Government-owned corporation | |
Industry | Mass Media |
Founded | 1979 |
Headquarters | Wickramasinhapura, Battaramulla, Sri Lanka |
Area served
|
Sri Lanka |
Key people
|
Mr. Saman Athaudahetti Chairman |
Products | Broadcasting |
Website | ITN |
Independent Television Network Limited (also known as ITN Ltd) is a Sri Lankan state governed television and radio broadcaster located in Wickramasinhapura, Battaramulla, Sri Lanka. It is a Shrama Abhimani Award winner (Oct 2009) , broadcasts content to a wide demographic within Sri Lanka as well as the expatriate community. The programmes are broadcast in three languages; Sinhala, Tamil, and English. The ITN broadcast coverage extends to 99% of the island of Sri Lanka. The current chairman of ITN Ltd is Mr. Saman Athaudahetti.
The ITN channel is the flagship television channel of ITN Ltd. ITN further operates three FM radio stations; ITN FM (Former Lakhanda), the Sinhala language service; Vasantham FM, the Tamil language service and Prime Radio, the English language service. Vasantham TV, a second television channel operated by ITN Ltd, broadcasts content in the Tamil language. ITN recently launched a website ITN News, which is an online portal for the distribution of local news internationally.
ITN channel is also the first 1080p full HD television channel in Sri Lanka. The ITN Ltd has invested Rs. 200Mn on the construction of the country's first HD studio complex and started high resolution broadcasting since 30 June 2016.
ITN Ltd commenced operations on 13 April 1979 with the introduction of the ITN television channel. As the first television broadcasting service of Sri Lanka and South Asia they began transmission of the first terrestrial television channel in the country. It was also the first privately owned television station in a region where government was in control of radio and television. The founding board of directors was composed of Mr. Shan Wickramasinghe, Mr. Anil Wijewardene and Mr. Bob Christie. Initially the ITN Ltd studios and transmission station were based in Pannipitiya. A single Kilo Watt (1K.W) transmitter and 65 ft. transmission tower were used to broadcast the ITN channel within a fifteen (15) mile radius of the city of Colombo. Due to the geographical location of the transmission station, local weather and the transmission equipment used early viewers experienced many disruptions and interference to programmes as a result of voltage fluctuations.