BTV doing excellent job by focusing on sport

Dear Editor

Permit me a few lines to highlight the good work of local television station and its sponsors, BTV Channel 2.  The managers, operators and sponsors of this television station have done a remarkable social good in their televising of international sports, particularly basketball and football (soccer). This is an area of television programming in Guyana that is desperately lacking, hardly any sports exposure is provided via television except for in the cases of popular regional or international cricket series.

My observation tells me that BTV Channel 2 is the only local television station with dedicated weekly time slots for sports.  Such exposure should not be under-estimated. In fact it provides an opportunity for local athletes to become familiar with the nuances of sports which include skill and talent development, strategic thinking, communication and team work.

The epitome of sports broadcasting by BTV – Channel 2 occurred on Sunday April 24, 2011.  Back to back games of football and basketball each were locally broadcast, this translates into 7 or more hours of sporting exposure to 2 of the most popular sports genres in the world.  The average young and middle-aged male and to a lesser extent female had 7 or more hours of which they were engaged, kept off the road corner and away from other possibly unhealthy interactions. These 7 hours of sports in one day was also a rare opportunity for many to observe a high level of sporting engagement not only from observing play but also from listening to sports analysts who are most often former athletes, coaches and trainers.

Weekly broadcasting of sports on local television stations is a much needed learning opportunity that should be emulated to and above the precedent that BTV channel 2 has set. Other communication entities including newspapers, internet radio and perhaps locally developed social media websites would do well to provide greater exposure to international sports especially for our young people.  The Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport would also do well to further facilitate learning opportunities for sports development in partnership with mass communication entities and other inclined parties.

Yours faithfully,
R. Small