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|
 LNT logo | |
| Country | Latvia |
|---|---|
| Broadcast area | Latvia, online |
| Headquarters | Elijas iela 17,Riga (1996–2016) |
| Programming | |
| Language | Latvian |
| Picture format | 1080i (HDTV) |
| Ownership | |
| Owner |
|
| History | |
| Launched | 1996 (1996) |
| Closed | 1 March 2020 (2020-03-01) |
| Replaced by | TV3 Life |
| Links | |
| Website | LNT |
Latvian Independent Television (Latvian:Latvijas Neatkarīgā Televīzija,LNT) was a major privatetelevision company inLatvia, founded in 1996. LNT featured TV series, news and entertainment programmes, airing 24 hours a day inLatvian. It went off the air on 1 March 2020, and was replaced by TV3 Life.
In March 2009 it was the most viewed television channel in Latvia, from research data by TNS Latvia. LNT was switched on 18.8% of the time in March, according toLETA.[1]
The predecessors of LNT were the first private Latvian TV station - news channelNTV-5 launched on 4 May 1992, and themorning television channelPICCA TV which was launched in 1994 by entrepreneurAndrejs Ēķis. Already at the end of 1994, merger talks between the two emerged, but these were just rumors.[2] Both companies formalized their merger on 16 February 1996.[3] The joint bid for the third national network was approved on 20 March 1996.[4] The merged LNT started on 29 August 1996.[5][6] The new station positioned itself as a challenger to the then-monopoly in Latvia of the state broadcasterLatvian Television and declared itself as the "first nationwide, family entertainment channel", broadcasting locally produced news programs and imported films and entertainment, which at the represented 40% of the airtime.
In the beginning, most of the private programming was acquired from Russian media companies, but by 2002 it was reported that the company had made deals with Western companies such asParamount,Warner Bros. andBBC.
In December 1999,Polsat founderZygmunt Solorz-Żak bought the channel, aiming to merge its management with Estonia's TV1 and Lithuania's BTV to establish a Baltic television network.[7] The channel started providing a morning news service on 5 October 2004,900 sekundes, the first of its kind in Latvia[8]
On 9 January 2012 it was announced that the channel would be bought by the media conglomerateModern Times Group together with the Russian language channelTV5 and theLatvian Music Channel (now:Channel 2) for an undisclosed sum. The move was later approved by the Council of Competitiveness of Latvia on the condition that TV3, which MTG already owned, and LNT would retain independent news boards for at least five years.[9]
Since October 2017 the channel was a part ofAll Media Baltics, a company owned by investment firmProvidence Equity Partners.[10][11][12] LNT, as with other channels of the All Media Baltics group in theBaltic states, switched toHD broadcasting on 26 July 2018.[13]
On 8 November 2019, it was announced that the channel LNT would be replaced by a new channel for women namedTV3 Life, a sister channel ofTV3.[9] On 1 December 2019, the very last edition of LNT News aired.[9] On 1 January 2020, LNT had new idents. On 1 March 2020, LNT was replaced with TV3 Life.[14]
In 2007, the channel LNT took the first place in the list of the most loved brands in Latvia in the television category, and the sixth place in the list of brands of all industries.[15] The same year the network introduced a symbol pin forLāčplēsis Day, which was subsequently supported by theLatvian Ministry of Defence – avictory sign-shapedLatvian flag ribbon worn on the left chest.[16][17] Often it is worn throughout November by many Latvians ever since.[18]
In 2008, Haralds Burkovskis, the host of the LNT channel's "LNT Top 10" and "Made in Latvia" (Ražots Latvijā) programs, received the Cicero Award for excellence in journalism.[19] The morning program "900 seconds" produced by "LNT News Service" received an award from the National Radio and Television Council (NEPLP) as the best television program of the year. In the "European Hit Radio" nomination, the "Best advertisement of the year – media" award was won by the radio advertisement "Sveša jīva" created by the LNT TV series.[20]
On 20 April 2009, LNT channel was presented with the "Zelta vilnis" (Golden Wave) awards in the following nominations: "News program of the year" - LNT program 900 seconds (900 sekundes), "Documentary program of the year" – LNT program atDegpunktā (Action/Boiling Point), "Special edition of the year" – LNT program Goodness Day, "Producer of the Year" – LNT creative director Niks Volmārs, "Television face of the year" – LNT program and TV show host Māris Grigalis, "Musical show of the year" – LNT show Singing families (Dziedošās ģimenes), "Translation of the year" winner of theYoung Wave 2009 competition coverage on LNT andTV5 channel, "Television face of the year" – LNT project managerLauris Reiniks, "Lifestyle program of the year" – LNT program Sirmais Food Karate (Sirmā ēdienkaratē).[21]
On 4 May 2009, Katrīne Pasternaka, the host of LNT's charity actions "Kindness Day" (Labestības diena) and "Angels over Latvia" (Enģeļi pār Latviju), received theOrder of Three Stars.[22] In the "Password 2009" social category, the LNT charity campaign "Angels over Latvia" won.[23]
On 22 March 2010, the Golden Wave (Zelta vilnis) awards were presented to LNT channel in the following nominations: "News program of the year" – LNT program 900 seconds, "Entertainment show of the year" – LNT show Latvian Golden Talents (Zelta talants) 2010, "Producer of the Year" – LNT project Goodness Day, Ilze Ancāne, producer of the Singing Family of Latvia and Voice of the Nation, "Life style program of the year" – LNT program Housing Question, "15 minutes of glory of the year" - Kaspars Zlidnis and Latvian Street gymnasts LNT Latvian Golden Talents.[24]
The LNT channel received the Cicero Award of theLatvian Academy of Sciences for the project "Kindness Day".[25]
No 29. augusta Latvijas televīzijas 3.izplatīšanas tīklā sāk raidīt Latvijas Neatkarīgā Televīzija
| LSM | |
|---|---|
| TV3 Group (Providence/Bitė) | |
| Helio Media (Tet) |
|
| Duo Media Networks (Postimees/MM Grupp) |
|
| Others |
|
| Defunct | |
