RTP Açores

RTP Açores
Launched August 10, 1975
Owned by Rádio e Televisão de Portugal
Picture format Resolution:
576i (PAL)
Aspect Ratio:
16:9
Slogan A nossa televisão.
(Our television.)
Televisão com coração.
(Television with heart.)
Country Portugal
Broadcast area Azores
Headquarters Ponta Delgada
Sister channel(s) RTP1
RTP2
RTP3
RTP Memória
RTP HD
Website acores.rtp.pt
Availability
Terrestrial
TDT Channel 5 (only in Azores)
Satellite
NOS Channel 18 (Azores)
Channel 189 (mainland)
MEO Channel 18 (Azores)
Channel 202 (mainland)
Cable
NOS Channel 18 (Azores)
Channel 189 (mainland)
Cabovisão Channel 28 (mainland)
IPTV
MEO Channel 18 (Azores)
Channel 202 (mainland)
Vodafone Channel 185 (mainland)
Streaming media
RTP Play http://www.rtp.pt/play/direto/rtpacores

RTP Açores is a Portuguese regional television channel operated in Autonomous Region of the Azores by the national broadcaster, RTP - Radio and Television of Portugal. Beginning on 10 August 1975, the regional channel began disseminating broadcasts to the Azores, from a broadcast centre in a studio in Ponta Delgada.

History

The broadcast studio/headquarters of RTP Açores in Ponta Delgada

In 1975, during the transformative phase of Portugal's transition from Estado Novo regime to Third Portuguese Republic, Ramalho Eanes, then president of the administrative council at RTP solicited a dossier already published by João Paz on the future of regional broadcasting, then referred to as RTP-Açores.[1] After studying the process, its implications and conditions, Ramalho Eanes informed António Borges Coutinho that this project would be implemented swiftly.[1]

Along with Sousa Gomes and Sidónio Paes, the administrative council saw the public station in the Azores: "...as to contribute to the eradication of illiteracy...an instrument for education and culture...an instrument to promote cultural democracy...a vehicle that contributed to a better knowledge for all citizens...a means to appeal to unity and social responsibility for all...and a contribution that [served] positive collaboration in the transition and institutionalization of democracy".[1]

Due to the instability at the national/regional levels, and the move towards more autonomy and independence, RTP's motivations were met with anxiety and distrust, since at the time the national broadcaster was a tool of the Armed Forces Movement (MFA).[1] In the streets of Ponta Delgada, for example, local cultural brigades were already trying to mould the values and guide the transformation towards democracy.[1]

Following the Carnation Revolution, the move towards a decentralized constitution, with an autonomous status for regional authorities, the island of São Miguel in the archipelago of the Azores, was chosen for the broadcasting centre. Local news and entertainment was broadcast from its first studios in a building in the outskirts of the urban area of Ponta Delgada, in the locality of Sao Gonçalo.

First broadcast

Following some adaptations of the spaces, the first broadcast was aired on 10 August 1975, and lasted six hours. The first broadcast began at 3:30 in the afternoon, with a speech by President of the Board of Governors, General Altino Pinto de Magalhães, and lasted until 9:30, at the end of a newscast. This first transmission was marked by several gaffes, firstly by General Pinto (who was thrust into the position of regional leader only months earlier), then in the transmission of the programming, that included General à Força.[1] After this film, Telejournal published local/regional and national news (already two days late) before a caption appearing to round out the emission, stating "Silence...we are going to laugh".[2] At the conclusion of this first emission, a technical flaw did not permit the playing of the national anthem, resulting in one viewer calling in to berate the studio, stating "...this here is still Portugal".[2][3]

During these early broadcasts, the regional operator produced three hours of daily broadcasts per day for two months. In the successive years, the Azoreans began to trust the local broadcasters, with improvements made to the functioning of the service, including the operation of the Estação Terrena de Satélites da Marconi, which allowed signals from the continent to reach the Azores directly (rather than time-delay broadcasts).[2] But, coverage was not even, as many of the islands were not covered, and many of the programming was stilled delivered from the continent and the content was censured, due to concerns for "public morality".[2]

Modernization

Even so, television in the Azores was seen a "mirror" on Azorean culture, and a "window" on the other islands of the archipelago. This changed during the administration of Lopes Araújo; in July 1984, after completing a course in Law on the continent, he returned to the Azores, and at the age of 26, assumed an approach to revitalize regional programming and promote RTP Açores internationally.[2] He contracted new professionals (such as producer José Medieros), produced programming directed towards the Azorean population and links to the diaspora in the United States. This included transmitting direct from Ponta Delgada, via satellite, the festivals of Senhor Santo Cristo dos Milagres in 1985, as well as broadcasting the news from the Azores to services in North America, Canada and Bermuda, starting in 1987.[2]

Programming during this period began to diversify and became more polished, with a concentration on information programming (Jornal de sábado, Notícias, Sumário), entertainment (with talk shows like Aqui Açores and Gente Nossa) and the beginning of the production of fiction programming.[2] Until this time, production of fictional storytelling was not full-developed; Lopes de Araújo considered this "the noble stage of production", due to the demands on people, technical requirements and financial means, in addition to a level of experience and maturity necessary to realize large productions.[4] To this, on July 1986, the Regional Centre of the Azores produced Xailes Negros (a mini-series) which attempted break the mould and provide dynamic fiction and storey-telling, from scratch, while other productions have moved to adapt pre-existing public literature and works by celebrated Azorean authors.[4]

The channel launched nationwide on cable and satellite providers on May 7, 2015 on MEO, NOS and Vodafone, and on the remaining providers the following day during the Feast of the Lord Holy Christ of the Miracles. The plans stated that RTP Açores was going to launch on these providers until August 2015.

Programs

Arts and culture

Children

Entertainment

Magazine

Music

News and affairs

Religious

Sport

Talk-shows

Other

References

Notes
  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Catarina Duff Burnay (March 2012), p.132
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Catarina Duff Burnay (March 2012), p.133
  3. ↑ Correio (2005), p.11-12
  4. 1 2 Catarina Duff Burnay (March 2012), p.134
Sources
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 11/18/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.