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Eos TV - The Death Channel
Eos TV is a 24 hour television channel devoted entirely to ageing, death and dying. Wolf Tilmann Schneider, 51, a former television producer has joined forces with Germany's funeral association to launch the death channel on cable and the Internet. Appropriately, this new channel will begin in the autumn of this year.
Mr. Schneider states:
Germany has one of the lowest birth rates in the world; last year there were about 150K more deaths than births. More than two million elderly people are receiving professional nursing care.
"More than 800,000 people died in Germany last year. Multiply that by four and you have a rough estimate of the number of relatives affected. They will be our target audience. We are convinced that Eos TV will attract viewers."
(Lovely German cemetery on the Rhine)
Mr. Schneider hopes that televised obituaries will become popular; for a fee, you could have a "This Was Your Life" video shown featuring your family, friends and well-wishers.
The tranquil beauty of graveyards, both in Germany and abroad, will provide relaxing entertainment for older viewers. "Older people really enjoy visiting cemeteries - not just to mourn, but for their peace and quiet," Mr Schneider said.
On a purely practical note, organ transplantation, stair lifts and pharmaceuticals will be highlighted and advertised.
I don't know of any sf books or stories with a Death TV channel; however, you might want to check out young-forever from Larry Niven's 1976 story A World out of Time and anti-gerasone from Kurt Vonnegut's 1954 story Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow.
Via the Telegraph (UK).
Scroll down for more stories in the same category. (Story submitted 7/20/2007)
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