Television in Turkmenistan

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In Turkmenistan, television has been operating for over 50 years and is subject to vigorous state censorship. Notorious for a totalitarian control on media, Turkmenistan has consistently occupied one among the last three spots of the annual Press Freedom Index since its inception in 2006. [1] [2]

There are 8 television channels — Altyn Asyr, Yashlyk (Yaşlyk), Miras, The Turkmenistan TV Channel, Türkmen Owazy, Ashgabat TV, Arkadag TV and Turkmenistan Sport. [3] [4] [5] All of them used to be under the aegis of Ministry of Culture and Broadcasting of Turkmenistan, before being subsumed under the jurisdiction of the State Committee of Turkmenistan on TV, Radio and Film on 17 October 2011. [6] [3] The channels broadcast from Yamal 201, before shifting to their indigenous satellite TürkmenÄlem 52oE. [7] [8]

History

In 1996, the Economist Intelligence Unit noted Turkmenistan to receive three channels — Channel One Russia, Sakhra, and Rossiyskyi. [9] All were produced in Russia. [9] Altyn Asyr, Yashlyk, and Miras were the first three channels to operate out of Turkmenistan. Writing in 2005, Paul Brummell finds the troika to serve similar content encompassing documentaries about Turkmenistan, music-and-dance concerts, and dubbed foreign films (esp. Bollywood). [10] The top-right corner of each channel featured a silhouette of Saparmurat Niyazov's head. [10]

The setting-up of a fourth channel was authorized by Niyazov in February 2004; it started broadcasting from 12 September of the same year. [11] [12] Originally named TV-4, it broadcasts in six languages and is aimed at an international audience. [10] In December 2008, Niyazov's successor Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow signed a decree establishing "Turkmen Owazy" to "promote the art of music and culture of Turkmenistan". The channel started broadcasts in January 2009. [13] [14] [15] [16]

In December 2011, Turkmenistan's first proprietary sports channel, "Sport", was established as part of a state-run campaign to promote the importance of sports to the Turkmen people, [17] which also included Berdimuhamedow's rap song "Sportly Turkmenistan" that went viral worldwide. The channel was first aired on January 1, 2012. [18] [19] [20] [21]

From late 2011, Turkmenistan started moving towards digital TV broadcasting. [22] In 2015, citizens were instructed to not use satellite dishes, apparently in order to preserve the aesthetics of the cityscape; critics deemed the policy as a tool of censoring non-state sources. [23]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Politics of Turkmenistan</span> Political system of Turkmenistan

The politics of Turkmenistan nominally takes place in the framework of a presidential republic, whereby the President of Turkmenistan is nominally both head of state and head of government. However, as of 21 January 2023 a "national leader" was appointed who chairs an independent People's Council (viz.) with authority to amend the constitution, and who exercises supreme political authority. No true opposition parties are allowed; every registered political party supports the third and current President Serdar Berdimuhamedow. The country is frequently described as a totalitarian state.

Turkmenistan has a state-controlled press and monitored communication systems. Turkmenistan's telecommunications services are considered to be the least developed of all the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) countries. Overall, the telecom market in this predominantly rural country is relatively small but has been trying boldly to expand in recent years. The state-owned Turkmen Telecom has been the primary provider of public telephone, email and internet services, and through a subsidiary has been operating a GSM mobile network in competition with a private mobile operator, BCTI.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ashgabat</span> Capital and largest city of Turkmenistan

Ashgabat or Asgabat, formerly named Poltoratsk between 1919 and 1927, is the capital and the largest city of Turkmenistan. It lies between the Karakum Desert and the Kopetdag mountain range in Central Asia, near the Iran-Turkmenistan border. The city has a population of 1,030,063.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Turkmenistan</span> Country in Central Asia

Turkmenistan is a country in Central Asia bordered by Kazakhstan to the northwest, Uzbekistan to the north, east and northeast, Afghanistan to the southeast, Iran to the south and southwest and the Caspian Sea to the west. Ashgabat is the capital and largest city. It is one of the six independent Turkic states. With a population of 6.5 million, Turkmenistan is the 35th most-populous country in Asia and has the lowest population of the Central Asian republics while being one of the most sparsely populated nations on the Asian continent.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">State Security Council of Turkmenistan</span> Important decision-making body in the field of the defence of Turkmenistan

The State Security Council of Turkmenistan is an important decision-making body in the field of the defence of Turkmenistan. It is the highest decision-making body in the armed forces next to the Ministry of Defense and the General Staff, with its members directly advising the President of Turkmenistan on matters of national security.

The mass media in Turkmenistan are among the world's most tightly controlled. The press is controlled by the government, which funds nearly all newspapers, criticism of the president is forbidden, and state licensing policy effectively eliminates all outlets not reflecting official views. To avoid reprisal, domestic and foreign journalists engage in self-censorship.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Altyn Asyr FK</span> Football club

Football Club Altyn Asyr, also known as Altyn Asyr Ashgabat or simply Altyn Asyr, which translates to "Golden Century", is a Turkmen professional football club based in Ashgabat. Founded in 2008, the club competes in the Ýokary Liga, the top tier of Turkmen football. It has remained there ever since, winning the Turkmenistan Higher League championship eight times in a row. The club also won the Turkmenistan Cup for 5 times in 2009, 2015, 2016, 2019 and 2020 and has been regular in AFC Cup recently. The team plays in the Ashgabat Stadium.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Saparmurat Niyazov</span> First president of Turkmenistan (1940–2006)

Saparmurat Atayevich Niyazov, also known as Türkmenbaşy, was a Turkmen politician who ruled Turkmenistan from 1985 until his death in 2006. He was first secretary of the Turkmen Communist Party from 1985 until 1991 and supported the 1991 Soviet coup attempt. He continued to rule Turkmenistan for 15 years after independence from the Soviet Union in 1991.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Index of Turkmenistan-related articles</span>

The list of Turkmenistan-related articles is below

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Altyn Asyr (mobile operator)</span> Turkmen state owned mobile operator

Altyn Asyr CJSC is the state owned mobile operator in Turkmenistan. The company uses the TM CELL brand as its trade name. In September 2017, it had more than 5,5 million subscribers. It is headquartered in Ashgabat.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Turkmenistan Tower</span> Communications and observation tower in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan

The Turkmenistan Tower is a communications and observation tower in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan. It was completed in 2011. At 211 metres (692 ft), the tower is the tallest structure in Turkmenistan.

