When Prannoy started this channle I had high hopes of it which were met by and large.However, over the years the compulsions of maintaining a profitable business and the dreaded TRP ratings has made NDTV resort to same sort of gimmicks as any other channel.What grates is that NDTV initially positioned itself as a cut above the ordinary channels as a channel of the intelligent and the thinking man.
Take the example of cricket.I can not believe that NDTV now has endless chat shows about cricket where they stoop to all sorts of inanities by asking the loud mouth Ajay Jadeja and similar "ëxperts"and the TV audience stupid questions.They have made cricket to be some sort of instant Maggi noodles that each match has to be nationally followed by high brow discussions where all and sundry tell you what the team should do and how the team should be selected.
NDTV has shamelessly joined the cricket bandwagon for commercial gains and is contributing to making cricket into more of a national obsession.It has come to such a pass that we as Indians are no longer able to distinguish between, cricket the game and cricket the sick obsession of a marvellously unsporty and physically unfit nation.
In the recent Australia/controversy the Tv channel went around asking ordinary citizens loaded questions that were designed to evoke anti-Australia tirades.All rational thinking was suspended as we all tripped over ourselves to make the Indian team look like childish louts who with the help of daddy Sharad Pawar would rush home if we did not get our way.
NDTV needs to soul search a bit if it wants to remain a premier channel.With its silly sms campaigns on trivial subjects and its ignoring of the real issues of India as a nation it is on fast track to being another shrill and noisy channel of no real substance.
It has good presenters and experts but seems to be losing focus.Its like seeing your Times magazine slowly turning into a Femina+ Stardust.NDTV needs to refocus.