ANT1

Antenna, better known as ANT1, is a television network airing in Greece and Cyprus. The alternate spelling is wordplay in Greek; ena (ένα) is the Greek number 1 (one), thus ANT1 is pronounced the same as Antenna (Αντέννα).

This article is about the Greek TV network. For other uses, see ANT1 (disambiguation).
ANT1
Launched31 December 1989
Owned byAntenna TV S.A.
(ANT1 Group)
Picture format1080i HDTV (downscaled to 16:9 aspect ratio 576i for the SDTV feed)
Audience share15.9% (09/12/2019 - 15/12/2019, AGB)
SloganWe Are One (είμαστε ένα)
CountryGreece
LanguageGreek
Broadcast areaNational
Sister channel(s)ANT1 Cyprus
Makedonia TV
WebsiteANT1 TV
Availability
Terrestrial
DigeaAll over Greece at local frequencies
Satellite
NOVA GreeceChannel 980
Cosmote TVChannel 107
Cable
Cosmote TVChannel 6
Streaming media
ANT1 Onlineantenna.gr/live

It launched on 31 December 1989, the same year as rival Mega Channel, and is owned by ANT1 Group. ANT1 had been the most popular network in Greece for years with its line up of hit series including popular dramas Lampsi and Kalimera Zoi. Programming consists of comedies, dramas, news, current affairs programs, game shows, and entertainment shows.

The first broadcast was on 31 December 1989. One of the concept executive producers has been Nico Mastorakis who brought with him several original (for the Greek viewers) ideas after his stay in the United States. Programs like Wheel of Fortune (Greek version), and Oi Men Kai Oi Den were immediately among the top-ten shows in Greece. Cartoons used to be offered in the morning; most were shown in the Greek language.

Antenna also runs Easy 97.2FM and Rythmos 94.9 (a local pop-music radio station in Athens), as well as international networks ANT1 Satellite (from North America), ANT1 Pacific (Australia) and ANT1 Europe (from Europe and outside the Balkans) which broadcast the best of ANT1 programming to audiences abroad. ANT1 has also launched a digital channel, Antenna Gold, that airs programming from Antenna's programming library including many number-one hit shows. It airs in North America via Dish Network. It also owns a stake in Makedonia TV, a TV station with national coverage in Greece, and Easy 97.5FM based in Thessaloniki.

Programs that were once shown on ANT1 include CBS Evening News from the U.S. ANT1 Satellite News was also shown until the late 1990s. Antenna TV studios are located in the Athens suburb of Marousi. Its main Athens transmission tower is on Mount Hymettus. The station broadcasts terrestrially via a network of repeaters throughout all of Greece and Cyprus.

The antenna is led by Theodore Kyriakou. He served as Executive Vice President of the Antenna Group SA (from 1995) and as Chief Operating Officer (from September 1998) until his appointment in March 1999 as Chief Executive Officer, a position which he held until his appointment in January 2002 as Group Vice Chairman. Mr. Kyriakou has been a Director since September 1998.[1]

Before 1995, he worked for the CBS affiliate in Washington, D.C. owned by Gannett Broadcasting, WUSA. WUSA is a television station broadcasting on channel 9 in Washington, D.C. Once again owned by Gannett Broadcasting, WUSA is an affiliate of the CBS television network, and the longest-tenured affiliate of that network. WUSA's studios and transmitter are located in the Tenleytown neighborhood of Washington. He has also worked for Antenna Satellite in New York. He holds a degree in International Business and Finance and a degree in Physics from Georgetown University, where he graduated cum laude.[1]

Kyriakou is credited with reshaping the Antenna asset portfolio. in October 2008, he built up a war chest for potential media acquisitions following the sale Nova, the Bulgarian assets of his Antenna TV company to Modern Times Group of Sweden for €628m (£600m). Interviewed following that transaction by the Financial Times, Kyriakou said: “We will be looking at a variety of assets across the broad spectrum of the media world and across Europe.” As the FT reported, Antenna was founded by Mr. Kyriakou's father Minos in 1989 and it is now the largest Greek-language media company in the world with production companies, radio stations, magazines and television channels at home.

It also owns channels in the US and Australia, serving the large Greek-speaking populations in those countries.

