CHANNEL NEPAL FOR NEPALESE AROUND THE WORLD - An Exclusive interview with the MD of Channel Nepal, Mr. Prakash K.C.

Who are the targeted audiences of Channel Nepal?
Of course Nepal!
Channel Nepal is being transmitted via satellite to the Nepalese audiences worldwide and such people are from the 56 countries to which the signal is being beamed to. Nepalese people are not only in Nepal, there are Nepalese in Burma, India, Hong Kong, Singapore, even in Australia and other countries and such Nepalese are within the reach of Channel Nepal. These people are the targeted audience of Channel Nepal and that is why we have not specified our programs to target only a certain segment of such population. Our programs are meant for everyone and are targeted towards the youth, children and the elderly people.

But it seems like most of the programs are targeted towards youth…
In a way, Yes! One thing that should be kept in mind, as opposed to Nepal television, is that Channel Nepal is commercial television and not a public television like Nepal Television. In order to be a successful commercial television we need to generate our own revenue and for this purpose we need to follow other satellite televisions and their targets namely the youths and the housewives. Currently Channel Nepal is also sponsoring non-commercial and informative programs and there is a positive response from other channels for broadcasting such programs. But we have popular music programs as well as fashion programs which are targeted to youth but at the same time we have motive programs like "JIVAN EK RANG ANEK" which is about the personalities' lives and these personalities are from various fields like pilots, sportsman, singers, etc. In the program we try to exhibit their life style and the significant role that they play this society of ours. We also have another similar program "KURAKANI" that discusses the Nepalese society and the contributions made by people in the development of the country and society. The personalities featured in this program are from various fields like education, culture, cyber technology, and social service. "KURAKANI" introduces people who have made a contribution as well as those who are contributing. This program is targeted towards audiences other than the youth. Now we have started to produce programs of the nature of newsmagazines like Environment Development and such programs are targeted towards mass and not for any segment in particular.

What is Channel Nepal doing to preserve the culture of Nepalese society?
Yes, we have realized the need to preserve our culture and for this we various programs for the different festivals like Gai Jatra, Indra Jatra etc. In Dasain we had special programs for all of the nine days to enhance the festive mood. We tried to show the various rituals, customs, Bhajans and traditional music. Besides such programs we also have special documentaries featuring places like Patan and Bhakatapur and these programs exhibit the different palaces there and the dances and music from the various parts of our country. In this way we have showcased our marvelous culture and raise public awareness about them.

What are the specialties of television programs broadcasted on Channel Nepal?
Talking about specialties and when it comes to news-oriented programs we strongly believe in providing more and accurate information to the people. So I would like to tell the audience to watch Channel Nepal for more information and for more entertainment. That has been our motto in Channel Nepal.

Why are Channel Nepal programs being broadcasted from Bangkok and not from Nepal itself?
Most people by now know why that has been done.

Are there any political reasons behind it?
Actually we are also not sure about that… earlier we were given license to unlink and suddenly we were told that we couldn't broadcast from here for the time being. So we were left with no other option than to go to a foreign company … and we still don't know the reason why we were not allowed to broadcast from Nepal. If we were allowed to broadcast from Nepal we could do much more than what we are currently doing … like we could transmit fresh news. In that way a lot of money could be saved and the quality of the programs could be also enhanced. This could have benefited the country in a large way.

You know very well that we read Indian newspapers and watch Indian television news and for example when Indian Airline was hijacked the news broadcasted was totally biased against Nepal and this had an adverse effect on our tourism industry. Also during the Royal Massacre and the recent imposition of emergency, Star News showed pictures of army standing in Durbarmarg, which was the file footage of the pictures shot during Royal Massacre. For the audience of Star News outside Nepal, it seemed as if streets of Kathmandu were full of army personnel and this directly affects the tourism industry. The footage shown was a wrong footage and we still don't know why they used that footage.

CNN and BBC come under category of news channels and for wildlife there is National Geographic. How do you categorize Channel Nepal?
Our channel uses more of a magazine format of channels. Here we have included entertainment, information, education and news. In the long run Channel Nepal, besides the other programs, is trying to come out with a single news channel provided things go well with it. Then we could have a single news channel and different channels for entertainment.

What are its major objectives in reactions to the youths of Nepal?
Well, all the programs those have been currently running…. if u watch it carefully ………like you suggested we've been showing a lot of cultural stuffs. This is basically to bring awareness about our own culture which still exist … One thing is that because of the satellite television…especially those coming out of India…. we can't deny the fact that we are easily…by we I mean our Nepalese audience in general…is easily influenced by there films, the Indian tele-serials, the Hindi songs. And we are not saying that by showing more Nepalese stuffs we are trying to stop it. All we are trying to do is that we are trying to balance it, which is basically the objective. We also try to give a true picture of Nepal from a very independent point of view; not only to the Nepalese here but also to those abroad.

There are large numbers of people young people mostly, who are interested in hosting a program, which is popularly known as working as a VJ. Can u please tell us the basic qualification required being a VJ on channel Nepal?
Of course, we are totally about entertainment specially programs that means there are VJs … Most of the popular songs are watched by the youth, so, it is natural that we have the youth as VJs. They actually don't need much qualification as long as they are presentable on the screen and as long as they know how to speak…..that's the only qualifications that they need.

What do u thinks would make a successful VJ?
Well, I would say as I said earlier that you've got to be presentable on the screen, you've got to have good looks, if u don't have good looks you've got to have the personality or you've got to have a voice. You have to be able to present in such a way that viewers accept you…… its not we who expect it to be that way…. it's the viewers who accept them and as long as they fulfill that criteria there is not much qualification that is needed for a VJ. In case of Television Producers….Yes you need qualifications. Like we could seek a person who is educated with at least a diploma or a BCA level or someone who has been trained in the field video production or TV production. We need people who know how to produce……as VJs don't have to do these all …….producers are different altogether.

It is often heard that TV stations in the west buy television programs regularly, which are created, by individuals and other organizations, Does Channel Nepal intent to buy programs, documentaries, plays, etc which are created by people or any other organizations apart from Channel Nepal itself?
For that I think we will have to wait and see. Once the government allows Channel Nepal to operate from Nepal itself, then, the management might change its policy and approve that. Currently we don't we do this…… but once we start doing this then other people like production houses, individuals can start making them and we can buy their programs….. in this way employment is also generated.

Most of the people seem to be interested in documentaries, plays etc.?
Well, you see interest is only one of the many factors. Knowing how to do it right is also an equally important subject. We have one conception that a lot of people think Nepal has many subjects to choose from specially as far as culture is concerned but many of us don't realize that in the west. Culture of a country in a documentary is not given as mush priority as the people themselves… life style of the people as to how they live is now more essential in the documentaries in the west than culture itself.

How do you think, can help Channel Nepal promote the standards of its programs?
Well, we began just 6 months ago…Give us one more team and 3 months more and after that I am sure there's going to be even more changes. But what we have right now is only two television stations….there is Nepal Television and the other is Channel Nepal. Nepal Television being a public broadcasting station is accountable to so many other things and there is a certain format they are required to follow. Whereas we try to deviate from that and give viewers different tools so that they've got two stations to choose from.

Can you tell us something about the future plans of Channel Nepal?
Like I said earlier, our future plan is to broadcast 24 hours a day and that is our priority at the moment. And we hope to be able to do that pretty soon. As soon as the government allows Channel Nepal to be aired from Nepal itself, I am sure we'll be going for 24 hours broadcasting.

Interviewed by:
Sichu Khairgoli
for Amateurs First