The entertainment industry in the country is going through somewhat of an evolution. From movies and short films, it is now the TV programmes that are switching to the internet platform. For different reasons, organisers of local television shows are turning over to social media to broadcast their content.
Suja-with-Rabgay is a Bhutanese talk show, where the host invites over celebrity guests and converses with them over a cup of suja (tea) and zaow (roasted rice).
The show made its debut premiere on YouTube in September of last year and ran over ten episodes. Today, the show is preparing to air its second season.
The show’s host, Ugyen Phuntsho Rabgay, says he chose the YouTube platform mainly due to the financial challenges.
“When it comes to cost, since YouTube is a free platform, it is much cheaper to air the show on it,” says Ugyen. “If I were to run my show on cable TV like the BBS, I would have to pay quite a huge amount of money as fees.”
Similarly, the Druk Gi Tsepoem, a singing competition show, will also be presenting its programme on Facebook and YouTube this time. Its first season was aired on BBS last year.
The organizer of the show said he could not get a slot on BBS this year due to the overwhelming number of reality shows.
“It’s better on the internet even in terms of the duration. When we were airing it on TV, we were restricted by time due to the other programmes and we would have to hurry up and end our show before time runs out,” said Kencho, the organizer of Druk Gi Tsepoem.
Meanwhile, the Bhutan InfoComm and Media Authority (BICMA) say there is no such rule in the country at present when it comes to airing shows on social media.
However, the Media Council of Bhutan says they ensure the use of appropriate language and behaviour in television shows including the ones aired on the internet.
“There are also a lot of groups and pages on social media in the name of these shows. We also monitor those pages and groups and ensure that anything inappropriate or wrong is not written there,” said Karma Dorji, the Legal Officer at the Council.
Since the shows do not require approvals or permits, officials say they do not have a record of the number of shows being aired on the internet. However, BBS was able to estimate roughly more than half a dozen entertainment programmes that run on various social media platforms.
Karma Wangdi
Edited by Yeshi Gyaltshen