History
  • 1986/1987: Construction of Antenna TV station begun. Construction continued until Antenna began operations of the satellite. Signals were being put throughout the country.
  • 1989: Antenna began broadcasting in Greece.
  • Early to mid-1990s: Antenna began launching ANT1 in Cyprus, ANT1 Satellite for North American viewers, and ANT1 Pacific in Australia. The broadcasting hour was short and was broadcast 8 hours live (7:00 pm east to 3:00 am EAST), and reruns from 9 am east to 5 pm east until 1999. HRT from the Croatian Information Centre was also broadcast on the same channel.
  • 1992: Kalimera Ellada (Good Morning Greece) debuted as the first-morning show in Greece.
  • 1992-1993: Lampsi and Kalimera Zoi past the 1,000th-episode milestone.
  • Mid-1990s: Antenna and Skai TV were the number-one channels as indicated in some commercials. The ANT1 slogan (ANT1 noúmero éna) was used until 1999 after their ratings were number one in Hellenic-speaking television. Some programs throughout the 1990s were numbering one.
  • 1996: Antenna.gr hit the World Wide Web; some prefer antenna.com.gr.
  • 1996: ANT1 satellite began broadcasting on channel 604 on Dish Network in the U.S. (see Dish Network and EchoStar for more).
  • The Late 1990s: Lampsi and Kalimera Zoi past the 2,000th-episode milestone.
  • September 1999: ANT1 Satellite and Pacific extended programming to 16 hours of broadcasting and also added live news coverage.
  • Late 2000: ANT1 Satellite and Pacific began broadcasting 24-hour program.
  • 2001: ANT1 purchased NovaSat and contracted with Bulgaria in broadcasting rules.
  • 2001/2002: Lampsi and Kalimera Zoi past the 3,000th-episode milestone.
  • 2002: ANT1 Profits began to fall. It started from the $15 (American) range to $1.50 in the following weeks.
  • 2002: ANT1 in North America was moved to channel 605 on Dish Network. ANT1 Gold was launched.
  • 2002: Ratings for Ta Nea tou ANT1 peaked at around 200.000, while Alter and Star reached 250.000.
  • September 2002: ANT1 changed its slogan to kainourgios kosmos ("different world") while more shows were coming.
  • 2003: Low profit meant ANT1 profits listed as ANTV on the New York Stock Exchange was no longer seen on ANT1 satellite.
  • 2006: Antenna launched Antenna Europe, an international channel that broadcasts the 'best of Antenna' programming to major centers in Europe.
  • 2006: Antenna launched Antenna Gold, Blue (music video channel), ANT1 Radio, Rythmos 94.9 and NovaSport FM to the North American market. All channels available on Dish Network, expansion is part of a new contract signed with Dish Network.
  • 2007: Antenna Gold was removed from NOVA lineup due to the expiration of the agreement between ANT1 and Multichoice Hellas. Antenna Gold is no longer available to viewers in Greece.
  • 2008: ANT1 Group sold the Bulgarian Nova television station to Swedish-based Modern Times Group for €620 million, thus securing a crucial line of credit for its distressed core business that experienced fallen ratings in the 2007-2008 season.
  • 2009: ANT1 started broadcasting online, via its official website, only for people who live in Greece, excluding foreign programs and launched all its programs as a video on demand.
  • March 2016: ANT1 started broadcasting in high definition.
  • September 2016: Theodore Kyriakou, won on behalf of ANT1 one of four national television licenses auctioned in Greece after spending EUR 75.9m in a highly unusual competitive bidding process.[2]
  • July 2017: Minoas Kyriakou has died. He was the founder of ANT1.
  • Summer 2021: ANT1 will broadcast UEFA Euro 2020 and it will become the first private TV channel in Greece to broadcast a Euro or a World Cup.

Programming
Main article: List of programs broadcast by ANT1

Current programming lineup for 2019/2020 season:

News and information
  • Kalimera Ellada (Good Morning Greece) - Daily morning news show, now in its 25th season, hosted by Giorgos Papadakis.
  • To Proino (Breakfast Time) - Popular morning show, hosted by Fay Skorda.
  • ANT1 News - Daily newscast in Greek featuring news from Greece and around the world.
  • Proinoi Typoi - Weekend morning news show hosted by Nikos Rogakos and Panagiotis Stathis.
  • Igeia Pano Ap' ola (Health above all) - A show focused on health and wellness, hosted by Foteini Georgiou.

Fictional
  • Agries Melisses - Drama Series in its first season. The series focuses on a village called "Diafani" in 1950.
  • Peta Ti Friteza - Comedy in its second season.
  • Min Psaronis - Comedy in its second season.

