From Doordarshan to Digital: The Evolution of Indian Television

On September 15, 1959, a small studio in Delhi beamed India’s very first television signal through a modest transmitter with a reach of barely 40 kilometres. That humble experiment, run under the wing of All India Radio, would eventually grow into one of the world’s largest broadcasting networks and reshape an entire nation’s relationship with entertainment, information, and culture. The story of Indian television – from a single state-run channel to hundreds of satellite networks and now a booming digital streaming ecosystem – mirrors India’s own transformation as a society and an economy.

The birth of television in India (1959-1975) 🔗

India’s television journey began not with entertainment, but with education. Doordarshan (DD), as it came to be known, started as an experimental service under All India Radio on September 15, 1959. President Rajendra Prasad inaugurated the first broadcast. The equipment itself had an interesting origin – a European company had exhibited closed-circuit TV gear at an international exposition and gifted it to India at the event’s conclusion.

For the first few years, broadcasts were limited to twice a week, about an hour each, focused almost entirely on educational and community development content. By 1965, daily transmissions began along with a regular news bulletin. In 1967, Krishi Darshan (“A View of Agriculture”) was launched – a programme designed to educate farmers using satellite-based instructional television. It went on to become one of the longest-running television programmes not just in India, but in the world.

Coverage was painfully limited during this period. Doordarshan only reached Delhi initially. By 1972, services were extended to Mumbai and Amritsar, and by 1975, only seven Indian cities had access to television. For most Indians, the television set was still an alien concept.

The SITE experiment and separation from All India Radio 🔗

A landmark development during this period was the Satellite Instructional Television Experiment (SITE), launched in 1975. Using an American satellite (ATS-6), SITE beamed educational programming directly to community television sets in rural India. It demonstrated the enormous potential of television as a tool for development communication – reaching populations that print media could never access.

On April 1, 1976, Doordarshan was formally separated from All India Radio and established as an independent department under the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting. This administrative split gave DD its own identity, its own director-general, and the freedom to develop as a television-first organisation. The stage was now set for the medium’s rapid expansion.

The colour revolution and the golden age (1982-1991) 🔗

If one year transformed Indian television forever, it was 1982. The catalyst was the 9th Asian Games, hosted in New Delhi. The government made a historic decision to broadcast the games in colour – India’s first large-scale colour transmission. On August 15, 1982, Prime Minister Indira Gandhi’s Independence Day address was telecast in colour, followed by extensive coverage of the Asian Games.

The impact was immediate. Millions of Indians rushed to buy colour TV sets. That same year, the launch of INSAT-1A, India’s first domestic communication satellite, allowed Doordarshan to begin truly national broadcasts. What had been a regional, city-limited service suddenly became a network connecting urban and rural viewers under one platform.

Serials that defined a generation 🔗

With colour television and national reach established, Doordarshan entered what is widely regarded as its golden era. The government began commissioning sponsored serials from independent producers, and this decision unleashed a creative wave that would shape Indian popular culture for decades.

Hum Log (1984), India’s first soap opera, told the story of a middle-class family dealing with issues like dowry, alcoholism, and women’s education. Modelled after a Mexican television serial called Ven Conmigo, it became a sensation. The show’s sponsor, Nestlé’s Maggi noodles, became a household name in the process – one of the earliest examples of sponsored content driving brand building on Indian television.

Other landmark shows followed. Buniyaad (1986) tackled the trauma of Partition. Nukkad (1986-87) captured urban working-class life. Malgudi Days (1986-88), based on R.K. Narayan’s short stories, offered gentle, literary storytelling. Comedies like Yeh Jo Hai Zindagi and Wagle Ki Duniya brought laughter to millions of homes every week.

The mythological mega-hits 🔗

But nothing prepared India for the cultural earthquake that was Ramanand Sagar’s Ramayan (1987-88). Adapted from the Hindu epic, it became a national phenomenon of a kind television had never seen. Streets would empty, shops would shut, and families across religions and regions would gather around their TV sets every Sunday morning. An estimated 80 to 100 million viewers tuned in – making it the most-watched programme in Indian television history at the time.

