Geo TV: Difference between revisions

GEO TV
	File:Geo TV.jpg
Type	cable television network
Branding	GEO TV
Country	Pakistan
Availability	Pakistan; Europe; UK; United States; Canada; Middle East
Owner	Mir Shakil ur Rehman
Launch date	October 1, 2002
Official website	www.geo.tv

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Revision as of 14:34, 7 December 2007

Geo TV or GEO Television is an Urdu Pakistani television network that was established in May 2002 and officially began transmission in October 2002.^[1]. Mir Khalil ur Rehman was the founder of the Jang Group of newspapers and his younger son Mir Shakil ur Rehman is the present owner. Imran Aslam is the President of GEO.

Its programming includes interactive infotainment programs, children's programs, top-of-the-hour news broadcasts daily, and current event programs. GEO TV has been rated as the third most watched channel in Pakistan by Gallup.^{[citation needed]}

Technical

Its broadcast facilities are based at Dubai Media City in the United Arab Emirates and its uplink teleport station is Samacom, the monopoly uplink provider in the UAE.

After the imposition of emergency in Pakistan, GEO News broadcasts were obstructed by PEMRA, as they were for nearly all private television channels. On 16 November 2007, Geo was ordered to shut down by the UAE government.

The channel is still being broadcast online. GEO News is working on New Frequency 4154/H/4410 on IS7/10

Origin and Funding Sources

Origin of Name

GEO's name may come from the fact that it utilizes a geosynchronous orbit satellite for its transmissions. However, in Urdu, the national language of Pakistan, the word "Geo" also means "Live On".

Popular programmes

The comedy of Geo TV is well known.^{[citation needed]} One of the most popular shows is the comedy show [Hum sub Umeed say hain].

GEO News shows include Aaj Kamran Khan Kay Sath hosted by Kamran Khan, [Capital Talk] which is anchored by Hamid Mir, [Jawab Deh] hosted by Iftikhar Ahmed, Meray Mutabiq by leading intellectual Dr. Shahid Masood, and Safeer-e-Pakistan hosted by Waqar Ali Khan.

Many entertainment programs are also shown on Geo. Most prominent amongst these are half-hour soap opera. In 2007, Geo started another very popular programme hosted by the leading film star Reema which was named as Yeh Ghar Aap Ka Hua, which means This home has been awarded to you in Urdu. Geo has also shown independently based programs such as George Ka Pakistan.

Geo took advantage of the large pool of journalists working in print media in Pakistan at the time of its formation. When branching out from mainstream print media to electronic media, Geo was able to select from an experienced group of correspondents all over the country.

Geo Super

File:GEO Super.jpg

In late September 2006, after the success of Geo TV, Geo launched the first ever 24 hour sports channel of Pakistan: Geo Super. It is not yet available overseas but has received high ratings from viewers in Pakistan.^{[citation needed]} Geo Super shows a wide variety of sports from around the world, focusing mainly on cricket, with a secondary focus on boxing, football and field hockey. Geo Super is also licensed to broadcast Twenty20 cricket matches.

Awards

A documentary by GEO covering water scarcity in the Indus river delta won "The Special Prize of H.S.H. Prince Rainier III" at the Monte Carlo TV Festival.^[2]
GEO was awarded a special award in 2005 at the Nouticaslo TV festival.^[3]
On April 20, 2004 at the National Association of Broadcasters Convention in Las Vegas, Mir Ibrahim Rahman, chief executive of Geo TV, received an International Broadcast Excellence Award for the impact the channel has had on Pakistan.

Corporate logos and slogans

The following is the mission statement by GEO TV:^[4].

"GEO will be the voice of freedom from the Asian subcontinent. It will highlight the issues of concern and the cultural richness of its people through information, discussion and entertainment. GEO will propagate transparency of responsibility that will ensure its position as the most credible and meaningful source of information, through quality programming based on issues."

