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Belteleradio

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State-owned broadcaster of Belarus

53°55′23″N 27°37′44″E / 53.92306°N 27.62889°E / 53.92306; 27.62889

National State TV and Radio Company of the Republic of Belarus
TypeBroadcast radio and television, online
CountryBelarus
AvailabilityNational
HeadquartersMakayonka St. 9, Minsk
OwnerGovernment of Belarus
Key peopleIvan Eismont (Chairman)
Launch date1 January 1956; 68 years ago (1 January 1956) (Television)
Former namesBelteleradio (1 January 1956 – 25 September 1991)
Official websitehttp://www.tvr.by/

The National State TV and Radio Company of the Republic of Belarus (Belarusian: Нацыянальная дзяржаўная тэлерадыёкампанія Рэспублікі Беларусь; Russian: Национальная государственная телерадиокомпания Республики Беларусь), known as Belteleradiocompany (Belarusian: Белтэлерадыёкампанія; Russian: Белтелерадиокомпания) or simply Belteleradio, is the state television and radio broadcasting service in Belarus.

From 1993 until 2021, it was a full active member of the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) under the name Belarusian Television and Radio Company (BTRC). In May 2021, the EBU Executive Board agreed to suspend BTRC as a member of the broadcasting union effective 11 June 2021. The broadcaster later іndіcated that the suspension would expire in 2024, but this was later denied by the EBU a couple months prior to when the suspension hypothetically would have been lifted as they publicly addressed that they had "no reason" to reinstate BTRC's membership "at the current time". This means that BTRC's membership is indefinitely suspended, and as a result cannot rejoin the organisation. Until the suspension is lifted or another Belarusian member joins in its place, there are presently no members of the EBU who are from Belarus.

History

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The first service of Belarusian radio went on air on November 15, 1925, at the RV-10 radio stationnamed after the Council of People's Commissars of the BSSR. The programs were broadcast for 30 minutes a day within a radius of up to 300 km. Since 1926, broadcasts of radio newscasts for workers and peasants started, followed by broadcasts from theaters and clubs and music programs. Since 1928, wire broadcasting has been developing, a weekly broadcasting schedule has been formed, taking into account the professional and age characteristics of the target audience. In the 1930s, regional and district broadcasting developed.

Radio Committee of the BSSR (1933–1953)

In 1933, the Committee for Radio Information and Radio Broadcasting of the Council of People's Commissars of the BSSR (Radio Committee of the BSSR) was created. Improvement of technical means (construction of a powerful radio station in Kolodischi, etc.) made it possible to broadcast live. In 1936, sound recording devices were used for the first time on Belarusian radio. In 1938, broadcasting began in the new Radio House, where there were three new studios and a mechanical broadcasting and sound recording workshop. During the Great Patriotic War, the radio station RV-10 named after the Council of People's Commissars of the BSSR temporarily ceased its activity. On January 1, 1942, the radio station "Soviet Belarus" began operating on short waves in Moscow. Through the transmitter of the Radio Station. The BSSR Council of People's Commissars, the German occupation administration launched the Landessender Minsk radio station. The radio station RV-10 named after the Council of People's Commissars of the BSSR went on the air again in 1944, first in the liberated Gomel, then in Minsk.

Radio Directorate of the BSSR (1953–1957)

Broadcasting tower of the BTRC at 6 Kamunistychnaya st.

In 1953, the Radio Committee of the BSSR was reorganized into the Main Directorate of Radio Information of the Ministry of Culture of the BSSR (Radio Administration of the BSSR). In the 1950s, intensive work has begun to improve the quality of radio broadcasting. New equipment was installed in the House of Radio, which made it possible to improve the quality of recorded broadcasts. Work for the television station was underway in July 1955. On January 1, 1956, the Radio Directorate of the BSSR launched its television service – "Belarusian Television" (BT). With the commissioning of the Minsk Television Center in 1955, a 2-program VHF radio broadcasting station was put into operation. The average daily volume of one-channel broadcasting was estimated at the time to be 2–3 hours, and the audience of the TV channel was 4.5 thousand viewers. The TV schedule consisted mostly of feature films, chronicles, concerts and performances, movies sent from Moscow and local movie distribution centers. Information programs were illustrated with film and photographic materials. In the late 1950s the Directorate started live broadcasts and production of documentaries and television plays.

Gosteleradio BSSR (1957–1991)

In 1957, the Radio Control of the BSSR was reorganized into the State Committee of the BSSR on Television and Radio Broadcasting (Gosteleradio BSSR). In the 1960s, 70% of the territory of Belarus was provided with television. A two-program TV was formed (based on the programs of the 1st program of the Moscow Central Television). In the 1960s, complete radio coverage of Belarus was completed, new radio stations appeared: "Belarus" (05.1962), which provided regular broadcasting to foreign countries, "Belarusian Youth" (02.1963), "Rural Life" (04.1964). The department of theory and practice of radio broadcasting and television was opened at the Faculty of Journalism of the Belarusian State University with the aim of training qualified personnel. The volume of its own broadcasting was 718 hours a year, 50% of which was occupied by social and political programs. In the mid-1960s, its own production of feature and documentary television films began (on the basis of the main editorial office of Telefilm). In 1962, with the starting of Intervision, an exchange of programs with other republics began. In 1961, the Minsk Television Studio and the Committee for Radio and Television were merged into one creative team, in March 1964 it was renamed into the Studio of the Belarusian Television.

