Former Information & Broadcasting Minister Prakash Javadekar had said that Doordarshan should consider launching a channel for kids and also allocate an hour on Doordarshan for animation programming to attract young viewers.
The progress on it has however not gained any momentum yet. Speaking exclusively to AnimationXpress, Prasar Bharati CEO Jawahar Sircar said that Doordarshan’s current focus was on consolidating its vast channel network before taking other decisions. “There is a funding shortage for production and we made the announcement to test waters,” he revealed.
This coupled with the high production cost of animation only makes it worse for the pubcaster. “The unit cost per half an hour for animation is very high and that needs to be looked at. We are open to back a contract with anyone who is willing to share the cost with us,” he says opening the doors for the animation industry to consider.
Though the kids channel and animation is not yet in the forefront, Jawahar says that they aren’t ‘dismissing animation at all’. “If someone can sponsor it and take up half the cost, we are prepared to take a good look at it,” he clarifies.
For all the animation producers out there, this can be a good opportunity to tie up with Doordarshan to reach out to the large audience that it serves.