Geo TV Network

Geo is growing in popularity very rapidly among news viewers in Pakistan and abroad. As a result from 2003 its number of channels has increased from one to four. They are as follows:

Geo TV
Geo News
Geo Super
AAG TV
Geo English (English version of News channel, launching soon)

GEO TV Governmental Ban

On November 3, 2007, the Pakistani government halted the transmission of GEO News. Following the controversial suspension of the Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry by President Pervez Musharraf, GEO News began drawing international attention to the fervent demonstrations against Musharraf. The suspension of GEO News broadcasts was followed by a new ordinance by the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) that introduced a code of conduct, increasing the liability of each channel over their broadcasts. ^[5]

Pakistanis were still able to watch GEO through satellite and high speed broadband access until November 16, 2007, when the channel was completely removed off the air, as authorities in Dubai concluded that the channel had failed to meet certain media regulations and broadcasting standards of the United Arab Emirates.

Shutdown

Geo TV was shut down by Dubai authorities on November 17th when they ordered satellite uplink to be switched off.^[6] The station had been banned in Pakistan since November 3rd^[7]. However, the station has continued to be available in Internet through Internet streaming.

Dubai rulers let Geo go on air

The authorities of Dubai Media City (DMC) and IMC Dubai have restored the Geo News channel and asked the administration of the channel to start telecasting its programmes from the facility in the DMC from November 29, 2007 midnight.

References

^ [1]
^ [2]
^ [3]
^ [4] 12-23 December 2006
^ New controls on media in Pakistan BBC, 4 June, 2007
^ "Pakistan's Geo TV on how it was forced to shut down". The Hindu. Narasimhan Ram. Retrieved 2007-11-18.
^ http://edition.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/asiapcf/11/16/pakistan.tv/index.html

External links

[1] [1]

[2] [2]

[3] [3]

[4] [4] 12-23 December 2006

[5] New controls on media in Pakistan BBC, 4 June, 2007

[6] "Pakistan's Geo TV on how it was forced to shut down". The Hindu. Narasimhan Ram. Retrieved 2007-11-18.

[7] ttp://edition.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/asiapcf/11/16/pakistan.tv/index.html

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 GEO's name may come from the fact that it utilizes a [[geosynchronous orbit]] satellite for its transmissions. However, in Urdu, the national language of Pakistan, the word "Geo" also means "Live On".
-'''GEO’s Dubious Funding'''
-GEO Television Network, specifically GEO NEWS, has been strongly rumored to have funding and financial backing from elements within the United States government (The State Department & Central Intelligence Agency), and political opponents of the incumbent government. The main sponsor, the United States, controls the editorial policy, primarily to utilize GEO NEWS as a tool for controlling the Pakistani opinion and for exerting domestic pressure on the Pakistani government to get to yield to America's regional foreign policy agenda. In the past, rights groups, radio, and print media were utilized by American intelligence agencies to pressurize competing or noncompliant regimes such as China, Venezuela, Russia, and Iran. Television is the latest weapon of choice used by the CIA as it allows the greatest reach amongst Pakistani masses. As Pakistan has a literacy rate of 56%, influence through television is the most effective, with reach to the illiterate segment of Pakistani society, which is otherwise disenfranchised from reading print media, a traditional source of information. "Voice of America", "GEOMENTARY", are the softer front of this campaign. The extent of American Intelligence influence on GEO’s editorial policy is vast. Shows such as "Capital Talk", "AAJ Kamran Ke Sath", and "Meray Mutabik" sctrictly toe the CIA editorial policy.
-Harsher critics have also claimed that a conglomerate of the Jewish, Indian and American lobbies are jointly funding GEO NEWS in order to promote frustration, demoralization, and despondence among the uneducated masses and youth in Pakistan. As illiterate Pakistani masses are unable to absorb information from newspapers, electronic media outlets such as radio and television have emerged as the influence of choice. The larger objective is not necessarily to promote a softer image of the United States, Israel, and India, but to provide critics and opponents of the incumbent government with a platform to destabilize the Pakistani government, specifically the Musharraf regime, in order to extract foreign policy concessions. A weak government, disliked by the local population, but heavily dependent on the United States for moral and financial support is much more likely to cave into pressure to support the American foreign policy agenda. The long-term foreign policy objective of these lobbies is to essentially neutralize Pakistan’s nuclear assets and gain control over Pakistan’s “energy corridor” or transit route to block China from gaining access to energy resources from the Middle East and Caspian Sea Territoris, essentially encircling China from these resources.
 == Popular programmes ==