Star Ray TV Celebrates 20 Years of Broadcasting
From the front page of srtv.ca:
September 9 of this year marks the twentieth anniversary of broadcasting for Toronto's only independent television station, Star Ray TV.
When it launched back in 2000, media pundits predicted the station would only last a couple of months. But this "David" has outlived many "Goliaths," including Rogers TV, Toronto One, Sun TV, and arguably even Citytv.
Star Ray TV's founder, Jan Pachul, continues to deliver free, 24/7, community-inspired on-air programming, to households in Toronto and beyond. "We've come a long way from our early years to become the digital broadcast station we are today," says Jan. "We're the only free-spirited woof left-arf, arf, arf," barks beloved mascot Shadow the Wonder Dog. Star Ray TV provides unique, locally relevant programming not available anywhere else-a true alternative to the corporate-controlled content regularly seen on the majority of channels that dominate our television screens.
The telecaster is carried by satellite worldwide and on cable in parts of Europe, the Middle East, and Asia, "but we can't get on the cable in our hometown of Toronto," ventures Jan Pachul. "The Canadian cable industry would rather put on stations they own like 'zombie' channels that air the same programming over and over again every day."
In the meantime, Star Ray continues to offer its eclectic programming on virtual UHF channel 15.1. Picking up the station is as easy as hooking up an antenna to your TV and running an antenna signal scan. With people growing tired of the fare on cable--and wanting to save thousands of dollars--more and more Torontonians are getting their TV for free, and tuning into Star Ray.
While the pandemic has made coverage of local events impossible, in the past the station has covered community events like parades, hockey games, and political debates. Still, Star Ray TV has several years' worth of programming that hasn't aired yet. The station carries on showing the best in Canadian and locally produced content, plus sensational movies from around the world every night starting at 11 pm ET.
"Star Ray TV will continue to be local, live, relevant, fun, and community-driven", states Jan. "This is about media democracy, and that has never been as important as it is now in these challenging times. This is old fashioned TV, the way it used to be; the way it should be."
Star Ray TV's founder, Jan Pachul, continues to deliver free, 24/7, community-inspired on-air programming, to households in Toronto and beyond. "We've come a long way from our early years to become the digital broadcast station we are today," says Jan. "We're the only free-spirited woof left-arf, arf, arf," barks Shadow, the Wonder Dog, beloved mascot. Star Ray TV provides unique, locally relevant programming not available anywhere else-a true alternative to the corporate-controlled content regularly seen on the majority of channels that dominate our television screens.
The telecaster is carried by satellite worldwide and on cable in parts of Europe, the Middle East, and Asia, "but we can't get on the cable in our hometown of Toronto," ventures Jan Pachul. "The Canadian cable industry would rather put on stations they own like 'zombie' channels that air the same programming over and over again every day."
In the meantime, Star Ray continues to offer its eclectic programming on virtual UHF channel 15.1. Picking up the station is as easy as hooking up an antenna to your TV and running an antenna signal scan. With people growing tired of the fare on cable--and wanting to save thousands of dollars--more and more Torontonians are getting their TV for free, and tuning into Star Ray.
While the pandemic has made coverage of local events impossible, in the past the station has covered community events like parades, hockey games, and political debates. Still, Star Ray TV has several years' worth of programming that hasn't aired yet. The station carries on showing the best in Canadian and locally produced content, plus sensational movies from around the world every night starting at 11 pm ET.
"Star Ray TV will continue to be local, live, relevant, fun, and community-driven", states Jan. "This is about media democracy, and that has never been as important as it is now in these challenging times. This is old fashioned TV, the way it used to be; the way it should be."
