Broadcasting for people :It’s not the concern for Prasar Bharati alone

How much concerned are we today about Public Service Broadcasting (PSB)? Of course, PSB cannot be appraised in isolation of the larger broadcast scene in the country. There is a misnomer that “public interest” contents cannot maximise viewership/ listenership, and that “commercial viability” is not possible without going for “popularity” programmes irrespective of their public interest.

That being the general assumption, there can be three options in a broadcast scenario. One, maximise viewership for public interest broadcasts, unconcerned about commercial viability. Two, maximise viewership so that commercial interests can be served better; unconcerned about public interest. Three, the balance between commercial interest and public interest where popularity programming can subsidise public interest programmes and make “public interest” programmes in such a way that they too become “popular”.