BBS to cover SAARC Summit Live

Bhutan's national teveision channel Bhutan Broadcasting Service (BBS) will cover the two-day 16th SAARC Summit live. BBS radio will also braodcast the event live.

All the necessary arrangements to provide live coverage of the Summit on April 28 and 29 has been done say BBS officials. BBS has enough manpower and equipment to provide exclusive coverage of the SAARC Summit, said a BBS official. "Through our normal broadcast with commentary in Dzongkha we will cover the two day event," said Panchaman Rai, officiating chief engineer at BBS. "Along with the live coverage, we have also made arrangements to provide clean feed that is without the commentary of the main Summit for international broadcasters." The other television stations can downlink the clean feed of the summit at their respective stations. These clean feeds of the SAARC summit will be given for free. However BBS will also have an arrangement of up linking facilities at the Media Centre on booking basis, which will enable the broadcasters to uplink their news feed directly, said Panchaman Rai. These up linking facilities is on a payment basis in local currency equivalent to US dollar 20 a minute which covers the satellite space segment and payout of the feed. This rate is as per the norm being practiced in the previous SAARC Summits.

This is one of the biggest challenges BBS is taking up to provide exclusive coverage of the Summit with high quality of signal to meet the international standard, say BBS officials. "However, with experience we gained from the coverage of last election and coronation and centenary celebration, BBS do not have any difficulties to cover the event," said Panchaman Rai.
Apart from the live coverage of the main summit and up linking facilities, BBS will also be recording all the press conferences that would take place and provide video footages for free. BBS will also try to broadcast interviews of SAARC leaders.

(Source : Bhutan Times)