Télé-Liban is a television broadcaster that emerged from the merger of two private television stations, La Compagnie Libanaise de Télévision and Télé-Orient, which the government bought in 1977. Today, Télé-Liban has a tiny audience as competing, privately owned stations dominate the country’s television market.
Media assets
Television: Télé-Liban
State Media Matrix Typology: State-Controlled (SC)
Ownership and governance
Following a series of changes in its ownership over the course of the past two decades, with several investors controlling at various points in time stakes in the broadcaster, Télé-Liban is today fully owned by the government, which appoints the station’s chairperson and board of directors. In 2018, the Lebanese information minister called for the privatization of the state-run broadcasters Télé-Liban and Radio Liban. The minister said such a move would help the government cut its expenditure. However, the government has not pursued this plan so far.
Source of funding and budget
Télé-Liban is funded through a combination of ad revenues and state subsidies. Because of its low audience, Télé-Liban has seen its advertising revenues decline in recent years, and the company is relying on government funding to keep its operation afloat. According to local experts, the government spends some LBP 20bn (US$13.3 m) annually on running Télé-Liban. The broadcaster doesn’t release financial data about its operation.
In an unprecedented crisis, the government shut down Télé-Liban in August 2023 following staff protests over unpaid salaries. Broadcasting was resumed after one day.
Editorial independence
Télé-Liban is editorially under tight government control, according to an assessment by local experts. This being said, because the station doesn’t have a high audience, the government’s pressures on the broadcaster are sometimes less intense.
Provisions in various laws (such as the 1962 Press Law and 1994 Audiovisual Media Law) ensure that the press in Lebanon is protected from “random abusive interventions.” However, no domestic statute establishes the editorial independence of Télé-Liban.
No independent mechanism to validate the editorial independence of Télé-Liban has been identified during the latest round of research.
July 2024