Turkey is the only Muslim country in the world with no state religion. Although it is officially a secular nation, Turkey is 99.8 percent Muslim. Christians make up less than 0.2 percent of the population. So it’s a big deal that SAT-7 TÜRK, a Christian satellite TV channel, is celebrating its 5th anniversary in Turkey.
SAT-7, a satellite TV ministry to the Middle East and North Africa, started SAT-7 TÜRK five years ago to reach Turkish speakers with the Gospel. SAT-7 TÜRK made history as the first Christian satellite channel on the government-regulated Türksat 4A satellite.
David Middleton with SAT-7 says, “To be actually accepted by the government and given a license and given the opportunity to actually broadcast our programming, in a sense, I think that that trust speaks partly to the reputation we have as a ministry.”
“The team [members] still turn the television on and pinch themselves when they see the channel broadcasting on the air live. It’s still a sense of thanks and gratitude that we have this opportunity.”
The SAT-7 TÜRK team is relatively small as far as media is concerned. Forty team members work full-time on the 24-7 broadcast.
In the next couple of years, SAT-7 TÜRK wants to grow the interactive aspects of their live programming, specifically on social media. The channel also wants to feature more dramas and high-quality programming that uses television to its full potential.
“Some programming tends to be low in its reliance on video so that, for instance, a speaker or a talk could equally be covered on radio. It’s not really using television to its full advantage,” Middleton says. “But programming like drama, you’re getting writers and people who have a real knowledge of the culture to express themselves…through the visual medium.”
SOURCE: Mission Network News, Lyndsey Koh
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