The antenna-mounted television is now preparing to go down in history. Jammu and Kashmir, the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Lakshadweep, etc. will continue only in strategic places while the northeastern states will be closed by the end of next March. Thus the transmissions through the air waves based on the towers are disappearing. Terrestrial TV, which opened on September 15, 1959, is exactly 62 years old now. Even after the availability of satellite broadcasts and color TV in 1982, the terrestrial transmission continued with the sole aim of making broadcasts accessible to the general public in remote areas.
The main reason behind the regulation that broadcasters who have purchased sports broadcasting rights are made to share the feed as a mandatory for sports events in which Indian teams are participating, is the idea of providing it to terrestrial audience. However, the court had to issue directions to the TV distribution platforms not to distribute such broadcasts as the broadcasters who bought the rights went to court claiming that it was also being distributed by television satellite in the guise of terrestrial. Thus the difference between terrestrial and satellite became clear once again.
Terrestrial towers are now being closed for a variety of reasons. The main ones are:
1. International commitment to close Analog Transmissions by 2023.
2. Technological advances which made Analog technologies irrelevant and uneconomical and almost minimal viewership.
3. Freeing of Frequency spectrum to be handover to government for better utilization.
4. Trimming of the organization and making it viable and competitive in the present scenario.
5. Adoption of alternative delivery platforms which give better and efficient reach.The popularity and reach of DD free dish across the nook and corner of the country is also one of the reasons for this decision. But Prasara Bharathi has to totally revamp the FreeDish delivery and adopt a good business model on the lines of contemporary DTH platforms.
However, due to Prasara Bharati’s free DTH platform DD Freedish, many terrestrial TV viewers have opted for DD freedish since it is with a good quality and without any hassle. Its uniqueness lies in the fact that if you just buy the dish, there will not be any need for a monthly subscription. With the growing popularity of the DTH platform, private channels have also joined the fray, with the number of connections reaching 4 crore. It is now understood that the complete abolition of Terrestrial TV will indirectly attract those audiences towards the Freedish.
The 54 ATTs in the strategically important places like Jammu and Kashmir, Ladakh, Sikkim, Andaman and Nicobar Islands and Lakshadweep will continue. A total of 151 ATMs, including 43 in the north-eastern states and 108 digital-ready, will be closed by March 31, 2022. Currently the staff are working y in one shift i.e. from 10 am to 5 pm. The 109 ATTs along the border are currently operating in one shift and will close by the end of December, 2021. The DD Freedish campaign will continue until then. The remaining 152 ATTs will be closed by October 31.
As a result of the latest decision, in Andhra Pradesh, Low Power Transmitters (LPTs) in Kadapa, Ongole, Nellore, Kakinada, Srikakulam, Mandasa, Tekkali, Narasaraopeta, Pedanandipad and Vinukonda, Kurnool, Nandyala and Tirupati will be shut. High Power Transmitters (HPTs) in Anantapur, Visakhapatnam and Rajahmundry are also being shut down. In Telangana, Bellampalli, Banswada, Kamareddy, Sirpur, Devarakonda, Nalgonda, Kothagudem, Khammam, Adilabad, LPTs, Warangal and Mahabubnagar HPTs are closing.
