Doordarshan News, usually referred to by its abbreviation as DD News, is India's only 24-hour terrestrial TV news channel. ThePrasar Bharati company board approved the proposal to start a 24-hour news channel in place of DD Metro, which was closing. This was subsequently approved by the Union Cabinet in an October 3, 2003 meeting.
DD Metro was converted into a 24-hour TV news channel, into DD News, which launched on November 3, 2003. Its terrestrial reach is 21.6% by area and 44.9% by population of India.
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DD News quickly gained popularity among the viewers, exceeding its commercial revenue target of Rs. 2 crores for 2003-04, and the channel earned Rs. 10 crores. The popularity of the channel amongst advertisers continues unabated and the revenue figures for the current year (04-05) have already crossed Rs. 10 crores. The main reason for this is that DD News is a free channel unlike the private and better channels that are pay channels.
India's public broadcaster Doordarshan benefitted immensely from DD News's launch, as its in-house production churned out lots of quality content, achieving economies of scale.
DD News is India's only 24-hour terrestrial news channel. It telecasts over 16 hours of live news bulletins daily in Hindi, English,Sanskrit, and Urdu. Regional News Units attached to different Doordarshan Kendras also telecast daily news bulletins in regional languages. News headlines and breaking news updates are regular features, and headlines are even accessible via SMS.
DD News also carries financial information about stocks and commodities, accessing information from the National Stock Exchange of India (NSE) and the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) in addition to leading commodity exchanges including the National Commodity and Derivatives Exchange (NCDEX) and the MCX Stock Exchange.
DD News has undergone several logo changes and one was finalised on January 26, 2013. A new show called News Night was introduced during prime time.
