Vanuatu Broadcasting and Television Corporation

Last updated

The Vanuatu Broadcasting and Television Corporation (VBTC) is the national broadcaster of Vanuatu. It operates three radio stations (Radio Vanuatu, Paradise FM and Femme Pawa) and one television channel (Television Blong Vanuatu).

Contents

History

VBTC was created during the colonial age, in a period where Vanuatu was a Franco-British condominium, first as Radio Vila and later Radio New Hebrides, initially broadcasting only ten minutes a day. As of 2013, it broadcasts "16 hours of news, information programs, music and entertainment". [1] The station "has achieved almost nationwide coverage", and, as of 2000, used Bislama "approximately 80 percent of the time". [2]

In July 1992, ahead of the 1992 Summer Olympics, it held experimental television broadcasts, becoming permanent in 1993, with the creation of Television Blong Vanuatu, set up with assistance from French overseas broadcaster RFO. [3] That same year, the state established VBTC to manage both radio and television services. At an undated point in the 2010s, per an ABU profile, it employed 53 staff in Port Vila and four in Santo. [4]

On 23 September 2019, redevelopment work for Radio Vanuatu's transmitting equipment began. [5] On 18 December, the new shortwave service began. [6]

The VBTC Act was amended in 2023; this enabled the corporation to have greater financial independence, instead of relaying solely on state funds. [7]

Controversies

VBTC suspended senior journalist Antoine Malsungai in December 2012 under allegations that Prime Minister Sato Kilman hadn't yet cleared a US$140,000 debt. [8]

References

  1. ↑ "Gov’t urged to maximise Radio Vanuatu coverage", Vanuatu Daily Post, 15 February 2013
  2. ↑ The Pacific Islands: an encyclopedia, Brij V. Lal and Kate Fortune (eds.), University of Hawaii Press, 2000, ISBN   0-8248-2265-X, p.74
  3. ↑ Thomas, W.; Khushu, O.P.; Rutstein, D. (September 1993). "Pacific Regional Television Survey Project – 352lRASl21 (PAC TEL)". UNESCO. Retrieved February 13, 2024.
  4. ↑ "Vanuatu Broadcasting and Television Corporation (VBTC) – ABU".
  5. ↑ "Radio Vanuatu Capital Development Work Begins". Vanuatu Daily Post. September 24, 2019.
  6. ↑ "VBTC launching new shortwave service". Vanuatu Daily Post. December 11, 2019.
  7. ↑ Willie, Glenda (May 19, 2023). "Amended VBTC Act Bolsters Independence by Discouraging Political Interference". Vanuatu Daily Post.
  8. ↑ "Vanuatu broadcasting chief says suspension not due to political interference". RNZ. December 3, 2012.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.