Echo TV

Echo TV was a Christian-conservative[1] Hungarian television channel owned and operated by Echo Hungária TV Zrt,[1] and founded in 2005 to cover business news.[2] Later focusing on news broadcasting and public affairs, it was known as a supporter of Fidesz and KDNP.[3]

Echo TV
CountryHungary
Broadcast areaHungary
HeadquartersAngol Street 65-69,
Budapest, 1149
Programming
Language(s)Hungarian
Picture format576i (16:9 SDTV)
Ownership
OwnerEcho Hungária TV Zrt
(part of Talentis Group)
History
LaunchedSeptember 15, 2005 (2005-09-15)
ClosedMarch 31, 2019 (2019-03-31)
Links
Websitewww.echotv.hu

History

Echo TV founded as a business news channel in 2005[4] at the initiative of Gábor Széles, the 4th richest man of Hungary (as of 2017) and the head of Videoton and Ikarus Bus.[2] Széles had only days previously purchased Hungary's daily Magyar Hírlap; the acquisition of both stations helped Széles establish a major media presence in Hungary.[5] Széles reportedly spent two billion Hungarian forints in creating Echo TV.[6]

In 2006 Echo TV became a media partner of Feratel media technologies AG, based in Austria.[7]

Gábor Széles sold Echo TV to Fidesz-backed businessman and oligarch Lőrinc Mészáros on December 2, 2016.[2]

On December 4, 2017 the whole channel was renewed.[8] Echo TV ceased operations on March 31, 2019. Its staff and technical equipment were integrated into Hír TV, which had returned as a pro-government media portfolio after the 2018 parliamentary election.[9]

Association with far-right politics

According to Le Monde, Echo TV was a forum favored among neofascists in Hungary.[10]

After the 2010 election in Hungary, Echo TV displayed an image of Imre Kertész, a Hungarian survivor of Auschwitz and nobel laureate, alongside a voiceover about rats.[11] Sándor Pörzse was a well-known host for Echo TV before helping to found Jobbik's paramilitary organization the "Hungarian Guard," later banned by the Hungarian Government.[12] Sándor Pörzse was removed from the Echo TV in 2009.[13]

One of Echo TV's better known broadcasters was Ferenc Szaniszló, known for his racist and anti-Semitic statements.[10][14][15][16][17][18] In 2011, Hungary's media regulator fined Echo 500,000 Forints after Szaniszló compared Roma people to "monkeys".[19]

References
  1. HAZÁNK LEGFRISSEBB TELEVÍZIÓJA LETT A KERESZTÉNY-KONZERVATÍV ECHO - András Kárpáti - Magyar Idők
  2. Nemzeti erők egyesítése: Új tulajdonosa van az Echo Televíziónak - Tamás Pindroch - Magyar Hírlap
  3. Új tulajdonosa van az Echo TV-nek - Magyar Idők
  4. "Rövidesen indul az ECHO TV". 3 June 2005.
  5. "Gábor Széles buys daily Magyar Hirlap". MTI Econews. 19 September 2005.
  6. "Széles to Start TV Channel". EASTBUSINESS.ORG. 1 December 2005.
  7. "Ots news: feratel media technologies AG". AWP OTS. 22 December 2006.
  8. PÁLYÁRA ÁLL A MEGÚJULÓ ECHO TV - Attila Borsodi - Magyar Idők
  9. Megszűnt az Echo TV, ám a Hír TV dolgozóit bocsátották el
  10. Stolz, Joelle (29 March 2012). "Prime au fascisme en Hongrie". M - Le Monde. Retrieved 24 April 2013.
  11. "Budapest Experiences A New Wave of Hate". Spiegel Online International. 14 October 2010. Retrieved 27 April 2013.
  12. Oehmke, Philipp (16 December 2011). "Hungary's Right-Wing War on Culture". Spiegel Online International.
  13. "Ki védi meg az Echo Tv-t?". 20 March 2011.
  14. "Tancsics Prize returned". 24 March 2013. Archived from the original on 2013-03-30. Retrieved 2013-04-27.
  15. Thorpe, Nick (18 March 2013). "Anger at Hungarian journalist prize". BBC News.
  16. "Hungarian government awards Tancsics prize for journalism to notorious". 17 March 2013.
  17. "Hungarian journalist to return state honor, denies anti-Semitism".
  18. "Hungary asks reporter to return award over anti-Semitism row". Reuters. 20 March 2013. Archived from the original on 23 March 2013. Retrieved 1 July 2017.
  19. "Hungary sparks outrage with honours for far-right figures". Agence France Presse. 17 March 2013.
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