This was soon followed by B.R. Chopra’s Mahabharat (1988-90), which achieved similar massive popularity. Together, these two epics demonstrated the extraordinary power of television to unite a culturally diverse nation around a shared experience.

During this same period, many established Bollywood filmmakers – including Shyam Benegal, Gulzar, and Govind Nihalani – shifted to television, bringing cinematic quality to the small screen. Shah Rukh Khan, who would later become one of Bollywood’s biggest superstars, made his acting debut in the Doordarshan serial Fauji (1989).

The cable revolution and the end of DD’s monopoly (1991-2000) 🔗

India’s economic liberalisation in 1991 did not just open markets – it cracked open the airwaves. The trigger was unexpected: CNN’s live coverage of the Gulf War in 1991, beamed via satellite into Indian homes. For the first time, Indians saw what 24/7, real-time global news looked like. The contrast with Doordarshan’s measured, once-a-day news bulletins was stark.

In December 1991, Hong Kong-based STAR TV (Satellite Television Asian Region) began beaming channels like Star Plus, MTV, BBC, and Prime Sports into India. Cable operators – previously just offering a clearer Doordarshan signal – quickly set up satellite dishes in neighbourhoods and ran cables to homes for a monthly fee. The “cable-wala” became a fixture of Indian urban life.

Zee TV and the rise of private Indian channels 🔗

While STAR TV introduced foreign content, it was Indian entrepreneurs who truly revolutionised the landscape. In October 1992, Zee TV was launched – India’s first privately-owned Hindi satellite channel. Viewers craved content in their own language, with familiar cultural references, but produced with the glossy quality of satellite television. Zee TV delivered exactly that, and it was an instant success.

The floodgates opened. Sony Entertainment Television, regional powerhouses like Sun TV (Tamil, 1993), Asianet (Malayalam, 1993), and Eenadu TV (Telugu, 1995) entered the market. By 1995, over 12 million Indian households were watching private channels. By 2000, that number had crossed 35 million, with more than 40 private networks broadcasting across the country.

The government responded with the Cable Television Networks (Regulation) Act, 1995, which did not try to stop private TV but rather regulated it – requiring cable operators to register, follow content codes, and mandatorily carry Doordarshan channels. In 1997, Prasar Bharati was established as an autonomous body to manage both Doordarshan and All India Radio, an attempt to insulate them from direct government control.

The news revolution 🔗

The privatisation of television was not limited to entertainment. News delivery underwent a complete transformation. NDTV, which had produced the respected programme The World This Week for Doordarshan since 1988, partnered with Star TV to launch Star News. Zee launched Zee News. In 2000, Aaj Tak became India’s first 24-hour Hindi news channel. NDTV 24×7 and NDTV India launched in 2003. News became round-the-clock, live, and fiercely competitive – changing public discourse, political accountability, and the way Indians consumed information.

The entertainment boom of the 2000s 🔗

The early 2000s marked Indian television’s transition into a full-blown entertainment industry. Production values soared, advertising money poured in, and channels competed aggressively for eyeballs.

Two formats dominated this era. First, the family drama – epitomised by shows like Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi and Kahani Ghar Ghar Ki on Star Plus, and Kumkum on Zee TV. These daily soaps, driven by elaborate family conflicts and emotional storytelling, commanded massive viewership, particularly among women.

Second, reality television arrived with a bang. Kaun Banega Crorepati (India’s version of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire), hosted by Amitabh Bachchan, debuted in 2000 on Star Plus and became a cultural landmark. It was followed by singing competitions like Indian Idol, dance shows, and eventually Bigg Boss. Television was no longer just a window – it was a mirror reflecting the aspirations, ambitions, and anxieties of a rapidly changing India.

Meanwhile, regional television continued to thrive. Channels in Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam, Bengali, and Marathi languages built loyal audiences. India now had over 900 satellite TV channels, making it one of the world’s most diverse broadcasting ecosystems.

