The Egyptian Radio and Television Union (ERTU; ar, إتحاد الإذاعة والتلفزيون المصري ''Itteh'ad Al-Edhaa'a wa at-Televezyon al-Mis'ri'') is the
public broadcaster of Egypt, operated by the Egyptian government. It is a member of the
European Broadcasting Union
The European Broadcasting Union (EBU; french: Union européenne de radio-télévision, links=no, UER) is an alliance of Public broadcasting, public service media organisations whose countries are within the European Broadcasting Area or who ar ...
.
History
Egyptian Radio
Egyptian Radio also known as the Egyptian Radio's General Program (إذاعة البرنامج العام transliterated as Iza'at El-Bernameg Al-Aam) also popularly known as Radio Cairo (in Arabic إذاعة القاهرة transliterated as Iza'at ...
began broadcasting on 31 May 1934 in agreement with the Marconi Company. The General Manager of the station for the period was Said Basha Lotfi who presided over the station from May 1934 to December 1947. In December 1947, the contract with Marconi was suspended in favour of an Egyptian national broadcasting station. The station is known also for its call "This is Cairo" (in
Arabic هنا القاهرة pronounced Houna al Qaahira). It is considered the First Program (in
Arabic البرنامج الأول) of the ERTU.
Later on three main new radio channels were added, namely the pan-Arab The
Voice of the Arabs Voice of the Arabs or Sawt al-Arab ( ar, صوت العرب) (621 kHz on Mediumwave to Egypt, 9800 kHz, and many other frequencies on Shortwave to the Middle East, the rest of Europe and North America) was one of the first and most pro ...
(صوت العرب) in 1953, Egyptian Radio's Second Programme (البرنامج الثاني) in 1957 and the pan-Arab
Middle East Radio
Middle East Radio ( ar, إذاعة الشرق الأوسط, Iza'at al Sharq al Awsat) is an Egyptian pan-Arab commercial radio station established in 1964 by the Egyptian Radio and Television Union (ERTU) owned by the Egyptian government.
It star ...
(إذاعة الشرق الأوسط) in 1964. All four stations broadcast on high powered
medium wave
Medium wave (MW) is the part of the medium frequency (MF) radio band used mainly for AM radio broadcasting. The spectrum provides about 120 channels with more limited sound quality than FM stations on the FM broadcast band. During the daytime ...
transmitters covering most of the Middle East and North and East Africa.
Egyptian television began broadcasting six hours daily on 21 July 1960 with a state-run channel that held a monopoly on terrestrial broadcasts.
In 1971 a new decree established the Arab Radio and Television Union, and created four distinct sectors: radio, television, engineering, and finance, each of which had a chairman who reported directly to the
minister of information. The name of the Union was changed to the Egyptian Radio and Television Union, the name by which it is still known. Today, its total daily broadcast time on its various channels amounts to 490 hours.
Already in 1950 its predecessor the Egyptian State Broadcasting (الإذاعة الحكومية المصرية) was one of the founding members of the European Broadcasting Union in 1950. After the admittance of the Israel Broadcasting Service in 1958, it cancelled its active memberships, as did the Syrian Broadcasting Services. It was readmitted as an active member 1 January 1985.
Services
Radio
General stations
*
General Programme Radio (إذاعة البرنامج العام) or
Egyptian Radio
Egyptian Radio also known as the Egyptian Radio's General Program (إذاعة البرنامج العام transliterated as Iza'at El-Bernameg Al-Aam) also popularly known as Radio Cairo (in Arabic إذاعة القاهرة transliterated as Iza'at ...
, established in 1934 as the main channel of the network
*
Voice of the Arabs Voice of the Arabs or Sawt al-Arab ( ar, صوت العرب) (621 kHz on Mediumwave to Egypt, 9800 kHz, and many other frequencies on Shortwave to the Middle East, the rest of Europe and North America) was one of the first and most pro ...
(إذاعة صوت العرب) established in 1953 as a pan-Arab station
*The Second Program (البرنامج الثاني) established in 1957
**Now replaced and converted into the Cultural Radio (إذاعة البرنامج الثقافي)
*
Middle East Radio
Middle East Radio ( ar, إذاعة الشرق الأوسط, Iza'at al Sharq al Awsat) is an Egyptian pan-Arab commercial radio station established in 1964 by the Egyptian Radio and Television Union (ERTU) owned by the Egyptian government.
It star ...
(إذاعة الشرق الأوسط) established in 1964 as a pan-Arab station
*European Program Radio (إذاعة البرنامج الأوربي) broadcasting in English, French, Greek, Italian and German
Specialized (thematic) stations
*Cultural Radio (إذاعة البرنامج الثقافي) (replaced The Second Program)
*Youth and Sports Radio (إذاعة الشباب والرياضة) (established in 1975)
*Radio Greater Cairo (إذاعة القاهرة الكبرى) (established in 1981)
*Songs Radio (إذاعة الأغاني) (established in 2000)
*News and Music Radio (إذاعة الأخبار والموسيقى)
*
Radio Masr
Radio Masr is the first governmental radio station in Egypt to be transmitted on FM. It has launched on April 24, 2009.
