ENG-1992 — Page 356

COMMUNICATIONS AND THE MEDIA

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Significant efforts were made to improve the quality of children programmes. World renowned cartoon series, children drama series, documentaries on family relations and extravaganza activities for children audiences were offered. Youth-orientated programmes were scheduled during the summer vacation.

Beauty pageants, game contests, charity fund-raising events and musical specials constituted standard fare for viewers. There were also programmes covering activities in cities in mainland China and neighbouring countries, giving the programming a regional dimension.

On the English services, films, imported dramas and musical specials remained major attractions. Quality documentaries, arts and cultural programmes were regular parts of the usual programme line-up.

News and information programmes remained an important part of programming on all services. English services continued to carry satellite telecasts of news programmes from the United States.

Coverage of international sports events was given priority in programme scheduling during the year, especially the 25th Olympic Games in Barcelona which were given prominent coverage on all services. Satellite feeds were widely used to provide live coverage. Other major international sports events covered in the year included the European Nations Cup, Wimbledon tennis and the French Open tennis tournaments.

There was an increase in the use of multi-channel sound television broadcasts with the - introduction of the Near Instantaneous Compounding and Multiplexing (NICAM) system. Feature films, documentaries and sports programmes were broadcast in bi-lingual format, which proved popular and enabled the English services to attract more Chinese- speaking viewers.

Since 1982, Television Home Viewing Groups, now with a total membership of 570, have been set up in Hong Kong's 19 districts to provide a continuous flow of public opinion on television programming and advertising. Three regional panels, one each for Hong Kong Island, Kowloon and the New Territories, consisting of representatives from the home viewing groups, and special panels for English-speaking viewers and children and youth programmes chaired by members of the Broadcasting Authority keep the authority in close contact with the community.

There was continuous improvement in television transmission coverage during the year. Among the 24 transposer stations completed, 23 had already adopted the combined broad-band antenna system, offering a more standardised control of the quality of transmission signals. Three more transposer stations are being planned and the ultimate aim is to provide satisfactory television signals transmission to all areas with a population of 2 000 within a radius of three kilometres.

Satellite Television

The year marked the first anniversary of STAR TV's satellite television and sound service from Hong Kong to the Pan Asian region. Five channels providing news, sports, music, entertainment and Chinese programmes are receivable in countries as far apart as Japan and Turkey, Indonesia and Mongolia. The service is predominantly in the English language but also includes Putonghua. An additional channel in the Indian language was launched in October 1992. The STAR TV service also carries the BBC World Service radio programmes.