May 2015—During the Kyrgyz Republic’s transition to a parliamentary democracy in 2010, the provisional government declared Kyrgyz Public Television and Radio (OTRK), the state-owned TV channel, a public service broadcaster. This began the process of reforming the national channel, long a mouthpiece of state policy, into an independent public institution.
One of the biggest hurdles facing OTRK has been establishing a connection with its viewers nationwide, many of whom still perceive the channel to be dominated by the state. While television is often a one-way medium, online space is better suited for engaging with viewers in a conversation. And younger people are increasingly turning online for news.
USAID and Internews Network, through the Support to the Public Broadcaster and Online Media project, supported OTRK in its long-term reform process to provide accurate, impartial news to the citizenry.
Until recently, OTRK’s website was unable to support more than 3,000 simultaneous viewers and would crash at the times citizens most needed news. Users visiting the website from outside the Kyrgyz Republic encountered very slow load times and had trouble accessing content. Thousands of Kyrgyz migrants living and working in Russia and elsewhere were unable to use the site for news from their home country.
In response, Internews commissioned an assessment in 2013 that showed that an improved online presence and active social media marketing should be top priorities for OTRK.
Following the assessment, USAID and Internews helped OTRK redesign its website to make it faster, easier to navigate, and more shareable through social networks. USAID provided an additional server that increased the site’s ability to handle an influx of users and provide objective, accessible information at the most crucial times.
Traffic to the site has increased by nearly 15 percent since the relaunch, going from approximately 437,000 visitors in December 2014 to 500,000 in February 2015.
“Since the installation of the new server, our website has been working consistently,” says Nurzat Niyazova, OTRK’s deputy chief editor. “We haven’t seen any more shutdowns, which means that users are enjoying uninterrupted access to our website.”
The design of the new site adapts to the device being used to view it, so users see features optimized for their screens, whether they are using a mobile phone, tablet or full-size computer.
“A large portion of OTRK’s viewers and listeners live outside the capital [where computer use is highest]. They are only able to access the Internet through the small screens of mobile devices, so the site’s adaptive design will create additional convenience for them,” explains Ulukman Mamytov, the director of Devvx.Pro, the company that developed the new site.
USAID's Support to the Public Broadcaster and Online Media project, which runs from January 2012 to February 2016, is designed to help bridge citizens and government in the Kyrgyz Republic by increasing OTRK's capabilities as a public service broadcaster. In a country where over 90 percent of citizens consider TV their main source of information, OTRK has been the leading TV station in public opinion polls for several years in a row.
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