<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR>Paralympics has niche appeal, replies MediaCorp TV
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<!-- START OF : div id="storytext"--><!-- more than 4 paragraphs -->WE REFER to Wednesday's letters on the television coverage of the Paralympics headlined 'Singapore's Paralympians' and 'Offer them equal treatment'.
We appreciate the enthusiastic response by Singaporeans to the coverage of the 2008 Beijing Olympics on Channels 5, 8, U and Channel NewsAsia. In the case of the Paralympics, interest in the event has not been high traditionally. However, given that several of our athletes are competing in the 2008 Paralympics, MediaCorp explored the possibility of carrying daily highlights on Channel 5.
Given its niche appeal, Channel 5 did not cover the Paralympics the same way as it did the Olympics. We also had to bear in mind that the Paralympics do not enjoy the same extent of coverage as the Olympics. Also, not all sporting events are available to us, which in turn limits what we can show in the hour-long highlights programme.
Channel 5 began the same-day telecast of the Paralympics from Day 3. A lot of publicity was given to the daily highlights show from 6pm to 7pm. We also acquired the complete footage of the opening ceremony for a delayed telecast.
In addition to the daily highlights and news updates on Channel NewsAsia and News on 5, crawlers ran on Channel 5 throughout the day to keep viewers informed of the latest achievements of our athletes in Beijing.
The performances of Laurentia Tan and Theresa Goh were covered in the daily highlights on Sept 10 and Sept 13 respectively. Viewers also enjoyed the complete footage of Yip Pin Xiu's winning performance in the 50m women's backstroke event, which was shown on Wednesday at 10pm, just before the closing ceremony of the Beijing Paralympics.
On the same day at 7pm, a special encore telecast of a documentary, Against All Odds, on the exceptional achievements of our gold medallist Pin Xiu, was shown on Channel 5. News on 5 also did a summary of the events and winning moments of our athletes on the same night.
Fans of the Paralympics will be treated to encore telecasts of the performance highlights from the opening and closing ceremonies scheduled at 9.30am today and tomorrow.
We are grateful for the opportunity to clarify our coverage of the Paralympics and thank viewers for their keen interest in our programming. Kenneth Liang
Executive Vice President
Programming and Production 5
MediaCorp TV
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<!-- START OF : div id="storytext"--><!-- more than 4 paragraphs -->WE REFER to Wednesday's letters on the television coverage of the Paralympics headlined 'Singapore's Paralympians' and 'Offer them equal treatment'.
We appreciate the enthusiastic response by Singaporeans to the coverage of the 2008 Beijing Olympics on Channels 5, 8, U and Channel NewsAsia. In the case of the Paralympics, interest in the event has not been high traditionally. However, given that several of our athletes are competing in the 2008 Paralympics, MediaCorp explored the possibility of carrying daily highlights on Channel 5.
Given its niche appeal, Channel 5 did not cover the Paralympics the same way as it did the Olympics. We also had to bear in mind that the Paralympics do not enjoy the same extent of coverage as the Olympics. Also, not all sporting events are available to us, which in turn limits what we can show in the hour-long highlights programme.
Channel 5 began the same-day telecast of the Paralympics from Day 3. A lot of publicity was given to the daily highlights show from 6pm to 7pm. We also acquired the complete footage of the opening ceremony for a delayed telecast.
In addition to the daily highlights and news updates on Channel NewsAsia and News on 5, crawlers ran on Channel 5 throughout the day to keep viewers informed of the latest achievements of our athletes in Beijing.
The performances of Laurentia Tan and Theresa Goh were covered in the daily highlights on Sept 10 and Sept 13 respectively. Viewers also enjoyed the complete footage of Yip Pin Xiu's winning performance in the 50m women's backstroke event, which was shown on Wednesday at 10pm, just before the closing ceremony of the Beijing Paralympics.
On the same day at 7pm, a special encore telecast of a documentary, Against All Odds, on the exceptional achievements of our gold medallist Pin Xiu, was shown on Channel 5. News on 5 also did a summary of the events and winning moments of our athletes on the same night.
Fans of the Paralympics will be treated to encore telecasts of the performance highlights from the opening and closing ceremonies scheduled at 9.30am today and tomorrow.
We are grateful for the opportunity to clarify our coverage of the Paralympics and thank viewers for their keen interest in our programming. Kenneth Liang
Executive Vice President
Programming and Production 5
MediaCorp TV
