As promised, I want to talk a little bit today about what the ALAS Satellite network is, and maybe what it isn't. First of all, it is not a satellite network that you can listen to directly on your car radio. The ALAS network depends on local radio stations to broadcast our programs. This is unlike the satellite networks in the USA and Europe where listeners can buy a satellite radio receiver and listen directly to the network. We currently have just over 100 affiliate radio stations who use our programs as a regular part of their broadcast day.So who are these local radio stations anyway? Well they are mostly little Christian stations that are run by small churches or small groups of believers who have a heart to reach their communities for Christ and see radio as a strategic tool in accomplishing that goal. They are scattered all over Latin America, the USA and even Spain. Some are in
very remote, mountain villages where internet technology cannot reach them. Oh, we have a few affiliates who are large stations located in some of the largest cities of Central and South America, but that is the exception, not the rule.These stations have a problem though. They don't have a lot of money. Oh they have lots of vision, but lack the resources to realize that vision. It's expensive to produce quality radio programs and either they don't have believers who are trained in radio to help them, or they can't afford to hire the talent they need to effectively reach their community. That's where we come in. We provide a 24 hour satellite feed that these stations can use whenever they wish throughout the day or night. Many will play the ALAS network all night long or even all weekend long. That helps them focus the limited resources that they have on their local "prime time" audiences.
HCJB Global does a lot to promote Christian radio around the world. We help believers start their own stations through Radio Planting. We help them prepare their staff by providing Radio Training so that the talent they do have can maximize their impact. Then we also help them by providing quality Christian programming that makes them sound professional all day long until they have the resources to do that themselves.Doug
