ABSTRACT
This chapter makes the case for an informational approach to television studies. It begins by offering an information-theoretic account of the history of Indian television that complements existing accounts that offer a narrative in terms of the transition from state-run to privately funded broadcasting. The commercialization of television was accompanied by a privatization of the distribution system. Cable TV has its roots in the late seventies. Indian television viewers were looking for entertainment options other than what the government provided, and they got a break with a change in policy permitting the manufacture and import of videocassette recorders (VCR). In short, the trajectory of Indian television has paralleled that of Indian political economy as a whole, moving from a socialistic order characterized by bureaucratic control to a highly open system that is almost exclusively determined by market considerations.