In the 1970s, 22 radio broadcasting stations operated on the territory of Belarus. During this period, the transition to 3-program wire broadcasting was carried out, stereo broadcasting was formed on ultrashort waves. In 1972 the State Television and Radio Broadcasting of the BSSR launched the Krynitsa radio station on medium waves. By the beginning of the 80s, there were 6 regional bureaux, 115 district, 12 city and 32 factory radios. In the 1970s and 1980s, television broadcasting covered already 95% of the territory of Belarus. Since 1972, the programs have been broadcast on 3 programs, including color programs of its own production (since 1974). In 1978, the hardware-studio complex of the Belarusian Radio Television Center was put into operation, which made it possible to increase the volume and quality of the color image. In January 1981, Channel 6 aired an independent Belarusian program, which was not covered by programs from Moscow. In terms of the volume of its own production, it occupied the 6th place in the USSR, and its programs were watched by 86% of the inhabitants of Belarus. The broadcasting structure of the national TV channel consisted of 3 blocks: information and journalistic, scientific and educational and artistic.

State TV and Radio of the Republic of Belarus (1991–1994)

In September 1991, the State Television and Radio Broadcasting of the BSSR was renamed into the State Committee of the Republic of Belarus on Television and Radio Broadcasting (State Television and Radio of the Republic of Belarus). In the early 1990s, the unified system of state television in Belarus included 6 television centers, 50 transmitters, and more than 2000 radio relay communication lines. This made it possible to repurpose the program to a more powerful 1st communication channel. The average daily volume of republican and regional broadcasting was 14.5 hours. Since January 1993, the State Television and Radio Broadcasting of the Republic of Belarus has become a full member of the European Broadcasting Union (EBU). In the 1990s, a new stage began in the development of Belarusian radio broadcasting: reforming the structure of the Belarusian radio, improving its program, ideological and creative components.

Belteleradiocompany (since 1994)

BTRC headquarters at Makayonka St. 9, Minsk (2018)
Ivan Eismont, Director General and Chair of Belteleradio since March 2018

In August 1994, by the Decree of the President of the Republic of Belarus, on the basis of the State Committee on Television and Radio Broadcasting, the National State Television and Radio Company of the Republic of Belarus was established. In May of the same year, the radio broadcasting programs "Krinitsa" and "Belorusskaya Molodezhnaya" were combined into the program "Radio 2" (since 2002, "Kultura"), which began to be retransmitted on the second wire broadcasting channel. In 1995, the Television News Agency (ATN) was established to improve the process of informing the population. New information technologies and broadcasting models began to be used (direct lines, television debates, talk shows, etc.), national television series appeared ("The Cursed Cozy House", 1999). In 1998, the NGTRK of the Republic of Belarus launched the Stolitsa radio station, which began to be retransmitted on the third wire broadcasting channel. Since June 15, 1998, there has been a radio program "Belarus" broadcasting also in Russian and Ukrainian. In the 2000s, a number of TV channels were created in the Belteleradiocompany system: LAD (2003), Belarus-TV (2005). The introduction of test digital transmitters in 2004 made it possible to record broadcasts more efficiently and with high quality.

Since 2005, all channels and radio stations of the Belarusian Radio were now being streamed live on the Internet. From December 22, 2005, to December 28, 2010, Alexander Zimovsky was the chairman of the Belteleradiocompany.

From October 1, 2009, to December 31, 2012 (according to Presidential Decree No. 523, signed on October 23, 2009), the NGTRK and the organizations included in its system are exempt from paying taxes on profit and value added (except for value added tax levied upon import of goods into the customs territory of Belarus, unless otherwise provided by legislative acts).

In November 2011, the channels were rebranded: on November 5, Channel One changed its name to "Belarus 1", on November 14 LAD became known as "Belarus 2", and the international "Belarus TV" on January 1, 2013, was renamed "Belarus 24". On February 8, 2013, the digital socio-cultural TV channel "Belarus 3" was launched. On April 1, 2016, the broadcasting of versions of the First National Channel of the Belarusian Radio on long and medium waves stopped.

On August 17, 2020, protests and strikes were held against the results of the 2020 presidential elections in Belarus. State television also went on strike, Belarus 1 showed first an empty studio, and then reruns of old programs.

