Geo Television and PTV's Dismal Coverage of PTI's Azaadi March

As the days move on, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf's Azaadi march gathers more momentum. PTI Chairman Imran Khan is adamant about his claims that the elections were rigged and Nawaz Sharif and PML-N must answer for this. Included in the list of demands was Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's immediate resignation from his post.

However, whether PTI's claims are justified or not or whether PML-N is causing Pakistan's economy and solidarity major damage by not proposing a viable solution to this remains to be see. But what we have seen, is that all the Pakistani media channels are scrambling to get the best coverage of Azaadi March as it is the trending, newsworthy event of present. Every channel you turn to has been raving about the protest and Imran Khan's inspirational and determined role in it.

Well, every channel except Geo Tv and PTV. It is strange to see Geo who claim to be on top of every news story in Pakistan staying on the sidelines and not once accurately portraying the Azaadi march. PTV is understandably staying neutral in all this, but a bit more coverage would definitely be appreciated. Back to Geo, the only time they have mentioned the Azaadi March is when they have to say something negative about it.

Maybe Geo Tv has something personal against Imran Khan and PTI but media ethics dictate that a channel should report the news accurately and fairly to the best of its ability and not use the news for personal agendas. As an avid media follower, I have to say I am extremely disappointed in Geo Tv.

The Mysterious Case of Geo Network’s Ridiculously Exaggerated TV Ratings

Let us go back a couple of months when Geo News publicly criticized the Pakistan army during the Hamid Mir assassination attempt case. Pakistani TV Audience and masses voiced their severe displeasure at GEO Network’s antics over libel towards Pakistan Army and ISI and recommended it should be banned.  As per the ground realities, GEO Network faced a mass boycott by majority of Pakistani Public refusing to further tune into Geo. Even Geo itself cried to the officials regarding Cable TV Distributors all over Pakistan not airing their channel transmission.  However, the viewership ratings for the GEO Network (both Geo News and Geo Entertainment) continued their stable trend astonishingly without any difference or losing any eyeballs!

Interestingly, soon after this, Geo News was banned intermittently; it was made sure by authorities that Geo News was not aired by any cable provider in Pakistan. But again, the ratings received through People Meters System under the name of TeleControl ran under a company, MediaLogics showed that Geo Network’s ratings had no effect whatsoever of the nationwide blanket ban and it was still ranked as the most watched channel in Pakistan.

Perplexed by this, I looked back even further and remembered the backlash Geo TV received from local advertisers and media industry because of the highly negative perception among the target audiences regarding Geo’s anti-Armed Forced behavior. If the ratings as per the Medialogic reports were “as high as the previous months” for Geo News programming then it leads to believe only either of the TWO possibilities:

Possibility A: The rating system technology, which currently is being taken as the authentic measure of media viewership in Pakistan, is seriously flawed and generating highly inaccurate results – hence misdirecting the advertisers and promoters.

Possibility B:  Geo Network and Mir Shakeel ur Rahman have once again managed to use their corrupt ways and lobby-pressures to keep the ratings in their favor by bribing and influencing the concerned officials to tilt the actual ratings at Geo’s side. 

If the latter turns out to be true, it raises some serious questions about the integrity of all those involved as well as another check in Geo Network’s book of dark deeds. This also raises a major concern for the Advertising community in Pakistan as the knowledge they are basing their campaigns that are worth Millions of Rupees can end up in smoke due to these flawed system/ratings!  

Disregard for Sentiments Lands Geo Network in Hot Water

Jang Group's channel Geo TV is banned in many cities of Pakistan including Lahore due to public demand. After a huge social media campaign, it seems like PEMRA took action and stopped Geo TV transmission in major cities of Pakistan. People are very happy on this news because Geo was portraying bad image of Pakistan worldwide.

Many Pakistanis are in the impression that that Geo is Anti-Islamic, Anti-Pakistani and Anti-Pakistan Army channel. Geo is supported by India, Israel and America and shows Katrina Kaif's & Deepika's birthday as breaking news. Pakistani people do not want to see all this crap and that's why they demanded to ban Geo TV permanently in the whole country.

Geo TV is working as an agent in Pakistan to divide the nation and make them feel insecure about their own country's armed forces, ISI and Pakistan Army. They are continuously blaming ISI for the attack on Hamid Mir without any solid proof, just to destroy ISI's image in the world. We as Patriotic Pakistanis request you NOT to watch Geo Network's channels. Avoid purchasing anything related to Jang Group including their Newspapers, Magazines and Books.

Geo TV seems to be changing the basic concepts of young Pakistanis by spreading slogans like "Perhany Likhnay Ke Siwa, Pakistan Ka Matlab Kya". We want to stick to our roots & religion and we as a Nation are proud of our country's base which is "Pakistan Ka Matlab Kya? La Illah Ila Allah."

It seems as if Geo Network is making things really hard for itself by stepping on so many toes at the same time. If it does not rectify its ways, it might soon find itself in very hot water and possibly with no way out. If Geo Network wants to have a decent reputation again, it will have to gain back the trust of the Pakistani people.

Inaam Ghar: Hit or Flop?

‘Musalmanon, tukka lagao’ are the words we are used to hearing from the controversially popular Amir Liaquat on GEO’s Ramadan transmissions. Now, he has entered another arena with the recently launched “Inaam Ghar”. This is GEO’s imitation of the highly successful show by Tariq Aziz on PTV, “Nilam Ghar”.

Even though the idea is decent and the setup is modern with current themes and effects, there is something lacking about Inaam Ghar. Maybe the concept is outdated; maybe people want something more these days or there is something bigger at play here.

Firstly, let’s understand the concept of the show, which is really simple; the audience have to answer questions and if the answer is correct, a prize is given out. Another way to win is through a lucky draw which takes place at the end of the show. The prizes are very generous thanks to the sponsors.

However, as mentioned earlier, Inaam Ghar does not have the same appeal as its predecessor. Consequently, there have been a few major flaws that have been identified. Firstly, the content is too cheesy, be it the questions or the entertainment. Secondly, the Pakistani audience is portrayed as greedy wolves looking to pounce upon a meal. This really cheapens the aura of the show. 

Last but not least, one of the major issues here is the host: Amir Liaquat Hussain. He has made this show into his personal spotlight and he never wants to relinquish it. Amir Liaquat started off as a host for religious programs and his work was highly regarded at first. Then with a combination of blunders from GEO and himself, his reputation went down the drain. In recent times, he has become something of a joke. How and why people keep watching is something beyond me. 

Similarly, his attitude with the show audience is really dismal. Insulting the audience has become a norm, so has making fun of slightly different accents or speech impairments. He also comes off as a know-it-all and extremely self-centered. His over-friendliness with the ladies is also not a redeeming quality.

Another highly controversial issue is the fact that a couple of years ago Amir Liaquat blasted GEO over a suspicious video about himself, claiming he was framed by the news network. Surprisingly, he has now rejoined GEO without any explanation whatsoever.

In a nutshell, GEO TV and Amir Liaquat have ruined a classic Tv Show which the masses really enjoyed when it operated in all its glory under Tariq Aziz. Now it has lost its charm by a combination of cheap party tricks and a host to match. A fair amount of people still do watch the show, but that might just be because of the lack of quality entertainment on Pakistani Television.