VBTC

The radiothon was organized to raise funds to buy incubators for Vila Central Hospital.

DJ Saipresz and his co-host, Joseph ‘Soso” Toms began their quest at 6am Friday, 23 January and ended at 6pm Saturday without sleeping for 36 hours.

Five other colleagues kept vigil over the pair and stayed up for 36 hours as well.

The team of helpers included Rani Taviti, Alexis Arukelena, Steven Able and George Toukone.

The radiothon was organized by Vanuatu Broadcasting & Television Corporation (VBTC) Staff Social Club.

He's clambered up there looking for a strong enough signal so he can file his report to VBTC, the country's public broadcaster in the capital Port Vila.

That's the way Howard often files his stories as one of the world's most remote radio and TV correspondents, reporting from Vanuatu's northernmost islands in Torba province.

With increasing effects of climate change and rising seas, his work has become all the more important.

VBTC i lusim aitpela senior wokman lo Fraide lo wanpela bigpela 'redundancy'.

Gavnman i givim 90 million vatu o 1.2 million Australian dola lo VBTC lo fandem.

Tasol mediaman blo gavman, Hilaire Bule i tok VBTC board mas nau mekim mo mane.

Photo file Radio Vanuatu tower 

New Zealand High Commissioner to Vanuatu Georgina Roberts handed over the equipment to VBTC Chair Johnety Jerethy on behalf of Pasifika Television.

Pasifika Television, funded by the New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, partnered with VBTC last year to provide New Zealand television content to Vanuatu.

New Zealand technical adviser Greg Drummond was on hand to train Warren Robert and his technical team at VBTC on the new equipment.

Robert also noted that it was 10 years since VBTC and NZ first collaborated on broadcasting in Vanuatu.

The VBTC's decision means television viewers will need to acquire new antennae and digital decoders to continue watching local television.

RNZ reports the broadcaster's new joint venture with a Chinese media company, Guilin CEKE, means viewers must subscribe to a new digital service to keep watching Television Blong Vanuatu, as well as 50 other channels that will be offered.

Viewers will have to pay a $US63 subscription fee, which includes a $US45 caution, and then a monthly usage fee of $US18.

The Euro-16 fever started since day one of the football matches but many fans who depended on the national TV broadcast for the matches were disappointed that they had to miss some of the matches played by their favorite team or players.

The management of Vanuatu Broadcasting and Television Corporation (VBTC) has apologized for not being able to fulfil its earlier assurance to provide live coverage for all matches of the Euro-16 through Television Blong Vanuatu (TBV).

VBTC general manager, Fred Vurobaravu said “the arrangement in place with Kek TV cannot eventuate”.  

The station's broadcast services were affected after the power company, Unelco, shut down its power connection last Thursday.

Listeners and viewers of the media components of VBTC, Paradise FM 98, Radio Vanuatu and Television Blong Vanuatu (TBV) were shocked when transmission were cut off after assurances that its transmissions had reached out throughout the archipelago.

It occurred when Radio Vanuatu and TBV were broadcasting the Special Sitting of Parliament on Thursday that was boycotted by the Opposition solidarity bloc.

Praem Minista SARIBOH Charlot Salwai Tabimasmas I mekem tok tok ia long tede taem we General Manager blong VBTC, Fred Vurobaravu, Board blong VBTC mo ol senia staff blong VBTC, oli bin kam brivim hem long situesen we istap naoia long kampani.

Praem Minista I talem se ol pipol we oli stap long aelan, oli kat raet blong save wanem kaen development gavman blong olgeta istap mekem.

A journalist at the Vanuatu Broadcasting and Television Corporation, Antoine Malsungai, and an administration staffer, Yvette Tevear, are the vice president and secretary of the VBTC branch of the National Workers Union.

The union's General Secretary, Ephraim Kalsakau, says they were suspended after 40 union members walked off the job last week when their salaries weren't paid on time.