ESAT

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ESAT, the Ethiopian Satellite Television and Radio, is an Ethiopian satellite news network that is nonprofit and independent, funded mainly by donors from the Ethiopian diaspora. It was launched on April 24, 2010 by exiled Ethiopian journalists who had faced imprisonment or torture, to provide accurate, balanced news, analysis, and information, along with entertainment, talk shows, documentaries, sports and cultural programming about Ethiopia and the world. The broadcasts are primarily in Amharic, with some programs in Afaan Oromo and English. Although based in the United States, ESAT also has studios in Amsterdam and London, and started a daily radio service in September 2011. ESAT has been a vocal critic of the Ethiopian government and played a key role in reporting anti-government protests from 2015 to 2018. The Ethiopian government banned some media outlets and charged ESAT in absentia for inciting violence and promoting acts of terror, charges that were dropped in late May or early June 2018. There have been unverified claims of links to the Ginbot 7 opposition group, and a 2016–2017 broadcast cited by some observers sparked controversy over how it described political tensions, which ESAT has disputed or contextualized.