Urgent: Question Mark Hangs Over Sangat Tv Future -16Th April 2012

[SikhWorldTv]

The future of Sikh religious channel, Sangat TV is looking bleak after BSkyB issued the channel with a termination notice for unpaid EPG fees.

Looking at the documents BizAsia.co.uk has in its possession, Regis 1 Ltd - the company name of Sangat TV - has received a notice to pay over seven months of EPG costs (totaling to around £30,000) by Monday 16th April. If it fails to do so, the channel will be taken off its Sky EPG slot (channel 847).

Like its rival, Sikh Channel, Sangat TV's survival is mainly down to donations by viewers and commercial revenue.

The channel's expenditure per month (including satellite and Sky EPG costs) mounts up to £45,000. Currently, the channel receives around £11,000 per month worth of donations from viewers. It also makes a similar amount of commercial revenue. The deficit is met by ad hoc individual/trustees/creditors and institutional (Gurdwara) donations.

In an email leaked to BizAsia.co.uk, the channel plans to put the following plan of action forward to avoid further financial difficulties.

• Majority of our Sangat has forsaken the concept of Daswandh and the importance of Panthic projects - we all must work hard to revive this.

• We [sangat TV] all must work hard to bring in enough SO/DD (Regular monthly donations) to plug the monthly funding gap. I suggest that each Trustee should take responsibility to collect at least £2k pcm in addition to their own contributions.

• All Trustees must contribute a higher amount each as one off payment towards clearing the backlog of Creditor payments i.e Arqiva and BSkyB.

• There is a huge untapped potential for increasing the advertising revenue many folds. All Trustees should bring in advertising revenue of £2k pcm.

• Sangat should be made aware of all facts and figures and a regular Appeal to Sangat for donating Daswandh should be made in very clear terms

Sangat TV will be holding a trustees meeting at the end of this month to discuss further to better its financial position.

Sangat TV became a household name last year when the channel went on the streets of Birmingham to cover the August riots.

BizAsia.co.uk contacted Sangat TV about its current position but was awaiting a response at the time of filing this article.

http://media247.co.uk/bizasia/newsarchive/2012/04/question_mark_h.php

[SarabhaPanjab]

we must support Sikh media.. it is vital, on top of your DD's make one off payments as well. Do weekly collections at Gurdwaras. It is more important that anything else that our media is panthic and fearless.

It is a massive disappointment not a single Candian/USA channel reported anything during Panjab Bandh..no interviews, nothing!!

They were all reliant on Sikh Channel and Sangat to bring breaking news.

[Azaad]

We need both our channels strong!! Help prevent Sangat TV closing

[ghatak]

WE NEED THIS CHANNEL ALIVE. IT HAS DONE SO MUCH GOOD.

[Cisco_Singh]

Sangat TV has also made a lot of mistakes and occasions delibrately tried to derail panhic movements started by SIkh Channel like Dastaar Day etc... Did they not also show the funerals of the 3 pakistanis killed during the Birmingham riots...have a burkha vali news readers, invite Sonia Deol on the channel to discuss the riots... The riots presenter Upinder also was found to openly slander Sant Jarnail Singh Khalsa Bhindranewale and the Khalistan movment on his facebook page. Sangat TV also frequently are scared / reluctant to discuss important controversial topics such as recently when they cancelled the Sikhs Awareness Society programme about the grooming and explotation of a young teenage SIkh girl...Also Sangat day and night news...what good is this to anyone ??

This is just a small list off the top of my head...if Sangat TV is to be supported they need to fix up an start representing the panth in a proper manner. Personally I dont think they do a good job....Yes more channels are better....but quality is more important than quantity.

[VanHelsingh]

Sangat TV are the one's who went pro-Islam for a few weeks last year didn't they?

If they want sangat's hard earnt dasvandh (only possible through the grace of God of course) then they'll need to get their priorities in order. Report on riots, fair enough but always remember you're serving SIKHS and the target audience is SIKHS.

[11Gurus1Jot]

let's hope good actions come in the future

[DayaSingh96]

Sangat TV should remove Upinder but i doubt thats going to happen. Like Kaljugi said "they'll need to get their priorities in order".

[SarabhaPanjab]

We all know what they done and didn't do.. but i firmly believe that we need more than one media stream.. a single media has much more chance of being manipulated and any one who understands business knows without competition standards slide big time.

They did make up a lot of their short-comings by reporting Panjab Bandh, interviews with Bhenji Kamaldeep Kaur, Singh Sahib Akal Thakt etc.

[DayaSingh96]

They did make up a lot of their short-comings by reporting Panjab Bandh, interviews with Bhenji Kamaldeep Kaur, Singh Sahib Akal Thakt etc.

I do give them credit for that.

And we do need more than one media Stream to make an Impact.