The General Organization of Radio and TV (Arabic: الهيئة العامة للإذاعة والتلفزيون), also known in French as Organisation de la Radio et la Télévision Arabe Syrienne (in short ORTAS), is the state and public broadcaster in Syria and reports to the Ministry of Information. Earlier names were Radio and Television (RTV Syria) and Syrian Radio & Television (SRT).[1]
The legal basis is a legislative decree from 2010, which, however, was largely not implemented. Sūmar Wassūf became head of the commission in December 2018.
The General Authority for Radio and Television is the governmental body responsible for radio and television broadcasting in Syria. It is divided into two parts:
The international broadcaster Radio Damascus has existed since 1957. According to the frequency announcements in the program, both FM (VHF) and AM (medium wave) are broadcast.
The television station is based in Damascus, Syria since July 1960.[3][4] The channel airs programmes in Arabic, English and French.[5] It was broadcast in black and white until 1976. A second channel was added in 1985 (discontinued in 2012 due to the civil war) and in 1996, the satellite service Syria TV began broadcasting. On September 5, 2012, Syrian Television channel broadcasts were broken off on Arabsat and Nilesat, including Syria TV. Syria TV and Syrian Drama TV broadcasts were stopped on Hot Bird on October 22, 2012.[6]
The digital television switchover (DVB-T) in Syria has been restarted since mid-2018, in the provinces of Damascus, Daraa, As Suwayda, Rif Dimashq, Tartus, Latakia, Quneitra and Hama, however there is still no date for an analog disconnect.
Noor Al-Sham (religion; since 2011) – The channel intends "to convey a broad and genuine understanding of Islam and its legal rules", according to the Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA).[7]
Syria TV (since 1995), also known as Syrian Satellite Channel, distributed through DTT
^European Neighborhood Journalism Network (n.d.). "Syria-media profile". European Neighborhood Journalism Network. Archived from the original on 9 October 2012. Retrieved 30 March 2013.
^European Neighborhood Journalism Network (n.d.). "Syria-media profile". European Neighborhood Journalism Network. Archived from the original on 9 October 2012. Retrieved 30 March 2013.