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| Iraq |
| AFN to hit Iraqi airwaves by end of October |
| 2003-09-22 |
| EFL: Officials supplying American Forces Network programs to Iraq say there will be 1,500 satellite television decoders in the country by the end of this month, and they will begin broadcasting television over the air by the end of October. In recent months, troops in Iraq have complained about a lack of television and radio service. The push for dishes and decoders, however, has since become so big that an exchange warehouse in Europe has run out of the boxes and quadrupled orders for new ones. On a recent trip to Iraq, the theater engineer for the Air Force Broadcasting Service sold or gave away about 1,100 decoders. The service said that the majority of troops in Iraq now have access to satellite television somewhere on post. âIâd say right now we have every major command,â engineer Curtis Young said from Ramstein Air Base in Germany. The Air Force broadcasters, headquartered in San Antonio, are responsible for all the service in the Middle East. My old unit. âThe goal of all the folks, especially the Army side of the house, is to have football available for their troops,â Young said. âWe understand what that time of year means.â Most of the boxes in Iraq will have been provided to commands at no charge, Young said. The rest are paid for by individual commands or troops requesting them. Over "X" number of viewers, free issue. Very small number or you want to get yours faster, unit buys. Cost under $1000. The military is trying to offer satellite television in the common area of every âbed downâ camp in Iraq. The military also plans to take AFN to the airwaves in Baghdad, Tikrit and Mosul, as well as six other smaller areas that Young said he couldnât discuss. "I can say no more" The broadcast TV service will be one or two channels, with either or both AFN News and AFN Sports, rather than the standard mix of American sports, news and sitcoms troops would see in Europe or the Pacific region. AFN News channel takes news programs from all networks, removes commercials, inserts boring generic AFRTS spots, and transmits via satellite. AFN Sports does the same with sports programing. Though Iraq uses an incompatible television system, the U.S. government doesnât want to broadcast shows offensive to locals, said Michael Kinchen, director of the Air Force Broadcasting Service in Texas. Sitcoms, soaps, and dramas = SEX!!! Even though Iraq uses the PAL TV standard and we will be broadcasting NTSC, as soon as the locals find out, theyâll be selling NTSC sets on the black market. The mullahs find out that the locals are watching General Hospital and Friends instead of going to the mosque, thereâll be hell to pay. One official said early distribution of decoders in Iraq was hampered by terrain, finding where bases were and, for some stateside units, not knowing much about AFN. âItâs also tough to market how to get AFN, [because] if they donât have TV, they wonât see a promo spot,â said Cal Miller, operations and plans chief for the broadcast service in Texas. To receive AFN via satellite in Iraq, viewers must also use a 1.5-meter dish instead of the 80-centimeter dish used in Europe. Some commands initially brought the smaller variety. Kinchen said his organization also plans to offer cable service to commands that order it. Bigger bases would get a cable headend facility with ability to insert local programming. They might also get more channels. Radio is already being broadcast in Baghdad, Kirkuk and at Tallil air base. The availability of radio was another early complaint.In letters to Stripes that ran in July and August, several troops complained of receiving only the BBC. âWhereâs AFN radio in Iraq?â wrote Staff Sgt. Darren Dinger, from Baghdad. âWhat gives? Iâm sure the soldiers would like to hear an American radio program, get our news from America and be able to listen to a variety of music. And weâd definitely like to hear one or two sports programs.â Another soldier accused the BBC of anti-American coverage.âIâm tired of this radio station bad-mouthing my country, my commander in chief, and our mission here in Iraq,â wrote Staff Sgt. J. Critasi, also in Baghdad. âI sincerely hope AFN can get a radio station set up soon so we can listen to some unbiased news that isnât clouded with righteous arrogance.â Oh, man! Wait till they can sit down and watch all the network news shows ranting how we are bogged down in a quagmire and spot their wives protesting. |
| Posted by:Steve |
| #3 Ah, military media, turning the enemy's most effective weapon against him. |
| Posted by: Atomic Conspiracy 2003-9-22 11:13:18 PM |
| #2 Just set up Internet Cafe's for the boys. We are doing it for the Iraqis. I never liked watching last weeks football games when I already knew the scores. Unless the Satalite feeds are real time, that is. I amy be dating myself. |
| Posted by: Super Hose 2003-9-22 7:56:11 PM |
| #1 Damn right, Steve. Just wait they catch Michelle whats-her-name on ABC and Fred Francis on Matthews Sunday mornings. |
| Posted by: Michael 2003-9-22 3:09:30 PM |