ERT feed taken from studio and retransmitted into Greek homes over prepaid satellite link by EBU
Greek state TV was dramatically switched on again on Thursday after broadcasters across Europe stepped in to try and keep ERT on air, in defiance of a government order to close the service down citing "chronic corruption" and "waste".
ERT's news channel, NET, was up and running again on Thursday after the Geneva-based European Broadcasting Union took the feed from a studio in Thessaloniki and retransmitted it back to Greek homes over a satellite link.
The EBU said the signal is available globally on these satellites: Hotbird 13A in Europe, APSTAR 7 in Asia and Intelsat 19 in Oceania.
The intervention by the EBU came as staff occupying the ERT building in Athens called on the government to delay any decision to send in the police and to withdraw its directive ordering private media stations to stop broadcasting the renegade ERT programmes.
This follows an edict earlier on Thursday from the government, that any broadcast bearing the logo ERT, would "face disciplinary action".
"We ask the president of the republic to demand from the government to respect the Constitution and stop violating fundamental democratic rights. We ask him to guarantee that the police forces will not invade ERT," said staff in an English language statement issued late Thursday.
NET was one of one of three ERT channels closed by the Greek government at 11pm on Tuesday night in a bid to cut the public sector payroll in the face of pressure from the country's bailout creditors, the International Monetary Fund, European Union and European Central Bank.
ERT journalists, who refused to allow prime minister Antonis Samaras to silence the broadcaster for the first time in more than 70 years, have been able to keep an unbroken news service going since Tuesday when the Conservative-led coalition government announced it was closing the broadcaster with immediate effect.
Staff in Athens managed to keep a makeshift service going on the internet on Wednesday, but this too was closed down, leaving the Thessaloniki output as the last link to the Greek people.
Early on Thursday, the EBU announced it was streaming the ERT feed on its website. But the EBU was able to begin TV broadcasts for ERT on Thursday afternoon after it was discovered that the satellite time had been prepaid by the Greek organisation.
The Greek government has faced a significant backlash over the draconian move, with journalists occupying ERT's main headquarters in Athens for a third day running.
Two general strikes brought the country to a standstill on Thursday, and the European Commission president, Manuel Barosso, has been urged to try and bring the crisis, which could topple the Greek government, to an end by stepping in personally.
The Greek government has said it will reopen a new state broadcaster at the end of August, but the EBU is concerned that democracy will suffer if there is not continuity of service.
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