Afghanistan National Television (Dari: تلویزیون ملی Televizion-e Milli-ye Afghanistan, Pashto: ملی تلویزیون Da Afghanistan Milli Televizion) is the state-owned television channel in Afghanistan. It is part of the Radio Television Afghanistan (RTA) public broadcaster.
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| Country | Afghanistan |
|---|---|
| Broadcast area | Afghanistan Europe North America Asia |
| Headquarters | Kabul |
| Programming | |
| Picture format | 720p HDTV |
| Ownership | |
| Owner | Radio Television Afghanistan |
| Sister channels | RTA Sport RTA News RTA Education |
| History | |
| Launched | 19 August 1978 |
| Links | |
| Webcast | rta |
| Website | rta |
| Availability | |
| Terrestrial | |
| Oqaab | Channel 3 |
History
editConstruction work started in March 1977 and the first experimental broadcasts started in March 1978.[1] Afghan television was launched on 19 August 1978, Afghan Independence Day, in a ceremony headed by Nur Muhammad Taraki. Since the beginning its broadcasts were in colour.[2]
In 1983 three new stations were commissioned in Kandahar, Jalalabad and Herat, however they started broadcasting some months later. On 2 January 1985 the broadcasts started in Jalalabad while a new station in Badakhshan Province finished its construction. On 3 February 1985 a new station opened in Ghazni,[3] while in the same month broadcasts started in Kandahar and Herat.[4]
During the Taliban regime, Afghanistan National Television ceased operations when television was banned, and on 8 July 1998 they ordered the destruction of all TV sets.[5][6] After the Taliban were overthrown, television in Afghanistan restarted on 18 November 2001.[7] The return was marked with a three-hour live broadcast in Pashto and Dari languages, as well as a reading of the Quran, music videos, cartoons, news and interviews. The Kabul station still operated on equipment dating back to the early 70s while its transmitter had a 10-watt reach and didn't cover the whole of Kabul, meaning that the city center was deprived of seeing its return.[8]
In 2019, RTA launched a sister channel to the main station called RTA Sport, which is dedicated to sports content.[9]
Exclusive 2008 speech
edit
RTA became famous worldwide when Afghan President Hamid Karzai made a live speech to the world minutes after dozens of insurgents attempted to assassinate him at a military parade, which was thwarted by the Afghan National Army.[10] The scene of the attempt was also broadcast live to RTA viewers in Afghanistan and picked up by the international media.[11]
International availability
editAfghanistan National Television became available in Europe, Middle East, North Africa, Africa, Asia Pacific, and North America on 5 January 2008. The channel's broadcasting hours were 06:00 to 00:00 (local Afghan time), corresponding to 01:30 to 19:30 UTC; later that year it started broadcasting 24 hours. As of 2018, it is no longer broadcast on the Hot Bird satellite in Europe.[12]
Currently the channel broadcasts on the TürkmenÄlem 52°E / MonacoSAT satellite to viewers in and around Afghanistan and in Europe, and western Asia. It also broadcasts on GSAT-19 for viewers in the Indian subcontinent.[13]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ "Television Factbook" (PDF). 1990. p. 408. Archived from the original (PDF) on 30 January 2021. Retrieved 10 May 2024.
- ^ "Taraki opens Afghanistan's TV station". The Kabul Times. 20 August 1978. p. 1. Retrieved 31 January 2021.
- ^ Foreign Report, 1985
- ^ S. M. Y. Elmi (1988). "Afghanistan: A Decade of Sovietisation". Retrieved 31 January 2021.
- ^ Moonis Ahmar (2006). Chronology of conflict and cooperation in Afghanistan, 1978-2006. Bureau of Composition, Compilation & Translation Press, University of Karachi. ISBN 9789698550035. Retrieved 31 January 2021.
- ^ Zaherruddin Abdullah (8 July 1998). "Newest Taliban Edict Bans TV". Associated Press. Retrieved 15 August 2021.
- ^ "Afghan capital's TV back on air". Screen Digest. 2001. Retrieved 31 January 2021.
- ^ Harding, Luke (19 November 2001). "Capital switches its televisions back on". The Guardian. Retrieved 8 November 2024.
- ^ "RTA Sport Live - Afghanistan TV Channels Online". 7 March 2020.
- ^ "The Times & The Sunday Times".[full citation needed]
- ^ Faiez, M. Karim; Chu, Henry (28 April 2008). "Attempt on Karzai rattles Afghans" – via LA Times.
- ^ "Change Log - KingOfSat".
- ^ "RTA - LyngSat". www.lyngsat.com. Retrieved 2022-10-04.