ABC Network says report confirmed by Govt. Media Spokesman, SSP and Grama Sevaka

In the first hearing of the FR petition filed at the "Court of Appeal" yesterday Asian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) denied any wrong doing and says that the news report aired by them was confirmed by the Govt. Media Spokesman, SSP and Grama Sevaka.

Further they stated that once they received the report in question they conducted independent investigations and then made inquiries from the Govt. Media Spokesman Brigadier Udaya Nanayakkara who said that he too had received such reports and that the armed forces have been sent to the village to investigate the matter. According to ABC the news went on air on Hiru FM upon this confirmation from the Media Spokeman. ABC has also stated that other television and radio media had also reported the incident in question.

Apparently the Media Ministry has sent a letter to ABC informing them of the withdrawal of the temporary broadcasting licenses and the Director General of the TRC sent another letter informing them of the cancellation of the frequencies allocated to two FM stations operated by ABC Networks. Counsel appearing for TRC undertook not to allocate the frequencies to any third party until Nov 16th, the date listed for giving support to the application.

ABC Networks has also filed a FR petition before the Supreme Court challenging the withdrawal of broadcast license and frequencies.

It should be said that the withdrawal of broadcast licenses and cancellation of frequencies is not at all required to handle this situation. The authorities could have suspended news broadcasts over ABC after which explanations could have been obtained from the management and news division of ABC. If ABC claims of confirmation from the Govt Media Spokesman, SSP and Grama Sevaka are true then they should also be held responsible over the incident. The authorities should immediately suspend the Govt Media Spokesman, SSP and Grama Sevaka until this entire issue is sorted out, since their credibility is also at stake here.

We urge the authorities concerned to reinstate the licenses issued to ABC and demand not to allocate the ABC Network frequencies to any other individuals until a final determination is made on this matter.

Daily Mirror (Oct 30th 2007) : ABC stick to their guns file FR petition

Siyatha TV test transmissions on UHF 46

Siyatha TV is reportedly carrying out test transmissions on UHF 46. Although we have been unable to view these test transmissions it seems that certain individuals have been able to tune into them. The launch date has not been confirmed as yet and we will update you with the dates as soon as we receive them.

Looks like the test transmissions of Siyatha TV are being carried out randomly, therefore there is no fixed time during which you can tune it. However anyone out there who has managed to tune into the test transmission is welcome to comment here and inform us at what time you managed to tune in.

Please keep us updated on the latest on Siyatha TV as the days progress.

Reinstate ABC Networks licenses.....

Popular Radio network Asian Broadcasting Corporation had their broadcasting licenses for all their channels (Sha, Hiru, Gold, Sun and Sooriyan) withdrawn by the Sri Lankan Government on friday due to an erroneous report in their news updates that lead to panic.

First and foremost ABC Networks should have carefully verified the information prior to broadcasting it. It was a very irresponsible act by ABC Networks.

However amidst all this there seem to be some sinister moves behind the withdrawal of licenses. The usual practice when irresponsible reporting is carried out by a radio station, is to suspend news broadcasts on the station and the management and the news division of the concerned network are taken to task. Instead of that the entire station has been taken off air jeopardizing the jobs of almost 300 employees and depriving many Sri Lankans of entertainment from their 5 radio stations. According to some reports it seems that a certain individual at the Media Centre for National Security (MCNS) who was awarded a license to operate a radio station has not been allocated a frequency due to a lack of frequencies available in the spectrum and therefore this individual has seized the opportunity and has made sure that ABC Networks licenses are withdrawn in order to get some frequencies. This same individual was one of the shadowy figures behind the entire CBNsat (now Dialog TV) sealing incident a few years back.

ABC Networks have now taken the entire issue to courts and we believe that the first hearing is due today. We hope that the authorities concerned will reinstate the ABC Network licenses with immediate effect but with a restriction on carrying out news broadcasts until a suitable explanation is obtained from the management and the news division for broadcasting a false report and an apology is issued to the authorities and the public concerned.

The authorities should also take immediate steps to introduce digital radio to Sri Lanka so that frequencies are available to all those who have been issued with licenses. Digital radio is a must otherwise we will hear more incidents of government stooges waiting to close down other stations in order to grab frequencies.

Sirasa Kumariyo controversy

Sirasa TV one of Sri Lanka's leading and most popular television stations has filed action in courts against the attempt by some individuals to discredit the television programme "Sirasa Kumariyo" and the Sirasa brand name.

