L’Établissement public de télévision (EPTV), formerly Établissement national de télévision (ENTV) is the company in charge of running the public television service in Algeria. It operates nine nationwide television channels, some of which are specialized in various topics/issues (religion, education, history). It also runs a chain of regional television channels. EPTV is a minority shareholder in EuronewsNBC, the company that runs the news channels Euronews and Africanews. In October 2021, EPTV launched an all-news channel.
Media assets
National: TV1, Canal Algerie2, TV3, TV4, TV5, TV6, TV7, TV8; TV9
Regional: TV1 Alger, TV1 Oran, TV1 Constantine, TV1 Ouargla, TV1 Bechar
State Media Matrix Typology: State-Controlled (SC)
Ownership and governance
EPTV was established as a public establishment “with an industrial and commercial character” through the executive decree no. 91-100 of 1991. EPTV replaced the former public broadcaster ENTV. The highest governing structure at EPTV is its Administration Council, which has 10 members (including the Director General), five of whom are representatives of government bodies (various ministries). The others are either appointed by other state-owned companies (APS) or nominated by journalism organizations. The council is presided by the Director General who is appointed through a decree adopted by the Ministry of Communication, to which the broadcaster is subordinated.
The ministry appointed a new director general of EPTV, Nadir Boukabes, in December 2022. The ministry did not explain why Lounakel was fired, yet local media alleged that he allowed the public television to report on an international football match won by Morocco. In Algeria, reporting positively on Morocco is forbidden by the government.
Source of funding and budget
EPTV is financed through a combination of state funding, revenue from the license fee paid by households and advertising sales. EPTV has not published financial data recently. According to local experts who viewed an EPTV budget in recent years, the state allocation accounts for more than 70% of EPTV’s total budget. In 2021, EPTV received from the Ministry of Communication a subsidy of DZD 6.1bn (US$ 45m).
For 2022, the government allocated a similar amount (roughly DZD 6 bn) from the state budget and an additional cash injection of DZD 550m from the ministry of communication budget. Additionally, Algerian households are charged a license fee for the public television via the electricity bill.
Editorial independence
The editorial coverage at EPTV is tightly controlled by the government. Censorship is very common at EPTV, according to local experts. However, in recent years the station’s journalists have more often than before raised their voices against the pressure under which they work in on a regular basis. Yet, that hasn’t freed the broadcaster from the editorial control by the government. The latest incident where the director of the station was fired without explanation because he allowed a report not liked by the government is proof that the station is totally under the government control.
The decree that established EPTV puts forward a series of provisions governing the broadcaster’s programming. Yet, no domestic statute that establishes the editorial independence of EPTV has been identified.
No independent assessment or oversight mechanism that would validate the editorial independence of EPTV has been identified.
August 2023