I. SPONSORED PROGRAMMES(Existing Rate Card Effective Upto 31.03.2013) 

(a) General

1)    Booking is acceptable either of a client or of a product / service. In case of a product, Free Commercial Time (FCT) can be utilised for the advertisements of that product / service only.

2)    The Sponsor (s) / Client (s) is allowed to advertise any number of products in the admissible commercial time.

3)    Commercial Breaks permitted in all programmes are :

a)      Three commercial breaks in a 30 minute slot, four commercial breaks in a 45 minute slot and six commercial breaks in a 60 minute slot will be allowed.

b)     In case of sponsored programmes produced by outsiders, the Free Commercial Time (FCT) will be inserted by producer.

c)      DD will retain right to use upto 60 seconds in-between the programme with every 30 minute slot and 120 seconds in every 60 minute slot for advertisements, channel promotion, public service messages. For this, a break bumper is to be provided by the producer at mid-break for insertion of the material from Doordarshan end.

4)    Advertisements featuring the artists participating in a particular serial / programme are also accepted for telecast alongwith the same programme.

(b) Credit Lines

In addition to Free Commercial Time, the sponsor (s) are allowed credit lines, upto 20 seconds at the beginning and upto 20 seconds at the end of the programme in case of programmes on Channel - 1 / Channel - 2 / Regional channels and Regional Kendras. In case of continuing programme (e.g. feature film, sports etc.) with different sponsors in each 30 minute slots, the credit lines for 20 seconds each will be supered over the programme in such a manner that it does not obstruct the viewing of the programme.

The telecast of the credit lines will be governed as follows: -

1)    Programme Sponsored in the Name of the Client (Company)

The credit lines may contain:

a)      Visual presentation of the name of the company in any lettering / style choice and / or name in audio (including accompanying music, if desired).

b)     Visual presentation of the standard logo of the company, if desired, and,

c)      Any colour scheme of the company for visual presentation, and if so with special effects.

2)    Programme Sponsored in the name of a product

The credit lines may contain the name of the product, spoken or written on any style, with or without accompanying music. Display of products with punchline is allowed. The duration of the sponsor / punchline can go upto a maximum of 5 seconds.

Note: The procedure for the approval of the credit lines is the same as that for advertisements.

II. NUMBER OF SPONSORS ALLOWED

1.     There shall be no limit to the number of sponsors for a programme.

2.     The sponsor tag on could be the punchline of the product. However its duration should not exceed a total of 5 seconds.

III. BANKING

100% continuous banking shall be allowed in all programmes till the end of the programme. Each single episode shall not carry commercials more than admissible FCT + 60 seconds of banked FCT (per half an hour). No cross programme / cross channel banking shall be allowed. Banking shall lapse with the end of the programme. Doordarshan may at its discretion increase the banking cap by upto another 60 seconds in deserving cases provided the payment behaviour of the concerned producer / agency is satisfactory.

IV. REPEAT PROGRAMMES

Approval of a programme for a particular Channel does not mean that the programme is automatically approved for another Channel of Doordarshan. The programme has to be submitted fresh to a Channel for approval as per the extant policy. For a programme being repeated on a particular Channel, the telecast fee charged shall be according to the following schedule :

a)    If a programme is repeated on the same Channel then 50% premium shall be charged on the telecast fee of the new slot.

b)    If a programme is repeated on Regional Kendra / Hindi Belt from DD-1 then a premium of 25% shall be charged on the telecast fee of the new slot.

c)     If a programme is repeated from one Regional Kendra / Hindi Belt to another Kendra / Hindi Belt then 10% premium shall be charged on the telecast fee of the new slot.

d)    If programme is repeated on any channel of Doordarshan from the DD-India then 10% premium shall be charged on the telecast fee of the new slot.

e)    If any programme is repeated on DD-India from any other channel of Doordarshan then no premium shall be charged. Also, no premium will be charged if any programme is repeated from any channel of Doordarshan to the Regional Language Satellite Channel and vice versa as well as repeats within the Regional Language Satellite Channel.

V. BRANDING (for all programmes)

Full spot buy rate applicable for the said programme will be charged. This is applicable for the Regional Kendras also. For the branding purpose, the usage of the punchline for the product shall be allowed in the v/o for branding. For the purposes of branding, the producer / marketing agency shall be allowed not more than 5 seconds for the usage of the punchline of the product in the voice over for branding.

For branded quiz shows, interview based programmes and other programme where the microphone is visible in the camera frame, the producer can carry the brand of the product alongwith the name of the programme on the cube on the microphone.

VI. PRIZE SCHEME AND / OR CONTEST SCHEME

Prize Scheme / contest scheme can be a part of FCT but if it goes beyond admissible FCT, the producer / agency will have to pay at the following flat rates:

Doordarshan-1
i) Prime Time: Rs.10,000/-

ii) Non-Prime Time : Rs. 7,500/-
If the Prize scheme / contest is not part of admissible FCT then it can go up to a maximum of one minute. In the prize scheme, the producer / marketing agency shall be allowed to announce and show the branded products being given as prizes.

VII. CANCELLATION CHARGES (for spots booking)

A contract can be cancelled by an agency giving a notice of 7 days or more before the telecast date. If the notice is less than 7 days before the telecast date, billing will be done as per contract filed. However, if the marketing agency / producer are withdrawing from the agreement signed with the Sponsored Wing at the time of allotment of programme, then the mandatory notice as per the agreement shall apply.

VIII. ADVERTISEMENT DURATION

Advertisement of 5 seconds or in multiples of 5 seconds duration shall be accepted. Advertisement below 5 seconds will not be accepted. If the duration of the spot is above 5 seconds and below 10 seconds then it shall be charged for 10 seconds.

