Yearbook of radio and television (1960)

ic=a=G::ft=iW£i£=i&=i&:a:=e=c^^ INTERNATiONAL TV ROUNDUP HONDURAS Television was inaugurated in Honduras last September when station HRTG, channel 5, owned and operated by Compania Televisora Hondurena, S.A., went on the air. The station telecasts for six hours daily from 4:30 to 10:30 p.m. Reception is good in the Tegucigalpa area and telecasts are being received in San Pedro Sula, approximately 200 miles away. There are some 400 TV sets in the capital, and large crowds watch TV on sets installed in shop windows. MEXICO According to trade sources, an ultimate link between American and Mexican television may become a reality. In recent months, Emilio Azcarraga, head of the XEW-TV network, has been holding a series of talks with American TV executives with the same goal. A project to study the form in which the link can be achieved is being readied, with top technical men on both sides acting on a joint commission. The Department of Communications announced that it has on hand 56 applications for the establishment of new TV stations, and that by the end of 1960, the country would have full TV coverage. Ten new independent TV stations in key Mexican cities will be inaugurated in the first quarter of 1960, according to plans of concession holders. PANAMA Circuito RPC-TV, channel 4, owned by the Eleta brothers, b:pgan experimental transmissions in September. The antenna is installed on a peak in the Penoncito range about 1 1 miles from Panama City. The station's effective radiated power is 12 kilowatts. PERU Lima's third commercial TV station, Panamericana TV on channel 13, was inaugurated on October 16. Isaac R. Lindley is president of the organization which is capitalized at 13 million soles (about $465,000). The transmitter was designed by Philips, according to press reports, and has a potential output of 50 kw. The station is located in an ultra-modern five story building which will have two recording rooms, one film studio, and two large production studios. The antenna is about 375 feet high and is located in the rear of the building. NEAR EAST ALGERIA A television station relaying Algiers went on the air in Tizi-Ouzou. It operates on channel 7 with a power of 300 watts. CENTRAL AFRICAN FEDERATION The Federal Government, through the Federal Broadcasting Corporation, has awarded a contract to provide television in the Federation to Rhodesia Television (Pvt.) Limited (R.T.V.). Under a fifteen-year agreement, R.T.V. will provide a television service for the Federation, starting in Salisbury, possibly in August 1960. Service is expected to be extended to the Bulawayo area in 1961 and to the Copperbelt of Northern Rhodesia in 1962. The new service will be supported by commercial advertising which will be limited to ten per cent of program time, or an average of six minutes in an hour. No decision has yet been reached on the amount of viewers' license fees which will accrue to the F.B.C. A 625-line system will be used. It is planned to telecast four hours per day. The contractor will supply programs, but the F.B.C. will have control over them, and v/\\\ originate the newscasts. IRAN The second television station in Iran recently began test transmissions in Abadan. The RCAequipped studio is owned by the Sabets, and is a commercial enterprise like their Iran-TV station in Tehran. Telecasts will be increased from the initial 2^2 hours three times a week to ZVi hours five times a week. It is reported that 1,400 TV sets are in use in Abadan. Adequate reception is limited to the Khorramshahr-Abadan area. IRAQ A Baghdad broadcast on December 20 stated that the Iraqi cabinet had approved commercial advertising over the Iraqi TV network. ISRAEL In spite of reports that Israel was considering the establishment of television. Prime Minister Ben-Gurion — in answer to questions of the Israel Newspaper Editors Committee — stated that TV should not be introduced into the country, as this would mean raising living standards while th* country was still dependent on external aid for necessities. JORDAN The Jordanian cabinet decided to hire a foreign expert to study the prospects of establishing a Jordanian television system. KENYA The Kenya TV Commission is soliciting the views of racial, religious, community and financial interests regarding the establishment of TV in Kenya. A questionnaire, asking for detailed plans, is being sent to organizations, both domestic and foreign, that have already submitted memoranda on the introduction of TV in Kenya. LEBANON It is reported that the government has granted a commercial TV station franchise to a third group in Lebanon. The only organization, however, that is on the air is the original Television Company of Lebanon (TCL). The excise tax on radio and television receivers, sold by importers and dealers in Lebanon, has been dropped by official decree. LIBYA The Armed Forces Television station at Wheelus Air Base in Tripoli began a series of holf hour weekly programs in Arabic on October 1. (Continued on Next Page) 1099