Smooth start for Channel 9

BY SHEELA CHANDRAN

SHAH ALAM: The country’s fourth terrestrial TV station, Channel 9, began its official transmission at 1pm yesterday.  

“The broadcast went smoothly and I am glad everything worked out as planned. The station’s technical team is currently monitoring the progress to ensure no problems arise along the way,” said its managing director Jamal Hassim, 38, in an interview at the TV station’s building in Temasya Industrial Park. 

“Our phone lines have been ringing non-stop and so far, we have received over 400 calls within the last five hours. Viewers are making enquiries about how to tune in to the channel while some are curious to know more about our advertisements,” he added. 

Currently, Channel 9’s broadcast covers the Klang Valley and the central region from Raub to Seremban. In two weeks, viewers in Perak, Kelantan and Terengganu will be able to receive transmissions while by mid-October, reception will be extended to Singapore and southern Thailand. 

The station will air programmes from 1pm until 2.30am or 3am on weekdays and from 9.30am to 3am on weekends. 

Channel 9 director of engineering and production operations, Jayaganesh Sabapathy, said the technical team had been burning the midnight oil for the past two weeks to ensure there were no hiccups. “All the technical people have been very co-operative despite the long hours. They were excited throughout the entire process as they were making history with the inception of the country’s latest TV station. 

“The four technical staff of the digital transmission centre are now well versed with the new state-of-the art equipment and I am confident everything will progress smoothly,” he added. 

Channel 9 is owned and operated by Medanmas Sdn Bhd, which obtained the Content Application Service Provider licence from the Malaysian Communication and Multimedia Commission in 2000.