DUSHANBE, January 11, Asia-Plus — Asadullo Rahmonov, Chairman of the Committee for TV and Radio-broadcasting, told a news conference in Dushanbe on January 11 that he is dissatisfied with the present level of quality of programs on Tajik national TV and they will improve broadcasting quality in the near future.
According to him, they have organized satellite broadcasts of Tajik nation TV (TVT) to more than 70 countries, and the TV channel “Safina” is now can be picked up by 70 percent of the Tajik population.
He also added that technical modernization of children’s TV channel “Bahoriston” would allow increasing its airtime time from eight to twelve hours a day.
Rahmonov noted that the Sughd regional TV now airs eight hours every day and the GBAO regional TV airs two hours a day three times per week.
Commenting on increase in rates for placement of advertising materials in TVT programs, Rahmonov said, “We cannot place advertising materials at the previous prices while rates of other services have increased several times in the country.”
On the issue of establishment of a joint Persian-language TV station that would broadcast its programs to Tajikistan, Iran and Afghanistan, Rahmonov said that Tajikistan had already prepared its version of feasibility study for launching the station. “However, we have not yet received proposals from our Iranian and Afghan counterparts,” he said.
We will recall that Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad proposed to launch the joint TV station during his visit to Tajikistan in July 2006.
