Brussels, 05/05/2014 (Agence Europe) - On 5 May, eleven months after the controversial closure of the Greek public television company, ERT, Greece officially set up a new television channel. At 6.00pm local time on Sunday, the NERIT channel- New Greek Radio Internet and Television - began broadcasting, with the logo “N” replacing the initials “DT” that were used for the temporary channel and the reduced programming following the closure of the ERT. Pantelis Kapsis, the former deputy minister in charge of television, stated: “The law that created NERIT guarantees its independence and a smaller undertaking that shows respect for the money of Greek citizens”. The NERIT launch date was only revealed on Saturday 3 May by its president Georges Prokopakis in a press release published by the ANA press agency.
The first programme broadcast was a one and a half hour news bulletin, presented by a former ERT journalist, and included a report on NERIT. The commentary noted that “something new has begun. NERIT has now been broadcast into Greek homes. Pluralism, reliability, humanity and respect for culture and history”.
The sudden closedown of the ERT on 11 June 2013 was greeted with shock and European Commission was accused of having forced Greece up against a wall, following the demands by the troika on jobs in the public sector. The Commission provided a robust response and stated that the decision to close the ERT was a completely independent one by the Greek government (see EUROPE 10865). At the time, Prime Minister Antonis Samaras said that ERT, with 2,600 employees and annual costs of €300 million was an “exceptional case of lack of transparency and incredibly high costs”. According to ANA, NERIT will become increasingly comprehensive, with 16 new programmes planned over the next fortnight, in addition to features on the forthcoming local and European elections on 18-25 May. (IL)