China TV dominates Tonga's domestic network [1]
Thursday, November 2, 2006 - 17:07. Updated on Sunday, November 2, 2014 - 18:26.
Since May China's Central Television CCTV has been offering the only television service in Tonga that is broadcasting free 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
Katalina Tohi of the Tonga Broadcasting Commission said recently that CCTV had signed an agreement in May for TBC to air CCTV programs on Tonga's domestic network, rather than CCTV coming into Tonga and setting up their own television station.
Presented in English CCTV provides local viewers with its own world news coverage, and other programs that include travel, food and cultural experience documentaries of China.
Before it became fixed 24 hours a day on local television, people in Tongatapu were viewing world news coverage from Western countries such as Britain...s BBC World, Australia...s ABC news and Television New Zealand...s One news.
TBC offers a free television service, that broadcasts from 4.30 - 11.30 pm Monday to Saturday in Tongatapu. Katalina said that western news coverage in English is still being shown on Television Tonga with TVNZ One News broadcasted for an hour a daily from Monday to Sunday, and others for half an hour daily.
She added that since TBC became the local agent for the Sky Pacific in November last year, the paid channels now broadcast the BBC, ABC, TVNZ One News and Fiji One, 24 hours a day every week, and they had become selective on the foreign programs to be aired free on the government's Television Tonga because Sky Pacific is a business venture.
Journalism training
Meanwhile, two TBC staff left in September for Beijing taking up five-years media training scholarships offered by the Chinese government. Television Tonga news presenter, Vuivui Fotu will do a BA in journalism, while camera operator Seini Pomana will do a BA in Film Production. The pair must spend their first two years learning the Chinese language before they begin their degree programmes.