Turkmenistan Sport is a Turkmen sport TV channel of State Committee of Turkmenistan on TV, Radio and Film. It first aired on January 1, 2012 under the title "Sport". It broadcasts in the Turkmen language. The channel broadcasts football, hockey, basketball, figure skating, boxing, swimming, volleyball, and other sports.

RU.TV is a Russian music TV channel founded by Sergey Kozhevnikov and owned by Russian Media Group. It started broadcasting in October 2006 as the video version of Russkoye Radio.

Miras is one of the eight state-owned television channels of Turkmenistan. Programming on the network is in the Turkmen language and focuses on Turkmen art and culture.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ministry of Defense (Turkmenistan)</span> Government agency under the Armed Forces of Turkmenistan

The Ministry of Defense of Turkmenistan is a government agency under the Armed Forces of Turkmenistan which is the executive body in implementing defence policies in Turkmenistan. The current Minister of Defense is Major General Begenç Gündogdyýew. It was founded in January 1992 with the assistance of the Russian Armed Forces.

Medeniyet "Maya" Shahberdiyeva was a Turkmen opera singer of the Soviet era, known as the "Golden Voice of the Motherland" and the "Turkmen Nightingale".

Altyn Asyr may refer to:

Altyn Asyr is a city in Tejen District, Ahal Province, Turkmenistan. Its main economic activity is cotton farming.

Altyn Asyr, meaning "Golden Age" in Turkmen, is one of the seven television channels owned by the government in Turkmenistan. It is mainly focused on broadcasting the news in Turkmenistan.

References

  1. ↑ "Turkmenistan : Ever-expanding news "black hole" | Reporters without borders". RSF. Retrieved 2021-06-24.
  2. ↑ Belin, Laura (2003-01-01). "Freedom of the Press in the Former Soviet Republics". Encyclopedia of International Media and Communications. pp. 155–167. doi:10.1016/B0-12-387670-2/00104-7. ISBN   9780123876706.
  3. 1 2 "State Committee of Turkmenistan for Television, Radio Broadcasting and Cinematography – ABU" . Retrieved 2021-06-24.
  4. ↑ "Turkmenistan - The World Factbook". cia.gov. Retrieved 2021-06-24.
  5. ↑ Media Sustainability Index: Turkmenistan (PDF). IREX. 2019. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2021-04-18.
  6. ↑ Information about television, radio and film industry of the country Archived 2013-11-02 at the Wayback Machine
  7. ↑ "Satellite broadcasting of Turkmen TV and radio channels temporarily suspended | Turkmenistan.ru". www.turkmenistan.ru. Retrieved 2021-06-24.
  8. ↑ "Turkmenistan's first communications satellite begins broadcasting Turkmen TV and radio channels | Turkmenistan.ru". turkmenistan.ru. Retrieved 2021-06-24.
  9. 1 2 Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan. Economist Intelligence Unit. 1996. p. 61.
  10. 1 2 3 Brummell, Paul (2005). Turkmenistan. Bradt Travel Guides. p. 55. ISBN   978-1-84162-144-9.
  11. ↑ "MINISTRY OF COMMUNICATIONS OF TURKMENISTAN HOLDING TENDER TO LAUNCH NEW TV CHANNEL | Turkmenistan.ru". www.turkmenistan.ru. Retrieved 2021-06-24.
  12. ↑ "НОВЫЙ СПУТНИКОВЫЙ КАНАЛ ТУРКМЕНСКОГО ТЕЛЕВИДЕНИЯ БУДЕТ ВЕЩАТЬ НА СЕМИ ЯЗЫКАХ | Интернет-газета Turkmenistan.Ru". www.turkmenistan.ru. Retrieved 2021-06-24.
  13. ↑ Российский спутник «Ямал-201» начал трансляцию программ нового телеканала «Туркмен овазы»
  14. ↑ Increased number of Turkmen state TV channels broadcasted via Yamal-201 satellite
  15. ↑ NEW HOPES FOR NEW YEAR
  16. ↑ Information about television, radio and film industry of the country Archived 2013-11-02 at the Wayback Machine
  17. ↑ Создан телеканал «Спорт»
  18. ↑ С 1 января в Туркменистане начнет круглосуточное вещание телеканал «Спорт»
  19. ↑ Turkmenistan to launch sport channel
  20. ↑ Increased number of Turkmen state TV channels broadcasted via Yamal-201 satellite
  21. ↑ TV channel “Sport” to start round-the-clock broadcasting from January 1
  22. ↑ "Turkmenistan to switch to digital TV broadcasting | Turkmenistan.ru". www.turkmenistan.ru. Retrieved 2021-06-24.
  23. ↑ "Turkmenistan: War on Satellite Dishes". Human Rights Watch. 2015-04-24. Retrieved 2021-06-24.
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