Launched in 2007, Samaa TV is a Pakistani news channel with several accolades under its belt.

Samaa TV is the first private satellite channel to provide live transmission from five cities simultaneously. It’s also one of the major innovators in journalism, introducing iSAMAA to empower citizen journalism, and ‘Breaking News Alerts’ to ensure people on the go receive updates in a timely manner.

Samaa TV has also cemented its reputation as a leading news channel by employing the biggest name in journalism, state of the art studios, and advanced technologies. It currently holds the title of fourth-largest news channel in Pakistan.

Samaa TV wished to honor its Urdu-first policy by creating an Urdu language news page. Visitors would land on that page first whereas the existing English page would be shifted to an entirely separate domain.

In addition to splitting its Urdu and English website, Samaa TV wanted to be able to manage each from separate admin panels. This was currently impossible using the current site’s technology.

Samaa TV’s project was a delicate one considering its scale and tight deadline. The legacy systems in place were another challenge as it may impact the performance of the new website.

Intrigued by this challenge, DPL’s website development teams started working immediately. We were able to –

• Host both the English and Urdu sites on separate new domains
•  Create a unique website to replace its then-current single content database
• Implement the latest version of WordPress without impacting the user interface or user experience
•  Change URLs of the stories published on both sites while ensuring proper redirection
• · Integrate the latest security measures to prevent threats and issues that can compromise the website
• · Set up Google Analytics for the English and Urdu versions of Samaa TV