Canal UTV was launched in 2008 as a television channel of the National Autonomous University of Honduras with a mostly educational profile. It presents itself as “the first educational public channel of Honduras.” The channel only in 2017 acquired nationwide coverage.
Media assets
Television: Canal de la Universidad Autónoma de Honduras (UTV)
State Media Matrix Typology: Independent State-Funded (ISF)
Ownership and governance
Unlike the other state-administered media outlets, UTV is run by an editorial university council, a form of governance that is intended to ensure the independence of the channel.
Source of funding and budget
UTV receives public funding for its activities via the university that runs it, according to local journalists and experts. The latest publicly available data about the university’s finances are old, dating back to 2009.
Editorial independence
UTV is the sole state-funded outlet in Honduras that has editorial autonomy and an educational profile that sets it apart from the other state-administered media.
UTV operates independently thanks to the autonomy safeguards enjoyed by the university that runs it.
There is no independent assessment/oversight mechanism in charge of validating the independence of UTV. However, the channel is run by an independent editorial council that ensures the programs are produced independently. The government does not interfere with the station’s programming mostly because these programs do not play a significant role in the country’s news market.
August 2023