| Independent Television Network (ITN) | |
|---|---|
| Location | |
| Wickramasinhapura, Battaramulla, Sri Lanka |
|
| Information | |
| Type | Government-owned corporation |
| Established | 1979 |
| Website | ITN, Lakhanda Radio, Vasantham Radio, Prime Radio, Prime TV |
Independent Television Network Limited (also known as ITN Ltd) is a Sri Lankan state governed television and radio broadcaster located in Wickramasinhapura, Battaramulla, Sri Lanka. ITN, a Shrama Abhimani Award winner (Oct 2009) ,[1] broadcasts content to a wide demographic within Sri Lanka as well as the expatriate community. The programmes are broadcast in three languages; Sinhala, Tamil, and English. The ITN broadcast coverage extends to 99% of the island of Sri Lanka.[2][3] The current chairman of ITN Ltd is Mr. Rosmund Senaratne.[2][4]
The ITN channel is the flagship television channel of ITN Ltd. ITN further operates three FM radio stations; Lakhanda, the Sinhala language service; Vasantham FM (or Wasanthan FM), the Tamil language service and Prime Radio, the English language service. Vasantham TV (or Wasanthan TV), a second television channel operated by ITN Ltd, broadcasts content in the Tamil language. Prime TV is a television channel which boradcasts content in English, also operated by ITN Ltd. ITN recently launched a website ITN News, which is an online portal for the distribution of local news internationally.[5]
Contents |
ITN Ltd commenced operations on the 13th of April 1979 with the introduction of the ITN television channel.[2] As the first television broadcasting service of Sri Lanka and South Asia they began transmission of the first terrestrial television channel in the country. It was also the first privately owned television station in a region where government was in control of radio and television.[6] The founding board of directors was composed of Mr. Shan Wickramasinghe, Mr. Anil Wijewardene and Mr. Bob Christie. Initially the ITN Ltd studios and transmission station were based in Pannipitiya. A single Kilo Watt (1K.W) transmitter and 65 ft. transmission tower were used to broadcast the ITN channel within a fifteen (15) mile radius of the city of Colombo.[2] Due to the geographical location of the transmission station, local weather and the transmission equipment used early viewers experienced many disruptions and interference to programmes as a result of voltage fluctuations.
On the 5th of June 1979 ITN Ltd was acquired by the state as a business undertaking under a Competent Authority.[2] The duly appointed authority, the late Mr. D. Thevis L. Guruge (ex-Director General of the Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation) contributed significantly to the early development of the organisation. [7] ITN Ltd was the pioneer of colour television transmission in Sri Lanka.[6] On the 05th June 1984 ITN Ltd relocated to its current base of operations in Wickramasinhapura. In 1992 ITN was converted to a public company with the state as the major share holder of the company.[2] Subsequently, the revenue, the diversity of programmes, technical services and coverage expanded significantly.
Lakhanda and Vasantham FM are two of the three FM radio stations operated by ITN Ltd. The Lakhanda radio station which originated as a subsidiary of the Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation (SLBC) was amalgamated with ITN Ltd on the 1st of April 1997.[8] This radio station broadcasts content in the Sinhala language. Vasantham FM is a FM radio station also operated by ITN Ltd which broadcasts content in the Tamil language. This radio station was launched in June 2009 in order to fulfill the media requirements of the Tamil speaking community within Sri Lanka.
Furthermore, ITN Ltd commenced transmission of a second television channel, Vasantham TV on the 25th of June 2009.[9][10] This particular television channel broadcasts content in the Tamil language. ITN launched Prime TV and Prime Radio, a television channel and radio station that broadcasts material in English on the 12th of November 2009.[4][11]
ITN Ltd's television channels and radio stations, broadcast a variety of different of programmes in Sinhala, Tamil and English languages. Listed below are some of the programmes broadcast by the television channels and radio stations operated by ITN Ltd.
ITN channel - (Primarily broadcasts content in the Sinhala language)[12]
Vasantham TV - (Primarily broadcasts content in the Tamil language) [9]
Prime TV - (Primarily broadcasts content in the English language) [13]
Lakhanda - (Primarily broadcasts content in the Sinhala language) [14][15]
Vasantham FM - (Primarily broadcasts content in the Tamil language) [9][16]
Prime Radio - (Primarily broadcasts content in the English language) [17]
Cummulatively, the broadcasts of ITN Ltd reach over 99% of the country. However, the coverage for the individual radio stations and television channels vary considerably.
ITN [3]
Vasantham TV [9]
Lakhanda [20]
Vasantham FM [9]