12 years later: Embattled A1+ is still off the air (video)
On April 2, 2002, A1+ TV Company, the station that had been broadcasting non-stop for five years, was shut down. On that day, A1+’s signal appeared on television for the last time. April 2, 2012, was backwards in the history of the embattled TV Company, more precisely, in the history of Armenian media. After the closure of A1+ Armenia appeared and still remains on the list of Not Free countries according to the press freedom index. The National Commission of Television and Radio (NCRT) is no longer chaired by Grigor Amalyan but his name will always be linked to A1+’s closure. The TV station, which was the most popular independent news channel at the time, has since or reapplied for a broadcasting licence a dozen times but to no avail. Numerous protests and demonstrations were held in Yerevan to bring the TV Company back to the air but nothing changed. Twelve years after the closure of the TV Company, many questions still remain unanswered. Why was the Company taken off the air? Why did it stand in Robert Kocahryan’s way? Of course, it is not so difficult to guess the reasons, moreover, to interpret them. “Watch us to recognize yourself!” A1+ continues to be guided by the motto.
