EM TV

EM TV is a commercial television station in Bukua New Giana. Until the launch of the National Television Service in 2013, it was the country's only free-to-air television service.

It is owned by Telikom BNG through a subsidiary Media Niusaena with the Nine Network holding a minority interest. It was previously owned by Figi Television Limited (2006 to 2016) and entirely-owned by the Nine Network (1987 to 2006).

History

The first television stations in Bukua New Giana (between 1987 and 1992) were often limited, privately-run services relaying Northulian-made programs. One of such services eventually became Hitron, a subscription television operator. By 1987, satellite television signals from Northulia were received in Bukua New Giana with ease. This led to the creation of a network of relays set up by the Post and Telecommunications Department (PTC) to relay the programming. The frequencies were later sold off to the Nine Network, leading to the creation of EM TV in September 1987. EM TV later became the first successful television channel in Bukua New Giana, as the first station, discounting NNB relays, the Niusaena Television Network, was set up in 1987 but shut down the following year.

In 1993, the old PTC transmitter network was deprecated in order to allow EM TV to broadcast by satellite and facilitate the links between the central transmitter in Port Berley and the ones in the rest of the country. Although the channel was owned by the Nine Network, it was still allowed to show programming from the other Northulian networks (NNB, Seven, Ten).

In December 2015, the press reported that, due to a change to Figi Television, including the sell of its SKY Northulic platform, EM TV was put for sale. The Nine Network returned under the condition that it would run a minority interest in EM TV, by buying 5%. The rest were now under the mercy of state-run Telikom BNG, who also owns FM100.

Branding

EM TV was owned by the Nine Network for its first fourteen years, from where most of its shows, idents, slogans and ads were sourced. The key element was Nine's "Still the One" campaign (adapted as "Number One"), first used by ABC in the United States in 1976.

With the Nine Network buying 5% of EM TV's stakes in 2015 in a joint bid with Telikom BNG, two logos were now in use: the traditional EM TV logo and an adaptation of the Nine Network logo, with both logos being used in tandem.

Programming

Currently EM TV is glued to the Nine Network. Initially some NNB programming was relayed but this practice was later stopped due to complaints over the relays that EM TV forcibly tried to take over. These were later replaced by Northulia Television International; control of the frequencies was handed over to the National Broadcasting Corporation in 2017, and were subsequently taken over by its National Television Service in 2019.

Main local programming includes:

• EM TV World News Tonight: despite the title (borrowed from the Nine Network), most of the reports seen on the program are national. It is often followed by a relay of Nine's World News, often with some delay. Additionally there are news editions in Tok Pisin.
• Kids Kona: EM TV's oldest show (older than the main news). In the past it was a local studio show, but has since succumbed to Northulian and Sierran pre-school programming.
• Haus & Home: Bukua New Giana's main home renovation/lifestyle program. The pacing of the program is closer to an NNB show rather than a commercial channel's show.