Ekushey Television
Bangladeshi television channel / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Ekushey Television (Bengali: একুশে টেলিভিশন; lit. 'twenty-one', in reference to 21 February),[3] also known by its acronym ETV, is a Bangladeshi Bengali-language privately owned satellite and cable television channel owned by S. Alam Group of Industries. It is headquartered in Kawran Bazar, Dhaka, and is Bangladesh's first privately owned television channel to broadcast news and current affairs programming.[4]
Country | Bangladesh |
---|---|
Broadcast area | Nationwide Worldwide (via online) |
Headquarters | Kawran Bazar, Dhaka |
Programming | |
Picture format | 1080i HDTV (downscaled to 16:9 576i for SDTV sets) |
Ownership | |
Owner | S. Alam Group of Industries[1] |
Key people | Mohammed Saiful Alam (chairman) Pijush Bandyopadhyay (CEO)[2] |
Sister channels | Nexus Television |
History | |
Launched | 14 April 2000; 24 years ago (2000-04-14) (original) 29 March 2007; 17 years ago (2007-03-29) (relaunch) |
Founder | A.S. Mahmud Simon Dring |
Closed | 29 August 2002; 21 years ago (2002-08-29) (original) |
Links | |
Website | ekushey-tv |
Ekushey Television was launched on 14 April 2000 by A.S. Mahmud, with the "Poribortone Ongikarboddho" (পরিবর্তনে অঙ্গীকারবদ্ধ; lit. 'Committed to change') slogan, which is still used today,[5] as a privately owned nationwide terrestrial television network, the first of its kind in Bangladesh and the region of South Asia in general.[6][7] It quickly gained popularity around Bangladesh and became the most watched television network there. Ekushey also ended the government's monopoly on terrestrial television in the country.
Ekushey Television was later shut down in 2002 by the Bangladesh Nationalist Party-led government after being accused of telecasting news reports biased against them and operating under an "illegal" license. After gaining a license to resume their broadcasts in 2005, Ekushey returned to the air on 29 March 2007, exclusively on satellite and cable television,[8] as they were unable to resume broadcasts on terrestrial.[9]
Notable for being one of the country's earliest privately owned television channels, Ekushey Television had once dominated the Bangladeshi television market during its existence in terrestrial television. It had also committed to bringing change to the country and its society.[6] Ekushey also broadcast worldwide, including the United Kingdom via satellite for the Bangladeshi residents there, and in several other regions such as the rest of Europe, Southeast Asia, the Middle East, and the Indian state of West Bengal.[10][11]