Imedi TV will resume news programs on September 1, the television station said in a televised announcement.

Imedi TV resumed partial broadcasts in early May, but without news coverage; movies and TV series constitute its output.

Imedi media holding, involving the TV and radio station, is now owed by Joseph Kay, a distant relative of late tycoon Badri Patarkatsishvili, who took over the holding in a controversial deal after Patarkatsishvili’s death in February 2008.

The Georgian daily, Rezonansi, wrote on August 30 that the top management of Imedi TV – in charge of news and political programming - is now composed of people with close links to the authorities. It also noted sarcastically that Imedi TV might become a “Rustavi 3” – a reference to Rustavi 2 TV, which is a private television station, but is regarded as a government mouthpiece.