Satellite Instructional Television Experiment. Television comes to village: An evaluation of SITE

The design and conclusions of India's satellite instructional television experiment (SITE) are presented and discussed. The socio-cultural changes triggered by the introduction of satellite TV were the central interest of the investigation. Seven villages, one each from six clusters and Kheda, about 20 to 30 km away from an urban centre and least contaminated by urban influence were selected. The field work was divided into three phases: pre-SITE, during-SITE, and post-SITE. Anthropological field methods were the main tools of data collection. The data were analyzed at two levels; household and village. Instructional, recreational, and children's programs were broadcast. Results indicate that, due to TV exposure, a number of innovations were adopted. Also, viewers' attendance was found to be intimately linked to agricultural and religious activity cycles of the village. The major implications which can be drawn to provide planning inputs for future national satellite based TV systems are summarized addressing problems in program type, schedules, and language differences.