A new public-service broadcaster launched in Greece on Sunday, nearly a year after the closure of predecessor ERT.
New Greek Radio, Internet and Television (Nerit) commenced broadcasting at 6pm local time on May 4, opening with a news programme, a sports show and a Greek and foreign-language movie.
The Greek government closed ERT in June 2013 amid the country’s economic crisis. The government acted after months of work stoppages by ERT employees who opposed plans to restructure the broadcaster in line with the demands of Greece's group of international creditors.
ERT had broadcast for more than 60 years and its closure almost brought down the coalition government of conservative Prime Minister Antonis Samaras after one of its allies defected over the dispute over ERT’s future.
The launch of Nerit has been met with criticism, with influential Greek newspaper To Vima describing the handling of its debut as “tragic” and “slipshod”. “After more than 10 months it's more than obvious that the shutdown of ERT was a hasty and slipshod decision,” Dimitris Galanis wrote in the newspaper.