Untitled - socium.ge

Television, the Internet, and identity 393terrestrial stations, TV3 and Canal 33, two satellite channels, TVCSat andTVC International, a twenty-four hour news channel, 3/24, and a terrestrialdigital television service. This variety of channels offers a choice of programmingfor both general and specific audience segments. TVC was the firstnetwork in Spain to establish a site on the Internet. 4 The number of TVCprograms on the Internet has grown rapidly, with the medium taking its placeas part of the network’s communication philosophy and strategy.The Catalan Radio and Broadcasting Corporation set up TVC Multimediain 1998 with the aim of commercially exploiting production in the informationtechnology field. As part of this strategy, TVC set up a production centercalled SAM for audiovisual meteorology services. SAM’s multimedia outputemploys sophisticated production methods and cutting-edge technology. Itproduces thematic channels for other TV stations, interactive services andapplications for digital channels, and production services for the Internet.From the beginning, TVC has contributed significantly to the developmentof the Catalan audiovisual industry, encouraging production, creativity, andnew talent, centered, up until now, around Spanish television. TVC’s twoterrestrial channels broadcast 300 hours a week of high-quality programs inCatalan, covering all genres and areas of interest. TV3 is a general interestchannel with top ratings in most genres: news, in-house fiction, entertainmentwith variety and creative humor, sporting events such as FC Barcelona, professionalsoccer league play-offs, and the Olympic Games. It devotes 1,600 hoursof broadcasting a year to sport. The ranking of the most widely viewedprograms in the Spanish state is usually headed by American films or by football.In Catalonia, the Spanish-speaking population follows TV3 football,broadcast usually in Catalan.Canal 33, the second channel, is both an alternative and a complement toTV3, and offers more culturally oriented and innovative programs. During thedaytime it covers children’s programming with the name of K3. Half a millionchildren in Catalonia under the age of 16 belong to Club Super 3. Thisprogram, on the air since 1991, is much more than just a standard children’sprogram. It has more members than any other club in Catalonia. On theprogram and via Super 3 publications and its Internet website, Club membersare kept abreast of recreational and cultural activities available to them and areoften invited to attend free of charge. The majority of members are fromCatalonia but there are members in other Catalan-speaking areas, such as theBalearic Islands, the autonomous community of Valencia, French Catalonia,and Alguero, a Catalan-speaking city in Sardinia.Catalan Television is located on a 15-acre site close to Barcelona. Itspremises comprise five buildings with eight studios with a total of 2,600 m 2 offloor space; thirty-four post-production video suites, including two digitalsuites and seven non-linear digital editing suites; eight audio post-production