Magyar Televízió
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Magyar Televízió (Hungarian Television) or MTV is a nationwide public television broadcasting organization in Hungary. Headquartered in Budapest, it is the oldest television broadcaster in Hungary and today airs five channels: M1 HD, M2 HD, M3, M4 Sport and M5.
MTV is managed and primarily funded by the
On 1 July 2015, Magyar Televízió as well as the three other public media organizations managed by the MTVA were merged into a single organization called
History
Early years (1954–1969)
First pioneer transmissions were in Hotel Gellért in 1936. Test transmissions commenced in 1954, however these were generally with stills or short clips of motion pictures, merely for experimental purposes. Regular test transmissions could be received from 23 February 1957. Transmissions began officially on 1 May 1957, when the May Day ceremonies were brought to the viewers for the first time. Daily news programmes began on 2 July 1957. The television service began its career as part of Hungarian Radio, which was renamed "Hungarian Radio and Television" on August 18, 1957. MTV suggested the establishment of an international organisation for exchanging television material, which was to be named
By 1959, Hungarian Television had over 50,000
Theatrical transmissions were popular at this time: in 1966 23 plays were broadcast from Budapest, 20 from other cities. Also, 25 television movies and five musicals were transmitted this year.
1969 brought the one millionth subscriber, which meant about 4 million viewers. The first colour recording was made this year: it was Béla Bartók's The Miraculous Mandarin. Although the Orion company presented its first colour television set, transmissions continued to be in black-and-white until 1971.
The 1970s
1971 brought the first regular transmission in colour, and the test transmissions of a second channel were begun as well. This decade was probably the most proliferous in the history of the whole company, with thousands of hours of programming made. Mazsola és Tádé, a Hungarian puppet animated children TV series was produced between 1969 and 1973.[6]
The 1980s
Annual programming time reached 4.300 hours, equalling to 83 hours a week. Teletext services commenced in 1981, called Képújság (Picture Newspaper), and television manufacturers started including teletext decoders in their sets. Long-running programmes were started in this decade, including Ablak (Window) and Panoráma (a foreign affairs programme). Regional programming began in 1984 in Pécs, and cable television began in Székesfehérvár the same year. RTV, a programme guide similar to BBC's Radio Times was bought by 1.4 million viewers weekly. MTV's gradual decline began in 1985, this was the final year when MTV was self-sufficient.
The first broadcast of a telenovela on Hungarian television happened in the mid-1980s with the premier of the Brazilian Escrava Isaura (Hungarian title: Rabszolgasors - "Slave Destiny" in English). The first Hungarian soap opera Szomszédok (Hungarian for "Neighbours") also started its 12-year-run on 7 May 1987 and was broadcast every second Thursday.[7]
By the late 1980s, experimental digital television recordings were made, but at the time only in studios. From 1988 seniors of 70 years were exempted from payment of the licence fee. Minority programmes in other languages began too: these programmes were recorded generally in regional studios, primarily in Pécs and Szeged. MTV2 was given some independence from its sister channel MTV1, and just like at the BBC, they were given separate controllers.
By 1989 the service began broadcasting five days per week to prepare the seven days, as previously Monday only. Some exceptions were made from this practice, for example when the first Hungarian
The 1990s
With the
MTV was admitted as a full active member of the
In 1997,
During the 1990s the MTV gradually lost its independence and became the voice of the all-time government, often accused of biased on commenting news .[citation needed] It is one of the most popular sources of news, and its background news programmes such as Az Este (The Evening) are both liked and internationally recognised. Its line-up of programmes feature long-running shows, such as the science news programme Delta, whilst other programmes like A Hét (The Week), a weekly review programme and Ablak (Window), an afternoon-long umbrella programme featuring general interest programmes, were both axed in recent years.
The 2000s
MTV is continuously underfinanced,[citation needed] just like many other public service channels around the globe, and is therefore struggling to produce programmes.
Whilst remaining entirely state-owned, the company was re-organised as a Closely Held Corporation. Funding changed significantly in 2002 with the end of the mandatory
The 2006 protests didn't leave the headquarters unscathed; in fact, it was occupied by the rioters for a short time.
