With the unrestrained onslaught of programmes from all over the world into an average viewer’s living room, cultures are fast converging. Indian soaps show bachelor parties and blind dates while western programming has women wearing saris and bindis — cultural manifestations once alien to both the East and the West.
Pakistan has limped into the race of establishing good quality TV channels, but we still have quite a way to go in keeping our audience glued to TV sets to watch local productions. Long gone are the days when Pakistanis put a halt to their activities to watch Haseena Moin’s plays. Also gone are the times when they had to contend with Neelam Ghar and the Khabarnama. The choices are far too many.
Another set of entrants in the Pakistani TV bandwagon are the regional language channels. Channels like Kawish Television Network (KTN), Sindh TV, Punjab TV and APNA Channel and AVT Khyber, etc, have made their place, albeit small, in the media melee.
A recent trip to the interior of Sindh made one realize the importance of these channels in giving voice to our indigenous cultures, and the lives and aspirations of the common people. A play by the name of Bali had been aired on KTN and managed to attract tremendous local viewership. The serial was based on the true story of a Talpur king enamoured with a Lahori courtesan, Bali. Never had the story been documented before and neither had the young generation of locals heard much about Bali prior to this. With the airing of the play, the Talpur palace and Bali’s own palace in Khairpur witnessed a surge of visitors on a daily basis, hence eliciting an inclination towards local heritage and history.
However, these channels have it tough against their competitors both within and outside Pakistan. Their future depends on not only an improved quality of programmes but also patronage of the niche cultures they cater to. Some programmes of these local TV channels, in a desperate bid to grip the cable watchers, end up airing trivia like music videos showing westernized concepts of dating and physical intimacy that seem utterly crude and are alien to the local society. Many television viewers prefer watching other channels because of better production values quality programming.
Iqbal Ansari of ARY Digital Network thinks that the regional TV channels are doing an okay job as far as quality is concerned, keeping in mind the viewers’ psycho-graphics.
“These channels can sustain themselves as they are catering well to their target audience. Their improvement depends on the promotion of their business interests and viewership by this very target audience.” Replying to the query of whether ARY would delve into similar ventures, Iqbal says, “There are no plans as such because we have a global focus right now. We have entered into America and Europe and have our eyes set on Africa, Central Asia and maybe even the Far East.”
Ghazanfar Ali of Indus TV agrees to the extent that sustenance for these local channels is not an issue. “I don’t think these channels should have a problem surviving in the future considering they are serving a niche audience. I agree the quality of programmes being shown is not good, but that can certainly improve once these channels improve their infrastructure and move on from this stage naturally. Right now, the priority of Indus is consolidating our existing resources, but who knows, one day even we might start a regional TV channel.”
Muhammad Raza Khan, a sales manager at AVT Khyber commented on the importance of these TV channels in the country. “Nobody can undermine the importance of the mother tongue. No matter what language we speak, it is the mother language that comes naturally to us all. It just goes to show that subconsciously our thought process is in our mother tongue.”
AVT Khyber, the Pushto channel, was launched in July 2004. “Our target audience is the 70 million strong Pushto-speaking community throughout the world. Of this, a large proportion live in Karachi alone; even more than in Peshawar. Initially we had problems in acquiring sponsors, like any venture going through its early stages. But now we have overcome the break-even stage. We are now a 24-hour transmission channel with a variety of infotainment segments for children, women, news, plays and current affairs. Any Pushto speaking person knows about us today.”
Raza feels one of the biggest responsibilities of having AVT Khyber is to dispel the common perception that the Pushto-speaking community is mostly a horde of religious zealots or villagers at best. “The perception of the common man has been conditioned by the images he sees of Pashtun people on TV every day. Our coverage shows otherwise. We want to show people that this community is broad-minded enough to absorb what’s going on in the world, and at the same time hold on to its values. Our programmes show western concepts and traditional values.”
Is it wise to show these acquired values to people who have been used to a conservative environment for centuries, hence exposing them to a sudden shock? And wouldn’t the urbanites want to watch authentic stuff rather than having to relent on regional channels showing desi couples wearing Zainab Market T-shirts and plastic shades (with golden stickers flashing) rocking to tacky tunes?
Raza says: “We have to cater to everyone. Today, PTV isn’t the same old PTV either. It shows considerably liberalized values compared to what was aired say 15 years ago or so. Everyone has to change and so have we, though within the limits of our moral boundaries.”
Abdul Quddus, production controller at KTN, also says that the KTN viewership is massive outside Karachi and Hyderabad. “As soon as you travel beyond Hyderabad, you’ll realize that KTN enjoys high popularity. In fact, a poll has recently stated that KTN is at par with Geo in terms of infotainment viewership. We even enjoy this popularity internationally. Recently, we had a music event in Dubai that drew an unprecedented, packed audience for the first time for any regional channel outside Pakistan.”
On the other hand, Waqas Joyo, a 19-year-old viewer from interior Sindh prefers watching cable channels like Sony and Star Plus to KTN as the variety and quality is better. “I do watch KTN, but only for some dramas like Mama Lalu because these depict village life in a realistic way. Other programmes, specially the music videos and comedy shows, are full of melodrama. In other areas where cable is not accessible, people only watch KTN, preferring it over PTV.”
Bakhtawar Chandio, a 25-year-old cook from rural Sindh loves to watch KTN. He finds Sindh TV too boring with its talk shows. “I like to watch Taain Taain Fish on KTN because it is a very funny show. I also like the music programmes on this channel. My friends back in my village like it, too.”
Allah Buksh, a 54-year-old college principal, watches APNA channel to see the news in Punjabi. “I like the news on APNA as it covers regional events missed by national networks. Sometimes I also like watching an occasional Punjabi film.”
Judging by the heavy investments put into developing their infrastructure and the viewership secured from the target audience, one must say that cool or crass, regional TV channels are here to stay.
With the unrestrained onslaught of programmes from all over the world into an average viewer’s living room, cultures are fast converging. Indian soaps show bachelor parties and blind dates while western programming has women wearing saris and bindis — cultural manifestations once alien to both the East and the West.
