After being off the air for several days due to a fallen antenna, Multi Technology Vision Inc. (MTV) has resumed broadcasting, albeit at a lower capacity, and it is hoping to resume its full operation by the end of the month.
Speaking to Stabroek News yesterday, MTV General Manager Raymond Singh confirmed that the company was able to salvage less than half of the antenna and had resumed broadcasting on Tuesday, after being off the air since last week Thursday.
However, Singh explained that the station is currently experiencing difficulties with sourcing equipment and is hoping that it will be in a position to resume broadcasting at full strength by the end of September.
A source from the company explained to this publication that it is currently broadcasting at about 60% capacity, after it was only able to set up a 120 ft. antenna from the salvaged parts, as compared to the original antenna which extended about 300 ft.
In terms of the investigation, Singh explained that they have not received any updates from the police.
The company is still puzzled as to why anyone would want to sabotage its operations.
Last Thursday night, the broadcasting tower at MTV’s studio at Eccles Industrial Estate, East Bank Demerara, came crashing to the ground, curtailing all broadcasts.
While the circumstances surrounding the incident are still unclear, during the initial investigation, a bolt cutter was found attached to the end of one of the broadcast tower’s anchor wires, which was located outside of the TV station’s compound.
Speaking with Stabroek News, Paul Bonar, also known as, DJ Stress, said that he was doing a live broadcast at the time of the incident when he heard several loud crashes before the monitors in the studio turned blue.
“We hear this ba-dang and we jump, and I stopped, and then more came, bang, ba-ang, bang, bang and then we noticed the monitors went blue, and when we came out [side] we saw everything on the ground, laid across the floor,” DJ Stress recalled.
Raymond Singh related that as a result of the infrastructural damage, the company will suffer a setback of some $7 million to $8 million, which does not include lost revenue and other repairs to the buildings. He also noted that the fallen antenna had damaged a neighbour’s fence and a nearby shed.
