Europe Pulls Plug on Pirated Greek TV Station

Will no longer air broadcasts from fired former state employees

Europe's public broadcasters will stop relaying programs by sacked workers in Greece's defunct state broadcaster ERT, whose closure this year drew international condemnation.

Greece's conservative-led government abruptly shuttered state-run ERT in June and axed 2,700 jobs, citing the need to cut costs amid the country's debt crisis. The fired workers continued to produce programs in defiance, however. The European Broadcasting Union sought to help them by streaming their broadcasts by satellite and on its website.