Starts 3rd October
Urdu Satellite entertainment channel ARY Digital which has started its test run in India recently, is all set to launch the channel by end November.
Atul Saraf, director, Live Satellite Media Ltd, which is handling distribution and marketing for the channel in India says: "We are planning to reach close to 20 million homes in the next five months." Currently, the channel is shown only on two networks. "Our target is to reach out to the Urdu speaking people in India." Initially, the channel will target the north, where Urdu is better understood.
Asked how ARY would avoid the fate that befell UTN and other Urdu channel wannabes, Saraf says the problem with other Urdu channels has been that they don‘t have enough quality programming. "We have quite a good number of quality programmes with us. We also have the rights for many Pakistani movies. Moreover, we are procuring programmes from India too." The channel has currently commissioned four serials. Seventy per cent of the programming mix is currently sourced from Pakistan, the rest is sourced from India.
The channel is a 24-hour free to air channel, with 10 hours of original programming.
Saraf brushed aside doubts on whether the heavily Pakistani programming would create any problems in India, claiming that entertainment based programmes were not likely to cause any upsets. "We are planning to come out with serials with both Indian and Pakistani actors, which will be shot in the UK and Dubai. The message that we want to send is that people don‘t have animosity against each other, it is the lack of communication and trust that has worsened relations."
ARY is planning to start its pay services after April 2002. Advertisers have not yet been approached, but Saraf does not seem worried about the marketing part.
The channel will be shifted from Pas-4 to Thaicom-3 within the next fortnight, to avoid the time lag in transmission.
ARY Digital is a television network owned by ARY, one of the largest gold manufacturers in the world, based in London. The channel was launched in August 2001. The network was formerly known as The Pakistani Channel; its name was changed when it was purchased by the ARY Group.
Television news channel BBC World, which completed 10 years of operations in India last month, is going digital from 1 December, 2001.
Speaking to indiantelevision.com, Erica Rowe, head of specialist news distribution, BBC World, said to ensure a smooth transition to a digital feed, the 24-hour British news channel would be operating a dual illumination feed, continuing the analog feed on the PAS 10 satellite till 31 March 2001.
Rowe and Gerrie Richie, head of network development, are currently in India for the dual purpose of announcing the digitalisation plan and meeting cable operators from across the country to "thank them for the support they have extended to BBC World" over the last ten years.
Richie said the conversion of BBC World to a digital field "was part of an overall strategy we have for the distribution of BBC World."
Rowe said she was in India for the next four weeks as part of a communication effort celebrating BBC‘s ten years in India where meetings with cable operators were being organised across the four metros of Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore and Calcutta.
Over 500 guests were invited for the Mumbai bash held last night at the Taj Hotel in south Mumbai, Rowe said. There would be similar parties in Bangalore (12th November), Delhi (16th) and Calcutta, 23rd, Rowe said.
The digitisation effort was not restricted to India but would extend across the full footprint of the PAS-10 satellite‘s BBC World South Asia feed, Rowe said. This would cover Pakistan, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Middle East, Bhutan and Bangladesh, Rowe said.
On the distribution front, Richie said BBC World reached 11 million households in India. Worldwide, BBC is received as a 24-hour service in 81 million homes.
An important area where attention is paid is distribution in hotels. BBC World is available in over 55,000 hotel rooms around the world and there is a a separate person dedicated to ensuring that BBC World "is received in all the major hotels in the region," Richie said.
Queried as to why BBC hadn‘t considered a free-to-air encrypted feed, Rowe said: "BBC‘s philosophy for India is we want as many people as possible to view our channel. We don‘t want to restrict it any way?" Richie replied in the negative when asked whether there were any possibilities of BBC allying with a bouquet or channel. "Our principle objective is to make sure there is a smooth transition from analog to digital and to hold on to the distribution numbers that we have. We haven‘t considered at this stage tying up with any of the other players in the marketplace."
Technical Specifications Post Digitalisation
Satellite: Panamsat PAS-10
Transponder: 14C
Downlink Polarisation: Vertical
Downlink Frequency: 3970 MHz
switch
switch
Subscribe To Our Newsletter
The Emmy Awards which showcase the best from America‘s television industry finally took place last Sunday at the Shubert Theatre. The show which had to be postponed twice on account of the events on 11 September, began with a jazz trumpeter playing a soulful version of God Bless America and concluded with singing legend Barbra Streisand doing a heartwrenching rendition of You‘ll Never Walk Alone. The song encourages people to get on with their lives in the most depressing of times. HBO‘s comic series Sex and the City with Sarah Jessica Parker in the lead went home with a trophy in the outstanding series category. 
In a tussle between gangster and president, The West Wing chronicling drama and tension in the White House with Martin Sheen in the lead got the prestigious award of best drama series beating out The Soprano‘s. However mafia husband-wife combo James Gandolfini and Edie Falco bagged awards in the acting categories for The Soprano‘s which currently airs on Zee English. The people behind the scenes of The West Wing worked quickly to put a special episode together which addressed the issue of terrorism. This was the first time the Emmy‘s had been postponed but the invitees looked fairly relaxed and showed no signs of any security concerns. The show was hosted by gay activist Ellen Degeneres.
One of the victims of the 11 September attack was Frasier creator David Angell and Jean Smart who won for her acting on the show paid tribute to him. 
