Satellites over South Asia: Broadcasting, Culture and the Public Interes
[from www.indev.org]
Satellites over South Asia: Broadcasting, Culture and the Public
Interest
The rapid spread of satellite TV in recent years had made a huge
impact on the choice of viewing available to audiences in South Asia,
not just in the cities but increasingly in towns and rural areas as
well. This unprecedented boom has provoked a lively debate about the
implications for nations, communities and cultures since satellite TV
respects no borders. It has also posed a major challenge to national
broadcasting systems in the region which have hitherto enjoyed a
monopoly. This book tells this fascinating story of the opening up of
the skies, the media companies involved, the means of distribution,
and the reactions of viewers to the huge and growing menu of
programmes [http://www.indev.org/articles/southasia_wcdp.html ]. The
book shows that satellite TV has been instrumental in creating a new
South Asian popular culture which has proved both attractive and
controversial. They explore the implications of these developments
for the national broadcasting cultures of India, Pakistan, Nepal, Sri
Lanka and Bangladesh. It also compares reactions among India's
northern neighbours with those in Sri Lanka, where the existence of
terrestrial competition has afforded greater national control of the
process of change.
