Channel i

This article is about the Bangladesh channel. For the defunct Singapore channel, see Channel i (Singaporean TV channel).

Channel i (Bengali: চ্যানেল আই) is a Bangladeshi Bengali-language satellite and cable television channel owned by Impress Group. It was launched on 1 October 1995, as Bangladesh's first digital television channel. It is one of the oldest satellite television channels in Bangladesh.^[1] Channel i is broadcast via satellite television using PanAmSat and Bangabandhu-1,^[2] covering most of Asia and parts of Australia. It is sister to the radio station, Radio Bhumi.^[3] It was available on digital OTT streaming platforms like JioTV , NexGTV ,YuppTV, Sling TV and Etisalat

Channel i

Country	Bangladesh
Broadcast area	Worldwide
Headquarters	Tejgaon, Dhaka
Programming
Picture format	1080i HDTV (downscaled to 16:9 576i for SDTV sets)
Ownership
Owner	Impress Group
History
Launched	1 October 1995; 28 years ago (1995-10-01)
Links
Website	channelionline.com

Background

The Impress Group first moved beyond textile production and into television in the early 1980s, under the tutelage of Faridur Reza Sagor, who had before worked at state-run Bangladesh Television on a freelance basis. The initial steps into television resulted into the establishment of Impress Telefilm, which initially produced small mini-series and one-off shows for BTV.^[4]

History

Channel i began broadcasting on 1 October 1995 from a small building in the Siddheshwari neighborhood of Dhaka,^[5] with the "Hridoye Bangladesh" (হৃদয়ে বাংলাদেশ; lit. 'Bangladesh in the heart') slogan, which is still used as of today.^[6] It initially broadcast pre-recorded television programs for 12 hours, but was converted to a 24-hour channel within two years of its launch.^[7]

On 1 October 2001, Channel i began airing news programming.^[8] The channel launched its website on 30 September 2003.^[6] Channel i's news director, Shykh Seraj, created Hridoye Mati O Manush, based on the old Bangladesh Television program Mati O Manush, which debuted on the channel on 21 February 2004.^[9] In March 2008, the channel began broadcasting Sisimpur to Bangladeshi children worldwide.^[10] Channel i had also broadcast modern western-themed telefilms, such as Play, directed by M-SIB, in 2010, thus making them the first Bangladeshi television channel to do so.^[11] On 11 June 2015, BBC Bangla's BBC Probaho premiered on Channel i.^[12]

Channel i was one of the nine Bangladeshi television channels to sign an agreement with Bdnews24.com to subscribe to a video-based news agency run by children called Prism in May 2016.^[13] Channel i began high definition broadcasts on 15 September 2017, and fully migrated from standard definition broadcasts on 1 October.^[14][15] For Bangladesh Television's 55th anniversary on 25 December 2019, Channel i organized a special program in its headquarters in Tejgaon, which was broadcast on both networks.^[16]

Programming

Current and former

• 420^[17]
• BBC Bangladesh Shonglap^[18]
• BBC Probaho
• Channel i Shera Kantho
• Channel i Khude Gaanraj
• Channel i Music Awards
• Dainik Tolpar^[19]
• Ekjon Mayaboti^[20]
• Ghor Kutum^[21]
• Hridoye Mati O Manush
• Kafela (only during Ramadan)
• Lux Channel I Superstar
• Priyo Din Priyo Rat^[22]
• Sakin Sarisuri
• Grameenphone Jiersago
• Grameenphone Kerosa Tomar
• Saat Bhai Champa^[23]
• Sonar Pakhi Rupar Pakhi^[24]
• Sisimpur
• Tritiyo Matra
• Vober Hat

Audience share

In 2010, Channel i held a total audience share of 36%, tied with ATN Bangla. In urban areas, the channel had an audience share of 62%, the highest among privately owned channels in Bangladesh, and in metropolitan areas, it had a share of 61%.^[25] Channel i was ranked highest among most watched television channels in Bangladesh during its founding anniversary in 2013.^[26]

See also

• List of television stations in Bangladesh
• Channel i (Singaporean TV channel)

References

1. Deepita, Novera (4 February 2006). . The Daily Star. Archived from the original on 13 March 2016. Retrieved 1 August 2022.
2. "Satellite charts - Channel list - Bangabandhu-1". SatBeams. Retrieved 5 July 2021.
3. "Our Subsidiaries". Impress Group. Retrieved 26 July 2017.
4. Sagor, Faridur Reza (4 October 2014). "The Genesis of Impress Telefilm". The Daily Star. Retrieved 6 June 2022.
5. "Channel i turns 14". The Daily Star. 2 October 2012. Retrieved 5 June 2022.
6. "Channel-i goes 5 steps ahead". The Daily Star. 30 September 2003. Retrieved 5 June 2022.
7. "Channel i Online". Channel i Official Website. Retrieved 8 June 2017.
8. ১৭ বছরে পা দিলো চ্যানেল আই. Jago News 24 (in Bengali). 30 September 2015. Retrieved 5 June 2022.
9. ""Hridoye Mati O Manush" turns five". The Daily Star. 21 February 2008. Retrieved 5 June 2022.
10. Moody, Annemarie (3 March 2008). "Bangladeshi Sesame Street Will Broadcast Internationally". Animation World Network. Retrieved 3 July 2022.
11. Gulf-Times. Archived from the original on 1 March 2014.
12. বাংলাদেশে চ্যানেল আই-তে শুরু হলো বিবিসি প্রবাহ. BBC (in Bengali). 11 June 2015. Retrieved 8 June 2022.
13. "Prism signs up with 7 TV channels". BDNews24. 17 May 2016. Retrieved 1 November 2022.
14. লাল সবুজের চ্যানেল আইয়ের ‘এইচডি’ সম্প্রচার শুরু. Channel i Online (in Bengali). 15 September 2017. Retrieved 5 June 2022.
15. ১ অক্টোবর থেকে এইচডি ফরমেটে চ্যানেল আই. Samakal (in Bengali). 29 September 2017. Retrieved 5 June 2022.
16. চ্যানেল আই চত্বরে বিটিভি’র জন্মদিন!. Bangla Tribune (in Bengali). 25 December 2019. Retrieved 5 June 2022.
17. "Farooki's '420' returns to Channel i today". The Daily Star. 5 October 2020. Retrieved 7 July 2022.
18. "BBC Bangladesh Shonglap on Channel i". The Daily Star. 23 August 2009. Retrieved 7 July 2022.
19. ""Dainik Tolpar" begins on Channel-i tonight". The Daily Star. 18 April 2008. Retrieved 7 July 2022.
20. ""Ekjon Mayaboti" on Channel i". The Daily Star. 30 August 2015. Retrieved 7 July 2022.
21. "Ghor Kutum's Gauhar: Khushi in the real life". The Daily Star. 2 March 2008. Retrieved 18 December 2021.
22. "আসছে 'প্রিয় দিন প্রিয় রাত'". Jagonews24.com (in Bengali). 28 June 2018. Retrieved 18 December 2021.
23. ফেব্রুয়ারির শেষ দিন থেকে শুরু ‘সাত ভাই চম্পা’. Jago News 24 (in Bengali). 19 February 2018. Retrieved 8 June 2022.
24. "Shonar Pakhi Rupar Pakhi in the making". The Daily Star. 11 April 2016. Retrieved 18 December 2021.
25. Hasan, Khalid (June 2010). "TV 2010". The Daily Star. Retrieved 21 August 2022.
26. জন্মদিনে টিআরপির শীর্ষে চ্যানেল আই. RisingBD (in Bengali). 30 September 2013. Retrieved 8 July 2022.