With its official opening on January 21, 2010, Southeast Asia TV (SEATV; UHF Channel 31) became the ninth Cambodian TV station to go on air.
The vision of Dr. Haruhisa Handa, who is Chairman of the Board of Directors of SEATV and SEA Radio and has been a strong supporter of Cambodia’s intellectual
development (he is also Chancellor of The University of Cambodia), is to develop and use media as a vehicle for (i) promoting education and training (including learning foreign languages); (ii) providing news and information (also part of learning) including
documentaries and special reports on important topics relevant to the needs and interests of the Cambodian people today; and (iii) promoting the appreciation, learning
and preservation of Cambodia’s rich culture, arts, traditions, history and heritage. Also, the idea is to bring learning and education
to households everywhere in the country,
as well as to promote distance education and a life-long learning philosophy, which is vital to building a knowledge-based society in Cambodia.
To help achieve Dr. Handa’s vision of developing and using the media as a vehicle to promote education and train Cambodians throughout the country, SEATV is strategically located along with Southeast Asia Radio FM 106 in a grand new building on the future UC campus. Apart from a large studio, it is equipped with an advanced digital system which includes four studio cameras, digital master control, a nonlinear editing system and graphic animation. This is but the first step toward state-of-the-art high technology broadcasting.
Also, Dr. Kao Kim Hourn (Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors and President of SEATV and Radio; also President of The University of Cambodia) noted that SEATV has invested in 20 KW broadcasting power to reach those in all of the provinces, saying, “Since roughly 80 percent of Cambodian people are living in the countryside, it is essential that SEATV reaches out to them in the most accessible way.”
Dr. Kao also said that SEATV will be known as the ECI (Education, Culture, and Information) Channel and will work with most of the cable networks in Cambodia, especially with DTV, to ensure that they broadcast SEATV programs in full. With the new building, including new studio and TV equipment, SEATV hopes to capitalize on its own assets and build its brand name.
With SEATV and Southeast Asia Radio FM 106 up and running, in addition to the Southeast Asia Weekly, UC plans to open a College of Media and Communications as early as possible. This will help SEATV build its own capacity, including technical expertise, human resources, and programming,
all of which is vital to its long-term development.
