Minister tells BBC that national broadcaster shutdown was never about saving money

In a report broadcast Thursday 17 October on BBC Radio 4’s ‘PM Programme’, Deputy Minister responsible for public television Pantelis Kapsis said that the closure of ERT was “a shocking decision”. “It was very sad and abrupt. And it gave the wrong impression,” he said.   

Out of ERT’s original 2,656 employees who were fired in June, approximately 600 are now working for interim broadcaster DT on temporary contracts. During the interview, Mr. Kapsis confirmed that staff received severance and were subsequently rehired. When pressed on whether they had been paid twice, Mr. Kapsis said: “In that sense, yes.”  

Following the abrupt closure of ERT on the evening of June 11, when television screens across the country went black, a high court found that the coalition government had acted within the law. At the same time, the court ruled that the Greek state had a constitutional obligation to provide public service broadcasting output.

The government itself suffered a considerable setback from its decision, seeing center-left DIMAR depart from the ruling tripartite coalition, after controvery brought the country to the brink of elections. Public outcry was amplified among parts of the society not only suffering from years of austerity, but also seeing a symbolic institution of the modern Greek state perish overnight. While it was generally acknowledged that ERT had been traditionally infested with government cronyism and clientelistic relations, the shutdown itself was largely perceived as hasty and sketchy.

Mr. Kapsis was appointed to set up an interim broadcaster which was then named DT (‘Dimosia Tileorasi’, meaning public television). DT’s signal is available in the whole of Greece. The minister is currently overseeing the launch of a new, official public broadcaster which is to be called NERIT. No launch date has been set.    

From 11 June until 21 August, the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) carried the satellite signal that was still being produced by former ERT staff and streamed it on the EBU website . According to a press release, the EBU ceased carrying the signal of former ERT as it was satisfied with the Greek government’s actions.

According to the Greek government, ERT was shut down in order to cut back on state expenses and meet targets for layoffs of public sector employees. Both demands were set by Greece’s troika of international creditors (the European Central Bank, the European Union and the International Monetary Fund) in return for bailout loans.  

According to the BBC report, Mr. Kapsis insisted that the closure of ERT was never about saving money. The government has also announced that a total of 2,000 staff eventually will be hired to NERIT.  

Since the shutdown, ERT has been kept in operation by about 600 unpaid former employees who are de facto occupying facilities across Greece. Programming, which includes a daily TV news bulletin, has been pared down and is broadcast mainly online. Viewers have access to a terrestrial signal only in limited areas of the country. Mr. Kapsis has called for the fired employees to vacate ERT premises but so far his demand has been ignored.  

No government ministers or MPs appear on ERT. No opposition MPs appear on DT. According to the BBC report, Greece now has two public broadcasters: one Left and one Right.

Declaration of interest: ThePressProject International's sister site ThePressProject was and still is involved in the streaming of ERT’s signal over the Internet.