Initiated on September 1959, Doordarshan is the oldest public television broadcaster in India. The programmes telecasted through Doordarshan comprised family dramas; serials based on history; informative programmes, such as, Bharat Ek Khoj, Surabhi; quiz competitions; cartoon serials like, Gayab Aaya, He-Man, etc; comedy serials, such as, Zabaan Sambhalke, Dekh Bhai Dekh and who could forget the classic old films that were telecasted exclusively on Doordarshan. Inspite of tough competition from the Indian private channels the popularity of Doordarshan did not wane with passing time.

CNN IBN, a 24-hour English language news channel, was launched in India in 2005. With Rajdeep Sardesai as the Editor-in-Chief at its helm, CNN-IBN has emerged as one of the most popular news channels in India. The channel is a partnership between Global Broadcast News (GBN) and Turner International (Turner) in India. It is supported by over 20 bureaus nationwide. This Indian news channel telecasts interesting talk shows; debates on current topics; interviews with renowned Indian personalities; feature news apart from the other news reports.

Popularly called the K-channel Star Plus was one of the first private Television channels to be launched in India in the year 1991, and has been immensely popular among the Indian televsion Viewers.The programming of Star Plus consists mostly of family dramas, which mainly boast female protagonists and mother-in-law and daughter-in-law relationships in joint families.STAR PLUS has redefined Hindi entertainment with its versatile programming line-up that includes popular soaps, drama series, serials, game shows, comedy, music-based shows, travel, cookery, and blockbuster.

Sports in India are integrally related to its history and culture. With the coming of television, enjoying sports was made easier as a number of channels were set up to telecast different games, both national and international. Initially only Doordarshan catered to the needs of the sports lovers. However, with the introduction of the satellite television viewers were provided with multiple choices. A list of Indian sports channels include DD Sports, NEO Sports, Star sports, Zee Sports, ESPN, Ten Sports and others. Whether it is cricket, soccer, tennis, badminton, athletics, hockey or kabaddi, one can catch his/her favourite sports on one of these channels.

The extremely popular Indian television soap Kya Hoga Nimmo Ka is a romantic comedy based on a girl from a typical middle class family and the twists and turns in her life. Luck has never favoured this sweet and charming girl and she is often found to end up in circumstances which create much havoc in her life; but still managed to remain fun loving, confident and always had a positive approach towards life. Kya Hoga Nimmo Ka had a brilliant starcast and it included Sanjeeda, Eijaz Khan, Sanjit Bedi, Dolly Thakore, Dara Singh, Rakhi Tandon, Bharati Achrekar, Navneet Nishan and many more.

The biggest romantic and musical blockbuster of Indian television Kaisa Yeh Pyar Hai had created waves on the small screen with its young and powerful starcast and brilliant production techniques. The plot is based on the love affair of two individuals who are united into one soul by their inherent passion for music. The tale of love and romance between two individuals Angad (played by Iqbal Khan) and Kripa (played by Neha Bamb) was laced by high ambitions and smoldering passions.This soap was the Shah Rukh Khan starrer `Kuch Kuch Hota Hai` of the small screen.

The witty one liners on various television serials have every viewer rolling into peals of laughter. One such Indian television personality who has wooed the Indian television audience with his comic sense is Aatish Kapadia. He has scripted serials like Baa, Bahoo aur Baby, Sarabhai vs Sarabhai, etc. It is gifted people like him who have added to television`s surging popularity. At a time when the family dramas were growing monotonous, Aatish Kapadia`s comedy serials were instrumental in attracting the attention of the audiences. His matchless dialogues, situational comedies and interesting plots have made him popular amongst the viewers.

Owing to the emergence of satellite television the world can be now presented in a microcosm through television. The Indian viewers are, thus, able to watch interesting documentaries on these private channels. In the beginning, however, it was only Doordarshan that telecasted documentary films made by Indian filmmakers. In contemporary times the world has become a global village; as a result remarkable documentaries can be viewed on channels, such as, Discovery, History channel, Animal Planet, National Geographic, etc. Several documentaries on Indian travel, history, culture, social life, religious practices, cinema and others are shown on these Indian documentary channels.