Starting from February 24, 1999, Armenian television started broadcasting through satellite. The satellite connection is possible due to the agreement signed between the Ministry of Communications of Armenia and "Telepazio" Italian company. According to the agreement, the Italian company will transmit the programs of Armenian television to European, the Near and the Middle East, North Africa.

Starting from the end of the 90-es independent Armenia takes the road of economic development. The country has come out of the energy crisis, volumes of industry outputs have increased. Number of enterprises were re-opened, and what is more important, foreign investments increased, Diaspora capital in particular. In such conditions, the role of the National television becomes a priority, and one of the goals is to include all Armenians into the process of prosperity building.

During the new broadcasting season, in parallel to "Haylur" news, some other programs appeared: "Manramasner" (Details), "Demqer" (Faces), "Mek lur" (One piece of information). And the weekly news were summarized by Tigran Naghdalyan's "Orakarg" (Agenda) analytical program. Armenians all over the world have the opportunity to be informed about the events taking place in the country. "Rubicon+" and "Midnight express" programs became the important milestones where Armenians of the world united. Direct phone calls allowed to establish a straight connection with the Motherland. Arthur Bakhtamyan's "Midnight Express" daily program presented the audience the history of our country, the future and the present through spontaneous conversations. The program became very popular among the Diasporan Armenians, especially after "Yerkir Nairi", a film devoted to the sacred places of historic Armenia.

"It was 1999. At that times the night air time was mainly filled with movies, and there were no programs. Tigran suggested to create a night talk-show", - Arthur Bakhtamyan, author of "Midnight express" tells.

- The initial idea was a simple conversation on daily, routine topics, clarifications in live broadcast. After six months trial period we understood, that the demand for the program is great. Family, cultural problems greatly influenced the direction of the program, and we tried to clarify, what have we inherited from our culture, what do we know about ourselves, our traditions, history. My trip to Western Armenia and "Yerkir Nairi" film played an important role. The road to Yerkir Nairi lasted for 14 months. The camera crew passed 7000 kilometers presenting the real geography of Armenia to the audience with all its historical colors and beauty.
The program was given a historical tough, we invited historians, ethnographers, philologists, and together we traveled the known and unknown paths of our history. There was a joke even: "If you want to enter the Faculty of History, watch "Midnight express". There were numerous phone calls, both from Armenia and from Diaspora. Our compatriots living in other countries were in need of such program. It became some kind of a cultural-historical bridge, as well as way for direct contact, new speech and feelings for Diaspora Armenians.