See also
*ERTU
* List of radio stations in Egypt
Radio broadcasting in Egypt began in the 20th century, in 1924 as priva ...
or Egypt Radio (إذاعة راديو مصر) (established in 2009)
*Al Qur'an al Karim Radio (إذاعة القران الكريم) Muslim religious broadcasting
*Educational Radio (الإذاعة التعليمية)
*Voice of Palestine (صوت فلسطين)
Regional programming radio stations
*North of Saaeed Radio (إذاعة شمال الصعيد)
*Nile Valley Radio (إذاعة وادي النيل)
*Middle Delta Radio (إذاعة وسط الدلتا)
*Radio Alexandria (إذاعة الإسكندرية)
International stations
*Radio Cairo (International) including Radio Cairo World Service 1 to 7 (various channels, shortwave and satellite)
Television
National
* ERTU 1 (Al Oula) – Generalist and informative programming. It began its broadcasts in 1960.
* ERTU 2 (Al Thanya) – focused on fiction, entertainment and current affairs programming, launched in 1961.
* Al Masriya – Channel aimed at the Egyptian diaspora, available since 1990.
* Channel Egypt
Regional
There are six state-owned
broadcast
Broadcasting is the distribution of audio or video content to a dispersed audience via any electronic mass communications medium, but typically one using the electromagnetic spectrum ( radio waves), in a one-to-many model. Broadcasting began ...
and satellite channels in Egypt:
* Six regional channels, each providing specialized services for a number of
governorates:
**Cairo Channel: broadcasting from
Cairo and covering Greater Cairo governorates, i.e.
Cairo,
Giza
Giza (; sometimes spelled ''Gizah'' arz, الجيزة ' ) is the second-largest city in Egypt after Cairo and fourth-largest city in Africa after Kinshasa, Lagos and Cairo. It is the capital of Giza Governorate with a total population of 9.2 ...
and
Qalioubia.
**Alexandria Channel: broadcasting from
Alexandria and covering
Alexandria,
Al Buhayrah and parts of
Matrouh.
**Canal Channel: broadcasting from
Ismailia and covering
Suez Canal
The Suez Canal ( arz, قَنَاةُ ٱلسُّوَيْسِ, ') is an artificial sea-level waterway in Egypt, connecting the Mediterranean Sea to the Red Sea through the Isthmus of Suez and dividing Africa and Asia. The long canal is a popular ...
governorates, i.e.
Ismailia,
Suez and
Port Said
Port Said ( ar, بورسعيد, Būrsaʿīd, ; grc, Πηλούσιον, Pēlousion) is a city that lies in northeast Egypt extending about along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea, north of the Suez Canal. With an approximate population of 6 ...
.
**Delta Channel: broadcasting from
Tanta and covering Central
Delta governorates, i.e.
Al Gharbiyah,
Al Minufiyah
Monufia Governorate ( ar, محافظة المنوفية ' ) is one of the governorates of Egypt. It is located in the northern part of the country in the Nile Delta, to the south of Gharbia Governorate and to the north of Cairo. The governora ...
,
Ad Daqahliyah,
Kafr ash Shaykh and
Dimyat.
**Upper Channel: broadcasting from
Minya and covering Northern
Upper Egypt governorates, i.e.
Minya,
El-Fayoum,
Beni Suef
Beni Suef ( ar, بني سويف, Baniswēf the capital city of the Beni Suef Governorate in Egypt. Beni Suef is the location of Beni Suef University. An important agricultural trade centre on the west bank of the Nile River, the city is located 11 ...
and
Asiut.
**Thebes Channel: broadcasting from
Aswan and covering Southern
Upper Egypt governorates, i.e.
Suhag,
Qena,
Al Uqsur and
Aswan.
Nile Television
Nilesat allowed for the launch of several specialized TV channels in addition to Egyptian Satellite Channel (ESC) and
Nile TV. All are owned by the Egyptian state.
Specialized channels include:
*
Al Nile
*Nile Culture channel
*Nile Comedy channel
*Nile Drama channel, specialized in Drama, mainly movies and TV series.
*Nile Educational channels, several channels for
primary
Primary or primaries may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Music Groups and labels
* Primary (band), from Australia
* Primary (musician), hip hop musician and record producer from South Korea
* Primary Music, Israeli record label
Works
* ...
,
preparatory,
secondary
Secondary may refer to: Science and nature
* Secondary emission, of particles
** Secondary electrons, electrons generated as ionization products
* The secondary winding, or the electrical or electronic circuit connected to the secondary winding i ...
, medical and language education.
*Nile Family channel
*Nile Sports channel
*Nile Variety channel, specialized in various forms of entertainment mainly
concerts,
music videos, contests and some
talk shows.
*Tanweer channel
See also
*
List of radio stations in Egypt
Radio broadcasting in Egypt began in the 20th century, in 1924 as privately owned and operated community stations. Later, in 1934 private ownership and operation were abolished and radio broadcasting was nationalized ever since.
By the early 19 ...
References
External links
Official website
* (
ERTU Building)
1971 establishments in Egypt
Publicly funded broadcasters
European Broadcasting Union members
Television stations in Egypt
Arabic-language television stations
Television channels and stations established in 1971
Mass media in Cairo
State media
Government agencies of Egypt
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