First Baltic channel (;

abbreviated An abbreviation (from Latin ''brevis'', meaning ''short'') is a shortened form of a word or phrase, by any method. It may consist of a group of letters or words taken from the full version of the word or phrase; for example, the word ''abbrevia ...

PBK; ) was a Baltic

pay television Pay television, also known as subscription television, premium television or, when referring to an individual service, a premium channel, refers to Subscription business model, subscription-based television services, usually provided by multichan ...

channel based on the largest Russian

Channel One Channel One or channel 1 may refer to: Television networks and channels *Channel One (Albania) *10 Bold, an Australian television channel formerly known as One *Channel 1 (Bangladeshi TV channel) *BNT 1, Bulgaria *One (Canadian TV channel) *Canal 1 ...

to broadcast its programs in the

Baltic states The Baltic states, et, Balti riigid or the Baltic countries is a geopolitical term, which currently is used to group three countries: Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. All three countries are members of NATO, the European Union, the Eurozone, ...

. It was launched on 4 September 2002. The channel had also broadcast the local news programme ''Latvian time'' () since June 2003. The channel was closed in Latvia on 26 October 2021 due to

misinformation about COVID-19 False information, including intentional disinformation and conspiracy theories, about the scale of the COVID-19 pandemic and the origin, prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of the disease has been spread through social media, text messagin ...

and two other violations. Following the

Russian invasion of Ukraine On 24 February 2022, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, which began in 2014. The invasion has resulted in tens of thousands of deaths on both sides. It has caused Europe's largest refugee crisis since World War II. ...

in 2022, its license was revoked and the channel was effectively banned in all three Baltic States.

Other channels

First Baltic music channel

First Baltic music channel (; ) was a Russian-language music television channel launched in 2005. The channel broadcast in Estonia,

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG),, is a country in Central Europe. It is the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany lies between the Baltic and North Sea to the north and the Alps to the sou ...

, Latvia, Lithuania,

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eigh ...

and

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian invas ...

. The channel ceased broadcasting on 1 November 2017 and was replaced by .

First Baltic channel Estonia

First Baltic channel Estonia (; ) was an Estonian Russian-language television channel launched in 2002. First Baltic channel Estonia co-operated with the news portal

Delfi Delfi may refer to * Delfi (web portal), internet portal in Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania * Delfi (chess), chess engine * Delfi bookstores, a chain of bookstores in Serbia * Delfi Limited, a Singaporean confectionery company See also * Delp ...

and the newspaper MK-Estonia. Delfi portal also offered news bulletins of the programme Estonian News () for viewing. On 20 April 2021, the Latvian version of ''PBK Estonia'' was launched. The Latvian version of ''PBK Estonia'' ceased broadcasting on 2 March 2022 due to the revocation of its broadcasting licence.

First Baltic channel Lithuania

First Baltic channel Lithuania (; ) was a Lithuanian Russian-language television channel launched in 2002. On 15 October 2013, broadcasting of this channel in Lithuania was suspended by court decision for three months due to broadcasting of the program "Man and the Law" (in

Russian Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including: *Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...

: ''Человек и закон'') with a report on January events of 1991 in which the attack by the

Soviet army uk, Радянська армія , image = File:Communist star with golden border and red rims.svg , alt = , caption = Emblem of the Soviet Army , start_date ...

and special units was denied. Jolanta Butkevičienė, chairman of the board of BMA Lietuva apologised to residents of Lithuania for "a program about the bitter events of 13 January 1991 that offended the civil feelings of every Lithuanian for the whole country". Channel broadcasting in Lithuania was resumed on 15 January 2014, but the program "Man and the Law" is no longer broadcast in Lithuania and other

Baltic countries The Baltic states, et, Balti riigid or the Baltic countries is a geopolitical term, which currently is used to group three countries: Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. All three countries are members of NATO, the European Union, the Eurozone, ...

. On 25 February 2022, the channel broadcasting in Lithuania was suspended for a period of three years due to warmongering and spreading

Russian propaganda The propaganda of the Russian Federation promotes views, perceptions or agendas of the government of Russia. The media include state-run outlets and online technologies, and may involve using "Soviet-style 'active measures' as an element of m ...

. The Latvian version of ''PBK Lithuania'' was launched on 1 October 2021 to broadcast its programs from Russian

NTV NTV may refer to: Television * NTV (Bangladesh), a Bengali-language satellite television channel in Bangladesh * NTV (India), Telugu regional channel * NTV (Kenya) * NTV (Mongolia), a television channel based in Mongolia * NTV (Newport Television ...

channel, however the channel ceased broadcasting on 2 March 2022 due to revocation of its broadcasting licence.

References

External links

* {{Television in Lithuania Television channels in Estonia Television channels in Latvia Television channels in Lithuania Transnational network affiliates Defunct television channels in Estonia Defunct television channels Television channels and stations established in 2002 Television channels and stations disestablished in 2022 Russian-language television stations