'Doordarshan to earn Rs.300 crore from ad sales during CWG'

New Delhi, Sep 8 (IANS) Doordarshan, the public television broadcaster of India, will become the third highest ad-revenue earner among other national channels in the country by broadcasting the Oct 3-14 Commonwealth Games, says a new book.

According to the book 'Road to Commonwealth Games', authored by Sunil Yash Kalra and published by Penguin, Doordarshan or DD aims to earn more than Rs.300 crore from ad sales in the 12 days of the Games telecast.

'From the marketing perspective, Doordarshan has rolled out four different packages for advertisers - valued at Rs.5 crore, Rs.10 crore, Rs.25 crore and Rs.50 crore. Doordarshan aims to earn more than Rs.300 crore from ad sales in the 12 days of the telecast of the Games,' Kalra writes in the book.

'Overall, with viewership projected to get a major boost during the Games, Doordarshan is expected to make over Rs.1,100 crore from ad revenues this year. This would make Doordarshan inch closer to the number three position nationally in the general entertainment industry in terms of ad revenue,' the book further says.

Doordarshan will also go into high definition mode with five of its channels for the first time for the Games telecast.

'Doordarshan shall also be covering the Games in the standard-definition format. The HD feeds will be made available on DD Direct Plus, the direct-to-home arm of the broadcaster. Besides, talks are on with the Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd to telecast the events on IPTV and on mobile phones through 3G,' says the book.

The Information and Broadcasting Ministry has also given the TV production and broadcast rights to Britain-based company, SIS (Satellite Information Service Live), at a contract price of Rs.2.46 billion. The company will provide all production facilities and personnel to cover 14 events across 12 venues in Delhi, as well as the opening and closing ceremonies.

'As many as 12 international and foreign broadcasters have tied up with Doordarshan to take the Games to all the Commonwealth countries. In the United Kingdom, the BBC will cover the event on television, radio, internet, iPlayer, mobile, and new media outlets. For Australia, the broadcasting rights are with Channel 10 and Foxtel. The broadcasting corporations of New Zealand, South Africa, Cyprus, Nigeria and Namibia are also in the fray,' the book reads.

The book also includes a survey of over 5,000 employers across India on the long and short term impact that the Games will have on work opportunities in the country.

Kalra is known for serving Indian sports in different capacities for over a decade. As a sports filmmaker, he wielded the megaphone for India's first docudrama on women's cricket - 'Poor Cousins of Million Dollar Babies'.

He is also the author of a coffee table book 'Commonwealth Journey from Melbourne to New Delhi' published in 2006. His most recent contribution is a 100-feet photo canvas on Indian sports, which he created specifically for the Ministry of Railways' Commonwealth Train that runs alongside the Queen's Baton Relay in India.