Television in Afghanistan

History

Afghan Star on Tolo TV

Television was first introduced in 1964, when a new organization called Radio Television Afghanistan (government-owned) founded a TV channel. After the completion of feasibility study under grant aid from Japan, construction work of the studio and transmitter buildings were finished by August 1978. During the 1980s, many Soviet programmes were airing such as the children's show Nu Pogodi!.

From 1992 onwards television went into a steep decline as a result of the war in the city of Kabul, destroying infrastructure.

During the Taliban rule between 1996 and 2001, television was strictly banned. Stores were not allowed to sell TVs, satellite dishes, VCRs, or other similar technology entertainment devices. Anyone owning or watching TV was arrested and punished. The national television broadcaster was closed down, whilst private broadcasters' buildings and studios were smashed by the regime's police.^[1]

The territories that were controlled by the moderate rival Northern Alliance did not have any restrictions on television. In the country's northeast of the province of Badakhshan, a television channel financed by the Northern Alliance broadcast news and movies to approximately 5,000 people in the city of Fayzabad. When the Karzai administration came to power in December 2001, Radio Television Afghanistan (RTA TV), Afghanistan's public broadcaster re-launched.

TOLOnews Studio in Kabul, Afghanistan

Tolo TV a commercial television station operating in Afghanistan launched in October 2004 by MOBY Group, it became one of the first commercial stations in the country and laid the foundation for an accessible media outlet by offering a large library of shows. It is currently Afghanistan's most popular television channel.

As of 2016, Afghanistan has 174 radio stations, 83 private television stations, and 22 state-owned provincial channels, including RTA TV. ^[2]

References