Duranta TV
On 5 October 2017, Durant TV began broadcasting as the first Bengali language children’s television channel. Its logo featuring the Bengali script “Durant” next to a CGI-animated tiger was also unveiled that day at Dhaka’s Pan Pacific Sonargaon Hotel. The then Information Minister of Bangladesh, Hasanul Haque Inu, said that Bangladesh was lagging behind in many areas and a television channel for children was needed so that they could take the country forward in the future. The channel officially started broadcasting on October 15 of that year.
The channel’s initial programming lineup consisted of animated programming as well as local live action shows. Over time, more programming has been added to the channel, grouping them into ‘seasons’, such as with ‘Season 2’ which debuted on 14 January 2018. On 15 April 2018, the third season of Duronto debuted, with the premiere of local shows such as Bhooter Buckshow and Advoot, and acquired animated shows such as Justin Time and Spike Team. On 15 July 2018, the fourth season of Duronto debuted, with the premiere of three local shows, namely Shohar Dom Duru, Panchbhuj, and Khatta Mitha, and animated shows such as Alyssa Knows What to Do!, Bob the Builder, Macy Goes to OKIDO, and Rainbow Ruby.
The channel aired the first three films from the Home Alone film series in October 2018. On April 14, 2019, the popular Nickelodeon television series, SpongeBob SquarePants, debuted on Fast TV as part of its seventh season. Sisimpur started airing on Duronto in July 2019. BBC signed a licensing deal with Duronto TV for a local version of Mastermind titled Mastermind Family Bangladesh, which premiered on 13 October 2019 as part of the channel’s ninth season which debuted on the same day. On 12 January 2020, its tenth season debuted with the premiere of shows such as The Magic Roundabout, Mini Ninjas and The Garfield Show.
The twelfth season of Duronto debuted on 12 July 2020, with the premiere of Animesh Aich’s Boka Bhoot, an animated show starring Pororo the Little Penguin and Yakari. On 11 October 2020, the thirteenth season of Duranto began on the channel with the premieres of The Adventures of Tintin, The Minighty Kids, Bobby and Bill and Florrie’s Dragons. On 10 January 2021, the fourteenth season of Duronto debuted, with the premiere of three local shows, namely Vollstein, Kattush Kuttush and Lal Kohinoor, and two animated shows, Martin Morning and Zigbee.
On 1 March 2021, The Penguins of Madagascar and Kung Fu Panda: Legends of Awesomeness debuted on the channel, as part of its fifteenth season which debuted on 11 April. The channel’s sixteenth season debuted on 1 August 2021, with the premieres of Rolly Polly Olly, Dora the Explorer, Top Wing and Franklin & Friends. On 1 November 2021, Duronto debuted its seventeenth season, with the premiere of two educational series, The English Club and Banan Mane Banan. From 28 November to 2 December 2021, Durant TV premiered five Iranian films.
On 30 January 2022, the eighteenth season of Durant TV debuted, with the premiere of two Nickelodeon animated series Blaze and the Monster Machine, Bubble Guppies and others. In March 2022, the Bangladesh Ministry of Health and UNICEF produced a cooking show for young chefs called Sharno Chef, which premiered on the channel. On May 1, 2022, Durant TV debuted its twenty-ninth season, with the premiere of two new drama series, Two and Two and Four and Elating Bellating and the Nickelodeon animated series Paw Patrol.
Fire at FR Tower and temporary shutdown
Due to the fire at FR Tower in Banani, Dhaka, radio stations Radio Today, unrelated to Durant TV, were both temporarily shut down on 28 March 2019. Both began rebroadcasting over time.
Main article: List of Durant TV broadcasts
Durant TV’s programming mainly includes programs on drama, historical, cultural, travel, magic, science, sports, family and other topics. In addition to local programming, which is mostly live action, the channel’s lineup also includes acquired foreign television series and films, mainly Hollywood and animated, dubbed in Bengali, such as SpongeBob SquarePants, Despicable Me 2 and others. It also airs special programs on certain occasions, such as the cooking show, Banai Iftar Ma-Baba Aar Me, and the Islamic quiz show, Jana Haya Ek Kichu, both aired during the holy month of Ramadan.