IX. TIME CHECK BEFORE NEWS

Mute advertisement for 5 to 10 seconds with either the name of the product or the client will be permitted. Logo product shot or product advertising is allowed / acceptable.

X.

a)    Doordarshan shall be entitled to review the category of a programme every quarter or after the telecast of 13 episodes. The review shall be based on the performance of the programme based on TRP ratings of the quarter.

b)    Same category and same telecast fee with the FCT applicable will continue till the end of that programme. For example, if a serial starts at 9.30 PM and continues till 11.30 PM, it will pay the same telecast fee per half an hour till 11.30 PM which is applicable at 9.30 PM. Doordarshan reserves the right to upgrade / downgrade the category of such telecasts on a case to case basis.

XI. All advertisements will be governed by the Code for Commercial Advertising for Doordarshan. Only advertisements approved by Doordarshan Commercial Service will be allowed for telecast. If any unapproved commercial is telecast, the agency will be black-listed and will also be charged penalty of five (5) times the rate of the normal spot buy for the programme where such advertisement appeared.

XII. All values in the Rate Card are in gross.

XIII. Spot buy rate unit = 10 seconds
Sponsorship Fee rate unit = 30 minutes

All programmes accepted for telecast on Doordarshan shall normally be of half hour duration. However, programmes falling under the Public Service Broadcasting category, News and Current Affairs and Children’s category can be of lesser or odd duration. In this case, all such programmes of 5 minutes, 10 minutes and odd durations etc. shall be charged on pro-rata basis rounded off to the nearest unit of 5 minutes. The FCT available shall also be on pro-rata basis of the relevant slot except in the case of Public Service Broadcasting category (in the non-prime time and mid-prime time slots) for which FCT will be twice the pro-rata quantum.

XIV. Programmes categorized under Public Service Broadcasting, News & Current Affairs and Children’s category shall have concessional rates in non-prime time bands. However, no concession shall be available to these categories of programmes in the prime time / mid-prime time. In non-prime time, these programmes shall be charged at 75% of the slot fees and shall be allowed the admissible FCT of that slot.

XV. For the programme ‘On Making of the Film”, telecast fee will be four times the normal fee of the slot on DD-I and three times the prevalent telecast fee on DD-II. For such programmes, no FCT will be allowed.

XVI. For Tele-shopping, the telecast fee shall be six times on DD-I, four times on DD-II and two times on Regional Kendras of the prevalent slot fee in which programme is telecast. For such programmes, no FCT will be allowed.

XVII. For the purpose of application of commercial terms in case of such programmes / serials which are telecast more than once in a week, all the episodes telecast in one particular week will be counted as one episode. For example, in case of such serials which are telecast five times a week, 130 episodes will be counted as 26 episodes for the purpose of application of commercial terms and 260 episodes for 52 weeks.

XVIII. There will be no telecast charges for programme promos / branded promos. Doordarshan is allowing telecast of promos (both branded and unbranded) free of charge in accordance with following guidelines:

a)    Branded and unbranded promos are allowed for on-going programmes as well as for such programmes which are likely to come on air soon.

b)    As Doordarshan is not charging any telecast fee for such promos, their telecast depends on the sole discretion of Doordarshan.

c)     Duration of promos shall be 20 seconds. In case of branded promos, maximum of 5 seconds can be used for branding purposes without exceeding the total duration of 20 seconds.

d)    For branding purposes, pack shot and punchline of the product or service can be used. However, for the purpose of uniformity all branded / credit line promos shall be telecast subject to the pack shot being shown in a window (Approx. 2/3 the size of the total screen). The usage of the actual punchline of the commercial is not allowed. The credit line should be in a separate voice over saying …..”brought to you by….”. In the other words, the pack shot should be shown in a separate window and voice over used for the punchline should not be used in the promos.

XIX. Programmes rating low on the TAM would be immediately removed or shifted from the prime time. A programme shall be allotted only for 26 episodes and only such programmes which have good TRP in that slot would be given extension. According to the TAM data, TRPs of a programme become available within two weeks of a telecast of a programme and they would be monitored. If by the 13th week the programme is not able to establish itself, it is clear that it is not doing well in the market and the Sponsored Wing would remove the same and slot a new serial in its place.

XX. Each time band of Doordarshan will have a basic benchmark for TRP ratings, which will be utilised for monitoring the TRPs and continuance of slotted programmes. The TRP of all TV homes and SEC ABC 15+ females will be monitored for this purpose. According to the analysis, benchmark for the different time slots on DD-I will be as follows:

Prime Time : ratings between 6 and above.
Mid Prime Time: between 3 – 6
Time slot generating ratings below 3.
Early morning till 11.00 AM and late night slots after 11.00 PM.

XXI. In so far as categorization in terms of film based and non-film based programmes for various channels are concerned, such categorization will be made and decided by the Evaluation Committee depending on the film content of the programme and the telecast fee / rates will be 20% more than the telecast fee of the relevant slot. It is clarified that the term “Film Based Programme” is to be construed to mean and include album songs as well.

XXII. Depending on commercial exigencies, Doordarshan can revise the commercial terms of a programme including but not limited to upgrading or downgrading the category of a programme or suitably revising the FCT and SBR both in cases of outside produced programme and DD produced / acquired programme.

XXIII. In case of any dispute or interpretation arising out of the Rate Card, the decision of Doordarshan will be final.

XXIV. The rates indicated in the Rate Card are the minimum that is to be charged for each slot. If more than two serials are available for a particular slot, the producer who agrees to pay higher telecast fee shall be allotted the slot with the admissible FCT remaining fixed.