New Armenian TV chief outlines future plans
Yerkir web site
1 Jun 04
on 1 June entitled “Yerkir-Media on the air”
Yerevan, 31 May: On 28 May Yerkir-Media, a new television station,
began to broadcast on channel 56, Rubina Kazaryan, Yerkir-Media’s
director-general, presented the plans of the station.
She said the station will air its programmes on a trial basis for a
while before starting its main programmes. “Usually, a long trial
period precedes the main programming of a TV station,” Kazaryan
said. “But, we started a news broadcast off on 28 May. What we did
was quite risky.”
On the first day on the air, the station showed programmes dedicated
to the first Armenian Republic. The day was concluded by the movie
“Nahapet”.
During the trial period, the company will broadcast news programmes
twice a day. The broadcast license, the company won in a tender late
last year, requires that Yerkir-Media broadcast 18 hours a day starting
from 20 June. Kazaryan says that the company will have a wide range
of programmes to satisfy every viewer.
Political shows will take an extensive part of the air. Every two hours
there will be newscasts to cover domestic and international affairs,
as well as weekly analytical programmes. “We are going to present
pure news which will be free of comment,” Kazaryan says. “Commentary
will be presented in separate shows.”
The station will begin its day early in the morning with domestic and
international news, press reviews and shows for housewives. There
will also be history programs on Artsakh [Karabakh], Eastern
and Western Armenia. Zori Balayan will host programmes about on
Karabakh. Programmes on Armenia’s monuments and prominent figures in
history will also be shown. The station will also air youth shows.
Besides, Kazaryan says, the station plans to prepare three programmes
on the issues that society faces, including one on consumers’
rights. There will also be educational shows, including those on
environmental issues. Children will also have their share.
A programme on Armenian regions will cover events there as “Armenia
does not begin and end with Yerevan”, according to Kazaryan. “We
have reached agreements with regional TV stations.” Yerkir-Media
will present a number of cultural programmes on theatres, museums,
etc. Kazaryan said that Yerkir-Media will not air pirated movies.
The station signed a five-year contract with Armenfilm and a number of
Moscow-based companies which sell licenses for films. The station’s
board decided not to show “silly” soap operas. “We might lose out
financially, but we would rather show more good quality films,”
she said, adding that preference will be given to documentaries.
The station has been cooperating with five TV and radio companies
run by the Armenian diaspora, and will exchange shows with them.
“We started broadcasting on 28 May, but we have already shown
that we have something new to say,” Kazaryan said. “We will be
unbiased. There are TV stations that serve the interests of various
groups or individuals.”
In 2005, Yerkir-Media will be on the air for 24 hours a day
broadcasting throughout Armenia and its diaspora.