Ben Reyes, a Sacramento graphic designer, spent a recent Saturday night curled up in front of "Star In My Heart," a Korean soap opera dubbed in Spanish.
"Star In My Heart" can be seen weekends on KBTV, Sacramento's all-ethnic TV station.
"It's a good family drama, the way American soaps used to be," said Reyes, 45, who's of Mexican, Greek, Seminole, Jamaican and Arabic descent.
Like Reyes, KBTV Global Television reflects the Central Valley's many flavors with programs in Russian, Mandarin, Cantonese, Vietnamese, Tagalog, Spanish, Hindi-Punjabi and Hmong.
"We are the face of California – it does not have a color," said advertising director Edgar Calderon, a Nicaraguan immigrant. "We are a bridge between different communities – we are the community."
Unlike other ethnic stations available to Sacramento viewers, KBTV mixes locally produced shows with nationally and internationally syndicated programming. Some local shows are produced by station staff; others are by local producers who buy airtime and sell their own advertising.
Calderon, who says he watches "Star In My Heart" for "the good-looking señoritas," said KBTV's viewers range from teens who tune in for music to "older folks who are great fans of news and cultural events."
The station was born in 2005 when former newspaper executive Frank Washington and a group of investors bought the station for $1.5 million.
"I was inspired to do this when I found out there was this huge Russian-speaking community here I didn't know about," Washington said. "This is a way to open conversation and provide some understanding of who these people are and what they're about."
In 2006, Comcast cable picked up the network and now broadcasts KBTV to 750,000 subscribers from Visalia to Chico on Channel 238, said communications director Bryan Byrd. Sacramento viewers without cable can pick up KBTV on Channel 8.
The station has covered regional events such as Sacramento's Pacific Rim Festival and Yuba City's Sikh parade, and recently launched the "Hmong Report at 7" on Sunday nights.
"There's about 100,000 Hmong in our territory," said general manager Brian Holton. "They needed a voice."
The two-hour Hmong show is produced by Atary Xiong, a refugee from Laos who got a master's degree in film directing at Yale.
"I cover almost every event that's important to the Hmong community from here to Fresno," said Xiong. He'll be in Stockton today to cover an expected 1,000 Hmong rallying against the Patriot Act, which Hmong leaders claim is being used to classify as terrorists the Hmong who oppose the communist government in Laos.
Xiong is also working on a show about the desecration of Hmong graves at Wat Tham Krabok, a former Thai refugee camp that closed after 16,000 Hmong were allowed to come to the United States in 2004. "You should see the video," Xiong said.
"Hmong Report" includes Hmong news and "The Hmong Buzz," which features Hmong personalities talking about "new Hmong stars coming from Laos, concerns, parties, events and what's going on the next week," Xiong said.
KBTV also is developing "Phil-Am Beat," a local Filipino show, said marketing director Michelle Robles, who recently interviewed Filipino heartthrob Gary Valenciano.
"I've idolized him since I was 5, and I found out he was doing a concert at Cache Creek in November," Robles said. "He does pop, and he's still hot in the Philippines after 20 years."
David Ponomar, a local entrepreneur of Russian and Ukrainian descent, is among the independent producers who buy time on KBTV. Seven days a week he broadcasts "Best TV," which includes news, religion, cooking, cultural events and discussions on community issues.
"I watch my show, and then I'm watching the Chinese program after mine, and then Hindi and Hmong programs," Ponomar said. "I don't understand a word they say, but I'm looking about how they do the news, when their commercial breaks run."
Ranjit Kandola of Yuba City, another independent producer, seems to have scored a hit with "YPDTV," a show he hosts in Punjabi and Hindi.
"I talk about the local economy and housing market, and cover top politicians from India," said Kandola, who was born in Punjab, India.
Kandola said his show potentially can reach 118,000 Asian Indian viewers from Visalia to Redding and many more on his YPDTV Web site. "On the Web, this is the world's first Punjabi online TV channel," he said. "We're putting about 50 big banners on all the main highways in Punjab. … I've hired 15 more people to send us news from Punjab daily."
Local programming mixes with a wide range of syndicated shows on KBTV, including news in more than half a dozen languages, and the soap operas.
Holton, who runs 10 television stations throughout the United States, said he first saw "Star In My Heart" when it was broadcast by a Korean network in Los Angeles.
"I thought it was a terrific show and learned it has been dubbed in Chinese," he said. He has it dubbed in Spanish.
Holton said KBTV teaches him how much we all have in common. "At our birthday party Dec. 20, people sang 'Happy Birthday' in nine different languages, the same harmony, just different words."
Call The Bee's Stephen Magagnini, (916) 321-1072.
