ERR’s new television building will end current complex’s role

ERR’s new television building is scheduled for completion by the end of next year, after which the current television complex will lose its function and staff will begin moving out, ERR reports.

The change will mark the end of an era in Estonian media history. The complex between Faehlmann and Gonsiori streets is expected to make way for homes and commercial premises, and possibly a library.

The old television buildings also contain reminders of how the broadcaster once worked. Jako Abe, a former head of ETV’s workshop, said the television centre was allocated a lathe from Pskov during the Soviet era. He recalled travelling there with a bottle of Vana Tallinn to collect it, saying a signature was all that was needed to receive the machine.

Abe said the television centre needed a large metalworking workshop because all the equipment used in its studios was made on site. One person still works in ETV’s metal shop, and its lathes remain operational, although they are unlikely to meet the demands of modern technology.

ERR will continue using the complex until the end of 2028.