A1+’s doors have never closed
On April 2, 2002, A1+'s signal appeared on television for the last time. In April 2002, the Armenian government took A1+ off the air.
The TV station, which was the most popular independent news channel at the time, has since reapplied thirteen times for a licence to broadcast but to no avail.
"The TV Company's pulse stopped vibrating after midnight and the person who turned off the ‘circuit breaker' did not probably realize that he had stopped the time.
People locking the doors of Ayb-Fe (A1+ TV Company's news agency) feared they might never reopen them again. However, the clock in Ayb-Fe is ticking as usual, with time stopping on even hours for the company's personnel. During the first weeks and months following A1+'s closure, everyone started at the clock at that time and for an instant they all faced the emptiness of broadcast - a feeling that the staff members experienced numerous times.
New broadcasting tenders were awaiting embattled A1+ after its signal died in 2002. The TV Company expected the National Commission on Television and Radio (NTRC) to restore its broadcasting licence given the public demand to see A1+ back on TV.
After the company's closure, thousands gathered on the streets of Yerevan to protest against the silencing of A1+. However, in the past ten years the company has been denied a licence for 13 times already.
The country's leadership tried to close chapter of A1+ on April 2, 2002, but... their efforts failed since the company progressed with the development of information technology.
The same hustle and bustle is still observed in the newsroom of Ayb-Fe. During the last ten years, the company did not sit idle: today A1+ operates a website and has launched online broadcast. It also had its newspaper and provided news on mobile phones.
"The company's telephones do not stop ringing. "When will you be back on the air?" "We have missed you a lot." "No one can replace you." The company's loyal audience cannot reconcile themselves with the company's closure. A1+'s doors are not closed and will not be closed," this is an extract from the company's archive.
Yes, the doors of A1+ Company have never closed and the independent news company continues to work with the same motto: "watch us, recognise yourselves!"
