SATELLITE

INSTRUCTIONAL
TELEVISION
EXPERIMENT
 Introduction

Objectives of the
experiment

International
collaborations &

Today's technical details

Execution
Agenda Aftermath

Drawback of this
experiment
SITE EXPERIMENT
Significance of Social
Change brought by SITE

References
 Hi everyone!
We are VANI & IPSHITA and today
we will try and introduce you to the
SITE Project in India.
INTRODUCTION
SITE is one of the pioneer experiments in the
Indian television scenario where television is
used for social causes.
It became a tool for mass education through
various programs designed exclusively for
the project.
It was the first experiment to telecast
educational programs direct from satellite to
receivers.
They broadcasted 1.5 hours program on
working days during school hours.
During holidays, the time is used for teacher
empowerment.
Programs were classified into two:
Educational Television (ETV) and
Instructional Television (ITV).
Programs focused on health,
hygiene, family planning, nutrition,
improved agricultural practices,
and events of national importance
The Experiment spread widely
across India.
SITE planned and produced
programs at the production
centres set up in Delhi,
Ahmedabad, and Cuttack.
 LOOKING BACK
SITE is a result of a recommendation by the UNESCO

expert mission of 1967.

As per the request of the government of India,

UNESCO undertook a feasibility study for a project

in satellite communications.

The feasibility study was conducted between

November 18, 1967, and December 08, 1967.

The government of India set up the National Satellite

Communications Group (NASCOM) in 1968

To practice the recommendation of AT-6 satellite,

the Department of Atomic Energy agreed with NASA

for the loan a satellite for one year in 1969

 OBJECTIVES
As per the Memorandum of Understanding signed between the US and
India,
the objectives of the project were divided into two parts.

To gain experience in the development, testing, and management of a

satellite-based instructional television system, particularly in rural areas.

To demonstrate the potential value of satellite technology in developing

countries.
GENERAL
OBJECTIVES To demonstrate the potential value of satellite broadcast TV in
the practical instruction of village inhabitants.

To stimulate national development in India, with important

managerial, economic, technological, and social implications.
 other OBJECTIVES
Primary social objectives from
an Indian perspective were to
educate about family planning,
agricultural practices, and
national integration.
Via the project gaining
experience in all the technical
aspects of the system, including
broadcast and reception
facilities and TV program
material.
Secondary objectives were to
impart general education, train
teachers, improve other
occupational skills, general
health and hygiene through the
medium of satellite broadcasts.
Primary US objective was to test
the design and functioning of
an efficient, FM transmitter,
gain experience in this aspect
as well.
International
collaboration
& Technical
details
A joint ISRO-NASA working group was
established even before the Memorandum of
Understanding was signed.
At India's request, the INTELSAT-III and Arvi
Earth Station organization agreed to provide free
satellite time for pre-SITE testing.
UNDP provided assistance of $500,000 for setting
up the ESCES at Ahmedabad and nominated the
ITU as the executing agency for this project.
UNICEF contributed to SITE by sponsoring 21
film modules produced by Shyam Benegal, a
noted Indian filmmaker.
Production of the television programs was
decentralized.
Television programs were transmitted at 6 GHz to
ATS 6 from one of two ground stations located in
Delhi and Ahmedabad.
These signals were then re-transmitted at 860 MHz
by the satellite, which was directly received by
community television receivers with 3 m parabolic
antennas.
Each television signal had two audio channels to
carry audio in two major languages of each cluster.
This setup was called the Direct Reception System
(DRS).
As the broadcasting time was limited, direct
reception receivers would only be installed in 2400
villages, chosen on the basis of their needs.
 Execution
Two types of programs were prepared for broadcasting: educational
television (ETV) and instructional television (ITV).
ETV programs were meant for school children and focused on
interesting and creative educational programs. broadcasted for 1.5
hours. designed to train almost 100,000 primary school teachers
during the duration of the SITE.
The ITV programs were meant for adult audiences, mainly those who
were illiterate. They were broadcast for 2.5 hours.
Due to linguistic and cultural differences, all core programs would be
in the primary language of the region
30 minutes of common programs, including news, which would be
broadcast only in Hindi.
 SOCIAL CHANGE VIA SITE
For an entire year thousands of
villagers regularly engaged with
the broadcasts by SITE. The
visible impact on the rural
population were in the fields of
agriculture and family planning.
It was more effective than all other media in
attracting the female audience. The continuous
feedback through everyday interviews showed that
the audience favoured instructional programmes as
compared to socio- cultural programmes.
Nearly 52% of viewers reported themselves
as amenable to applying the new knowledge
gained by them.
The project successfully proved to be an
effective tool for direct communication to
the masses, especially in the rural areas
where language barrier was a major issue.
SITE not only helped in educational
transmission but also industry-related
information.
 A large longitudinal survey showed large
gains in information, awareness and
knowledge in areas such as health and
hygiene, political consciousness, overall
modernity, and family planning.

It was also found that the

A survey of children showed positive
gains were greater for under
gains in the area of language development
privileged sections of the
and in the attitude of seeking knowledge
rural society such as females
and information from sources other than
and illiterates. The gains
conventional classroom teaching,
increased with the degree of
television viewing.
Drawbacks of site
Technology procedures of such operation were new so it could
not deliver outputs of high quality.
This one-year experiment was a time of emergency and that is
the reason nothing could be said about the policies of the state.
Most of the programs under the studio construction, that‟s why
they were not liked.
It was transient.
Broadcast once missed is lost.
 Aftermath
SITE program ended in July 1976,
and NASA shifted its ATS satellite
away from India, despite demands
from Indian villagers, journalists,
noted writer Arthur C. Clarke for
NASA to continue the experiment.
Nearly 52% of viewers reported
themselves as amenable to
applying the new knowledge
gained by them.
For the entire year, thousands of
villagers gathered around the TV
set and watched the shows.
ISRO began preparations for a
country-wide satellite system. After
conducting several technical
experiments, the Indian National
Satellite System was launched by
ISRO in 1982.