![]() The current logo of Channel S | |
Country | United Kingdom |
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Broadcast area | United Kingdom Republic of Ireland Bangladesh |
Headquarters | Prestige House, 36 Clifford Road, London, England, UK |
Programming | |
Language(s) | Standard Bengali, Sylheti, British English |
Picture format | 4:3 (576i, SDTV) |
Ownership | |
Owner | Chs.Tv Limited |
History | |
Launched | December 16, 2004 |
Links | |
Website | www |
Channel S is a UK-based, free-to-air television channel targeting the British Bangladeshi community. The channel was established on 16 December 2004 by Mahee Ferdous Jalil, a Bangladeshi businessman in London. [1] On Sky it at first had a timesharing deal with ATN Global, and then in 2005 began to broadcast for 24 hours, 7 days a week; it is currently available on Sky channel 777. The channel claims to be the "Voice of British Bangladeshis across the world", [2] showing programmes suiting community needs. Its slogan is "Working for the community".
The television station is based at Prestige House in Walthamstow, north-east London. It broadcasts programmes in Standard Bengali, Sylheti and a few in British English. It is the first Bangladeshi channel to broadcast a significant content in Sylheti which has built up a loyal following among Bangladeshis in the United Kingdom, of whom the majority come from Sylhet. [3] Since the launch of the channel in 2004 there has been bitter rivalry between Channel S and Bangla TV, with Channel S gaining rights to broadcast the Baishakhi Mela. A survey in the UK found Channel S was the most viewed Bengali TV channel in the UK. [2]
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On 16 December 2004, Channel S started to broadcast on Sky with a timesharing deal with ATN Global on channel 827. It was founded by a Bangladeshi businessmen based in London, Mahee Ferdous Jalil, who is also the owner of the car insurance company Prestige Auto Group.
In March 2005, it moved to its own EPG channel 837 and started broadcasting 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and then moved to channel 814.
From 15 January 2006, it aired its programmes in Bangladesh and other countries of South Asia, South East Asia and the Middle East. [1] From August 2006, Channel S acquired the rights to broadcast two of Bangladesh's prominent satellite channels, NTV (Bangladesh) and ATN Bangla. These are also available on Sky channels 826 and 827 respectively (a few months later it had stopped broadcasting NTV, which became independent from Channel S).
In October 2008, it acquired the rights to broadcast a popular Bangladeshi channel called, Channel i on channel 826. In May 2007, Channel S launch Islam4U – a channel dedicated to Islamic programmes (has stopped broadcasting since).
Channel S provides viewers with a combination of cultural, political and religious programmes for the viewers, including shows which help the community with legal or community issues. News is broadcast daily, with news coverage of national news and international news, the main headline and political situation in Bangladesh and the latest news headlines in Britain. Local and community news are also broadcast from correspondents throughout the UK, including a news programme dedicated to news coverage from Sylhet; there is a live bulletin at 7:00 pm, and full news broadcasts at 10:30 pm and 1:00 am. [4]
Talk show programmes include Obhimoth (English: Opinion), focusing on events of politics in Bangladesh; during the 2008 Bangladesh election it covered the electoral process by broadcasting opinions of voters and communities in the electoral constituencies of Sylhet, Habiganj, Moulvibazar and Sunamganj (Voter Matthe). Let's Talk – hosted by Ajmal Masroor is a programme debating about current and religious affairs. [4]
There are many Bengali entertainment programmes with Bengali music, drama and shows, including Sylheti drama which are produced in Sylhet and some from East London. Popular entertainment shows include iRonniee (a programme interviewing notable music-songwriters), [5] and music shows of folk, poetry by leading artists in the UK or Bangladesh; these include Sure Sure Alap, Shudhu Binodan, Sur Jolsha and Matir Sur. [4] A new game show launched in February 2008, titled Win A Car, offers people to win a Mercedes C-class, which 'specifically targets the British Bangladeshi community', and has been described as the first entertainment programme in a 'Sylheti Bangla way'. [6] Since 2005, it has gained the rights to broadcast the Baishakhi Mela annually. Previously the rights were held by Bangla TV, however its commitment to the community has attracted many local business and advertisement to Channel S. In 2009, it was the joint media partner with BBC Asian Network, alongside the Tower Hamlets council. [7]
