshan saw a 9.5% growth in revenue over the year-ago period, AIR grew by just 1.79%. Doordarshan’s revenue stood at Rs 827.51 crore in FY17 compared to Rs 755.79 crore a year ago. AIR, on the other hand, has reported revenue of Rs 455 crore in FY17, up from Rs 447.76 crore a year ago. AIR’s network comprises FM channels (FM Gold and FM Rainbow), local radio stations, Vividh Bharati stations and five community stations. The push this year will be to expand digital radio and transforming analogue transmitters into digital. As reported earlier by TelevisionPost.com, Doordarshan has reversed the past few years’ trend of a fall in revenues. In FY16, DD’s revenue dipped 17% to Rs 755.79 crore (exclusive of service tax) compared to Rs 911.01 crore a year ago. AIR’s revenue in FY16 saw a marginal increase to Rs 447.76 crore (Rs 4.48 billion) from Rs 435.1 crore (Rs 4.35 billion) a year ago.