Core Concept
Television offers a varied range of channels and programmes so that different audiences can choose according to their taste, mood, interests and requirements.
The chapter begins by comparing television variety with variety in food. Just as people may become bored with the same food every day, viewers benefit from a range of television channels. The chapter recalls that in the mid-seventies Doordarshan used to broadcast black-and-white programmes for only a few hours. With improved technology, television now offers many different channels and programmes.
Key Features
Audience-based planning
Television keeps children, women, youth, elderly people, farmers, industrial workers, students and even illiterate viewers in mind.
Special audience programmes
These programmes are designed for a specific group and are planned according to its needs and interests.
Examples of special audiences
Children’s, women’s, youth, and educational or school telecasts are specifically mentioned.
Special Audience Programmes: What They Offer
| Audience | Programme focus given in the chapter |
|---|
| Children | Stories, music, games and general knowledge. |
| Women | Cooking, sewing and legal problems. |
| Farmers | Agriculture, dairy farming, poultry and cooperative activities. |
| Youth | Discussion of the problems, desires and requirements of youth, generally presented by young anchors for young viewers. |
Chapter Flow
→
Audience → Need → Programme
Television identifies a target audience, plans special programmes with that audience in mind, and offers content suited to the group’s desires and requirements.
Chapter emphasis: The lesson objective is to classify different categories of television channels and to understand how television offers variety for different audiences.
Core ConceptThe chapter groups television channels according to the kind of content they regularly offer.
The first major category discussed is the news channel. The chapter explains that television news has changed from a half-hour or one-hour bulletin, usually at prime time, to channels showing news round the clock. News means something new or information about recent events or latest happenings, especially when reported through media. The chapter also notes news channels in Hindi, English and other major Indian languages.
Sports channels are specialty channels that broadcast sporting events, usually live, and also show sports news and related programmes when there is no live event. Some sports channels focus on one sport or on one specific region and its local team’s games. The chapter says exclusive sports channels make it possible to watch live sports without disturbing the schedules of popular fiction and entertainment programmes on other channels.
Cartoon channels are presented as the most popular category among children. The chapter gives Cartoon Network India as an example and mentions English, Tamil and Hindi-dubbed cartoons, along with Indian-made cartoons such as Akbar and Birbal, Tenali Raman, Sindbad, Ramayan, Mahabharata and Vikram and Betal.
Entertainment and lifestyle channels cover subjects such as home, garden, kitchen and family. The chapter describes lifestyle channels through stylised anchors, decorated and lit sets, attractive locations and a cool attitude. Zoom and Discovery’s Travel and Living are examples given in the text.
Science and discovery-related channels feature science-related television shows. Specialised blocks may cover weather, technology and space. The chapter gives National Geographic and Discovery as examples for programmes about dinosaurs, snakes, tigers, waterfalls, nature, scientific inventions and discoveries.
Channel Categories at a Glance
| Channel category | Main focus | Examples or illustration from the chapter |
|---|
| News | News and current events, now presented round the clock. | Hindi, English and other major language news channels; NDTV 24x7 is named. |
| Sports | Live sporting events, sports news and related programmes. | Cricket and football; ESPN is mentioned. |
| Cartoon | Cartoon programmes mainly for children. | Cartoon Network India. |
| Entertainment & lifestyle | Home, garden, kitchen, family and entertainment-related subjects. | Zoom; Discovery’s Travel and Living. |
| Science & discovery | Science, weather, technology, space, nature and discoveries. | National Geographic; Discovery. |
Recall: The chapter’s “What You Have Learnt” section lists five channel categories: news, sports, cartoon, entertainment and lifestyle, and science and discovery.
Core ConceptThe basic objectives of television are providing information, entertainment and education.
Viewers choose channels according to mood, interests and requirements. Programmes serve different purposes: some inform people, some entertain the masses and others educate the community. The chapter also mentions words such as infotainment and edutainment, while observing that entertainment is common to both and has become the main role of television.
Informative Programmes
These are programmes whose main aim is to provide information to viewers. The chapter includes news and current affairs programmes such as news bulletins, news commentaries, direct coverage of important events, news-based interviews and panel discussions. Sports programmes include cricket matches, sports diaries and sports commentary. Cookery and food-related programmes are also included. Another group gives information on contemporary environmental issues, scientific and technological inventions and discoveries, and economic policies.
