The Third Programme ( el, Τρίτο Πρόγραμμα, ''Trito Programma'') is the third

public radio station Public broadcasting involves radio, television and other electronic media outlets whose primary mission is public service. Public broadcasters receive funding from diverse sources including license fees, individual contributions, public financing ...

of Greece's state broadcaster, ERT. The station's main program broadcasts are focused on classical music and culture. Since October 2018, the station is headed by Pantazis Tsaras.Οι νέοι διευθυντές της ΕΡΑ
/ref>

History

It aired on September 19, 1954, with the initiative of author Dionysios Romas, two years after the founding of the Second Program. In its first days, it utilized a neglected transmitter and aired only three hours a day (7 PM to 11 PM). The station's success story, began after the fall of the

dictatorship A dictatorship is a form of government which is characterized by a leader, or a group of leaders, which holds governmental powers with few to no limitations on them. The leader of a dictatorship is called a dictator. Politics in a dictatorship a ...

, during

metapolitefsi The Metapolitefsi ( el, Μεταπολίτευση, , " regime change") was a period in modern Greek history The history of Greece encompasses the history of the territory of the modern nation-state of Greece as well as that of the Greek peop ...

, when

Manos Hatzidakis Manos Hatzidakis (also spelled Hadjidakis; el, Μάνος Χατζιδάκις; 23 October 1925 – 15 June 1994) was a Greek composer and theorist of Greek music, widely considered to be one of the greatest Greek composers and one of the most ...

, became the station's director. Under Hatzidakis' tenure (1975-1982), the program attracted the interest of people of all ages, including children. The landmark children's series ''Εδώ Λιλιπούπολη'' (Liliput Speaking) was aired in 1976. It was initially considered a failure, because it was deemed too childish and as such failed to fit the 'serious' thematology of the station, oriented towards classical music. When the show became more theatrical, incorporating political parallelisms, it arose in popularity. After the series' end in 1980, the station gradually stopped being in the spotlight. However, as it is the only nationwide radio station centered around classic music and culture, it retains a loyal audience. Following the temporary closure of ERT on June 11, 2013, the Third Programme broadcast unofficially four hours a day in a unified EPA and, after 25 September of the same year was emitted through the unofficial ERT Open. On March 10, 2014, the Third Programme reopened by Public Radio, a transitional entity, and from 4 May was broadcast from

NERIT New Hellenic Radio, Internet and Television ( el, Νέα Ελληνική Ραδιοφωνία, Ίντερνετ και Τηλεόραση) or NERIT (ΝΕΡΙΤ) was the state-owned public broadcaster for Greece from 4 May 2014 to 11 June 2015. A ...

. After the reopening of ERT on June 11, 2015, the station was reinstated in EPA and stopped being broadcast by ERT Open.

References

{{Hellenic Broadcasting Corporation Hellenic Radio Radio stations established in 1954