ERT launched broadcasting in 1938 as the Radio Broadcasting Service. After a period of closure between 2013 and 2015, ERT was relaunched. ERT runs five channels, including a generalist one, channels focused on entertainment, news content and sports as well as an international channel that caters to the Greek diaspora.
Media assets
Television: ERT1, ERT2, ERT3, ERT Sports HD, ERT World
Radio: First Programme (Πρώτο Πρόγραμμα), Second Programme (Δεύτερο Πρόγραμμα), Third Programme, ERA Sport, Kosmos 93.6, Voice of Greece (ERA 5), 102 FM, 95.8 FM
State Media Matrix Typology: Captured Public/State-Managed (CaPu)
Ownership and governance
ERT is a public enterprise under government supervision. The broadcasting performance of ERT is regulated by the National Broadcasting Council (ESR), a media regulator whose seven members are appointed by Parliament.
Following a series of legal changes in the ERT’s statute, the station was put under the supervision of the Prime Minister. Before, it was reporting to the Ministry of Digital Policy.
The highest governing body at ERT is a board whose seven members are appointed in majority (five of them) by Parliament upon nomination by the government. Two of them are appointed by the station’s staff.
Source of funding and budget
ERT is mainly funded by revenues that are generated though the collection of a license fee, a levy that is paid with the electricity bill. The fee is €3 a month and has to be paid by all households in Greece that own a TV set. The government awards grants to ERT, but they account for a very small share of the station’s total budget. In 2020, ERT had a total budget of €193.3m, some €187m coming from the license fee, according to the company’s latest annual report and articles in the media. In 2022, the broadcaster had a total budget of €200m, according to Paron.gr, a local media outlet.
Editorial independence
There are no rules or regulations imposed by the government on ERT that oblige the broadcaster to give preferential coverage to the government. Nevertheless, the station has been described by independent experts as a government mouthpiece. Journalists at ERT said that the government routinely gives instructions to the ERT’s management to censor reporting.
According to its Mission Statement, ERT must be independent of the state and all state bodies, private companies and political parties. To ensure the station’s independence, ERT regularly signs an agreement of principles with the Greek government that sets out the conditions needed to ensure ERT’s independence.
There is no independent assessment and oversight mechanism to validate ERT’s editorial independence.
September 2023