Public broadcasters must embrace digital evolution to stay relevant: Gaurav Dwivedi

Gaurav Dwivedi, CEO of Prasar Bharati, on Thursday urged public broadcasters to adapt to the shifting digital landscape while maintaining their commitment to unbiased journalism. Dwivedi emphasised that in an era where private networks dominate and algorithms often dictate visibility, public broadcasters like Doordarshan must evolve their strategies to remain relevant and accessible.

“Despite the explosion of private networks, Doordarshan continues to have unmatched reach, especially in the remotest corners of the country. Out of the 19 to 20 crore TV sets in India, one-fourth of the satellite distribution comes from our network,” he said while speaking at an event.

Recognising the rapid rise of digital content consumption, Dwivedi detailed how Prasar Bharati is bolstering its digital offerings. The organisation’s app, active for eight years, is central to its strategy. “There is an increasing number of people consuming content only on digital media because of cord-cutting. So far, we have focused more on presenting news through our app,” he noted, underscoring the changing consumption habits of audiences.

Accessibility remains a core principle for Prasar Bharati, as demonstrated by initiatives like Free Dish and the recently introduced Waves. These platforms aim to ensure that content is available to everyone, regardless of socio-economic barriers. “Similar to Free Dish, being a public broadcaster, we will never have a high entry barrier with Waves,” Dwivedi explained.

While discussing the challenges of digital transformation, Dwivedi raised critical concerns about the lack of transparency in algorithms that influence content visibility. “In an ideal world, if these algorithms were public resources, I would still accept it. But since they are not open, I am not sure if these resources are being projected to audiences objectively. A closed algorithm is something I am not happy with,” he stated.

Dwivedi also emphasised the importance of empowering journalists in this digital-first world. “News gathering is a very sensitive business and shouldn’t be left to algorithms. Significant time and effort go into collecting stories from the ground, and journalists should be allowed to monetise their work through the platform of their choice,” he said.