Television in Syria was formed in 1960, when Syria and Egypt (which adopted television that same year) were part of the

United Arab Republic The United Arab Republic (UAR; ar, الجمهورية العربية المتحدة, al-Jumhūrīyah al-'Arabīyah al-Muttaḥidah) was a sovereign state in the Middle East from 1958 until 1971. It was initially a political union between Eg ...

. It broadcast in black and white until 1976. In 1985 a second channel was established and in 1995 Syrian television rented a channel on Arabsat and it started broadcasting eight hours daily via satellite in 1996. Syrian channels are mostly owned and controlled by the Syrian Arab Television and Radio Broadcasting Commission (SATRBC) which is connected to the Ministry of Information. It has 4,800 staff; both government employees and freelancers. Since the start of the Syrian Civil War in 2011, the state has been engaging in a "media war" to combat the criticisms broadcast from other popular media outlets viewed in the Arab World and internationally, such as

Al Arabiya Arabiya ( ar, العربية, transliterated: '; meaning "The Arabic One" or "The Arab One") is an international Arabic news television channel, currently based in Dubai, that is operated by the media conglomerate MBC. The channel is a fl ...

and

Al Jazeera Al Jazeera ( ar, الجزيرة, translit-std=DIN, translit=al-jazīrah, , "The Island") is a state-owned Arabic-language international radio and TV broadcaster of Qatar. It is based in Doha and operated by the media conglomerate Al Jazee ...

. Syrian television coverage champions the government against rebel forces such as

Al-Nusra Front Al-Nusra Front or Jabhat al-Nusra ( ar, جبهة النصرة لأهل الشام, Jabhat an-Nuṣrah li-Ahl ish-Sham lit. ''Front of the Supporters of the People of Syria/the Levant''), known as Jabhat Fatah al-Sham ( ar, جبهة فتح ال ...

Free Syrian Army The Free Syrian Army (FSA) ( ar, الجيش السوري الحر, al-jaysh as-Sūrī al-ḥur) is a loose faction in the Syrian Civil War founded on 29 July 2011 by officers of the Syrian Armed Forces with the goal of bringing down the govern ...

and the Islamic Front. According to

BBC Arabic BBC Arabic ( ar, بي بي سي عربي) may refer to the Literary Arabic language radio station run by the BBC World Service, as well as the BBC's satellite TV channel, and the website that serves as an Literary Arabic language news portal an ...

, it also tends to omit or downplay reports of civilian casualties in its coverage of confrontations with "terrorist" groups.

The Arab League The Arab League ( ar, الجامعة العربية, ' ), formally the League of Arab States ( ar, جامعة الدول العربية, '), is a regional organization in the Arab world, which is located in Northern Africa, Western Africa, E ...

officially asked the satellite operators

Arabsat The Arab Satellite Communications Organization (often abbreviated as Arabsat) is a communications satellite operator in the Arab World, headquartered in the city of Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Arabsat was created to deliver satellite-based, public and ...

and

Nilesat Nilesat (; , ''or'' ) is an Egyptian company and the name of a series of Egyptian communications satellites. It was established in 1996 with the purpose of operating Egyptian satellites and their associated mission control center and ground st ...

to stop broadcasting Syrian media in June 2012. On April 27, 2013,

Al Jazeera Media Network Al Jazeera Media Network (AJMN) (Arabic: الجزيرة‎, romanized: al-jazīrah, IPA: �l (d)ʒæˈziːrɐ , referring to the Qatar Peninsula) is a Qatari international state-owned public media conglomerate headquartered at Qatar Radio and T ...

announced that it was suspending indefinitely its activities throughout Syria because of alleged intimidation and threats against its staff.

List of channels

Satellite channels

Addounia TV Addounia TV ( ar, قناة الدنيا الفضائية, lit=The World) was a private television station based in Damascus, Syria since March 23, 2007. The station is described by some western media as "semi-official" and a "mouthpiece of the gove ...