Channel S is one of the first Bengali channels which are committed to broadcasting Islamic-oriented programmes. Islamic programmes are shown quite frequently. These include programmes such as Islam Essentials – a live religious talk show which provides viewers the opportunity to ask questions relating to Islam based on everyday life which features Sheikh Abdur Rahman Madani and Quraner Alo (teaching on how to read the Qur'an). [4] Nasheeds (religious songs) are shown daily. [8] Channel S has planned to launch a channel called Islam4U, which is a 24-hour channel Islamic channel in Bengali, which however has not started broadcasting. [9]
There are many charity events for Islamic institutes on Channel S. In 2006 and 2007 during Ramadan, the British Bangladeshi community donated millions of pounds on live appeals. It then led to Channel S in 2007 creating a fundraising initiative called, the "Ramadan Family Commitment", which was the channels first concept based scheme. It raised £146,138 in 2007 and was distributed amongst 28 organisations, there were 30 charity appeals, one during each night of Ramadan, [10] and "Qurbani Family Commitment", created to make the distribution of Qurbani during Eid more easier for the Muslim community in the UK, and for Bangladesh. Organisations which are affiliated with the organisations are Islamic Relief, Muslim Aid and Hefazothe Islam UK. [11] During Ramadan, Channel S has also raised fundraising events for mosques and madrassas across the UK (e.g. East London Mosque), and created its first Ramadan Guide in 2008 which was distributed in the communities. [12] As of 2008 Channel S has raised up to £7.5 million for 65 mosques, 17 madrassas and 35 other charity events. It is organised by the Channel S Charity Department, and presented by Rizwan Hussain. [13]
Channel S also launched a new charity programme with Muslim Aid, called "Shahjalal & Shahporan Village", which is dedicated to raising money to build villages for victims of Cylone Cidr in Bangladesh. Muslim Aid has hosted live appeals on Channel S, along with Islam Channel. [14] With Muslim Aid, it has managed to raise up to over £200,000 from the community, in support of those who were affected by Cyclone Sidr in Bangladesh. [15] A football tournament was part of the fundraising initiative called the SSV Charity Champions Cup 2008, consisting of 32 teams, aiming to bring Bangladeshi footballers together across different towns from London, Oldham and Birmingham. The event was held from 5 May to 6 July 2008, and was won by Bromley By Bow FC in the finals at Mile End Stadium, east London. [16] [17] The aim of the fundraising event is to build two villages which are called Shahjalal & Shahporan, with each receiving 360 built houses, including schools, medical centres and mosques, and aims to raise up to £720,000. [12]
There are also other various shows available for all other viewers. Programme Bits n Bytes is an IT show specifically targeting people who use computers for business or home use. It is the only IT weekly programme within the South Asian Broadcasting Industry in the UK, presented in English and Sylheti. [4]
Viewers also have the opportunity to view their village or town in Bangladesh, by calling and requesting on programmes such as Amar Gao, there are many recorded videos of villages across the region of Sylhet. There are also shows available for women and children, for example Mojar Ranna (a cooking show) and It's Our Day (entertainment for children). [4]
In June 2007, First Solution Money Transfer, a financial services company run by at least one the managing directors of Channel S went into liquidation owing the public hundreds of thousands of pounds. [18] Mahee Ferdous Jalil, the chairman of Channel S, filed for an injunction against Bangla TV to prevent allegations of impropriety by Channel S or its chairman from being broadcast as well as defamations cases against a number of prominent businessmen who had made the allegations. [19]
As of April 2008, Channel S (including other Bengali channels) was under investigation by Ofcom for a breach of the Communications Act 2003, after airing election adverts for the Liberal Democrats during the 2008 London mayoral election. The channel accepted adverts from the local Liberal Democrats candidate, Jalal Rajonuddin. [20] Ofcom found Channel S guilty of breaching the TV Advertising Code. [21] [22]
