Turkmenistan has seven television broadcasters, all state-owned, state-financed and fully under the editorial control of the government. They are operated as Turkmen TV and run by a special broadcasting commission operated by the Turkmen government. The stations are:
- Altyn Asyr (meaning “golden age”), the main channel in the country
- Yaşlyk (meaning “youth”)
- Miras (meaning “heritage”), a channel focused on culture
- Türkmen Owazy (“voice of Turkmen”), focused on music
- Aşgabat, a channel focused on the capital city Ashgabat
- Türkmenistan Sport
The same broadcast entity also runs four radio broadcasters as follows:
- TR1 Radio Watan
- TR2 Radio Chartarapdan
- TR3 Radio Miras
- TR4 Radio Ovaz
Media assets
Turkmen TV: Altyn Asyr, Yaşlyk, Miras, Türkmenistan, Türkmen Owazy, Aşgabat, Türkmenistan Sport Turkmen Radio: TR1 Radio Watan, TR2 Radio Chartarapdan, TR3 Radio Miras, TR4 Radio Ovaz
State Media Matrix Typology: State-Controlled (SC)
Ownership and governance
All the media in Turkmenistan are state owned and state funded, and their editorial agenda is entirely dictated by the government, which places them all in the state controlled media category. Turkmen TV is run by the State Committee of Turkmenistan for Television, Radio Broadcasting and Cinematography, which was established in October 2011 by a decree of the President of Turkmenistan.
Source of funding and budget
Turkmen TV is fully funded through a subsidy from the state budget allocated to the committee that runs the broadcaster.
Editorial independence
Turkmen TV is a propaganda mouthpiece tasked to serve and promote the interests of the authorities in Turkmenistan, according to journalists and experts with expertise in Central Asia. Like all the media outlets in the country, Turkmen TV is obliged to praise the President of the country, Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow.
No domestic statute and no independent mechanism that establish the editorial independence of Turkmen TV have been identified.
September 2023