When the Dish Knocked Down the Antenna: How Television Digitization is Impacting Low Income Viewers and Public Broadcasting

A technology switch in television affects different income groups differently. In India the digitization of TV signals is putting an end to the free-to-air telecast regime. This study,the first of its kind,goes to working class TV viewers, people at the bottom of the income pyramid, to discover how digitization is impacting them. Has it increased or reduced their access to television? What are people’s entertainment and information needs? Has digitization served those needs? And for the most deprived sections of the population, are there barriers to the use of television itself? The Media Foundation presents this study primarily as a data report, conveying snapshots from the ground in five states, in an attempt to answer the questions cited above. It goes to districts like Kalahandi, Kandhamal, Dantewada, Bastar, Narmada, Adilabad and Krishna, among others, to gauge the changes brought by digitisation.