In 2000, M2 began broadcasting 24 hours a day, with repeats from its sister channel, m1 and from its archive library and from the Hungarian National Digital Archive and Film Institute (Magyar Nemzeti Digitális Archívum és Filmintézet).
Present-day
In 2011, most of the assets and employees of MTV were transferred to the newly created Media Service Support and Asset Management Fund (Hungarian: Médiaszolgáltatás-támogató és Vagyonkezelő Alap, abbreviated MTVA), a government organization controlled by the Media Council of Hungary.[1] Magyar Rádió and Duna Televízió were also made a part of the MTVA, which, together with MTV, unified all three public service broadcasters in Hungary for the first time. Additionally, the Hungarian news agency Magyar Távirati Iroda was merged into the MTVA and has since been responsible for the production of all news content aired on the three broadcasting organizations.[2][9]
In 2015, the unification of all the public media organizations managed by the MTVA was strengthened when all four were merged into a single organization called
The creation of the MTVA and transfer of the public media organizations into it has been frequently criticised by non-governmental organizations as being politically motivated and intended to the lessen the independence of the public service media in Hungary.[9][11][12][13] The government has stated that restructuring was necessary to improve the finances of the public media system and that all of the organizations within the MTVA retain editorial independence.[1][13]
In 2012, MTV launched
MTV trademark suit
Magyar Televízió, who has a trademark on the initials MTV registered with the Hungarian copyright office, sued the American
Notable shows
- On the Spot, documentary film series
Location
The Hungarian Television's central building was located in the heart of
See also
References
- ^ a b c "Media Law in Hungary". Center for Media and Communication Studies (CMCS). Retrieved 29 May 2014.
- ^ a b "MTVA - Médiaszolgáltatás-támogató és Vagyonkezelő Alap portálja - ENGLISH". Media Service Support and Asset Management Fund (MTVA). Archived from the original on 29 May 2014. Retrieved 29 May 2014.
- ^ a b "Hungarian public service media companies merge - MTVA". Media Service Support and Asset Management Fund (MTVA). Archived from the original on 22 December 2015. Retrieved 23 August 2015.
- ^ Polyák, Gábor (2015). "Hungary : New Amendment to the Media Act". IRIS Legal Observations of the European Audiovisual Observatory (2). Strasbourg, France: European Audiovisual Observatory. Archived from the original on 6 December 2017. Retrieved 23 August 2015.
- ^ "EBU - Active Members". European Broadcasting Union. Retrieved 23 August 2015.
- ^ Mazsola és Tádé (in Hungarian), 1971, retrieved 18 July 2023
- ^ Szomszédok on IMDb
- ^ Lengyel, Márk. "Hungary : Changes in Financing Public Service Broadcasters". IRIS Legal Observations of the European Audiovisual Observatory (2002–8:Extra). European Audiovisual Observatory. Retrieved 29 May 2014.
- ^ a b "International Press Institute: SEEMO Says State Has Appropriated Hungary's Media Landscape". Austria: International Press Institute. Archived from the original on 29 May 2014. Retrieved 29 May 2014.
- ^ Polyák, Gábor; Nagy, Krisztina (January 2015). Hungarian Media Law (PDF). Budapest: Mérték Media Monitor Nonprofit Ltd. p. 30. Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 23 August 2015.
- ^ "Hungary | Freedom House". Freedom of the Press 2013. Freedom House. Retrieved 29 May 2014.
- ^ "Hungary: Media Freedom Under Threat | Human Rights Watch". Human Rights Watch. 12 February 2012. Retrieved 29 May 2014.
- ^ a b Dunai, Marton (19 February 2014). "How Hungary's government shaped public media to its mould". Business Insider. Reuters. Retrieved 29 May 2014.
Bibliography
- Magyarország a XX. században - A Magyar Televízió Története Országos Széchenyi Könyvtár (in Hungarian)
External links
- Official website (in Hungarian)
- Media website (in Hungarian)