/ 03.14.2011 12:00AM
NHK Opens Signal to U.S. Platforms
TOKYO: Japan’s state-funded broadcaster, NHK is
temporarily offering its news feed to North American TV distributors to allow
for live coverage of the aftermath of last Friday’s earthquake and tsunami.
According to C21 Media, Cablevision,
AT&T’s U-verse and Verizon FiOS have picked up the Japanese-language feed
and are running it free of charge so Japanese speakers in the United States can
keep up with events. C21 says a
secondary audio channel is being run for non-Japanese speakers. The signal is
to remain open until March 17.
NHK World, the U.S. English-language version of the Japanese channel, also is
providing ongoing coverage of the conditions in Japan following Friday’s 8.9
magnitude earthquake 82 miles from the nation’s coastline. A primary concern
now is a meltdown at a nuclear reactor destabilized by the quake in Northern
Japan. Two explosions already have been reported at the plant, reports
indicate.
CBS News
has posted what it says is amateur footage of
the wave surge hitting the beach and spilling over a coastal highway into a
city. What appears to be a 50-plus-foot fishing vessel is carried over a
roadside barrier and shoved under a bridge. The black water is seen rushing
into neighborhoods and sweeping cars down the street like toys.
The death toll continues to rise, and is expected to reach as many as 10,000, according
to published reports.