Broadcast

On Monday, the nation’s largest association of Christian media professionals marked 65 years since the face of religious broadcasting was “forever changed.”

It was on Sept. 21, 1944, that a committee of evangelical broadcasters held a constitutional convention in the Moody Memorial Church in Chicago after first coming to together the year before to discuss the challenges they faced in purchasing airtime - something that was virtually impossible for them.

 “NRB’s founders came together to face a great challenge, yet they experienced a surprising blessing, as the unity forged out of those early trials continued in bonds of fellowship that have extended from generation to generation down to this day,” remarked Dr. Frank Wright, president and CEO of the National Religious Broadcasters, whose member organizations today represent millions of listeners, viewers, and readers worldwide. more >>

Two major Christian channels that broadcast into Muslim-dominated regions recently decided to merge, the executives of both ministries announced.

TURK-7, a Turkish Christian television ministry, will merge completely with the SAT-7 network by January 2010. The ministries, which have worked closely for years, believe the merger will help raise the level of Turk-7’s broadcast while being more cost-effective by avoiding duplicating efforts and services.

“We have great expectations regarding TURK-7’s potential to grow significantly once it becomes a fully-integrated member of our family,” said SAT-7 founder and CEO Terence Ascott. “We want to help TURK-7 ramp-up its production capabilities, add more staff and acquire new equipment so they can increase their programming output.” more >>

In less than a week, a Christian satellite television will launch the first of 26 documentaries spotlighting the plight of women in the Middle East as part of a new campaign to improve the status of women in the patriarchal Arab society.

SAT-7 Arabic, a Christian television service created by and for the people of the Middle East and North Africa, will launch the series called “And I Am Not ‘Just’ A Woman’” on May 5.

Through more than two dozen documentaries from Egypt, Lebanon and Morocco, women who are the sole providers for their children, their younger siblings or their parents will be offered a rare chance to tell their stories. more >>

Partners of a global Christian broadcasting ministry will air special Easter programs on secular radio stations that reach millions of people - many of whom are not Christians.

This Sunday HCJB Global's partner in India will air two 30-minute dramatized programs relating to the life of Jesus on two major government FM channels that have the potential to reach up to 50 million people.

Meanwhile in the United Kingdom, HCJB Global will air two short programs on major secular stations in the Yorkshire area. Combined, these stations can be heard by almost 180,000 people.

HCJB Global-U.K. expressed that one of its key goal is to build relationships with mainstream stations and provide thought-provoking programming to secular radio.

"This is the sort of impact we've always wanted to achieve - not just isolated programs here and there, but a lasting relationship that changes the whole output of a radio station," said HCJB Global-UK director Colin Lowther.

According to HCJB, one of the programs airing in the United Kingdom, called "Final Answer," will take on the format of a spoof of a game show in which the contestant has four possible answers to the question, "What's going to be the number one goal in your life?"

The second program, called "Pearly Gates Duty," features the thief who died on the cross next to Jesus talking about the latest new arrivals in heaven.

In addition to the two HCJB Global partners that will air on secular stations, many of the broadcasting ministry's 350 media partners will carry special Easter programming on Christian stations around the world.

"The resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead is one of the most creative acts of God in all human history," said HCJB Global president Wayne Pederson. "We are committed to using the most creative radio programming to communicate this message.

"Our teams in India and the U.K. are great examples of this effort to connect the resurrection message with a new generation," he added.

HCJB Global is headquartered in Colorado Springs, Colo., and has for the past 77 years strived to be the "voice and hands of Jesus to the unreached" through its media and healthcare ministries. HCJB has ministries in more than 100 countries and airs the Gospel in more than 120 languages and dialects.

A new survey found that about 5.3 million Iraqis, or about 19 percent of the population, watch the Christian satellite programs on SAT-7, the ministry reported Friday.

As Iraq’s tiny Christian community numbers less than 600,000, it is safe to say that most of SAT-7’s viewers are Muslims. According to the CIA World Factbook, 97 percent of Iraq’s population is Muslim (Shia 60-65 percent, Sunni 32-37 percent).

Data collected in the recent nationwide study conducted by Intermedia, an independent audience research firm, found that 97 percent of Iraqis have access to satellite television, and 18.8 percent watch SAT-7. The study also found that 2.6 million are watching on a regular daily or weekly basis. more >>