We accept television as a part of our every day lives, just like breathing and sleeping; many of us cannot quite see our future without one, much less recall the lack of television even though it was only two decades ago. What did we do before television? No one really remembers. WAVE tracks the history and evolution of television in Nepal and the Nepali TV channels.
During the early 1980's, Nepal had no television channels of its own, with only foreign channels like Duurdharshan, India. "Television itself was new to us; watching it was exciting. Though the picture and sound was not great, we sat and watched almost every program," reminisces Ashesh Malla, the former board of member of Nepal Television.
Nepal Television:
It was Neer Shah, Durga Nath Sharma, Shyam Chitrakar and others who helped conceive and establish Nepal Television. "The Communication Ministry gave us a low budget to start with, but it wasn't very helpful. We didn't want to delay, so we took a loan of NRs. ninety lakhs from the Nepal Bank," recalls Durga Nath Sharma, the present GM of Nepal Television.
NTV's first coverage was His Majesty, Late Birendra Bir Bikram Shah Dev's visit to Australia in 1985. People were actually able to see their King on a Nepali Channel! "It was difficult; the government provided little help. Television was an expensive medium and required costly technical equipments. We sent the material through a satellite, and once it was received in Balambu, it was transmitted to community centers like Ratna Park." It wasn't long before NTV worked on more plans and policies and merged with the government.
Basic training on television and work division followed. Mr. Durga Nath Sharma took care of current affairs, Mr. Tapa Nath Shukla handled programs, and Mr. Rabindra Samsher Rana caressed the technical aspects. The transmission period, originally half an hour, has increased to sixteen today.
"When we started, we requested help from Japan; we were denied, saying that Nepal had other essential priorities such as education, health etc. It meant that television was a luxury item in Nepal," Mr. Sharma recalls. Nepal's mountainous geography also made the transmission expensive. However, with all the technical hurdles and barriers, Nepal TV is broadcast throughout the country today.
"News is always done live, but the lack of equipment forced us to pre-record the news. There were no studios and we started with a V.H.S camera," Mr. Sharma recalls. Today, Nepal Television is one of the best-equipped channels, and has even given birth to Nepal Metro.
After twenty years, NTV, the founding Nepali television channel, is still the leader of the pack The profits are astounding, earning 18 crores last year, with some of the most popular shows, such as Hijo Aaja Kaa Kura, Dishanirdesh, Biswa Ghatana,and Ujeli, etc.
Image Metro
Born in 1995, as a program package on NTV, Image Metro grew to become the first private channel in Nepal. "Image Metro set a precedent for the privatization for other channels," says Mr. Bhushan Dahal, who headed the channel in its earliest year. "Since it was a private channel, people expected something different, and that was our challenge. There was a lot of music, but we were restricted to news and current affairs." Image Channel also gave way to Nepali music videos. Some of its most popular shows today are Music of Your Choice and Twisted Sisters.
Channel Nepal
Its mission is to capture the hearts of Nepalis living abroad. Channel Nepal is the first Nepali Satellite TV channel that caters to viewers across Asia and the Pacific. Their programs are largely infotainment –a blend of informative shows on Nepal and entertainment.
Nepal 1 Television
"Nepal 1's motto is to serve the Nepalis all over the world with qualitative infotainment." says Mr. Sanjeev Mishra, a managing board member. "We started from India with an objective of providing myriad Nepalese living in different parts of the world with their own channel." The channel, just a year old, is transmitted over forty-seven countries through an Asian Thai Com Satellite. The programs are produced in Nepal, sent to the head office in Delhi, and then broadcast.
Kantipur Television
KTV was launched in 2003. "Television is all about being informal, friendly and lively," says all of KTV. Whether it is news, talk shows like Call Kantipur or comedy programs like Teete Kareli, you won't feel like a stranger to the people on your screen!" Kantipur TV has given birth to this new dimension. "What you see is the result of hectic homework and brainstorming before launching the channel," shares Mr. Bhushan Dahal, the chief executive producer of Kantipur TV. It is only transmitted in Katmandu but will soon be broadcast all over the nation. "We will transmit to the US, New Zealand and North Korea also," Mr. Dahal explains. "The toughest part of our job is translating the visions and ideas into pictures according to the public's demand and desires. Each day is a struggle for us; it is a challenge we are determined to win."
