Geo TV

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GEO TV
Image:Geo TV.jpg
Type cable television network
Branding GEO TV
Country Flag of Pakistan Pakistan
Availability    Flag of Pakistan Pakistan
Flag of Europe Europe
Flag of the United Kingdom UK
Flag of the United States United States
Flag of Canada Canada
Middle East
Founder Mir Shakil ur Rehman
Slogan Har Pal Geo
Owner Mir Shakil ur Rehman
Launch date October 1, 2002
Website www.geo.tv

Geo TV or GEO Television is an Urdu Pakistani television network that was established in May 2002. Its transmission went on air on August 14, 2002 at 10:00 AM, whereas regular transmission began from October 1, 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]

Contents

The channel's 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.

The channel is simultaneously broadcast online at GEO.tv. GEO is currently on the 4154/H/4410 frequency on IS7/10.

In Urdu, the national language of Pakistan, the word "geo" translates to "live on". GEO's name may come from the fact that it utilizes a geosynchronous orbit satellite for its transmissions.

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, and Meray Mutabiq by Dr. Shahid Masood. 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.

Many entertainment programs are also shown on Geo. Most prominent amongst these are half-hour soap operas. In 2007, Geo started a programme hosted by film star Reema named 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 TV has been criticized by the Pakistani government as well as sections of the general public who say the channel promotes sensationalism in order to increase revenue and popularity. Further, the channel is seen as reporting primarily negative news regarding Pakistan, resulting in a generally depressing and pessimistic viewership experience. [2]There was criticism from the Pakistani government for the channel's coverage of the 2005 earthquake in Kashmir, as GEO's coverage of the tragedy included disturbing scenes of victims and disaster zones. The channel's insistence that it is merely exercising freedom of speech is often criticized for being ignorant of ethical limitations and normal codes of conduct and behaviour.

A notable target of criticism is Shahid Masood, whose anti-government views are seen as excessive and ignorant of positive advances the government has made. Masood and the GEO News program were the reasons cited for the government's ban of the channel during the Emergency of 2007.

Hamid Mir, host of the popular GEO political talk show Capital Talk, confirmed in an interview with the CBC the strong political views he portrayed on television.[3] It further raised doubts of Mir's ability to present fair and balanced news items.Mir however is well liked by the audience for his straight forward questioning.

The "Benazir Last Moments Video!" link.
The "Benazir Last Moments Video!" link.

During the temporary removal of the channel, GEO opened a web page, Support GEO, for viewers to write messages of support, which would be approved for public viewing. Negative comments about the channel's practices, or justification of its removal from Pakistani television, were rejected. Given the channel's claims of championing democracy, GEO's refusal to recognize criticism of itself were seen as hypocritical. A blog, titled Musharraf Supporters, was started in response to accommodate those whose opinions were rejected on GEO's website and would like their criticism published.

Shortly following the assassination of former Pakistani prime minister Benazir Bhutto, GEO released a ten second video clip which showed a large number of people running away from the sound of shots being fired, followed by the sound of the suicide bombing. The clip was played repeatedly on GEO TV without delay for several minutes. GEO.tv was forwarded to the Jang Group website, where an online version of the video clip had been uploaded with the link entitled "Benazir Last Moments Video!" The handling of the video by GEO raised further questions of its professionalism as a news agency and its ethical responsibilities.

Main article: GEO Super

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.

  • 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.[4]
  • GEO was awarded a special award in 2005 at the Nouticaslo TV festival.[5]
  • 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.

The following is the mission statement by GEO TV:[6].

"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 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)

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. [7]

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.

Geo TV was shut down by Dubai authorities on 17 November 2007 when they ordered satellite uplink to be switched off.[8] The station had been banned in Pakistan since November 3rd[9]. However, the station has continued to be available in Internet through Internet streaming.

Transmission of the Geo News channel was restored by Dubai Media City (DMC) and IMC Dubai authorities from midnight 29 November 2007.

  1. ^ [1]
  2. ^ http://www.chowk.com/ilogs/64207/47408
  3. ^ http://www.cbc.ca/news/yourinterview/2007/11/pakistan_in_crisis.html
  4. ^ [2]
  5. ^ [3]
  6. ^ [4] 12-23 December 2006
  7. ^ New controls on media in Pakistan BBC, 4 June 2007
  8. ^ Pakistan's Geo TV on how it was forced to shut down. The Hindu. Narasimhan Ram. Retrieved on 2007-11-18.
  9. ^ http://edition.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/asiapcf/11/16/pakistan.tv/index.html


 v • d • e Geo Television Network
Geo TV GEO News GEO English GEO Super AAG TV GEO Kids


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