Ekushey Television

Ekushey Television
একুশে টেলিভিশন
The headquarters of Ekushey Television in Kawran Bazar
CountryBangladesh
Broadcast areaNationwide
Worldwide (via online)
HeadquartersKawran Bazar, Dhaka
Programming
Picture format1080i HDTV (downscaled to 16:9 576i for SDTV sets)
Ownership
Key peopleAbdus Salam (chairman and CEO)
Rabiul Hasan Avi (managing director)
History
Launched14 April 2000; 24 years ago (2000-04-14) (original)
29 March 2007; 17 years ago (2007-03-29) (relaunch)
FounderA.S. Mahmud
Simon Dring
Closed29 August 2002; 22 years ago (2002-08-29) (original)
Links
Websiteekushey-tv.com

Ekushey Television (Bengali: একুশে টেলিভিশন; lit. 'twenty-one', in reference to 21 February),[1] also known by its acronym ETV, is a Bangladeshi Bengali-language privately owned satellite and cable television channel. It is headquartered in Kawran Bazar, Dhaka, and is Bangladesh's first privately owned television channel to broadcast news and current affairs programming.[2]

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,[3] as a privately owned nationwide terrestrial television network, the first of its kind in Bangladesh and the region of South Asia in general.[4][5] 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,[6] as they were unable to resume broadcasts on terrestrial.[7]

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.[4] 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.[8][9]

  1. ^ Biswas, Sailendra (2000). "Samsad Bengali-English dictionary. 3rd ed". Calcutta: Sahitya Samsad. p. 183. Archived from the original on 29 June 2020.
  2. ^ Rahman, Anis (2009). "A Political Economy of the Emerging Television News Industry in Bangladesh | Anis Rahman - Academia.edu". Sfu.academia.edu. Retrieved 6 August 2014.
  3. ^ ২২ বছরে একুশে টেলিভিশন. Samakal (in Bengali). 14 April 2021. Archived from the original on 22 September 2022. Retrieved 5 June 2022.
  4. ^ a b Dring, Simon (22 January 2014). "A.S. Mahmud: A man of vision remembered". The Daily Star. Archived from the original on 2 June 2022. Retrieved 2 June 2022.
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference moreover was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ "Bangladesh's ETV resumes telecast as ban ends". Reuters. 30 March 2007. Archived from the original on 15 November 2021. Retrieved 15 August 2021.
  7. ^ সাংস্কৃতিক বোধ বদলে দেওয়া একুশে টিভি. Kaler Kantho (in Bengali). 14 January 2021. Archived from the original on 4 August 2022. Retrieved 4 August 2022.
  8. ^ Cite error: The named reference borderless was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  9. ^ Cite error: The named reference private was invoked but never defined (see the help page).