With a 360 degree coverage of the 73^rdReupublic Day functions on January 26, Doordarshan seems to have outdone itself as viewership and bouquets poured in.

Some of the highlights included camera view from a chopper and never-seen images of fly-past by the Indian Air Force.

The audience data also reflected changing viewership patterns. Republic Day coverage on the YouTube network of DD garnered more views than its TV network, at 2.6 crore or 26 million, while the corresponding TV figure was 2.3 crore or 23 million.

These figures together indicate the scale of Doordarshan network’s reach, the pubcaster said in a statement Friday. This was further amplified by the fact that the R-day coverage notched up more than 3.2 billion TV viewing minutes across 180+ TV channels (privately-owned included) across the country that carried Doordarshan visuals from 9.30 am till noon.

Through this coverage, the pubcaster claimed, Doordarshan made inroads into global audiences by registering a manifold increase in its international viewership in more than 140 countries, including the US, Canada, Germany, Japan, France, Australia, New Zealand, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and UAE.

Prasar Bharati, DD and All India Radio’s parent, had made special arrangements, in association with the Indian Air Force, to showcase new elements of fly-past along with live coverage of different formations of large fleets of planes.

Fiftynine cameras and 160+ personnel were deployed for the coverage of Republic Day celebrations this year. Preparations began in November 2021 to ensure a 360-degree coverage of all aspects of various events on Republic Day.

Apart from cameras on Rajpath, some 16 cameras were installed at the National War Memorial, India Gate, National Stadium. To give people a bird’s eye view of the entire celebrations, two 360 degree cameras were installed, one at Rajpath and the other on the top of India Gate.