Muslim Television Ahmadiyya International
MTA International (or MTA), formerly known as Ahmadiyya Muslim Presentation, is a globally-broadcasting, nonprofit satellite television network and a division of Al-Shirkatul Islamiyyah[1] which was established in 1992 and launched the world's first Islamic TV channel to broadcasting globally. It consists of 8 international channels that are run and funded entirely from donations by the members of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community.
| MTA International | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Launched | 31 January 1992 (as Ahmadiyya Muslim Presentation) 7 January 1994 (as MTA International) |
| Owned by | Al-Shirkatul Islamiyyah[1] |
| Picture format | 576i, 16:9 (SDTV) 1080i, 16:9 (HDTV) |
| Slogan | Reaching the Corners of the Earth |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | Arabic, Bengali, English, French, German, Hausa, Indonesian, Japanese, Krio, Malayalam, Persian, Pashto, Spanish, Swahili, Turkish, Twi, Urdu, Yoruba |
| Broadcast area | Global |
| Affiliates | Ahmadiyya Muslim Community |
| Headquarters | Fazl Mosque, London, England |
| Formerly called | Ahmadiyya Muslim Presentation |
| Sister channel(s) | MTA1 WORLD MTA2HD EUROPE MTA3 العربية MTA4 Africa MTA5 Africa MTA6 ASIA MTA7HD ASIA MTA8HD AMERICA MTA 1+3 |
| Website | www |
Availability | |
| Terrestrial | |
| RBN Network Suriname | Channel 5.3 - MTA1 |
| Satellite | |
| MTA1 WORLD |
|
| MTA2HD EUROPE | Eutelsat Hotbird 13C |
| MTA3 العربية (Arabic) |
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| MTA4 AFRICA |
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| MTA5 AFRICA |
|
| MTA6 ASIA |
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| MTA7HD ASIA |
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| MTA8HD AMERICA |
|
| MTA 8 AMERICA +3[2] | Galaxy 19 |
| Streaming media | |
| Website | MTA International MTA Indian Languages |
| YouTube | mtaOnline1 Live MTA Indonesia |
| Part of a series on:
Ahmadiyya |
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Distinct views |
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Key literature
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Key sites |
History
Initial Launch
The first channel to be launched by the MTA network was Ahmadiyya Muslim Presentation on 31 January 1992 and was established by Mirza Tahir Ahmad, the Caliph of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community at the time. It started off with weekly transmissions broadcasting the Friday Sermon and later, on 7 January 1994, AMP was rebranded to MTA1 Al-Awla and started additional programmes, increasing the schedule from 4 hours to 12 hours before beginning its 24-hour service[3] on 1 April 1996,[4] becoming the first TV channel to broadcast Islamic programmes globally and the first commercial-free television station.
Initially, the studio, also serving as the entire video library, was a small 10 ft by 10 ft room in the Mahmood Hall of Fazl Mosque and the equipment was a sole video camera and "few ordinary flood lights".[4]
EPG Guide
In April 2001, MTA International began its EPG when the channel launched on the Sky UK platform as a free-to-air channel.[4]
MTA Africa Launch
On 1 August 2016, MTA Africa 1 and 2 were inaugurated by the current caliph, Mirza Masroor Ahmad[5][4] broadcasting programmes in African languages as well as programs from MTA 1.[4]
2020 Era[6]
From 27 May 2020, known as Khilafat Day for Ahmadis, MTA International rearranged its channels according to regions and introduced new channels. These new channels were formerly MTA1 broadcasting on different satellites, converted to cater viewers of specific regions by broadcasting programmes in specific languages for each region. For Instance, MTA 1 on Galaxy 19 became MTA8 HD AMERICA with programmes in Urdu, English, French and Spanish.
| Channels | Satellite(s) | Formerly | Region |
|---|---|---|---|
| MTA1 World | Astra 2G
Hipasat 30W-5 |
MTA1 | Americas (excluding Brazil & Canada) |
| MTA2HD Europe | Hotbird 13C (HD) | MTA2 | Europe |
| MTA3 العربية | Eutelsat 7 West A
Galaxy 19 (HD) Optus D2 |
MTA3 | Europe |
| MTA4 Africa | SES-5 | MTA Africa 1 | Sub-Saharan Africa |
| MTA5 Africa | Astra 2F | MTA Africa 2 | West Africa |
| MTA6 Asia | AsiaSat 7 | MTA1 | Asia |
| MTA7HD Asia | Eutelsat 70B (HD) | Europe | |
| MTA8HD America | Galaxy 19 (HD) | North America | |
| MTA8HD America + 3 | MTA 1+3 | North America |
Members
The majority of its workers are volunteers with just a small percentage of paid full-time staff. Out of the 300 staff members that work in MTA’s London offices, 90% are volunteers who dedicate their time to assist in the running of the network.[3]
Programmes
Muslim Television Ahmadiyya International is the main source of media for the Ahmadiyya Muslim community and also aims to spread the message of Islam around the world. Some of the key programs broadcast include the Friday Sermon by the current Ahmadiyya Caliphate, educational and cultural programs, world news, and a various Talk Shows. These can be watched on TV as well as through smartphone apps for Android, iOS and Nokia.
