ABSTRACT
Bhojpuri is a language spoken in west Bihar and east Uttar Pradesh. A private television channel in Bhojpuri was started on August 11, 2008, by Mahuaa TV and eventually one witnessed a rise in the number of such channels. Among the Bhojpuri channel viewers, 41 per cent come from Bihar and Jharkhand, 15 per cent from Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand, and the rest from other states of India. In 2017, the weekly reach of Bhojpuri general entertainment channels (GECs) was 141 million, and Bhojpuri movies had garnered 128 million viewers. Bhojpuri Active became the first digital Bhojpuri channel. This value-added service is being offered in partnership with Shemaroo. Bhojpuri Active offers more than 200 movies and over 1,000 songs of superhit Bhojpuri movies. Every month, there is a premiere of the latest Bhojpuri movie. Bhojpuri-speaking people are migrant workers across the country. A large proportion of the Bhojpuri-speaking population is found in the Netherlands, Mauritius, Suriname, Fiji, and other Caribbean Islands. This chapter traces the growth of Bhojpuri television and the uniqueness of these language television channels, besides exploring their relation to Bhojpuri identity and culture.
