BBS’s new TV centre
3 June, 2009 – The Bhutan Broadcasting Services (BBS) yesterday inaugurated its brand new Nu 194m television centre in Thimphu that, its news team says, will greatly enhance the quality of its content.
“We’d save a lot of time,” said BBS managing director Pema Choden of the centre and its state-of-the-art equipment. “We’ll now be able to feed our coverage directly to a network, instead of reporters having to rush to hand in manual tapes and manage the line-up.”
The construction of the three-storied centre started in 2005 with funding from the Indian government. The building costs about Nu 103m and the equipment Nu 91m.
This is a huge leap for BBS, which started its TV programmes about a decade ago, along with internet in Bhutan. “Households in Thimphu first tuned in to the one-hour evening broadcast, and the rest of the country waited for taped copies to reach them by bus, days or weeks later,” said Pema Choden. Then, in 2006, BBS started beaming its programmes live through satellite across the country, with 40 other countries also able to receive its TV signal.
The development of BBS, from its early radio station in 1973, started by the then National Youth Association of Bhutan, to what it is today, has received various financial support from several countries and agencies, over the years, particularly India – which, among others, has funded the construction of the present BBS building. After TV moves to the new building, the old one will be used mostly for radio.
“From making radio jingles about iodine deficiency to preparing the Bhutanese people for democracy, BBS has walked the journey with the nation and will continue to do so, as it fulfills its mandate as a public service broadcaster,” said Pema Choden in a speech to guests that included Her Royal Highness Ashi Chimi Yangzom Wangchuck and the Indian Ambassador to Bhutan, Mr Pavan K Varma.
Actual broadcast from the new centre, however, will not happen until a month from now. That, says a BBS studio engineer, is how much time its news and production team will need to practise and get used to their new system before it starts beaming.
Source: Kuenselonline