Reality/Non-scripted
  • Your Face Sounds Familiar - the Greek version of reality singing program. Back for its 6th season and hosted by Maria Bekatorou.
  • Still Standing - a Gameshow hosted by Maria Bekatorou.
  • Rouk Zouk - an afternoon Gameshow hosted by Zeta Makripoulia.
  • The 2Night Show - Late night talk show, hosted by Grigoris Arnaoutoglou.
  • Food & Friends - Weekend Cooking show hosted by Dimitris Skarmoutsos and Ilias Fountoulis.
  • Best Friend's Fear - Friday Late Night show with extreme jokes hosted & organized by Savvas Poumpouras.

Netwix

ANT1 Group has launched an on-demand Internet streaming media pay-service available to viewers in Greece. Some programing include:

Slogans

ANT1 has had various slogans over the years including:

  • from 1989 until 1998: "ΑΝΤ1-Νούμερο Ένα" ("ANT1-The Number One")
  • from 1998 until 2000: "Όλα για σένα" ("All for you")
  • 2000–2001 season: "Βλέπεις με την καρδιά σου" ("You're watching with your heart")
  • 2001–2002 season: "Καλύτερα μαζί" ("Better together")
  • 2003–2004 season: "Βλέπω ANT1" ("I'm watching ANT1")
  • 2004–2005 season: "Η ζωή θέλει ANT1" ("Life wants ANT1")
  • 2005–2006 season: "Όλα παίζουν" ("Everything's possible")
  • 2005–2006 season: "Δυνατά" ("Loud")
  • 2006–2007 season: "Μη χάνεις στιγμή" ("Don't miss a moment")
  • 2007–2008 season: "Βλέπεις καλά. είναι ΑΝΤ1." ("You see it right. It's ANT1.")
  • from 2008 until 2012: "Fresh"
  • from 2012 until 2014: "Τα ωραιότερα πράγματα στη ζωή, δεν είναι πράγματα." ("The most beautiful things in life, are not things.")
  • 2014–Summer 2015: "Όλοι εδώ" ("Everybody here")
  • Summer–Autumn 2015: "Καλοκαίρι εδώ" ("Summer here")
  • Autumn 2015–Autumn 2017: ANT1
  • Autumn 2017–Summer 2018: That's ANT1 ("Απίστευτο! Unbelievable!")
  • Summer–Autumn 2018: Ώρα για ANT1 ("Time for ANT1")
  • Autumn 2018–present: Είμαστε Ένα ("We are one")
  • 31 December 2019–present: 30 Χρόνια Είμαστε Ένα ("30 years we are one")

ANT1 Abroad

Since 1996, Antenna has broadcast its programming internationally for Greek-speaking audiences abroad. Initially, the broadcast was for a few hours each day but has since evolved into a full channel that operates twenty-four hours a day. ANT1 currently operates three television channels, via satellite, which vary according to the different geographical targets:

  • Antenna Europe for audiences in Europe (outside Greece)
  • Antenna Pacific for audiences in Australia and the Pacific Ocean
  • Antenna Satellite for audiences in North America and South Africa

ANT1 Satellite and ANT1 Pacific started broadcasting in 1996 with a very limited schedule for only a few hours a day. In 2000, both channels expanded to a full 24-hour schedule featuring the 'best of Antenna' including popular shows, news, sports, and special events.

ANT1 Europe launched in early 2006 but is only available outside Greece and not in neighbouring countries such as Albania, Bosnia, Bulgaria, Croatia, Romania and Serbia.

ANT1 HD

ANT1 began broadcasting in high definition (HD) by the evening of March 1, 2016. The program is transmitted as the normal broadcast and at the frequency of simple definition, but the parent (native HD) broadcast only emits what has been shot with this analysis.

Logos
  • 31 December 1989 – 16 September 2007, 3–5 July 2017
  • 17 September 2007 – 14 September 2008
  • 15 September 2008 – 3 July 2017, 5 July 2017–present

The first ANT1 logo was colored with gold with ANT flattened 20 degrees to the right and the number 1 is bolded at size 2. At the left edges of the number 1, two lines starting from A to 1. The line at the top is short and the line at the bottom is long. The logo appeared at the top-left on the screen. Due to its brightness, the logo could cause burn-in on rear projection and plasma TVs. A defined image of the logo will appear permanently on the TV screen.

On 17 September 2007, ANT1 launched the new pink logo which also included a new on-screen logo. The logo was more subtle and did not cause the problems mentioned above.

On 15 September 2008, ANT1 dropped the pink branding and launched a new look with a white logo. The logo does not feature the lines above and below the word ANT1.

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See also

References
  1. Company Overview of Antenna Group SA
  2. "Marinakis wins Greek TV licence". Retrieved 2016-09-02.
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