The EBU announced today that it will stop streaming former public Greek broadcaster ERT. Since the Greek government decided to shut down ERT, broadcaster of the Eurovision Song Contest in Greece, the EBU has been providing its satellite capacity and website to former ERT employees who have defiantly been carrying on broadcasting.
A temporary replacement, Greek Public Television (EDT), was put together shortly after the closure of ERT. However, there has not been any live programming such as news by the new broadcaster. According to the European Broadcasting Union, this is set to change. Citing reports that EDT will broadcast news services this week, the EBU issued an update on their website giving information about their decision:
‘Since 12 June, when the Greek Government abruptly stopped ERT from operating, the EBU has delivered 8.5 million live streams for a total of 4.4 million hours of cumulative viewing to 2.5 million unique visitors and consistently called for the restitution of public service media in Greece, which is vital for culture, democracy and for society itself.’
The article goes on to say that the ‘EBU leadership’ has offered in writing its ‘support and expertise’ to the Greek government with regards to ERT’s proper successor, New Hellenic Radio, Internet and Television (NERIT). At this stage, it remains unclear as to whether NERIT will secure Greek participation in the 2014 Eurovision Song Contest in May.
