Politicization of Talk shows in Bangladeshi Satellite TV Channels: Audience Perceptions and Perspectives Samia Rahman 1 Syed Mahfujul Haque Marjan 2 Abstract During the last decade, Bangladesh has been experiencing a boom in mass media sector. Television channels are increasing in good amount. Every new government has sanctioned license for new TV channels. As a result, there is a tough competition among the TV channels in Bangladesh. Every channel wants to beat others by their content presentations. Since the politics of this country is not stable now, TV viewers have an attraction for news which arises from their political anxiety. In prime time news, TV channels cannot explain the whole news or its background. Talk shows bring the opportunity to elucidate the news. Though we live in a society where politicization is spreading out, we see its reflection on Talk Shows. This study deals with the viewers’ perception on the politicization of talk shows in Bangladeshi satellite TV channels. A survey was carried out among 50 TV viewers of the capital, Dhaka. We assumed that the audience of Dhaka city is cautious than other audience of other parts of the country since the viewers of Dhaka city have facilities to enjoy various Mass Medias. Among the respondents, there were teachers, students, businessmen and journalists. From this study, it was found that 98% of the viewers watch talk shows regularly. 78% of the respondents think that talk shows portray political agenda of the channels. Only 52% of the respondents reflect that moderators of talk shows play neutral role. Respondents also named the political ideology of different channels. It was clear that, viewers are not passive instead they are cautious and active now. Introduction Television is one of the most striking innovations of mankind. At present there are billions of television audience worldwide. The dyadic functions of television consists entertainment and information. So, television provides news as a tool for information and other programs for entertainment. Now a days talk shows have become a facet version of news. Because of the shortage of time, many television channels cannot telecast the elaboration of the news but talk shows give chances to widen the stories of the news. In Bangladesh, political unrest is increasing day by day and thus the talk shows catch the opportunities of public interest in Bangladesh. Audiences of television channels in Bangladesh saw the move up of talk shows recently and as a result talk shows have successfully occupied the prime times of the TV channels. __________________________________ 1. Samia Rahman, Associate Professor of Mass Communication and Journalism, University of Dhaka, Dhaka, Bangladesh. 1 samiarahman23@gmail.com 2. Syed Mahfujl Haque Marjan, Lecturer of Journalism and Mass Communication, Daffodil International University, Dhaka, Bangladesh. 2 smhmarjan@gmail.com