PĂ©ter Magyar hails âend of propaganda broadcastsâ as Kossuth radio and M1 TV channels suspend transmission
đšđđș A few days after the Hungarian government voted to dissolve MTVA, its M1 channel has suspended broadcasting.
â James Stephenson (@JamesMakesStuff) July 7, 2026
They are displaying this message (full translation by @FranVision0126 below) until 19:56 CET today, where they will resume programming without news content. pic.twitter.com/HhhN92faAi
Issuers with Israelâs broadcasting authoritiesâŠ
Banijay Group and RedBird IMI, the joint venture backed by RedBird Capital Partners and Abu Dhabi-based IMI media group, today announced the successful completion of the merger of Banijay Entertainment and All3Media, creating a leading global media and entertainment powerhouse. Jointly owned by Banijay Group and RedBird IMI, each holding a 50% stake, the combined company will operate under the Banijay Entertainment name and be consolidated by Banijay Group.
- Banijay Group and RedBird IMI have completed the merger of Banijay Entertainment and All3Media
- The combination, first announced in March 2026, creates the worldâs largest independent production company, with strengthened capabilities across content production, live events and experiences, digital, and new media
- The combined Banijay Entertainment is headquartered in London, with a footprint spanning 25 territories
- Jeff Zucker will serve as Chairman, Marco Bassetti as CEO, and Jane Turton as Deputy CEO.
- On a combined basis, in 2025, the new Banijay Entertainment would have generated over âŹ4.3 billion in revenues and over âŹ0.7 billion in adjusted EBITDA; with expected costs synergies of c.âŹ50 million to be achieved within one year of closing[1]
- On a pro-forma 2025[2] basis, Banijay Group would thereby have reached âŹ7.4 billion in revenue, âŹ1.6 billion in adjusted EBITDA, and âŹ1.2 billion in adjusted free cash-flow
- Distribution of an exceptional dividend of âŹ0.93 per share confirmed for Banijay Groupâs shareholders in the coming weeks[3]
Radio Television Hong Kong (RTHK) announced yesterday that it would relaunch channel 32 as a 24-hour news and current affairs channel from July 20. There will be a 5 minute newsbreak, read by an anchor in Cantonese, at the :00 and :30 mark between 11am and 6.30pm. The English-language Evening News (30 minutes) will be shown at 8pm every night.
The channel currently broadcasts live proceedings from Legislative Council, government budget and policy address speeches, major government press conferences and other breaking news. It also broadcasts live Chinaâs National Peopleâs Congress opening and closing ceremonies, and Chinese Communist Party Congress.
Let me give more context: The channel was established as a dedicated live channel for parliament proceedings etc in 2016, âprogrammingâ the channelâs non-live hours has been a pain. In its early days, âslow TVâ footage like local craftsmen making miniatures were used, which got slammed by councilors for, what else, âa waste of taxpayer moneyâ.
The channel was more viewed in 2019 for its uninterrupted coverage of the protests, but becoming more of a mixed bag into the 2020s with the addition of English-language programming, live sport events and pushback for government messages.
Meanwhile, the main channel 31âs current 7pm Cantonese news is VO-only, due to its connections with their radio news headlines that share the same name (æ°è怩ć°). So the move to human anchoring is quite a big one - and they poached across commercial news services too. For instance, the anchorwoman leading the Cantonese news, Jolly Wong (çć·§), was the face of Cable News for over 2 decades.
Rumours around the relaunch started within local political beat back in May, but then they claimed that some of the visualized newstalk radio programmes on 31 will be included. Maybe those will be the pre-11am shows on the channel?
To me, I donât think thereâs much going for an âRTHK News Channelâ outside of existing radio listeners. Introducing English primetime news is a good strategy, as English TV news in Hong Kong are either imported (Bloomberg on Hoy 78, Al Jazeera/DW/NHK on ViuTV6 and previously NBC on TVB Pearl) or feels like an afterthought. But of course the English set looks worse than the Cantonese one here tooâŠ
Its current affairs and infotainment offerings, though, are a big turnoff - theyâre just government propaganda in a different packaging. They had a good slew of shows on 31 a few years ago, which might have suited the channel, but all of them got axed due to the political climate, and here we are. The slogans proclaiming how âtruthful and professionalâ theyâll be is also laughable, considering how the broadcaster has been neutered over the last few years.
On the topic of relaunches⊠Disney Channel in German-speaking countries is to be revamped as Disney TV at the end of the year. The channel will have a wider range of programming, with drama and series from more mature brands like FX and Marvel, plus some D+ exclusives. Kids shows and family flicks will remain as programme blocks.
In the RTHK article link I posted above, the English title for this program is Hong Kong Today.