Some unscrupulous individuals seem to have somehow managed to film some pornographic content and edit them and combine them with "Sirasa Kumariyo" shots, inclusively with the Sirasa logo. Not exactly rocket science with all the digital editing software available.

Who knows maybe some of the big political barking bigwigs who go on and on about the "Ran Depaya" programmme slot which is also fondly called "Gon Depaya" and some gun trotting politico's know at times praise and at times blame Sirasa might have something to do with this. They may have also enlisted the help of some insiders and hopefully Sirasa looked at this possibility.

Unfortunately these people who keep complaining about "Ran Depaya" should be knowledgeable to know that they do not have to watch it if they don't want to and can always switch to another channel. Some people complain that their partners (or the rest of the family) are at the television during this time without attending to family matters should stop blaming Sirasa and get their family life in order.

Coming back to the subject, it is the girls who took part in this contest who will have to bear the shame of all this wrangling. Sirasa is an organisation and they will move on however some members of the public might brand these girls as porn stars and this might plague their personal life.

We urge the courts concerned and the investigators to bring the individuals behind this racket to justice and expose them openly. We hope Sirasa will take all steps to make sure that these girls will not face any problem in their personnel lives by taking maximum steps to clear their names.

Siyatha TV launch approaching

Siyatha TV the television operation of Voice of Asia networks is hoping to launch transmissions according to the developments taking place. At the moment it seems that some sort of testing is being carried out however we are unable to confirm at what time it is taking place and in what frequency. Even the website www.voa.lk seems to have links for Siyatha TV and REAL Radio but it does not seem to working at least when we checked.

We hope that the management of Siyatha would divulge more information on the plans for their television station "Siyatha TV" and also for their English Language Radio Station "REAL Radio".

Anyone who is able to view test transmissions of Siyatha TV is welcome to comment here with the time and frequency on which the testing was carried out.

Two years of Derana TV

Sri Lankan television terrestrial channel "Derana" celebrated two years of broadcasting on Saturday. Derana is available on on line via "Jump TV" and on pay television platforms LBN and Dialog TV.

Derana has seen quite a few changes over the last months which came along with a change in its operational head.

We would like to take this opportunity to wish the management of Derana the very best in their future endeavors.

Is it a Siyatha TV teaser?

Some of our bloggers are reporting that Siyatha FM is carrying out a campaign that says "Langadeema, Langadeema.... Ahanna, Dakinna". It may be a teaser about Siyatha TV.

We believe that Siyatha TV will be commencing test transmissions soon, or have they started testing already?

Anyone who has information about Siyatha TV and the said campaign is welcome to comment here.

"RAN FM" launched officially

Sri Lanka's latest Sinhala Language Radio Station has been officially launched from today. Many would have noticed the advertisements on the Sunday Times and Sunday Lankadeepa yesterday. This channel is owned and operated by Colombo Communications Limited which is a subsidiary of the EAP Group of Companies.

This station will carry a mix of adult contemporary music from the 60s, 70s, 80s and operates on the following frequencies

Western Province - FM 102.2
North/Central Province - FM 101.3
Southern Province - FM 95
Sabaragamuwa Province - FM 104.5
Uva Province - FM 91.5

"Survivor : China" premiers October 7th on Zee Cafe

The international hit reality television series Survivor will be premiering it's latest installment "Survivor : China" on October 7th at 9pm and will continue every Sunday at 9pm thereafter. This show will be repeated on Zee Cafe at the following times.

Mondays: 3:00 PM
Thursdays: 4:00 PM
Fridays: 12:00 PM
Saturdays: 2:00 PM
Sundays: 10:00 AM


This installment of Survivor makes it the first American television programme to be filmed entirely in China.

Zee Cafe is available in Sri Lanka on pay television platforms Dialog TV, LBN and soon to be launched Comet Digital.

SLT IPTV to launch in February 2008

According to media reports SLT will be launching IPTV services commencing February 2008. With its launch SLT will become the fourth pay television operator in Sri Lanka. Once launched they will become the second telecommunication company in Sri Lanka to enter the pay television business in Sri Lanka.

Among the features available on SLT IPTV are interactive services, Voice on Demand and Time Shifted TV.

Source : The Daily Mirror (Oct 2nd 2007) - IPTV Comes to your home Feb 08