Doordarshan launches free Mobile TV Services

State-owned media broadcaster Doordarshan (DD) has commenced free TV service for mobile phones in 16 cities, including the four metros.

Digital Terrestrial Television services of Doordarshan have started operations from February 25 in sixteen cities including Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Guwahati, Patna, Ranchi, Cuttack, Lucknow, Jalandhar, Raipur, Indore, Aurangabad, Bhopal, Bangalore and Ahmedabad, reported Press Trust of India.

The two key aspects of DD's mobile TV service are that the media content is free and it does not require the internet. Mobile TV can be received in and around these cities using DVB-T2 dongles in OTG enabled smartphones and tablets, Wi-Fi dongles for moving vehicles, besides the TV sets having a built-in DVB-T2 tuner which is called Integrated Digital TV (iDTV).

While iDTV are available in Sony, LG, Panasonic, Samsung etc, the dongles can be purchased from online shopping sites like Flipkart, eBay, Snapdeal etc.

Currently, DD National, DD News, DD Bharati, DD Sports, DD Regional/DD Kisan are being relayed. Viewers only need a one-time investment of dongle and there will be no extra expenditure afterwards unlike streaming with the Internet.

Digital Terrestrial Television (DTT) secures greater plurality in platform ownership, ensuring that no single platform owner is so powerful that they can exert undue influence on public opinion or political agendas, the statement said.