(MENAFN- Kuwait News Agency (KUNA)) KUWAIT, Nov 15 (KUNA) -- In the beating heart of the country's media sector lie state-of-the-art infrastructures and "far out" staff that around the clock at Kuwait Television (KTV) studios.

Over the decades, since 1961, the KTV has played a major role in introducing its audiences to news, arts, music, drama, and more. With recently introduced technologies, KTV and Radio aim to continue this important legacy.
KTV began broadcasting in black and white for several hours daily in a building in the Sharq area with a small number of dedicated staff. Gears shifted in the early 1970s, and by 1974, broadcasts were in color using the PAL system. On February 17, 1979, the Information Ministry media complex was opened in the heart of Kuwait City, including KTV, Radio, and the ministry's departments.
Kuwait Television and Radio studios are among the oldest in the Middle East, with a history spanning six decades, Turki Al-Mutairi -- assistant undersecretary for Television and Radio at the Ministry -- told KUNA.
He pointed out that Kuwait Television played a crucial role during the Iraqi invasion in 1990, spreading Kuwait's rightful message until liberation in 1991.
Post-liberation, KTV's numerous channels continued the legacy, covering a variety of genres in both Arabic and English through channels like KTV 1, KTV 2, KTV 3, and Al-Qurain channel.
He went on to say that the Digital 51 Platform was to launch a display of Kuwaiti culture and spread media content to whoever was interested.
He said that the latest broadcasting advancements are being used to enhance audience connection, noting that the members of the studios' engineering department took it upon themselves to maintain studios up to standard.
He went on to say live studios broadcast 24/7 and received media items through servers from montage centers and air them on KTV screens.
Al-Mutairi revealed that production studios varied in size and purpose. Studio 800, for instance -- named for its 800 square meters space -- hosted various programs and was upgraded from Standard Definition (SD) to High Definition (HD) broadcasting in 2016.
The same occurred to Studio 500, which made the transfer from SD to HD in 2024, in addition to the Salmiya studio, which made a similar jump in 2018.
Studio 200 in Shuwaikh broadcast in HD for broadcasting and now aired in 4K resolution, one of the latest broadcasting systems, he affirmed.
There are various studios that made the jump from SD to 4K resolution, Al-Mutairi mentioned, saying that all were part of efforts to provide quality television to the masses, noting that more studios owned by KTV were following suit.
He said that all available infrastructures and staff were under the disposal of KTV and radio, noting that various urgent news, political analysis, and live studio were broadcasting news in HD and 4K using Augmented Reality (AR) technologies to enhance visual content. 64 Regarding radio, Dr. Yousef Al-Surai'a, Director General of the Radio Department in the Ministry of Information, said that the radio broadcast system in Kuwait was separated into 13 live broadcasting studios on FM and AM frequencies, six recording and mixing studios, a digital audio library, in addition to monitoring and outsourced reception departments.
The official added that audio engineering studios were tasked with developing broadcasting, recording, mixing, and maintaining the digital library to keep up with the latest international advancements in the field.
He noted that there were plans to use digital radio systems such as Audio over IP (AoIP), digital transmission of audio signals over an IP network, including a local area network (LAN) or the internet.
Dedicated staff carry out broadcasting around the clock, he affirmed, revealing that no matter the situation, whether an emergency or regular broadcasting, KTV and radio continue their media missions using the best of technology and trained staff.
For his part, Director of the Information Ministry's News Department Lafi Al-Subaie told KUNA that Kuwait State Television is deemed an icon of pioneering Kuwaiti media and a national platform that chronicles the country's history and spreads its cultural and humanitarian message.
He said Kuwait State Television is a witness to the state's development and progress and a fundamental pillar in building awareness and knowledge in society.
Al-Subaie added that the Radio and TV Sector's News Channel is ready to start broadcasting thanks to infrastructure, and technical and human groundworks, noting that the channel's studios have been developed in line with the highest global standards in order to fulfill swift and accurate news coverage requirements.
He noted that the channel embraces three main studios, including the major studio of daily shows and news bulletins, the political analysis studio and the urgent news and live broadcast studio.
Al-Subaie underlined that all the three studios have been equipped with digital lighting and decoration technologies, smart camera systems and high-definition (HD) and full high definition (FHD) broadcasting, along with (virtual studio) platforms to display data in an advanced visual manner.
He noted that these studios are used to produce news bulletins and talk shows round the clock, and cover national and international events, affirming that the channel's staff get periodical training courses, in collaboration with local and international media agencies.
The media official boasted that Kuwait has a highly qualified young generation armed with high technical and journalistic skills that need to be constantly supported and developed.
He stressed that the news department has worked out an integrated emergency plan to ensure uninterrupted broadcasting in case of emergency, elaborating that this plan includes backup teams working in shifts, standby studios ready to be put into immediate service, and a direct link with the ministry's main control center and other broadcasting centers through optic fiber. (end) mdm

MENAFN15112025000071011013ID1110347815