With the massive advancement in technology, the competition in any field is on the rise. Making their mark once again in the struggle to prove ‘who’s who?’, Image Channel is now all set to go metro.

“The government has sanctioned our proposal to establish a metro channel, which will enable us to set up our own station that will broadcast within the valley,” said Ram Krishna Manandhar, executive chairman of Image Channel addressing a press meet here on Wednesday. “We have targeted to commercially air Image Channel Metro Television by Dashain festival this year.”

However, in the next three to four months, the channel will be aired on a trial basis. At the time being, the basic infrastructure and technical gadgets are being prepared.

The station crew has decided to set up its satellite on the roof of Radisson Hotel. “We have checked all the necessary details to confirm that we will be able to broadcast within the valley from there,” said Mohan Chandra Singh, managing director of Image Channel.

The Channel is planning to start with a three hours transmission and then move on to seven hours, with three hours in the morning and four hours in the evening. The crew will assess the viewership and decide whether to go on air 24/7.

He assured to save a slot for programmes in other languages of Nepal, provided someone guaranteed to supply the software every week.

“With our experience in the broadcasting field, I don’t think we are going to be novices or stepping into a new territory,” said Manandhar. “But now our focus will be on quality broadcasting.” The new broadcasting of the programmes will be entirely on digital technology.

Image Channel, which launched itself as the first private television station in the country, is not an uncommon name in Nepal. It has been providing its viewers with mostly entertainment programmes since the last five years, with the time slot bought from Nepal Television. They are not going to let go of the slot unless they have to, said Manandhar.

“Our main focus will still be entertainment, but apart from that we will also be airing informative, social, financial, industrial and health-related programmes,” said Manandhar.

The channel has visualised more than 300 songs, giving due recognition to various singers, since its foundation. It has also established itself as a reputed name among music lovers with their FM station KATH 97.9.

“We could not have come this far, if it was not for support from our viewers and advertisers,” he acknowledged. “We hope to continue to provide quality entertainment to our viewers and anticipate the same support from all parties.”