, also known as Radio House (
Maison de Radio), which housed the INR-NIR from 1938 Inspired by the precedent of the
British Broadcasting Corporation, the INR-NIR provided
radio broadcasting in French and Dutch and was intended to respond to the rise of private radio broadcasters over the previous decade. Although funded almost exclusively with government funds from radio licenses, the organisation did not have a
broadcasting monopoly. It was housed in the
Flagey Building, also known as the Radio House (
Maison de Radio), a purpose-built building in the
"paquebot" style of
Art Deco, in
Brussels. Although ceasing broadcasts at the time of the
German invasion of Belgium in May 1940, the INR-NIR was subsequently restored in the postwar years. It later expanded its remit to include television broadcasts which commenced in 1953. It was managed under the auspices of the
Ministry for Post, Telegraph, and Telephone until 1959 and subsequently the
Ministry of Cultural Affairs. It was split along linguistic lines in 1960 with the creation of the
Belgisch Radio en Televisie, Nederlandse Uitzendingen (BRT) and
Radiodiffusion-Télévision Belge, Emissions françaises (RTB). ==Directors of the INR-NIR==