Popular TV Talk-Show Resumption Postponed
Primetime, the popular bi-weekly talk-show aired by Rustavi 2 TV and hosted by Inga Grigolia will be resumed in September. Initially, it was planned to resume in early July.
Primetime, produced by TBC TV studio which has a one-year contract with Rustavi 2 TV to air its production twice a week, was suspended in early June. Rustavi 2 TV said the talk-show was in time conflict with the European football championship and would resume in late June after EURO 2008 was over. The suspension of the talk-show prompted speculation that the program had been cancelled. The latest postponement is likely to further fuel this speculation.
Maia Stepnadze, a producer for the talk-show, however, told Civil.Ge on June 24 that the program would be back on air in September. She said the decision to postpone until September was made because of the opposition coalition’s suspension of activities for the summer period.
Currently, there is no political talkshow on any national TV station. The Georgian Public Broadcaster’s bi-weekly program Comment of the Day was also suspended till September on June 17. The station cited summer holidays. Only a small, Tbilisi-based TV station, Kavkasia TV, which only covers the capital city, runs a daily talk-show, which serves as a platform for the opposition.