The digital disruption: OTT and the streaming era 🔗

Just as private channels disrupted Doordarshan in the 1990s, a new force began disrupting traditional television itself in the mid-2010s: Over-the-Top (OTT) streaming platforms.

The timeline moved fast. Hotstar launched in 2015, revolutionising digital content consumption in India. Netflix and Amazon Prime Video entered the Indian market in 2016. By 2018, platforms like ZEE5, ALTBalaji, and SonyLIV had expanded their digital presence. Then came the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, which acted as a massive accelerator – with lockdowns pushing millions of Indians towards streaming as their primary entertainment source.

The numbers are striking. India’s OTT video market is projected to have over 660 million users by 2030. The market’s revenue reached approximately $4 billion in 2024 and is expected to grow steadily. Platforms like Disney+ Hotstar, Amazon Prime Video, Netflix, and JioCinema are locked in fierce competition, investing heavily in original content across multiple Indian languages.

What fuelled the OTT boom? 🔗

Several factors converged to make India one of the world’s fastest-growing streaming markets. The most significant was affordable mobile data – after Reliance Jio’s launch in 2016, data prices crashed, making video streaming accessible to hundreds of millions. Widespread smartphone penetration meant that for most Indians, the phone – not the TV – became the primary screen for entertainment. And a growing young population increasingly preferred on-demand, binge-friendly content over the fixed schedules of traditional television.

OTT platforms also unlocked a new creative revolution. Freed from the constraints of daily soap opera formats and censor board limitations, creators produced series like Sacred Games, Mirzapur, The Family Man, and Panchayat – stories with complex characters, nuanced writing, and cinematic production quality that traditional TV rarely offered.

Is traditional TV dead? 🔗

Not quite. Despite the OTT buzz, television still accounted for over 40 percent of total advertising expenditure in India in 2022. India currently has around 789 million linear TV viewers compared to roughly 601 million OTT viewers, with significant overlap between the two. In rural and semi-urban India, broadcast and cable television remain dominant. The reality is that Indian media consumption has become hybrid – with viewers toggling between live TV and streaming, rather than abandoning one for the other.

Even Doordarshan found a moment of revival. During the COVID-19 lockdown in 2020, the re-broadcast of classic serials like Ramayan and Mahabharat on DD National drew massive viewership once again – with some episodes reportedly reaching up to 770 million viewers. It was a powerful reminder that nostalgia and quality storytelling transcend technology.

Television’s role in shaping Indian culture 🔗

The evolution of Indian television is ultimately a story about culture. In the 1960s and 70s, Doordarshan was a tool for nation-building – educating farmers, promoting national integration, and establishing a shared visual language for a young republic. In the 1980s, mythological epics and middle-class family dramas gave the country its first mass shared cultural experiences beyond cricket and cinema.

The 1990s brought consumer choice, regional pride, and a more aggressive, democratic media landscape. The 2000s amplified aspiration and consumerism. And the streaming era of the 2010s and beyond has empowered the individual viewer – offering personalised, on-demand content in dozens of languages, accessible on a smartphone anywhere in the country.

Through every phase, television has reflected India back to itself – its diversity, its contradictions, its dreams. From the grainy black-and-white images of Krishi Darshan to the 4K streaming world of today, the medium has chronicled not just entertainment trends, but the social and economic transformation of a nation.

What do you think? Which era of Indian television – the Doordarshan golden age, the cable revolution of the 90s, or today’s streaming explosion – has had the most lasting impact on Indian society and culture? And as OTT platforms increasingly dominate, what is lost when the shared, communal experience of watching television together gives way to solitary, on-demand viewing?

References

1. https://www.britannica.com/topic/Doordarshan
2. https://prasarbharati.gov.in/about-doordarshan/
3. https://www.pib.gov.in/PressNoteDetails.aspx?NoteId=152142&ModuleId=3&reg=3&lang=2
4. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DD_National
5. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Television_in_India
6. https://indianmediastudies.com/history-of-tv-journalism-in-india/
7. https://www.statista.com/topics/4852/television-market-in-india/