Ekho, Baku, Azerbaijan
March 4 2009
New multilingual international Azeri TV channel to hit airwaves –
regulator
Azerbaijan will soon have a multilingual international TV channel, the
head of the national TV and radio regulator has said. The channel,
Maharramli said, will broadcast in English, Russian, Persian, Turkish
and Armenian languages. However, there remain a lot of unanswered
questions, according to the piece. The author wonders whether or not
there are opportunities to recruit personnel able to make programmes
in five different languages at once, moreover, in Persian and Armenian
languages. Asked to comment on the channel, TV specialist Hacili said
it was important to have reliable sources of funding as a private
channel cannot cope with making so many programmes in foreign
languages. Moreover, he seems pessimistic about the prospect of the
channel and therefore advises the NTRC to urge regional TV channels to
make programmes in languages of ethnic minorities across
Azerbaijan. The following is the text of R. Orucov report by
independent Azerbaijani newspaper Ekho on 4 March headlined "Will a
new TV channel broadcast in Armenian language?, and subheaded "It is
unknown, to which audience will it be calculated and how will it be
brought into line with laws?; subheadings have been inserted
editorially:
A new international TV channel will soon hit airwaves in Azerbaijan,
the chairman of the National Television and Radio Council [NTRC] of
the RA [the Republic of Azerbaijan], Nusiravan Maharramli, has said.
Multilingual TV channel soon to hit airwaves
He said that the channel will broadcast in English, Russian, Persian,
Turkish and Armenian languages.. A sitting of the NTRC will soon be
held to discuss issues related to the opening of the channel. "It is
possible to adopt a decision to put the issue of opening of the new TV
channel out to tender this month. We have already started discussions
to this end."
The NTRC chairman said that the council had received proposals to this
effect from private companies and discussions are strictly underway
around those proposals. It has not been yet determined on what
frequencies the new TV channel will transmit. Maharramli said that the
NTRC has reserve frequencies and therefore, no problems will arise in
this connection.
He added that the channel would be private. The NTRC chairman also
explained the reason why there emerged the need for the opening of the
new channel. "Azerbaijan has adopted a decision to take broadcasts of
foreign TV channels and radio stations off the air in
Azerbaijan. However, there are people in the country who disagree with
this decision. Some people want a channel in Russian language be on
the air; some others want channels in another languages. We have
studied international practice and came to a conclusion that the most
optimum option is the opening in the country of an international TV
channel. Not a single language but several of them will be used in
this channel. A company winner of the tender – will decide how much
time to allocate to each of those languages. We shall also discuss
it."
Unanswered questions
Regrettably, Ekho did not manage to contact Nusiravan Maharramli
himself yesterday, nevertheless, there is no doubt that the news
broken by him raises lots of questions. For example, what is the point
for making programmes in Persian language if this language is not used
by any ethnic communities in Azerbaijan?
However, if to proceed from what has been said, it is assumed that the
new TV channel is to broadcast on national frequencies. Another issue
is where will they manage to recruit the staff to make programmes in
Armenian language? And, what overall direction should this private TV
channel adhere to a news, cultural and educative, public and political
or any others?
Prominent TV expert and director of the Institute for the Media Rights
Rasid Hacili shared his views to this effect with Ekho. "I cannot
imagine any private local TV and radio company get down to making a
daily programme in five foreign languages at once. If programmes are
meant for viewers in Azerbaijan, then it is not quite clear what is
the need for programmes in English or Persian languages. That is to
say, if the channel is designed for domestic usage, then that list of
languages mentioned by Maharramli loses its sense.. I wonder, which
private company would be interested in wasting so much energy and
funds for this?"
There are worldwide samples with only remote resemblance to the plans
of the NTRC. "That is to say, there are major countries with TV
channels broadcasting in foreign languages. Let us take Britain
relaying via satellite in various languages through the BBC. Or,
Euronews channel broadcasting in many languages and this is obvious
since this is a TV channel of the European Union.."
That is to say, I understand that in principle, a certain
international channel can be set up in Azerbaijan, nevertheless, it
can only be state owned but not private. Because it will be clear that
for example, using Armenian language is conditional upon the strategic
interests of the government to relay programmes for Armenians in
Nagornyy Karabakh. Or, if we approach to this issue in a wider aspect,
the aim may be to make signals of the TV channel also available in
Armenia and in Iran. This is possible. But where shall we find
professional staff members able to make programmes in Armenian and
Persian languages?
Ownership means a lot
Even if, one is successful to realize all these, the channel will be
an instrument of pure propaganda of Azerbaijan, that is to say, on the
air would be clips extolling the realities of our country before
Armenians and Iranians, or it will be something similar to the Iranian
Azerbaijani-language Sahar TV channel which is doing interactive
programmes, using intensively clips from Azerbaijan with comments from
Azerbaijani respondents, sending out its signal to considerably large
part of our country by using our domestic air space.
However, Sahar is not a private company; otherwise it would not be
able to operate. Nevertheless, the head of the NTRC says that our
international channel will be private. Given this, it should also have
income from advertisement. We wonder, how can it be formed? Who will
be interested in placing advertisements in a TV channel, of which a
good half of the air time will be in incomprehensible Persian, English
and Armenian languages inside Azerbaijan? It is also obvious that
Armenians of Nagornyy Karabakh will also not place their ads in
Armenian propaganda blocks of the international TV channel. Well then,
it emerges that this channel cannot do without state funding. There
are many unimaginable vague nuances.
"On the other hand, if the idea came from private companies, as
Maharramli claims, so, what is the point for a tender then? Rasid
Hacili inquired. It turns out that the author of this idea will
realize it. Because there will be no other aspirants to it. Because
such an international TV channel in Azerbaijan cannot replace the
closure of the Russian and the Turkish TV channels. There are many
contradictions. It would be very good if the head of the NTRC soon
publicly and in detail explain to everyone what he had in mind. That
is to say, what kind of channel is this, what is the main point behind
it, why is it necessary for the public to discuss those conditions?
Even if it is absolutely a news channel, who will listen to it in
Persian or in English in Azerbaijan? Russian and Turkish languages [TV
channels] are still understandable as the majority of our population
understand those languages. However, it would be good for the NTRC to
oblige our regional TV channels to make the lion’s share of programmes
in languages of local ethnic minorities. For instance, in Georgian
language in Qax [District], in Lezgin language in Qusar
[District]. Otherwise, it turns out that the international TV channel
cannot simply be commercial, private."
"There emerges another strange moment, the director of the media
institute noted. "The NTRC took the Russian and Turkish TV channels
off the air with reference to the law `On TV broadcasting’ which says
that broadcasting in the country cannot be in foreign languages. But
given this, in order to open a new international TV channel, at first,
it is necessary to change the valid law. Here is the main
contradiction of the situation."
[translated from Russian]