Rustavi 2

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Rustavi 2 (Georgian: რუსთავი 2) is a television company based in Tbilisi, Georgia active since 1994. It is a privately owned free to air terrestrial broadcaster that currently reaches around 84% of the country's population. The area Rustavi 2 covers outside Georgia via satellite 24-hour broadcasting includes Europe, European part of Russia and the Middle East. Rustavi 2 was first to use digital hardware in Georgia, the first to go on satellite, the first to conduct live foreign transmissions and first to become an Associate member of the European Broadcasting Union.

[edit] Ownership

Rustavi 2 was originally owned by Erosi Kitsmarishvili, David Dvali, Charchi Akimidze and Nika Tabatadze. In July 2004, 90 % of the company's shares was bought by the Batumi-based businessman Kibar Khalvashi (who had close ties with the then-Defense Minister Irakli Okruashvili) who sold them, in January 2006, to David Bezhuashvili, member of the Parliament of Georgia and brother of Georgia's Foreign Minister Gela Bezhuashvili. In mid-2006 Rustavi 2, the television company Mze TV and radio station Pirveli Stereo merged into a holding which is currently owned by the Georgian Industrial Group (GIG) and GeoMedia Group. GIG, which owns a 45% share of both stations, is a large company with diversified business interests ranging from coal mining and energy to travel. Davit Bezhuashvili, is a founding member of the group. The GeoMedia group is a relatively obscure company registered in the Marshall Islands.^[1]

[edit] History

It was formed in 1994 and had been in a strong opposition to Eduard Shevardnadze’s government since then. The Georgian authorities made several attempts to shut R2 down. Giorgi Sanaia, Georgia’s most popular TV journalist, who worked for R2, was murdered in July 2001. It has been considered by many as a political murder related with his programme "Night Courier" and investigations of allegations of official corruption. In October 2001, the security police raid on R2 office resulted in public anger and subsequent mass street demonstrations against the government’s pressure on independent media forced Eduard Shevardnadze to fire his entire cabinet. Rustavi 2 was the main mass media source used as a tribune by the opposition leaders during the Rose Revolution in November 2003.