Up-Linked yet Down-Played Understanding Transnational Satellite Television in Asia

MOS OWEN THOMAS The growth of transnational sateilite television in Asia in the early to mid 1990s has been quite spectacular. There was and still is much conjecture about the impact of transnational satellite television. The transnational broadcasters projected significant audiences in their promotion to marketers/advertisers. Governments and domestic broadcasters cited adverse effects on citizens injustifying regulation. But the impacts claimed by the broadcasters and feared by national governments have not always been realized across the region, prompting the present research involving interviewing industry executives and utilising secondary data. Based on its findings this paper suggests that the impact of the new medium is dependent on a whole range of politico-economic, socio-cultural and media environment factors. Thus this paper seeks to provide an analytic framework for understanding how and when transnational television has an impact on any country, particularly developing ones. it challenges both the media imperialism school of thought as well as the television free-market proponents, by stressing media ecology and cultural hybridity.