Due to the worldwide audience, a number of programs are simultaneously translated into different languages such as English, German, Bengali, French, Urdu and others. An example of this is the program Friday Sermon which is translated live simultaneously in at least 8 languages including Arabic, Swahili and Indonesian. This is later translated into more languages like Russian and Spanish etc. All together there can be 16 translations (more or less) per sermon.
Online Media Services
MTA has introduced a number of apps for the benefit of their viewers across a variety of platforms on all devices such as TV, Phone, Tablets, Desktops etc. The network also makes use of social media to live stream their channels on websites such as Facebook and Twitter as well as YouTube to broadcast all 4 channels, live.
In addition, as MTA International operates globally and in many different countries, many countries (where Ahmadiyya may have a significant or even minor presence) have their own official MTA YouTube channel for their specific region or language, which allows them to stream regional events that may not be broadcast on MTA but may be streamed on YouTube such as Jalsa Salana Canada was streamed on the YouTube channel MTA Canada, as well as this, it allows specific countries to stream live translations for key programmes such as the Friday Sermon.
There are also applications for mobile and personal devices on a variety of platform such as Roku TV, Apple TV, Android and iOS. On 2 August (at Jalsa Salana UK 2019), a range of MTA applications were launched for Smart TV brands such as Samsung, Android TV, Amazon Fire TV, Panasonic, LG, Sony and Philips.
These applications may also used to bypass restriction made in place against Ahmadis in countries such as Pakistan, where Ahmadis in such locations wish to watch and access Ahmadiyya material however are unable to as such material is censored.[7]
National Studios
In most countries throughout the world in which there is a presence of the Ahmadiyya Community there is often a national MTA Studio. For example, MTA International USA Studios,[8] MTA International Canada Studios,[9] MTA International German Studios,[10][11] MTA International Nigeria Studios,[11] MTA International Ghana Studios, MTA International UK Studios etc. The primary and main MTA Studios is based in London, MTA International Studios.[12]
The headquarters and UK studios of MTA International were located at Fazl Mosque, London when it was launched and are now located inside two larger studios built within the site of the Baitul Futuh Mosque Complex in South London, United Kingdom.
Photos
MTA International Second Logo
MTA International German Studios Logo
MTA International USA Studios
MTA International Canada Studios Logo
MTA International Canada Studios - Set Design
MTA International broadcast truck at Jalsa Salana Canada 2016
References
- http://www.mta.tv/term-of-use
- https://www.amjinternational.org/activities/mta/
MTA 1 with a 3 hour delay. - "MTA is the official television network of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community". AMJ International. Archived from the original on 10 September 2016. Retrieved 30 May 2020.
- "Meet the Men and Women Working at MTA". Review Of Religion. 24 July 2017. Retrieved 30 May 2020.
|archive-url=is malformed: save command (help) - "Head of Ahmadiyya Muslim Community launches MTA International Africa TV Channel". Khalifatul Masih. 2 August 2016. Archived from the original on 27 September 2019. Retrieved 30 May 2020.
- "27 مئی، یومِ خلافت سے ایم ٹی اے کے نئے دور کا بابرکت آغاز" [27th May, Khilafat Day, marks the new blessed era for MTA]. Al Fazl (in Urdu). 29 May 2020. Archived from the original on 30 May 2020. Retrieved 30 May 2020.
- https://tribune.com.pk/story/404509/pta-bans-official-ahmadi-website-report
- "MTA USA (@NationalMTAUSA) | Twitter". twitter.com. Retrieved 27 November 2015.
- "MTA International, Canada Studios - Live Stream". mtacanada.tv. Retrieved 27 November 2015.
- "MTA International German Studios | Muslim Television Ahmadiyya". www.mta-tv.de. Retrieved 27 November 2015.
- "MTA German Studios (@mtatvdeGlobal) | Twitter". twitter.com. Retrieved 27 November 2015.
- "MTA (@muslimtv) | Twitter". twitter.com. Retrieved 27 November 2015.
- Khan, M. (2003). Muslim Television Ahmadiyya. Retrieved March 28, 2014, from http://www.alislam.org/library/periodicals/tariq-uk/chapter6.pdf