NEW DELHI: Doordarshan and chef Sanjeev Kapoor have worked on a series of videos to promote material on DD Free Dish, the state broadcaster’s free-to-air, direct-to-home service. Kapoor, whose own culinary channel Food Food is also a part of the DD Free Dish lineup, can be seen in the videos providing brief recipes that have been given distinctive names in collaboration with DD, as well as discussing the platform.
“With Chef Sanjeev Kapoor’s dedicated food channel Food Food now on our platform, this collaboration aims to create greater awareness on the diversity of content available on DD Free Dish,” said Shashi Shekhar Vempati, chief executive officer, Prasar Bharti, adding that this is the first time a dedicated food channel has come on board on the platform. “We look forward to additional new initiatives with our content creator partners, who have helped DD Free Dish expand as a platform tremendously.” These one-of-a-kind recipes are being presented on all of our TV channels and social media platforms under the banner of DD FreeDish.
According to a recent Ficci EY media and entertainment sector analysis, DD Free Dish hosted 164 channels as of February 2022, including 91 Doordarshan channels and 73 private channels, and 51 educational channels launched during the epidemic. The audio programming content of roughly 48 satellite radio channels is also delivered through the Free Dish service.
Star India, Viacom18 Media, Zee Entertainment Enterprises, and Sony Pictures Networks India, which had withdrew its content from DD Free Dish in March 2019, made a comeback in 2020 to benefit on advertising revenues and lasted on the service until 2021. On the basis of lower-cost television sets, economic concerns, and the addition of new channels to the platform, free television has grown its member base to an estimated 43 million.
