Television in Cyprus was introduced in 1956. Private TV was introduced on 26 April 1992, by LOGOS TV which started its transmissions in STEREO and TELETEXT from day one. The first private TV station of Cyprus was owned and operated by the Church of Cyprus. In August, 1995, the same station introduced the first ISP in Cyprus, LOGOSNET. The Republic of Cyprus currently uses the PAL colour system, and has converted terrestrial transmissions to digital on 1 July 2011, in line with EU policy. Because of the political division of the island, television companies are also divided.
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Republic of Cyprus
Terrestrial digital transmission is now available in Cyprus (parallel analogue transmissions ended finally on 1 July 2011). Satellite digital transmission is available through the NOVA Cyprus platform. Athina Sat, another provider, was launched in May 2005 but ceased operations in 2008. CytaVision and PrimeTel both offer digital TV through IPTV transmission and Cablenet through its privately owned cable network (in certain urban areas).
Public Stations
Private Channels
The private channels ANT1 Cyprus, Plus TV, Mega Channel Cyprus, Sigma and New Extra formed Velister which carries their digital programming. It's expected that Velister will be covering the whole south region of Cyprus before the analogue switch off on 1 July 2011. Reception of free to air digital channels varies across the country: