The Mysore city TV channel made a hash of its 'live' telecast of a music concert by Unnikrishnan at the Mysore Palace grounds on Thursday. I switched on around 8.30 p m when the artiste was in full flow. Within minutes the TV channel cut in with a spate of advertisements, seeking to promote, among other products, Nandini milk, Mysore silk, electronics appliances, the fantasy park etc etc. The advertisements went on for an excruciating five minutes.
As the telecast of the concert resumed the artiste was finishing a number. Again, as Mr Unnikrishnan was half way through his next item - Krishna Nee Begame...- the viewers got cut off by the channel that inflicted the Mysore Silk advt., for the third time in the last 20 minutes. Towards the last ten minutes of an engrossing concert there was audio failure, and CTV merrily went on with the telecast of soundless visuals, till it was time for the next commercial break.
Would it be pointless asking organisers ('dasara' publicity committee): Isn't there relief for TV viewers from such tyranny perpetrated by the local city channel ?
I have no right to comment on the quality of telecast by CTV or any other TV, as I was pleasantly attending the live concert of the young artist, Unni Krishnan. However, going by the blog of GVK, I concur with him that whoever is telecasting any programme should not be a proverbial ‘Dog in the manger’. People responsible should realize that the telecast is meant for people to enjoy, who are unable to attend the live concerts. But the telecast rights do not come freely to everyone. The administration must have charged the telecaster a hefty sum. To make up the premium paid, they also resort to the only source of income, which is advertisement. Nevertheless, these advertisements should not kill the listening pleasure of the viewer. If the people concerned are not culturally educated, these things do happen. I have a suggestion to make in this regard. While granting permission to telecast rights, the Dussara administration should impose a clause that the advertisements are to be incerted only at the beginning or at the end of the total concert. Permission may be granted for a short advertisements, in between the compositions (individual songs), without hindrance to the narration on Raga or the Composer. A stringent vigilance in this regard is to be maintained, with provision to blacklist such telecaster from the next such occasion. This may be via-media solution for the listening pleasure of the viewers. The same clause may also be applied for bad quality of telecasting.
