Television in Sudan

Television in Sudan has a low penetration of around 17%, as many households cannot afford the cost of a satellite dish, and terrestrial television is the dominant platform. There are no private terrestrial television stations, and the government operates Sudanese Radio and Television Corporation.[1]

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History and present

Sudan officially began television transmission in 1963.[2] In the early years, it only reached a short distance from Khartoum.[2]

Sudan has 18 terrestrial channels, just one of which, Blue Nile TV, is not wholly state-owned. Sudan TV is the main terrestrial channel. There are eight free-to-air direct-to-home channels headquartered in Sudan, of which five are privately owned, two are government owned and one has mixed ownership. Pay-TV penetration is negligible in the country.[1]

Censorship

Sudan TV stations are restricted by a military censor to ensure that the news do not contradict official views and perceived cultural values.[2][3] Satellite dishes are common in affluent areas and pan-Arab television stations are popular.[2] In addition to domestic and satellite TV services, there was a subscription cable network, which directly rebroadcast uncensored foreign news and other programs.[2]

The government shut down the Al-Jazeera bureau late in 2003 and arrested the bureau chief for alleged false programming and poor analysis of atrocities in Darfur.[2] The bureau chief went to prison, but Al-Jazeera subsequently reopened the office.[2]

References
  1. "Arab Media Outlook 2011-2015" (PDF). 2012. p. 207.
  2. Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain: Shinn, David H. (2015). "Information Media" (PDF). In Berry, LaVerle (ed.). Sudan: a country study (5th ed.). Washington, D.C.: Federal Research Division, Library of Congress. pp. 271–275. ISBN 978-0-8444-0750-0. Though published in 2015, this work covers events in the whole of Sudan (including present-day South Sudan) until the 2011 secession of South Sudan.
  3. "Sudan profile - Media". BBC News. 2011-07-09. Retrieved 2023-02-21.
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