Afghanistan National Television Explained

RTA
ملی
Launch Date:19 August 1978
Picture Format:720p HDTV
Owner:Radio Television Afghanistan
Country:Afghanistan
Area:Afghanistan
Europe
North America
Asia
Headquarters:Kabul
Sister Channels:RTA Sport
RTA News
RTA Education
Terr Serv 1:Oqaab
Terr Chan 1:Channel 3

Afghanistan National Television (تلویزیون ملی Televizion-e Milli-ye Afghanistan, Pushto; 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.

History

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.[1]

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,[2] while in the same month broadcasts started in Kandahar and Herat.[3]

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.[4] [5] After the Taliban were overthrown, television in Afghanistan restarted on 18 November 2001.[6]

In 2019, RTA launched a sister channel to the main station called RTA Sport, which is dedicated to sports content.[7]

Exclusive 2008 speech

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.[8] The scene of the attempt was also broadcast live to RTA viewers in Afghanistan and picked up by the international media.[9]

International availability

Afghanistan 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.[10]

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.[11]

See also

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Taraki opens Afghanistan's TV station . . 20 August 1978 . 31 January 2021 . 1 .
  2. https://books.google.com/books?id=V2GxAAAAIAAJ&q=%22Besides+the+one+in+Kabul+,+three+more+have+been+operating+since%22 Foreign Report, 1985
  3. Web site: Afghanistan: A Decade of Sovietisation . S. M. Y. Elmi . 1988 . 31 January 2021 .
  4. Book: Chronology of conflict and cooperation in Afghanistan, 1978-2006 . Moonis Ahmar . 2006 . Bureau of Composition, Compilation & Translation Press, University of Karachi . 9789698550035 . 31 January 2021 .
  5. Web site: Newest Taliban Edict Bans TV . Zaherruddin Abdullah . Associated Press . 8 July 1998 . 15 August 2021 .
  6. Web site: Afghan capital's TV back on air . Screen Digest . 2001 . 31 January 2021 .
  7. Web site: RTA Sport Live - Afghanistan TV Channels Online . 7 March 2020 .
  8. Web site: The Times & The Sunday Times.
  9. Web site: Attempt on Karzai rattles Afghans. M. Karim. Faiez. Henry. Chu. 28 April 2008. LA Times.
  10. Web site: Change Log - KingOfSat.
  11. Web site: RTA - LyngSat . 2022-10-04 . www.lyngsat.com.