TIC on air with new Carnival format

CHAIRMAN OF the National Carnival Commission (NCC) Kenny De Silva yesterday said the programme format on Channels 4 and 16 “will embrace the rich culture of TT.” It will also continue the education content which was a mainstay of The Information Channel. Programming on Channel 4, which is based in Morvant, will be from 6 am to 11 pm. The new format, “National Carnival Commission Carnival 2005,” started yesterday with a look back at the 1997 Parade of Bands at the Queen’s Park Savannah. There was no commentary. This was followed by former NBN announcer Ruskin Mark interviewing Chairman of the National Carnival Bandleaders’ Association (NCBA) Richard Afong, TUCO President Michael “Protector” Legerton and Manager of Spektakula Promotions, Frank Martineau. 

De Silva told Sunday Newsday: “A number of staff from NBN has moved across to assist, to do whatever is required for Channel 4 to keep going for the period of the lease.” The Ministry of Public Administration, under whose purview NBN falls, is leasing Channels 4 and 16 to the NCC for three months. The announcement was made by Minister Lenny Saith. De Silva said archival material from NBN will be used “to fill slots for the period of Carnival and beyond.” Apart from the customary live broadcasts of the Parade of Bands on Carnival Monday and Tuesday, Calypso Fiesta, Panorama finals and Dimanche Gras, De Silva said there will be broadcasts of regional events. He cited judging for Panorama in the panyards. He said the aim was to bring Carnival to people who were unable to attend events.

De Silva said the decision not to go with broadcasting the parade of bands on TV6 was because the station was only interested in covering three shows, the Panorama finals, Dimanche Gras and the Parade of Bands on Tuesday. “We were paying them $400,000 and they were giving us $250,000 in promotional ads and materials. They had total licence to do what they wanted.” The NCC board did not think this arrangement was feasible. De Silva said Carnival was not only about three shows but rather a national festival. Referring to Friday’s closure of NBN, he said as a former worker who started his career and spent 40 years with the company, he did feel the loss. However, De Silva said a new entity would return in a short period.
 
“We have to wait and see what shape that will take.” Chief Executive Officer of NBN Dominic Beaubrun delivered a brief statement close to midnight on Friday which was carried simultaneously on NBN’s radio stations, 610 AM, 91.1 FM, 98.9 FM and 100 FM. In it he spoke of the establishment of 610 am in 1957,  TTT in 1962 and emergence of NBN. Beaubrun said the media landscape had grown to phenomenal proportions to the present state in which more and varied choices are available “for enlightenment, education and entertainment.”

He said the variety did not did not diminish the value of NBN’s contribution to the national community. He paid tribute to NBN’s staff saying: “The fact that so many well-known broadcasters, journalists and other radio and television personnel have been birthed within our corridors bears part of the testimony to the national relevance to the developmental framework to our burgeoning society.” Beaubrun said testimony to this relevance is the “verve” with which NBN was endorsed by audiences across the country especially its local programming. He thanked the audience and hoped with the inevitability of change their interests would be cherished and served. The on-air broadcast ended with a prayer read by Barbara De Silva and the national anthem.