The radio programming in

Guyana Guyana, officially the Co-operative Republic of Guyana, is a country on the northern coast of South America, part of the historic British West Indies. entry "Guyana" Georgetown, Guyana, Georgetown is the capital of Guyana and is also the co ...

caters to a diverse ethnic demographic.

History

Radio began in 1920s

British Guiana British Guiana was a British colony, part of the mainland British West Indies. It was located on the northern coast of South America. Since 1966 it has been known as the independent nation of Guyana. The first known Europeans to encounter Guia ...

with rudimentary wired service using telephone lines to transmit BBC broadcasts. Shortwave was used until 1931, then made a comeback in 1935 when there was a demand for

cricket Cricket is a Bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball game played between two Sports team, teams of eleven players on a cricket field, field, at the centre of which is a cricket pitch, pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two Bail (cr ...

commentary. From this came two stations, VP3BG and VPSMR which were run separately until 1938 when they were merged into station ZFY under the British Guiana United Broadcasting Co Ltd. In 1949, ZFY secured a medium wave transmitter. In 1950 the first foreign capital entered the radio market when ZFY was purchased by Overseas Rediffusion Ltd. ZFY was renamed Radio Demerara in 1951, and in 1955 moved into the first professional studio on high street. and in 1957 a new transmitting and receiving station was erected at Sparendaam on the East Coast Demerara. A second station was established in 1958, the British Guiana Broadcasting Service (BGBS). In 1968, the government took over BGBS, and it became the Guyana Broadcasting Service (GBS). Soon after, Guyana gained independence from Britain, and the policy shifted toward one of nationalization. In 1979, assets in Radio Demerara were sold by Broadcasting Relay (Overseas) Limited to the government. GBS rebranded in 1980, by then with Channel 1, on the frequencies of former Radio Demerara at 760 kHz and Channel 2, formerly GBS at 560 kHz. Channel One became Radio Roraima and Channel 2 was renamed Voice of Guyana. FM service 98.1 went on the air in 1998. In 2004, GBC and the Guyana Television Broadcasting Company Limited (GTV) merged to form a new company, National Communication Network Incorporated (NCN). The airwaves were then government-dominated, owning and operates two radio stations broadcasting on multiple frequencies capable of reaching the entire country; government limits on licensing of new private radio stations constrained competition as of 2007."Guyana Communications"
''World Factbook'', U.S. Central Intelligence Agency, 4 December 2013. Retrieved 2 January 2014. Licenses and competition: In 2009 the Court of Appeal ruled that the government had an unlawful monopoly on the airwaves and was not adequately considering radio license applications. In 2011 the government approved applications for ten new radio stations, although the process was controversial and lacked transparency. The first privately owned radio station obtained license in 2012, and it was closely aligned with the government.
''Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2012'', Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor, U.S. Department of State, 20 March 2013. Retrieved 2 January 2014. Vieira Communications Limited (VCT) charged the National Frequency Management Unit with procrastinating on radio license applications since their own application languished since 1993. In 2013, NTN was the second such privately owned radio station to obtain a license.

Legislation

Press freedom Freedom of the press or freedom of the media is the fundamental principle that communication and expression through various media, including printed and electronic media, especially published materials, should be considered a right to be exerc ...

: The government controls most radio stations, which limits the dissemination of diverse views and open public discussion. The NGO

Reporters Without Borders Reporters Without Borders (RWB; ; RSF) is an international non-profit and non-governmental organisation, non-governmental organization headquartered in Paris, which focuses on safeguarding the right to freedom of information. It describes its a ...

criticized press freedom in the country in 2012, due largely to its radio broadcasting monopolies. The 2011 Broadcasting Act granted wide and sweeping powers to GNBA for the issuing, suspension and revocation of licenses, and for demanding uncapped amounts of time for Public Service Broadcasts. In order to clarify the amount of public service content required by stations, the Broadcast Bill 2017 established that all broadcasters carry one hour of public service programs daily. Breaking this law subjects station owners to a one-year prison term, a fine of $1 million and the forfeiture of all their equipment. International press freedom bodies, such as Reporters without Borders and the International Press Institute, voiced concerns over the provisions of the bill.

Stations

These stations cover both the AM and FM broadcast bands. Where possible, nicknames of stations have been given alongside the frequencies.

AM stations

FM stations

Defunct

* iRadio 90.1 Love FM

References

{{Americas topic, List of radio stations in, title=Radio stations in the Americas