On 4 August 2008, according to the City of London police, Mahee Ferdous Jalil (Mohammed Ferdhaus) founder of the channel (along with many others) was found guilty, at Croydon Crown Court, of car insurance fraud and sentenced to an 18 months prison term. The group were involved in a plot to make false car insurance claims and were ordered to pay compensation costs to the AXA insurance company. [23] Since the arrest of Jalil, a media war broke out with Channel S and Bangla TV. It was noted that Bangla TV broadcast negative news coverage against Jalil and Channel S, leading to propaganda and different speculations of the event. It raised much concern among the community and politicians, which many thought was an attack against Channel S by Bangla TV. [24] [25] [26] He was released after serving 7 months of his term, as he appeared at the Channel S Community Awards on 30 March 2009. [27] It is now confirmed that Jalil has pleaded guilty for insurance scam and is awaiting sentence. This will be the 2nd time Jalil will be in His Majesty's pleasure.[ clarification needed ] He has already served 7 months of his 15 months sentence for insurance fraud. [28]
Sylheti is an Indo-Aryan language spoken by an estimated 11 million people, primarily in the Sylhet Division of Bangladesh, Barak Valley of Assam, and northern parts of Tripura in India. Besides, there are substantial numbers of Sylheti speakers in the Indian states of Meghalaya, Manipur and Nagaland. as well as diaspora communities in the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada and the Middle East.
Sylhet, is a metropolitan city located in the northeastern region of Bangladesh. It is the administrative center of Sylhet Division and is situated on the banks of the Surma River. Sylhet is the fifth-largest city in Bangladesh, with a population of around 700,000 people.
Bangladesh Television, commonly known by its acronym BTV, is the state-owned television network of Bangladesh. The network was originally established as the East Pakistan branch of PTV in 1964. It is the oldest Bengali-language television network in the world, and is sister to the radio broadcaster Bangladesh Betar, which, along with BTV, are both owned and operated by the government.
Sylheti Nagri or Sylheti Nāgarī, known in classical manuscripts as Sylhet Nagri as well as by many other names, is an Indic script of the Brahmic family. The script was historically used in areas of Bengal and Assam that were east of the Padma, primarily in the eastern part of the Sylhet region, to document Muslim religious poetry known as puthis; having no presence in formal documentations. In the course of the 20th century, it has lost much ground to the standardised Eastern Nagari script. Printing presses for Sylheti Nagri existed as late as into the 1970s, and in the 2000s, a Unicode font was created for the script.
ATN Bangla, 'ATN' being the acronym of the unused Asian Television Network, is a Bangladeshi Bengali-language satellite and cable television channel owned by Multimedia Production Company. It is based in the Kawran Bazar neighborhood of Dhaka. ATN Bangla is the first privately owned television channel and the first to broadcast on satellite in Bangladesh. The channel began broadcasting on 15 July 1997. ATN Bangla is broadcast in over 130 countries worldwide.
The national language and official language of Bangladesh is Bangla according to the third article of the Constitution of Bangladesh. Almost 99% of Bangladeshis speak Bengali as their first language. Bengali Language Implementation Act, 1987 made it mandatory to use Bengali in all government affairs except in the cases of foreign relations. According to a 2022 census, Bengali is predominantly spoken by 99% of the country's population and it also serves as the national language of the nation. The indigenous people of northern and southeastern Bangladesh speak a variety of native languages. According to the Ethnologue, there are 36 indigenous living languages, which include 17 Tibeto-Burman, 10 Indo-Aryan, 7 Austroasiatic and 2 Dravidian languages in Bangladesh. Bangladesh has 44 indigenous languages according to Professor Shameem Reza.
Peace TV is a non-profit Emirati satellite television network that broadcasts free-to-air programming. It is one of the world's largest religious satellite television networks. On 21 January 2006, Zakir Naik created the network, which is based in Dubai.
British Bangladeshis are people of Bangladeshi origin who have attained citizenship in the United Kingdom, through immigration and historical naturalisation. The term can also refer to their descendants. Bengali Muslims have prominently been migrating to the UK since World War II. Migration reached its peak during the 1970s, with most originating from the Sylhet Division. The largest concentration live in east London boroughs, such as Tower Hamlets. This large diaspora in London leads people in Sylhet to refer to British Bangladeshis as Londoni.
