Bayon TV and its related television and channels are controlled by Hun Mana, the prime minister’s daughter, through her fully owned Bayon High Media System, a company incorporated in Cambodia.
Media assets
Television: Bayon TV, BTV, ETV
Radio: Bayon Radio
State Media Matrix Typology: Captured Private (CaPr)
Ownership and governance
The company that operates Bayon TV, Bayon High Media System, is controlled by Hun Mana, the elder daughter of the former Prime Minister.
In a major development in late 2022, Bayon High Media System along with Royal Group, owner of CBS, and Hang Meas TV Group, a Cambodian media conglomerate, agreed to create Cambodian Television Alliance, to run the largest digital television platform operation in the country. The alliance also involves the participation of the government, which is represented through the Ministry of Economy and Finance.
According to the statute of the alliance, seven board members, one from the government and six from the Cambodian Television Alliance, will supervise the operations of the joint platform. Hun Mana was selected as the alliance’s board chair.
Source of funding and budget
Bayon TV is financed mainly through advertising thanks to its growing popularity in recent years. However, as with other media groups owned by people loyal to the former Prime Minister Hun Sen (including family members), there are suspicions that the company also receives state funding, according to local journalists and experts.
Editorial independence
The station’s programming output is overtly glorifying the former Prime Minister Hun Sen, its editorial coverage being controlled indirectly through its owner.
No evidence of statutes that would protect the independence of the journalists working with Bayon TV and no independent assessment mechanisms to validate its editorial independence have been identified.
October 2023