Bern, April 15, 2012. [CD-EUDnews]. Hope Channel Italy (HCI) has started official broadcasting on Monday, March 26, 2012. We have interviewed Vincenzo Annunziata, Director of the Communications Department of the Italian Union of the Seventh-day Adventist Church.
EUDnew : Was does one need to create a new channel?
V.Annunziata : Nowadays there is a confusing high number of TV channels. In addition to traditional channels, there are also the ones that may be seen through satellite. These channels can now also be watched on internet. Hope Channel Italy is the Adventist Christian channel that broadcasts its programs in Italian. We will try to reach our audience by producing and offering different programs.
En : How can one watch HCI?
V.A. : The initial and experimental phase will be through an internet channel. Later on, our programs can be watched on the Hope Channel Europe platform, which currently broadcasts programs mainly in English.
Last February, there were over 27.7 million Italians connected to the web, which is equal to 50.7 percent of the population. The trend is growing. This shows how the Internet is increasingly taking root in our country, although, somewhat behind other European countries. Just imagine, every day 13.8 million Italians connect to the Internet. That's quite a considerable base for our audience.
En : You talked about the production of different programs. What kind of programs are we talking about?
V.A. : Currently we are producing mostly conversations on many topics: health, family, Bible studies, Gospel, politics and current events. In addition, we produce programs that address social issues such as alcohol, scientific documentaries on creation, programs intended for children and concerts.
In the future we will be able to broadcast sermons, lectures on religious and social issues. We are also trying to set up a short weekly newspaper with news from Rome, on religious freedom written in English for our brothers overseas. The current schedule is 2 hours per day that repeats throughout the day.
En : Do you have a TV studio and professional equipment?
V.A. : The Italian Union is not well financially, but thanks to some special funds we were able to buy some professional video cameras, microphones and lighting kits.
For recordings in the studio, we're cooperating with an Evangelical station, Tele Oltre. We are very grateful for their help. At the moment we have volunteers working with us, but we plan for special training to enhance our production. We are also aiming to have our own television studio.
En : We have heard of a joint-venture with the Adventist Radio. What can you tell us about this?
V.A. : The mission of the Adventist Radio is now well established in our country. So we're trying some experiments with Radio 'Voice of Hope' in Florence, with common radio and video programs: A Radio-Vision Project. These programs will also be part of the new HCI schedule.
Hope Channel Italy is visible 24 hours a day via Internet by logging onto:www.hopechannel.it
The site is also on the On Demand section, where programs already broadcasted will be displayed.
There is also a Live section, in case you want to see the worship services in real time from some Italian communities like Florence, Cesena and Sciacca.