Muslim Community Radio (MCR) also known as Ramadan Radio was a radio station based in London, United Kingdom founded in 1998. The station used to run through FM radio, at 87.7 FM, and only broadcast annually during the holy month of Ramadan. The slogan of the radio station is 'Ramadan Special'.
British Bangladeshis are people who arrived from Bangladesh to the United Kingdom, and throughout the years have started to create new businesses throughout the country, especially in Brick Lane, where there are many Bangladeshi restaurants. Bangladeshis were the first to have started the curry industry in the UK, from small businesses. The curry is now regarded as Britain's National dish. Many others also own supermarket stores specialising in Bangladeshi products, and also in the media, the main Bengali channels - Bangla TV and Channel S.
Bangladeshis are one of the largest immigrant communities in the United Kingdom. Significant numbers of ethnic Bengali peoples, particularly from Sylhet, arrived as early as the seventeenth century, mostly as lascar seamen working on ships. Following the founding of Bangladesh in 1971, a large immigration to Britain took place during the 1970s, leading to the establishment of a British Bangladeshi community. Bangladeshis were encouraged to move to Britain during that decade because of changes in immigration laws, natural disasters such as the Bhola cyclone, the Bangladesh Liberation War against Pakistan, and the desire to escape poverty, and the perception of a better living led Sylheti men bringing their families. During the 1970s and 1980s, they experienced institutionalised racism and racial attacks by organised far-right groups such as the National Front and the British National Party.
Ajmal Masroor is a Bangladeshi-born British imam, broadcaster and politician. He is well known for being a television presenter on political discussions and on Muslim channels.
Rizwan Hussain is a Bangladeshi-born British television presenter, barrister and an international humanitarian worker. He is currently the CEO of TV One, broadcasting on Sky Channel 781. He is also a former Hindi music singer and producer and is best known for presenting Islamic programs and charity events on TV One, Islam Channel and Channel S.
BBC Bangla is the Bengali language service of the BBC World Service, inaugurated in 1941 for Bengali audiences worldwide, especially the ones in the Bengal region, which includes the sovereign state of Bangladesh and the Indian states of West Bengal and Tripura.
Abdul Latif Chowdhury, widely known as Saheb Qiblah Fultali, was a late-twentieth century Bangladeshi Islamic scholar, mufassir, qāriʾ, poet and orator. As a prolific author, he completed several works in Arabic, Bengali and Urdu including Muntakhab as-Siyār and Anwar as-Sālikīn. His books are part of syllabic studies under the Bangladesh Madrasah Education Board. Fultali was the leading figure of the Islamic Arabic University movement and the demand for fazil and kamil qualifications to be recognised as bachelor's and master's degrees. He is the founder of several influential organisations and institutions in Bangladesh and the United Kingdom such as Anjumane Al Islah, Hazrat Shahjalal Darussunnah Yaqubia Kamil Madrasa and Madrasah-e-Darul Qirat Majidiah.
The Sylheti or Sylhetis are an Indo-Aryan ethnocultural group that are associated with the Sylhet region. There are strong diasporic communities in Barak Valley of Assam, India, North Tripura, as well as in rest of Bangladesh and northeast India. They speak Sylheti, an Eastern Indo-Aryan language that is considered "a distinct language by many and a dialect of Bengali by some others".
Mohammed Mahee Ferdhaus Jalil is a Bangladeshi-born British businessman, founder of Channel S, owner of Prestige Auto Group and a television presenter.
Munshi Muhammad Sadeq Ali, born as Sri Gaur Kishore Sen, was a prominent Dobhashi Bengali writer, poet and district judge from 19th century Bengal. He is considered to be the most well-known writer to have used the Sylheti Nagri script and this is due to his magnum opus, Halat-un-Nabi, which gained immense popularity in the Sylhet region and would later be transcribed in the Bengali script.
The study performed here made use of a 'natural experiment' resulting from widespread migration of people from Bangladesh to the UK. 95% of these individuals come from one particular region of Bangladesh, Sylhet.