Radiodiffusion Télévision Ivoirienne (RTI) is the public media broadcaster in Cote d’Ivoire. It runs two radio channels and four television ones. The group was created in 1962.
Media assets
Radio: Radio Cote d’Ivoire, Frequence 2
Television: RTI1, RTI2, La3, RTI Bouake
News portal: RTI Info
State Media Matrix Typology: Captured Public/State-Managed (CaPu)
Ownership and governance
RTI was established as a public corporation with founding capital entirely owned by the state. The company is subordinated to the Ministry of Communications. The highest authority at RTI is a Board of Directors whose members are appointed, most of them (10 out of 11), by the President of the country. The majority of these members are representatives of state ministries, according to our own intel gathered in recent years.
Source of funding and budget
RTI is funded through a combination of state subsidies, revenues from advertising sales, license fee (a tax paid by households that is included in the electricity bill) and other forms of commercial partnerships with local businesses. RTI has not disclosed financial data in recent years. The director general of RTI said in an interview in October 2021 that nearly 49% of the broadcaster’s budget of around XOF 22bn (US$ 38m) is accounted for by revenues collected from the license fee, with the rest coming from commercial revenue and some state subsidies.
Editorial independence
There are no official editorial rules forcing RTI to give privileged coverage to authorities. However, indirectly, thanks to their control of the governing body that runs the station, the authorities are in full editorial control at RTI, according to local journalists and experts.
According to the law 108 of 2004, which created the legal framework for the RTI, the broadcaster must guarantee the independence and pluralism of information. However, in reality this provision is not complied with, as assessed by expert studies.
No oversight or assessment mechanism to validate RTI’s editorial independence has been identified.
September 2023