When Cable TV Came to a Buddhist Kingdom (full documentary) | FRONTLINE/World

An exploration of the impact of television on a remote Buddhist kingdom in the Himalayas. (Aired 2002)

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In 1999, Bhutan, a Buddhist kingdom that had remained isolated in the Himalayan mountains for centuries, became the last country in the world to legalize TV.

In the years that followed, Bhutan opened itself to what some critics called “an electronic invasion” — cable television. In this FRONTLINE/World short documentary that aired in 2002, reporters Alexis Bloom and Tshewang Dendup explored the differing reactions to the advent of cable TV in the Buddhist kingdom, including the perspective of a co-owner of a cable service company, who said, “We always have to move forward.”

“Bhutan: The Last Place” was produced by Alexis Bloom, who was also the videographer. The co-producer and videographer was Tshewang Dendup. The founder and executive producer of FRONTLINE was David Fanning.

We are making episodes from FRONTLINE/World’s archive newly available here on YouTube and on pbs.org as part of an effort to make our past reporting widely accessible.

Originally developed by FRONTLINE producers in conjunction with public television stations KQED San Francisco and WGBH Boston, FRONTLINE/World launched in 2002 as a national public TV series that turned its lens on the global community, covering countries and cultures rarely seen on American television. The series completed its final broadcast season in 2010.

Explore more about FRONTLINE/World and this film on the legacy website for the series:
https://www.pbs.org/frontlineworld/

#Documentary #Bhutan #Television #Cable

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FRONTLINE/World was a production of GBH in Boston. The executive producer was David Fanning.

FRONTLINE/World funding block?

FRONTLINE is produced at GBH in Boston and airs nationwide on PBS. The editor-in-chief and executive producer of FRONTLINE is Raney Aronson-Rath.

Funding for FRONTLINE is provided through the support of PBS viewers and by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, with major support from Ford Foundation, and The Fialkow Family Foundation. Additional support for FRONTLINE is provided by the Abrams Foundation, Park Foundation, John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, Heising-Simons Foundation, and the FRONTLINE Trust, with major support from Jon and Jo Ann Hagler on behalf of the Jon L. Hagler Foundation, and Corey David Sauer, and additional support from Koo and Patricia Yuen.

CHAPTERS:

00:00 - The Introduction of TV in Bhutan
03:28 - How Cable TV Impacted One Bhutanese Family
06:04 - TV’s Influence on Bhutanese Children
09:26 - Credits Receive SMS online on sms24.me

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