DD Retro, Doordarshan’s channel for nostalgic programs has landed on Dish TV and D2h with the channel now available on all the Direct-to-Home (DTH) platforms. The channel was initially added on the D2h platform in the early hours of Wednesday with the D2h parent company Dish TV closely following suit. DD Retro can be accessed by the consumers on LCN 151 of D2h platform and on LCN 191 of Dish TV platform. Doordarshan launched the DD Retro channel in the second week of April with Sun Direct and Airtel Digital TV quickly adding it to their roster. Tata Sky added the channel to its platform on April 22 along with CBeeBies from the BBC stable. Several users of Dish TV and D2h have taken it to social media in the past weeks asking the operator to add the channel to its platforms.
Classics Including Shaktimaan and Mahabharat Part of DD Retro
Doordarshan in a blog post on April 21 said that the new channel dedicated to old classics was launched to enable viewers to relive the nostalgia.
“To relive the nostalgia of your favourite memorable serials of Doordarshan, watch DD Retro Channel,” the broadcaster said in its note.
Doordarshan highlighted that the rebroadcast of Ramayana and Mahabhart on the DD National channel has helped it to surpass its own viewership record and maintain its number one spot for two consecutive weeks.
In a blog post on Wednesday, the broadcaster said that Ramayan has emerged as the highest viewed entertainment program globally with 77 million people watching the show on April 16. The initial broadcast of Ramayan was aired between 1987 to 1988.
The nostalgic programs part of DD Retro include Shaktimaan, Chankya, Sankat Mochan Hanuman, Upanishad Ganga and Mahabharat.
Ramayan and Mahabharat Dominate Ratings
According to the latest Broadcast Audience Research Council India (BARC) data available for the week of April 11 to April 17, Ramayan and Mahabharat were the top shows under Hindi GEC category.
Further, Ramayan remained as the top show under the Hindi GEC Rural and Hindi GEC Urban category with Mahabharat finding its place under the top five programs.
It remains to be seen whether DD Retro can create or match any new viewership records in the upcoming weeks as it now has its presence on all DTH platforms.