Entertainment Programmes
The chapter says that many people watch television mainly to be entertained. Examples include serials, soap operas, dramas and plays; comedy shows; musical programmes; game shows; chat shows; cartoons; fairy tales or fantasy programmes; horror shows; and reality television shows.
Educational Programmes
Television can act as an effective tool of distance education. The chapter refers to Gyandarshan as Doordarshan’s educational channel and gives several educational categories: open university and distance-learning programmes; social and development programmes dealing with health and science, fitness and hygiene, agriculture and rural development, public service telecasts, literacy campaigns, family planning and welfare; and culture and gender studies programmes dealing with literature, arts, theatre, cultural heritage and gender sensitisation.
| Programme type | Main purpose | Examples/categories stated in the chapter |
|---|
| Informative | Provide information. | News/current affairs, sports, cookery, environment, scientific and technological issues, economic policies. |
| Entertainment | Entertain viewers. | Serials, comedy, music, games, chat shows, cartoons, fantasy, horror and reality television. |
| Educational | Educate and support distance learning. | Open university and distance learning; social/development; culture and gender studies. |
Classification Flow
1
Viewer requirement → Programme purpose
Need for information → informative programme; need for amusement → entertainment programme; need for learning or development → educational programme.
Core ConceptThe chapter identifies two broad television programme formats: fiction and non-fiction.
The chapter explains that some programmes are based on imagination and dramatization, while others are based on real-life experiences, incidents and events. This difference gives us the two broad formats.
Fiction Programmes
Fiction programmes depend on imagination and dramatization and are meant for entertainment. Dramas and soap operas such as Humlog, Ghar ek Mandir and Kyunki saas bhi kabhi bahu thi are given as examples of ongoing, episodic works of fiction. The chapter explains that serials are series, often placed in a weekly prime-time slot, with a continuing plot that unfolds episode by episode. It also notes that the term soap opera comes from dramatic serials on radio that had soap manufacturers as sponsors.
The chapter additionally mentions film-based programmes that mix fiction with songs, film segments and film clippings, showing that television programmes can sometimes blend different formats.
Non-Fiction Programmes
Non-fiction programmes provide information about events in the surrounding world and can also impart education on contemporary issues. The chapter discusses three forms in this section:
News Bulletins
A summary of news stories arranged by importance and interest. National and international happenings get priority; regional and local news are included if time permits. Human-interest stories and sports news commonly round off major bulletins.
Game / Quiz Shows
Quiz programmes use participation and involvement in questions to make the programme enjoyable family fare. The chapter gives Bournvita Quiz Contest as an example.
Talks & Discussion Programmes
Topical issues may require several factors and viewpoints. These programmes commonly have a regular host who interviews guest speakers, often include audience participation by telephone, and are divided into segments separated by advertisement breaks.
Format Comparison
| Feature | Fiction | Non-fiction |
|---|
| Basis | Imagination and dramatization. | Real incidents, events and information. |
| Main role in the chapter | Generally entertainment. | Information and education, as well as discussion of issues. |
| Examples/formats | Serials, soap operas, film-based programmes. | News bulletins, game/quiz shows, talks and discussion programmes. |
| Structure | Serials have continuing plots that unfold episode by episode. | News bulletins summarise stories; quiz shows involve questions; talks/discussions use hosts, guests and sometimes audience participation. |
Simple DefinitionTelevision content can be understood at three linked levels: channel category, programme purpose and programme format.
The chapter brings together these ideas by showing that television offers variety at the channel level, serves different purposes at the programme level, and uses different formats for presenting content. Viewers select what to watch according to mood, interests and requirements.
Three-Level Recall Process
- Identify the channel category: news, sports, cartoon, entertainment and lifestyle, or science and discovery.
- Identify the programme purpose: informative, entertainment or educational.
- Identify the format: fiction or non-fiction, then note the form such as serial, news bulletin, quiz or talk/discussion programme.
Textbook Illustrations
A cricket match illustrates a sports channel and also an informative programme when presented as a sports programme. A daily serial illustrates fiction, while a news bulletin illustrates non-fiction. A talk or discussion programme illustrates non-fiction because it examines topical issues through hosts, guests and viewpoints.
✓
What You Have Learnt
The chapter’s summary identifies the five channel categories, the three programme types, and the two broad programme formats with their main examples.
Key recall: Channel category tells you what kind of channel it is; programme type tells you its main purpose; format tells you whether the programme is fiction or non-fiction and what form it takes.