Bangladesh Television

Bangladesh Television ( bn, বাংলাদেশ টেলিভিশন), commonly known by its acronym BTV ( bn, বিটিভি), is the state-owned television network of Bangladesh. The network was originally established as the East Pakistan branch of PTV in 1964. It is the oldest Bengali-language television network in the world, and is the sister to the radio broadcaster Bangladesh Betar, which, along with BTV, are both owned and operated by the government.

Bangladesh Television is the country's only television network provided on terrestrial television. It is primarily financed through television licence fees. Although it has produced many award-winning programs, it has often been accused of being the mouth piece of the government and their lack of quality programming. Both the headquarters and the administrative building of Bangladesh Television are located at Rampura in Dhaka.

Prior to the late 1990s, Bangladesh Television was the sole television broadcaster provided in Bangladesh, and was a very successful network in terms of viewership until the launch of several satellite television channels, which led to the network's downfall and stagnation, mostly due to the fact that it was used for spewing government propaganda ever since Bangladesh's independence.

It operates two main television stations, BTV Dhaka and BTV Chittagong, and fourteen relay stations all over Bangladesh, along with a satellite television channel, BTV World. It is a member of the Asia-Pacific Broadcasting Union and Asiavision, and is an associate member of the European Broadcasting Union. Bangladesh Television also plans to launch six more television channels.

BTV can be received via satellite throughout Asia and parts of Europe and Africa. Bangladesh Television is also the sister network of Sangsad Television, a parliamentary television channel. BTV World is also to be converted into an independent entertainment television channel with a different schedule compared to BTV Dhaka. BTV Dhaka broadcasts eighteen hours a day on terrestrial television, and twenty-four hours a day on satellite television. Its satellite feed relays BTV World's transmissions during the off-air hours of its terrestrial feed. BTV Chittagong broadcasts on a full-day basis daily.

History

1964–1971: Pakistan Television era

BTV first commenced transmissions on 25 December 1964 at 19:00 ( Dhaka Standard Time), as a pilot project in the then East Pakistan under the name, Pilot Television Dhaka, airing a song titled "Oi Je Akash Nil Holo Akash", sang by singer Ferdausi Rahman. It broadcast from the DIT Bhaban on a four-hour basis, with broadcasting equipments provided by NEC. After three months on the air, it was officially converted into a service of Pakistan Television.

This was Pakistan Television's second television station after the one in Lahore. The first drama telecast on PTV's Dacca television station, ''Ektala Dotala'', written by Munier Choudhury, was aired in 1965. Reality television series ''Notun Kuri'' premiered on the station in 1966. It was later taken off the air, although the series would return to the air in 1976. The first television commercial on PTV Dacca was aired in 1967 for a detergent soap ''707''. The same year, Pakistan Television's eastern branch was converted to an autonomous corporation.

On 4 March 1971, the Dhaka station of Pakistan Television was unofficially renamed to "Dhaka Television", and television celebrities refused to work for Pakistani television as the East Pakistanis struggle for autonomy. When Bangladesh was declared an independent state on 23 March 1971, television began showing the flag of Bangladesh and playing the Bangladeshi national anthem, Amar Sonar Bangla, rather than the Pakistani flag and national anthem.

Threats were made by Pakistani authorities that if the flag of Pakistan was not displayed on television, then Bengali workers will be barred from entering the television center. However, pro-Bangladesh songs were aired on Dhaka Television during the night of 23 March instead. As a result, the Pakistan Armed Forces took control of the DIT Bhaban, but was attacked by the Mukti Bahini. At that moment, people joined to fight for the liberation of Bangladesh through its television industry.

1971–1997: Independence and government monopoly

After the independence of Bangladesh in 1971, Pakistan Television's Dacca television station was renamed to Bangladesh Television, officially losing its affiliation with PTV. Bangladesh Television's logo appeared on the television screen for the first time on 17 December 1971. The next year, the autonomous corporation was converted into a fully government-owned department on 15 September. The network established its first relay station in Natore in 1974.

In 1975, the offices and studios were shifted to the newly built headquarters located at Rampura in Dhaka with newer technology. In 1977, Fazle Lohani created a new magazine show for BTV based on The David Frost Show on BBC, ''Jodi Kichhu Mone Na Koren'', which ended right after his death. Bangladesh Television began color transmissions in 1980, marking the first official full-time color broadcasts in South Asia. In 1984, Bangladesh Television merged with Bangladesh Betar to form the National Broadcasting Authority.

As of 1985, via the Satkhira relay station, television sets in West Bengal in India could receive terrestrial signals of BTV. As of 1986, BTV broadcast for 9 hours a weekday and 14 hours on weekends, usually during the evenings. It also aired special programming during Fridays, national and religious holidays. It began relaying broadcasts of CNN and BBC
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