This week's media news (episode 6)

Welcome to this week's media news. This week I will focus on interesting things happening on Malaysian TV.

The first mid-term school holidays this year will be on the last week of March instead of the second week of March. During the school holidays, TV stations usually air special programmes aimed for schoolchildren at home. So does Bananana on TV3 which offers football-themed programmes under the name "Lagi Lagi Bola" which will be airing this month. The latter three will be aired during this school holidays.

Also interesting to note that Soccer Kids Road to London will be the first Soccer Kids programme to be aired on another channel other than TV3 and the Bola Kampung series also aired for a short time on another free-to-air channel other than TV9 (not counting RTM's TV1 and TV2 which airs Bola Kampung in the late 2000s and pay-TV channels that air Bola Kampung which are Cartoon Network Asia and previously Disney Channel Asia).

Programmes that are part of the themed programmes month are as follows:

• Soccer Kids Road to London - Sunday 7:30 pm (starting 3.3.2013), also airing on TV9 for 3 weeks at the same airtime as TV3 (not as expected because first 2 weeks of March was occupied by repeat of Fuzz Food, now confirmed will start airing same time as TV3 starting 16.3.2013)
• Bola Kampung X - 25 to 28.3.2013 10:02 am 
• Bola Kampung - 25 and 26.3.2013 10:32 am
• Boboiboy (episodes about Boboiboy and his friends playing football only, which appeared in Season 2 in 2012) - 27 and 28.3.2013) 10:32 am

We now move on to a special programme called "Conversation With the PM" which was aired live on TV3 on Tuesday 12.3.2013 at 9:00 pm. It is broadcast in English. It is also broadcast on RTM's TV1 with a few minutes delayed and also on TV Alhijrah two days later with Malay subtitles (confirmed while it was airing at 10:00 pm that day). The programme was aired in front of a live studio audience (as I could see there are many audience seats, so I most probably believe that it was broadcast from NTV7 Glenmarie in Shah Alam). The special programme was held by New Straits Times because Media Prima's TV stations ran a New Straits Times commercial calling for the public to give questions to Najib Razak, the Prime Minister about the upcoming general election on an email address until a few days before the special programme was aired.

When the special programme was aired on TV3, the on-screen logo (same logo design as seen in idents and promos which was mentioned in the previous episode) was slightly enlarged.

Moving on to something related on Lahad Datu which is Operasi Daulat operation (formerly known as Op Daulat). Over the past few weeks, TV1, TV3 and NTV7 has regularly interrupted programming for an Operasi Daulat news conference. The news conference is to update the public about the alarming standoff situation in the east coast of Sabah. The police will make announcements about the matter. The news conferences that I've seen airing this week are 13.3.2013 before 5.30 pm and 16.3.2013 before 11.30 am.

Just a small quote on FOX Sports on Astro (not about the programmes airing on the FOX Sports channels and Star Sports which is just a small matter). FOX Sports now air some promos from Star World, Fox Movies Premium and Fox channel unlike when it was called ESPNStarsports.

About Bola Kampung which airs on TV9, Bola Kampung the Movie which will be released in cinemas on March 21 will be 3D animated instead of digital cel animation. A promo that I've seen last Sunday shows that a full theme song (with new lyrics that supplement the original lyrics in the Bola Kampung's theme song in the TV broadcast where in Bola Kampung is sung by children in a fun mood and in Bola Kampung X which is in rock mood and sung by a boy) will be sung by Idola Kecil artistes. I confirmed it by seeing the Idola Kecil artistes singing the theme song in a recording studio in the promo.

Speaking about TV9's new look, the old look "now, next" information which appears before the end of each commercial break (which I mentioned in the previous episodes) is now confirmed to be different according to programme block and time of day. For the programme blocks (which I confirmed), I've only seen the Mutiara Hati design only, no "now, next" info in Chamsarang. I'm not sure about the other programme blocks. Not all programmes will carry the "now, next" info. The time when the "now, next" design appears are as follows.

• 2:30 pm to 7:30 pm: (children's programmes, I'm not sure about Mon-Thu 8:30 am where Upin dan Ipin is aired: 2011 design (TV9 logo, "sekarang, selepas ini" ["now, next" info], TV9's website address)
• other times: current generic design (long grasses, "now, next" info on the TV9 logo, blue sky, rollercoaster track)

TV1 has recently updated its now next information which appears at the start of programmes and after each commercial break at the top-left as part of its new look. The below picture was taken today.

[Small revision on March 22]