TRT 1 (TRT One) is the first Turkish national television channel, owned by state broadcaster TRT. It was officially launched on 31 January 1968 as a test broadcast. It was the only channel with the logo TV1 in Turkey until 15 September 1986, when TRT launched TRT 2 using the logo TV2. It is also available in Azerbaijan on terrestrial television.
On 19 May 2012, it started broadcasting on 16:9 aspect ratio and launched its own HD simulcast feed.
TRT started television broadcasts on January 31, 1968 as an initially experimental service on VHF channel 5 in Ankara, the national capital. By early 1972, TRT broadcast four days a week. The opening night was well-received, so was the broadcast of the moon landings the following year.[1]
TRT started expanding its television signal starting in May 1972 with the starting of a transmitter in Balıkesir on channel 7, followed by Istanbul on channel 5 in December that year. The relay network increased in 1973-74, with 28 stations total by December 1974. Around 1975, TRT broadcast from 18:00 to 23:00 on weekdays, and from 14:00 to 23:00 on weekends.[2]
Like other TRT channels, TRT 1 broadcasts 24 hours a day. It broadcasts a short startup at 6:00 AM, where the TRT ident is shown, followed by the programme list for the day, and then the Turkish National Anthem (Independence March) is played.
In January 2008, TRT celebrated its 40th anniversary. At that time TRT was broadcasting old idents while maintaining the modern logo and news studio.[4] Every day, newer idents could be seen. This event also happened in 1978, 1988 and 1998. In 2018, the channel celebrated its 50th anniversary.
TRT 1 broadcasts in a large spectrum of programs ranging from news, music, entertainment, drama, sports to education and arts along with commercial breaks. The channel aired many world-known series for the first time in Turkey in the past.