(defunct) * Arrai TV (defunct) *

Cham TV Cham TV also known as Sham TV ( ar, قناة شام الفضائية) is the first private satellite channel in Syria owned by businessman Mohamed Akram Aljundi. It was launched in Damascus since 2005. The channel continued for a period of 8 mon ...

(defunct) *

Lana TV Lana may refer to: * Lana (given name) *Francesco Lana de Terzi (1631–1687), Italian Jesuit priest and scientist * Lana (wrestler), professional wrestler and pro wrestling manager *'' Wild Energy. Lana'', a 2006 Ukrainian fantasy novel Sciences ...

* Lana Plus TV * El Khabar TV *

Massaya TV Massaya TV (Arabic قناة مسايا الفضائية) is a private Syrian satellite television station based in Damascus and in Dubai. It is specializing in broadcasting events, concerts and weddings particular in Syria and the Arab World. Mass ...

Sama TV Sama TV ( ar, قناة سما الفضائية, lit=Sky) is a television station based in Damascus, Syria since September 7, 2012. Sama TV is a sister channel of defunct Addounia TV. Programs Sama TV features a variety of general-interest program ...

*SATRBC **

Noor Al-Sham Noor Al-Sham, also spelled Nour El-Sham (Arabic , literal translation "The Light of the Levant" is a state-run, religious satellite television Satellite television is a service that delivers television programming to viewers by relaying it from ...

Syria TV Syria TV ( ar, القناة الفضائية السورية), also known as Syrian Satellite Channel, is a satellite television channel a nationwide public broadcasting, state-funded by the Syrian General Organization of Radio and TV and broadc ...

Syrian Drama TV Syrian Drama TV ( ar, قناة سورية دراما) is a government owned television station based in Damascus, Syria since 20 August 2009. Syrian Drama TV broadcast was stopped on Eutelsat Hot Bird 13 East on 22 October 2012. Its goal was ...

Syrian Education TV Syrian Education TV (Arabic القناة الفضائية التربوية السورية) launched by the Syrian Ministry of Education on 14 October 2008 on Arabsat and it was later launched in June 2009 to broadcast from Damascus on Nilesat ...

Syrian Medical TV Syrian Medical TV (Arabic القناة الطبية السورية الفضائية) was a television station A television station is a set of equipment managed by a business, organisation or other entity, such as an amateur television (ATV) ...

(defunct) **

Syrian News Channel Syrian News Channel ( ar, الإخبارية السورية), also known as alikhbaria Syria or Al-Ikhbariyah Syria, is a state-run television station based in Damascus, Syria, launched in December 15, 2010. The channel is headed by Imad Sara. ...

Talaqie TV Talaqie TV (Arabic قناة تلاقي, literal translation "Meeting") was a television station A television station is a set of equipment managed by a business, organisation or other entity, such as an amateur television (ATV) operator, that ...

(defunct) *

Spacetoon ( ar, سبيستون or ) is a pan-Arab free-to-air television channel that specializes in animation and children programs. It began broadcasting on 15 March 2000 and it is headquartered in Dubai, UAE with offices in Riyadh. The channel targe ...

(shut down in Syria)

Regional channels

* Rojava TV (Kurdish) * Ronahî TV (Kurdish) * Manbij Tv (Kurdish) (defunct) * Nosor TV (defunct) * Syria Baladna (defunct)

Terrestrial channels

* Channel 1 (

Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C. E.Watson; Walter ...

focus) (defunct) * Channel 2 (Sport, family and health focus including regional variants) (defunct)

Rebel media

Satellite channels

*Syrian Television *

Orient TV Orient News (in Arabic تلفزيون أورينت) is a Syrian media group owned by Syrian businessman, journalist and opposition figure Ghassan Aboud, based in Dubai, providing news service to the Middle East with a focus on Syria. History Orie ...

* Syria al-shaab * Suriya al-Ghad * Aleppo Today * Al-Jisr TV

References

Mass media in Syria Arabic-language television stations {{Syria-stub