Comment by Riaz Haq on August 6, 2013 at 4:28pm

Pakistan to launch Science TV channel, reports Daily Times:

ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Science Club (PSC) has launched beta version of Pakistan’s first science, technology, innovation and educational television, Techtv.pk, which will be fully functional by August 14.
Pakistan PSC President Abdul Rauf told APP that with the launch of this channel, people would be able to access significant amounts of information with reference to any topic in a short time through different programmes.
He said today television has become an important part of people’s life as a source of information, entertainment, a great tool for learning and education, and communications.
Many different programme genres have been used to address diverse audiences for a variety of formal and non-formal learning purposes with scientifically measured results, he said.
Abdul Rauf said the channel would air educational programmes in all subjects, including physics, chemistry, mathematics, biology and zoology, offering an excellent opportunity for young people to learn.
“In remote villages, it will help spread education to willing students through distance learning. Educational television will educate masses on hygiene, literacy, childcare and farming methods or on any topic related to day to day happenings,” he said.
PSC President said Techtv.pk would cover all events from Pakistan related to science and technology and educational activities.
It will also offer free online courses of web application development, DIY (do it yourself) projects, project management and other science and technology topics.
He said Techtv.pk also has an entertainment category with science fiction movies, cartoons and science entertainment programmes.
The channel will cover science and technology educational activities in addition to popularising the subjects through disseminating the relevant information and latest progress to students and common people.
Rauf said this television channel can prove to be very useful, easy to access at anytime from anywhere and users can access a significant amount of information with reference to any topic in a short time regardless of geographic barriers, allowing them to consult different points of view as well as hands-on experience through different DIY (do it yourself) projects.
The channel will use interactive and innovative programmes for this purpose that cover topics of science, chemistry, physics, education, technology, DIY projects, e-learning, documentaries, news, interviews, events, experiments and entertainment.
“The main objective of this web TV is to promote scientific culture and the youth’s interest in science, technology and innovations. The channel would also popularise science for laymen and students, seeking to cultivate the spirit of scientific inquiry and the love of learning in its audience,” said Abdul Rauf.

http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2013%5C08%5C07%5Cstor...

Comment by Riaz Haq on August 7, 2013 at 8:03am

Multiple fatwas have come out against Aamer Liaquat Husain's Amaan Ramzan show declaring it "haram" for various reasons ranging from it being "makhloot" (Co-ed) to doing "taqaddus pamal" (sacrilegious).

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Comment by Riaz Haq on May 1, 2016 at 7:43am

‘#Pakistan’s #advertisement market is worth Rs65b’ with annual growth of 10-12pc’ http://www.pakistantoday.com.pk/?p=516910 via @ePakistanToday #Media #TV

Pakistan’s total advertisement budget has exceeded Rs65 billion in the last few years with a growth of 10 to 12 percent annually. As much as Rs45 billion goes to TV, while Rs17 billion are spent on print media, said Fouad Hussain, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of GroupM, the biggest ad buying house of the country.

“The total billings of the television and print media ads through GroupM are around Rs19 billion, which is over a quarter of the total advertisement budget of the country,” Hussain told Pakistan Today in an exclusive interview.

Hussain has a 17-year experience in the media industry and has been working with brands and media vendors in various roles of brand marketing, research, channel sales, content, strategic communication, media planning and ad buying.


He said most of the TV channels in Pakistan are relying on mobile companies and new brands of mobiles, which are spending billions of rupees on Television ads. Brands like Unilever, Engro Foods and local and foreign banks are slowly shifting to TV from print media, he said.

Hussain, however, said the cash flow management in TV channels and print media is a problem.

“I will not name any channel or media house, but many of the owners have other businesses and use media industry funds on their other businesses which causes delay or late payments of salaries to their employees,” Hussain told Pakistan Today.

He said that there could be some other problems like late clearance of the bills, but the other businesses of the owners of media houses are the main reason for cash flow problems.

The GroupM CEO said the size of the print media ad budget has also been increasing during the last five to 10 years. He said the brands have been increasing their print media budget overtime. He said the newspapers have also increased the cost of advertisement per centimeter.

“If a newspaper was charging Rs10,000 for an ad five years ago, it is now charging Rs100,000,” Hussain said, and added, “It is true that the TV industry has more of a bright future in the country compared to print media.” He said that the print media has been losing its share of the market because “unlike the TV industry, there is no new research work being done in the print media”.

Now, everyone knows which TV channel is more popular and in which city; and the advertisers also know where they need to focus. But it is hard to find out the same information for newspapers. No one knows which newspapers are being read and in which city or area.

“I will not say that the readerships of the newspapers are coming down, but it is hard to find out the exact figure.” He said the All Pakistan Newspapers Society (APNS) should conduct a survey of the newspapers’ readerships locally and area wise once every two or three years.

“We are a kind of advisors between advertisers and the media. We have to suggest to them where their market is,” Hussain said.

Replying to another question, he said the Audit Bureau of Circulation (ABC)’s figures are only for the government advertisements. It is a demand of the federal and provincial governments as they are supporting the TV channels and the print media through advertisements. The government spends Rs6-7 billion on advertisements in the media,” he said.


The ABC certification does not mean readership and it does not tell which area the newspaper is being read in, he said, and added that it is very difficult to find that out.

He said that the APNS should conduct a survey through a reputable institution like the TV industry.

“The owners of the print media have stopped investing in their writers and on journalism,” he said, adding “If they stop grooming writers, the standards of newspapers will decline. Earlier, this industry was considered important because the owners were spending on it.”

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