The National Media Authority (NTU; Arabic: الهيئة الوطنية للإعلام, romanized: al-Hayʾa l-Waṭaniyya li-l-ʾIʿlām), known until 2017 as Egyptian Radio and Television Union (ERTU; Arabic: اتحاد الإذاعة والتلفزيون المصري, romanized: Ittiḥād al-ʾIdhāʿa wa-t-Tilifizyōn al-Miṣrī), is the public broadcaster of Egypt, operated by the Egyptian government.[1] It is a member of the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and the Arab States Broadcasting Union (ABSU).
Egyptian Radio 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" (Arabic: هنا القاهرة, romanized: Hunā l-Qāhira). It is considered the "First Program" (البرنامج الأول, al-Barnāmaj al-ʾAwwal) of the ERTU.
Later on three main new radio channels were added, namely the pan-Arab Voice of the Arabs (صوت العرب, Ṣawt al-ʿArab) in 1953, Egyptian Radio's Second Programme (البرنامج الثاني, al-Barnāmaj ath-Thānī) in 1957, and the pan-Arab Middle East Radio (إذاعة الشرق الأوسط, ʾIdhāʿat ash-Sharq al-ʾAwsaṭ) in 1964. All four stations broadcast on high powered medium wave 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,[2] 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, al-ʾIdhāʿa l-Ḥukūmiyya l-Miṣriyya), 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 on 1 January 1985.
Under previous secularist regimes, women employees wearing hijabs were not allowed on-screen until 2 September 2012, following the inauguration of the Morsi government.[3][4][5]
The NMA is an Egyptian SOE that runs a large spectrum of radio, television and satellite channels, in addition to television and film production facilities. It does this directly as well as through a host of companies that include:[1]
General Programme Radio (إذاعة البرنامج العام, ʾIdhāʿat al-Barnāmaj al-ʿĀmm) or Egyptian Radio – established in 1934 as the main channel of the network
Voice of the Arabs (إذاعة صوت العرب, ʾIdhāʿat Ṣawt al-ʿArab) – established in 1953 as a pan-Arab station
Second Program (البرنامج الثاني, al-Barnāmaj ath-Thānī) – established in 1957 (now replaced and converted into the Cultural Radio)
Middle East Radio (إذاعة الشرق الأوسط, ʾIdhāʿat ash-Sharq al-ʾAwsaṭ) – established in 1964 as a pan-Arab station
European Program Radio (إذاعة البرنامج الأوربي, ʾIdhāʿat al-Barnāmaj al-ʾŌrōbbī) – broadcasting in English, French, Greek, Italian and German
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.
Media related to Egyptian Radio and Television Union at Wikimedia Commons
