Imedi Media Holding
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Imedi TV | |
 |
|
| Type | Broadcast radio network and television network |
|---|---|
| Country |  Georgia |
| Availability | National |
| Owner | Badri Patarkatsishvili |
| Website | www.imedi.ge |
Imedi Media Holding refers to a private TV and Radio Company in Georgia. The stations are owned in part by Badri Patarkatsishvili, a media tycoon, and Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation. A preliminary agreement on the purchase of Imedi Holding’s shares was signed in New York on April 28, details of which remain confidential.
Radio Imedi first aired on 105.9 FM in December 2001 in Tbilisi. Since December 2003 "Radio Imedi" has broadcast 24 hours a day across all settled territory in Georgia. The station mainly concentrates on news and analytical coverage but broadcasts pop music as well, particularly at night-time.
During the Sandro Girgvliani murder investigation, Patarkatsishvili stated that the Georgian authorities were mounting pressure on his station and other businesses after it had broadcast details of the scandal. "It is no secret that Imedi television was the first one which reported the circumstances of Sandro Girgvliani’s murder...this alone became a reason for the authorities’ dissatisfaction, which triggered the financial authorities to actively launch a probe into my businesses and my companies so [as] to force me to mount pressure against [my] journalists..and facilitate the creation of a favorable image of the authorities," Badri Patarkatsishvili went on to say that he would never yield to pressure from the authorities.
This pressure has been assumed by some as a reason behind Imedi Media Holdings decision to sell shares to News Corp. Some have speculated that with Rupert Murdoch involved with the station, the current government will find it harder to exert pressure on Imedi without generating publicity in the West.
[edit] External links
- Radio-Imedi
- Imedi-Television
- IMEDINEWS.GE - Imedi News Portal
