Cyprus Broadcasting Corporation

Lore & Background

CyBC began as the Cyprus Broadcasting Service, making its first radio broadcast on 4 October 1953 at 17:00 on medium wave frequencies 691 and 606 kHz. Programmes were broadcast in Greek, Turkish, and English.

Television broadcasting started on 1 October 1957, initially five days a week for about three hours daily, covering a 33-kilometre radius from Nicosia. On 1 January 1959, the service ceased to be a government department and was renamed the Cyprus Broadcasting Corporation under the Cyprus Broadcasting Corporation Act, modelled in part on the British Broadcasting Corporation. CyBC became an associate member of the European Broadcasting Union on 1 January 1964 and an active member five years later.

Reader's Guide

The Cyprus Broadcasting Corporation is notable as the sole public broadcaster of Cyprus, responsible for implementing the Constitution of the Republic of Cyprus. Its radio services include four channels: the First Channel (RIK Proto) with news and cultural programming; the Second Channel (RIK Deftero) serving the Turkish and Armenian communities; the Third Channel (RIK Triton), the most popular, focusing on entertainment and information; and the Fourth Channel (RIK Classic) presenting classical, jazz, and classic rock music.

The External Service broadcasts Greek-language programming to Greek Cypriot expatriates in the United Kingdom via shortwave radio on weekends, using a transmitter also used for BBC World Service. Television services include RIK 1 (news and current affairs), RIK 2 (entertainment and simulcasts of Euronews), RIK HD, and RIK Satellite for the diaspora in Europe and North America. All analogue television transmissions ended on 1 July 2011, with CyBC broadcasting on its own DVB-T network.

Did You Know?

• The Second Channel (RIK Deftero) broadcasts to the Turkish Cypriot community with three daily news bulletins at 07:30, 13:15, and 16:50.