Give us our TV, Give us our Freedom

By reading the title, I'm sure you started to think that this must be a meaningless thread. But its not. And you will soon realize this. This is about our TV and how freedom is related to our lazy television set.

To start off, I was never a couch potato, (people sitting in front of their TV all day) but I needed my weekly dose. I remember my teenage years very well. At that time, satellite TV was a luxurious black box. And the content was not ordinary also. There were tons of programs that would, I'm sure, please every little part of everyone. But we did not have satellite TV at home. The reason is simple. It was not very cheap and my mother's friends did not have one. These two reasons should suffice. But there is more to it. The thing is, we had decent TV programs.

Now you know where I'm getting to. I do understand that the national TV is free and therefore we should not complain. But I am sure that they could do better. Why? Simply because they did it in the past. I remember always getting up early on Saturdays and Sundays just to watch "K2DA". And here is a well known fact about me: I never get up early. I'd wake up after noon if Mr Drrrrriiiinngg did not invent the alarm clock. This is to tell you how the TV was before. It was still free back then. So, years later, with new technologies, I think they've regressed. How and why? That remains to be solved.

Just to clear out any doubts, we are talking about the MBC here. MBC stands for Mauritius Broadcasting Company. Which means it's owned by the Government. And being owned by the Government, its in the interest of the Government that people watch the MBC channels, especially the news. But more and more people watch satellite TV at that time. Because it's got more interesting shows and its of better quality. I agree that things are getting better with TNT. But the competition is tough. Satellite TVs provide freedom. Man should be free. Freedom is doing what you want, when you want. And to me watching what you want, when you want is also some sort of freedom. With the MBC we are restricted to what they propose us, but with satellite TVs, we are the master. We choose what we want to watch. And this is how that sense of freedom is developed.

I am not here to preach about satellite TVs, and I did not wish it was so. It's true that we have lost our TV freedom, but the real problem is not the freedom. I would say they have lost us. In a sense, the MBC is Government TV. It is certainly very fair compared to other Government TVs in other countries, and I appreciate this. But they have lost us. Because if we all had satellite TVs, a very small percentage of the population will be concerned by the news and the politics. This is why, I think they have lost us. I know its a harsh statement, and it may be false as well. But it could be true in years to come. I'm no expert in TVs and Radios, but I believe in something. I believe that if we had more local TV stations, we'd have better programs. Because we'd have competition. Just look back in history, when the private radios emerged. It was a massive event. I still remember how I spent my nights listening to the radio shows, as if the TV had never existed. I know it did not strike only me. We all remember those moments. Maybe a little competition would be good. And, in a sense, if they ever loose us, they'd loose us to Mauritians, not to the French.

you need miro - http://getmiro.com

Well, I don't think Miro could do. Because in this case jevin is asking quality tv shows on TV
A petition would be great, but then MBC broadcasts things on which they can lay their hands I don't think they plan their shows

yup its true the MBC has lost us. everywhere you go you see the parabole on every house. dimoune pa gueter mem mbc tv aster. ena tjour guet info kumen mo bne parents, aprer zot re sanz chaine!

Not everyone can afford satellite tv (like me), so the only option is MBC TV...

Being a governmental entity, mbc's budget is very restricted... which translates into low quality shows, like the lack of Premier League matches...

What makes MBC so crap is its lack of objectivity & independence. Always goody-goody attitude... Even in the face of a crisis, they'll say everything is OK, nothing to worry about.

What we actually need is more local tvs... But the investment is too much & ads won't pay off everything... subscribers would be required, which destroys the concept of a People's channel.
& actually an independent news channel will destroy the MBC! No one would watch it!

& miro WONT work in Mauritius... we can't even properly watch a YouTube video, who cares about IPTV?

PS: A blog post in a forum??
(& in the junk section??)

quote: & miro WONT work in Mauritius..

What??? It works! Plus, people can upload to Miro esp. those with the 128 KBps upstream - takes time but it's worth it.

Jevin wrote:By reading the title, I'm sure you started to think that this must be a meaningless thread. But its not. And you will soon realize this. This is about our TV and how freedom is related to our lazy television set.

To start off, I was never a couch potato, (people sitting in front of their TV all day) but I needed my weekly dose. I remember my teenage years very well. At that time, satellite TV was a luxurious black box. And the content was not ordinary also. There were tons of programs that would, I'm sure, please every little part of everyone. But we did not have satellite TV at home. The reason is simple. It was not very cheap and my mother's friends did not have one. These two reasons should suffice. But there is more to it. The thing is, we had decent TV programs.

Now you know where I'm getting to. I do understand that the national TV is free and therefore we should not complain. But I am sure that they could do better. Why? Simply because they did it in the past. I remember always getting up early on Saturdays and Sundays just to watch "K2DA". And here is a well known fact about me: I never get up early. I'd wake up after noon if Mr Drrrrriiiinngg did not invent the alarm clock. This is to tell you how the TV was before. It was still free back then. So, years later, with new technologies, I think they've regressed. How and why? That remains to be solved.

Just to clear out any doubts, we are talking about the MBC here. MBC stands for Mauritius Broadcasting Company. Which means it's owned by the Government. And being owned by the Government, its in the interest of the Government that people watch the MBC channels, especially the news. But more and more people watch satellite TV at that time. Because it's got more interesting shows and its of better quality. I agree that things are getting better with TNT. But the competition is tough. Satellite TVs provide freedom. Man should be free. Freedom is doing what you want, when you want. And to me watching what you want, when you want is also some sort of freedom. With the MBC we are restricted to what they propose us, but with satellite TVs, we are the master. We choose what we want to watch. And this is how that sense of freedom is developed.

I am not here to preach about satellite TVs, and I did not wish it was so. It's true that we have lost our TV freedom, but the real problem is not the freedom. I would say they have lost us. In a sense, the MBC is Government TV. It is certainly very fair compared to other Government TVs in other countries, and I appreciate this. But they have lost us. Because if we all had satellite TVs, a very small percentage of the population will be concerned by the news and the politics. This is why, I think they have lost us. I know its a harsh statement, and it may be false as well. But it could be true in years to come. I'm no expert in TVs and Radios, but I believe in something. I believe that if we had more local TV stations, we'd have better programs. Because we'd have competition. Just look back in history, when the private radios emerged. It was a massive event. I still remember how I spent my nights listening to the radio shows, as if the TV had never existed. I know it did not strike only me. We all remember those moments. Maybe a little competition would be good. And, in a sense, if they ever loose us, they'd loose us to Mauritians, not to the French.

you should publish this on your blog!

lol kat, my thoughts exactly!

Nah. Its just something that I wanted to write to express to members of this forum.

carrotmadman6 wrote:

What makes MBC so crap is its lack of objectivity & independence. Always goody-goody attitude... Even in the face of a crisis, they'll say everything is OK, nothing to worry about.

yeeaah! and they don't want to innovate. i think they have never heard the word! we often see changes in the administration. new directors etc but the results yield the same.

Man, I'd give anything (not in terms of money ) to see decent shows on that tv, cause that's all i got.
mbc lack professionalism. just take a look at the scheduled programs in a newspaper and compare it with the actual broadcast time. there is often a big difference! i get a feeling that the staff there is too slack to care to make a change