On May 28, 2021, according to the results of post-election monitoring, the European Broadcasting Union suspended the membership of the BTRK in the Broadcasting Union. The indignation of the union was caused, among other things, by the broadcast on the air of "Belarus 1" of the "repentance" of political prisoners (in particular, Roman Protasevich and Sofia Sapieha), made under obvious pressure. The suspension of the broadcaster was made effective on 1 July 2021. Although initial reports mentioned that it would expire after three years, in April 2024 the EBU confirmed that the suspension had been made indefinite.

Services

Television

Belteleradio operates eight television channels, of which seven are distributed nationally and one is distributed internationally.

  • Belarus 1 – News, current affairs, and general interest programming
  • Belarus 2 [be] – Entertainment and sports programming
  • Belarus 3 [be] – Cultural programming, mostly broadcasts in Belarusian language
  • Belarus 4 [be] – Regional news, entertainment and cultural programming. Broadcasts separately for Brest, Vitebsk, Gomel, Grodno, Minsk and Mogilev regions
  • Belarus 5 [be] – Sports channel
  • Belarus 24 – International channel catering to viewers outside of Belarus
  • NTV Belarus [be] – Belarusian version of NTV Russia; programming consists of content from NTV Russia and other Russian channels
  • First Information (Pervyi informatsionnyi) – News channel that started in September 2024.

Radio

Belteleradio operates two national radio services and three regional FM services.

Censorship and propaganda

Main articles: Censorship in Belarus and Propaganda in Belarus

International experts and the Belarusian opposition name the state TV as one of the main instruments of propaganda by the authoritarian regime of Alexander Lukashenko. It is being accused of misinformation, advocating political repressions and rigging of elections, smearing regime critics.

International sanctions

Employees and top managers of state TV channels, including channels of BTRC, have several times been subjects to sanctions from the EU and the United States.

In 2022, the company was placed on the European Union, Canada, Switzerland, and Ukraine sanctions lists.

References

  1. "Administration". Belteleradiocompany. Archived from the original on 14 February 2018. Retrieved 14 February 2018.
  2. ^ "TV Channels >> Television >> Belteleradiocompany". Belteleradiocompany. Archived from the original on 15 April 2014. Retrieved 11 March 2014.
  3. "EBU-UER / Active Members". European Broadcasting Union. Archived from the original on 26 October 2014. Retrieved 11 March 2014.
  4. "EBU Executive Board agrees to suspension of Belarus Member BTRC". www.ebu.ch. May 28, 2021. Retrieved 28 May 2021.
  5. Granger, Anthony (2021-08-27). "Belarus: BTRC Reveals EBU Suspension Scheduled to Expire in 2024". Eurovoix. Retrieved 2021-10-31.
  6. ^ Farren, Neil (23 April 2024). "Belarus: BTRC Indefinitely Suspended From EBU". Eurovoix. Retrieved 23 April 2024.
  7. Radio and Television in the USSR, S. V. Kaftanov, 1960
  8. "Белтэлерадыёкампанію выключылі з Еўрапейскага вяшчальнага саюза". euroradio.fm. 30 June 2021. Archived from the original on 1 July 2021. Retrieved 30 June 2021.
  9. Granger, Anthony (27 August 2021). "Belarus: BTRC Reveals EBU Suspension Scheduled to Expire in 2024". Eurovoix. Archived from the original on 27 August 2021. Retrieved 27 August 2021.
  10. "Тэлеканалы >> Тэлебачанне >> Белтэлерадыекампанiя" (in Belarusian). Belteleradiocompany. Archived from the original on 28 May 2013. Retrieved 11 March 2014.
  11. "NTV-Belarus >> Television >> Belteleradiocompany". Belteleradiocompany. Archived from the original on 15 April 2014. Retrieved 11 March 2014.
  12. Kondratyev, Andrey (19 September 2024). "Explainer: Scepticism as Belarus rolls out its first news TV channel". BBC Monitoring.
  13. "Radio Channels >> Belteleradiocompany". Belteleradiocompany. Archived from the original on 15 April 2014. Retrieved 11 March 2014.
  14. "About Radio | Radio Belarus". Belteleradiocompany. Archived from the original on 11 October 2014. Retrieved 11 March 2014.
  15. Посол Польщі Генрик Літвін: Втратити добрий час – це великий ризик для України Archived 2017-10-23 at the Wayback Machine - СЕРГІЙ ЛЕЩЕНКО, Ukrayinska Pravda, 8 November 2011. Henryk Litwin, former ambassador of Poland to Belarus: "Television in Belarus is exclusively state propaganda"
  16. Edward Lucas Podcast: Belarus propaganda Archived 2017-10-23 at the Wayback Machine - 20.01.2017. Edward Lucas, editor at The Economist: “in Belarus the state television maintains Soviet levels of venom and mendacity.“
  17. Поўны спіс 208 беларускіх чыноўнікаў, якім забаронены ўезд у ЕС Archived 2017-10-22 at the Wayback Machine - Nasha Niva, 11 October 2011
  18. "Belteleradio Company". National Agency on Corruption Prevention.

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