Airwaves transporting an agenda of connectedness throughout Southasia, right into homes across the region – what a concept! With equitable representation of news, culture, public opinion, debate and even entertainment, what is not to like? The difficulty, of course, is that such a project faces restrictions imposed by regulations (or lack thereof), market forces, and the now-established culture of television as a primarily commercial entertainment medium. Facts, however, have never precluded the dreamers.
The conceptualisation of a Southasian public service channel must start with the questions: What is the overall philosophy of a public service channel? Who would operate it? Who is it for? What is its programming model? What is the best means to reach the target audience? What will be the primary language of operation? How will it gain acceptance in the varied socio-political landscape and national agendas of Southasia? Where are the revenue streams for the establishment and sustenance of such an 'out-of-the-box' type of model?
Programming model
The very proposition of a regional public service channel goes against the nature of today's television marketplace. The commonly accepted values of public good, education, accountability, good taste and so on have been largely eroded by the unbridled growth of commercial TV, as delivered by such satellite giants as Star and Zee, which do not have standards of public service imposed on them. Even while stations like NDTV have succeeded in maintaining high journalistic values within India, they have fallen short of developing a voice for Southasia. Television advertisers have, without exception, gravitated towards the vast market potential of India, while marginalising voices from everywhere else in the region.