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| Sunday, 12 January 2003 |
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Features |  |
| News Business Features Editorial
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Making fresh waves on the network... by Vimukthi Fernando
Enthusiastic and vivacious, a lean girl in jeans and a simple blouse smiles cheerfully. "Home away from 'home,' that's what we try to create". she is passionate about what she says. "That's what we want people to feel... that they are close to home, through news, songs, talk shows, films.... in the language of their own... Sinhala and Tamil." Amal De Silva, a 26-year-old girl hailing from Negombo heads the Marketing and Promotions section of the very first television network to telecast programmes in Sinhala and Tamil throughout Europe and Middle East. "That's the dream our Chief Executive Officer S.S. Kuhananthan had had, and that's our mission as well," Amal goes on. Kuhananthan, a former Journalist in Eelanadu, a paper published in Jaffna thought the only way to familiarise the future generations of Sri Lankan expatriates in Europe and Middle Eastern countries with their mother tongue is to introduce the language through electronic media. Now, a dream no more. reality was established six months ago. Dish Asia Networks, is the fruit of the labours of a few interested Sri Lankan expatriates in France. Ananda, Anura and two Buddhist priests, Chandraratne Thera and Seelandanda Thera plodded alongwith Kuhananthan, persistent on their journey towards establishing a TV channel in their mother tongue. Dish Asia Networks came into being in July 2002. Armed with a masters degree in Business Administration from the Paris Graduate School of Management Amal is very happy about her job with the network. Though she initially joined as a part-time employee, she could not believe how it "turned out to be a big career move. It was because I got the highest marks, for marketing, for master's, out of 132 students in my batch," she says. She studied at Newstead College Negombo, Yasodara Balika Vidyalaya, Colombo 8 and Methodist College, Colombo 3. She also has a Bachelor's Degree in Commerce from the University of Colombo. Her beginnings are humble, as is that of the network, according to Amal. Though they commenced in a very small way, with a staff of 10, in a short span of six months, they have expanded their services to many different programmes including children's, women's, youth and live entertainment shows produced by 50 personnel, covering an airtime of eight hours. A live telecast of Sirasa and Shakthi TV programmes for six hours and a repeat of selected programmes fill in the rest of the time, says Amal. "We have two channels, Ceylon TV, or CTV in the Sinhala media and TRT-Tamil Ozhi in the Tamil media," says Amal. "It is easy to capture as well. Since it is on air through a KU band satellite (Hot Bird is the name, at 13 degrees with 11938 Mhz frequency, Horizontal pol, 27500 Symbal Rate and 3/4 FEC - to be specific, if any of you want to capture!) all you need is a 60cm dish antenna. However, you have to pay for it. Ours is the only TV channel which transmits Sinhala programs for 24 hours!" A normal schedule for CTV and TRT, begin with a 'dharmanusasana' and advice by a Hindu priest, at 8.00 a.m. (Paris time) Entertainment, song request programmes will follow for 90 minutes, Hindi musical programmes and Tamil, Sinhala or Hindi movies come next. However, Sinhala movies for CTV viewers and Tamil movies for TRT viewers are given more time and prominence, during weekends. at 4.00 p.m. the Sirasa and Jeya TV programmes start including evening news telecasts live, and goes on till midnight. TRT airs Shakthi TV programs as well. A repeat of selected programmes is on air till 8.00 a.m. the following day. While all these work goes on, Amal would spend her day communicating with advertisers, viewers and different sections of the network through the phone and mail, meeting their requirements and directing inquiries to the relevant sections. "Actually, my new appointment came as a surprise. My very first assignment is to create awareness of CTV and TRT in Sri Lanka." She plans to spend more time in organising different events and improving the services of the network. Amal enjoys meeting different people. "In my master's batch, the 132 students had many a different background, and my friends were all from different countries", says Amal. And for the new year, adding more countries to the network tops many other plans. "My boss says that I am also required to travel a lot. I'm looking forward to it," says Amal. CTV and TRT now have over 10,000 subscriptions in 09 countries in Europe (France, Italy, UK, Netherlands, Germany, Switzerland, Denmark, Sweden and Finland) and in Saudi Arabia, Oman and United Arab Emirates in the Middle East. Although it is a fraction, compared to the number of registered Sri Lankan residents in Europe and Middle East, they are trying to improve on the programme content and make it more homely and attractive for the Sri Lankan expatriate. The subscription is at a rate of 200 Euros per year and the company runs from the money earned by subscription and advertisements, said Amal. Advertisements are accepted from Sri Lankan entrepreneurs selling their products and services in Europe and Middle East. The networks viewers range from age three to about 80 or 85 years, says Amal. Most popular in the line up of programmes is the news telecast live from Sri Lanka. Next come the movies Sinhala, Tamil and Hindi and third in line are entertainment shows - songs and story telling, says Amal. The improvements to CTV and TRT, will also include more programmes produced by their own team. Two themes they will focus on are lifestyles of Sri Lankans in Europe and Middle East, and the special Sri Lankan festival celebrations in the continents, Amal says. They are also looking for 'software' or programs produced in Sri Lanka in Sinhala and Tamil media. |
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