MUMBAI: As the deadline for the second phase of digitisation nears, the Hindi General Entertainment Channels (GECs) have pulled out all stops to promote, educate and inform audiences in the 38 cities that are required to switch to digital cable by 31 March.

The four leading channels in the space- Zee TV, Star Plus, Colors and Sony - have come together to create PSAs featuring their most popular protagonists.

Actors like Mahima Makhwala and Roopal Tyagi (Rachana and Gunjan from Zee TV‘s Sapne Suhane Ladakpan Ke), Deepika Singh and Anas Rashid (Sandhya and Sooraj from Star Plus‘ Diya Aur Baati Hum), Deepika Samson (Simar from Colors‘ Sasural Simar Ka) and Shivaji Satam (ACP Pradyuman from Sony‘s C.I.D) have been roped in to inform viewers about DAS.

The Task Force constituted by Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB) for Phase-II DAS has paved the way for the rollout of digital addressable system (DAS) II in 38 cities in India. The second phase of digitisation covers the one million plus cities across the country.

The four metros - Mumbai, Delhi, and Kolkata - were part of the first phase of digitisation. Chennai which was also expected to go digital in the first phase has been caught in legal wrangle.