THE MEDIA
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provide a link with the homelands - the United Kingdom and Nepal - of the forces, their families and the civilian component.
The station operates one MF transmitter at Tam Mei Camp in the northwest of the New Territories, and two FM transmitters, at Castle Peak and Brick Hill. Generally, the MF transmitter carries Nepali programmes and the FM transmitters, English.
Nepali programmes feature material of particular interest to the Brigade of Gurkhas as well as programmes which reflect the culture and life of Nepal. Most of the output is produced by the station's own staff while the rest comes mainly from the Nepal Government, the BBC's Nepali Section and BFBS in London.
Both the English and the Nepali services lay stress on involving the audience in programme-making, either by having contributors in the studio, or by taking programmes to various locations. A phone-in facility was introduced by the English service during the year and BFBS listeners make full use of it. A studio was also established at Headquarters British Forces, HMS Tamar, and it is used for interviews and other programmes which can be fed into the service live.
BFBS Hong Kong celebrated its 10th year of operation late in 1981. Originally its output consisted only of Nepali programmes, amounting to about 25 hours a week. Today the service broadcasts for over 160 hours a week, with output divided about evenly between Nepali and English.
The station's transmitting and studio equipment includes an automated broadcast system, the first of its kind in Hong Kong, which enables the very small staff - comprising Gurkha soldiers and professional broadcasters, engineers and administrators - to maintain high productivity.
Television
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Television continues to be Hong Kong's principal leisure activity with more than 92 per cent of households owning one or more television sets. Two enfranchised commercial wireless broadcasting stations Television Broadcasts Limited (TVB) and Rediffusion Television Limited (RTV) – transmit an average of 220 hours of programming each week. The UHF 625-line PAL colour system is standard and virtually all transmission is in colour. Both TVB and RTV maintain large well-equipped studios and office complexes using the latest production and transmission techniques.
While action-packed stories and kung-fu dramas are still favourite viewing, the introduc- tion of the 4 pm to 8.30 pm family viewing period has not only resulted in a considerably 'cleaner' screen, but also in the emergence of drama serials geared towards the interests and likings of young people.
The number of locally-originated children's programmes has also increased considera- bly, the more popular ones being TVB's Hopscotch and RTV's Whiz Kids Time.
Both stations feature two comprehensive news bulletins daily on their Chinese and English channels, scheduled between 6 pm and midnight. They also broadcast locally- produced public affairs programmes on each channel.
The event of the year was the coverage of the Royal Wedding via satellite on all four channels. There were more than 2.2 million viewers on the Chinese channels alone.
The publicly-financed Radio Television Hong Kong (RTHK), which uses the transmis- sion services of the two commercial stations, produces nine and a half hours of programmes per week, including the popular dramas The New Comers and Turning Point. Common- sense and Police Call, in their fifth and sixth years respectively, were still among the top 20