The National Media Authority (NMA) was established in 2014 to replace the state broadcast company Egyptian Radio and Television Union (ERTU), which had been set up in 1954. The NMA manages the television and radio broadcast channels that used to be run by ERTU. It also owns the companies Egyptian Media Production City, which rents satellite broadcasting studios in Egypt, and NileSat, a satellite program distributor.
Media assets
Television: National- Channel 1, Channel 2, Channel Egypt
Regional- Cairo Channel, Canal Channel, Alexandria Channel, Delta Channel, Upper Channel, Thebes Channel; Nile TV satellite chain, Nile TV International, Nile Sport
Radio: National- General Programme, Voice of the Arabs, Middle East Radio, European Program Radio, Cultural Radio, Youth and Spots Radio, Radio Greater Cairo, Songs Radio, News & Music Radio, Radio Masr, Al Qur’an al Karim Radio, Educational Radio, Voice of Palestine
Regional- North of Saaeed Radio, Nile Valley Radio, Middle Delta Radio, Radio Alexandria
International- Radio Cairo International, Radio Cairo World Service
State Media Matrix Typology: State-Controlled (SC)
Ownership and governance
The National Media Authority (NMA) was created as a public administration body in charge of running the Egyptian state broadcast media (that used to be managed by ERTU) as part of a legislative overhaul that began in 2014, which included the adoption of a new Constitution. Officially, NMA began its operations in 2018, its tasks being nailed down in the Law No. 178 of the same year. According to this law, the President of the Republic directly appoints a third of the nine NMA members and the rest based on nominations from the Ministry of Finance, the Government, the telecom regulator, Parliament, the press trade union and the print and advertising union (one nomination each).
Source of funding and budget
NMA is funded through a combination of several sources, the largest being the state subsidy. For the fiscal year 2022/2023, NMA had a total budget of EGP 24.9bn (US$ 805m), according to a state budget document from the Egyptian ministry of finance. Some EGP 18.4bn (US$ 595m) is represented by a contribution from the state treasury.
The authority also receives revenues generated through the collection of the car radio tax, which is imposed on all car owners (that have a car with a radio set) in Egypt. The state funding accounts for more than three quarters of the NMA annual budget, according to estimates from local journalists and experts.
Editorial independence
The state media run by NMA have been under the government’s tight editorial control for years, going back to the time when they were run by the ERTU. Following a series of changes in the laws governing the media in Egypt, which were aimed at expanding the influence of the government over more of the media in the country, in recent years the censorship at the NMA became even harsher than before, according to local journalists and experts.
No domestic statute establishing the editorial independence of NMA has been identified. In fact, following the restructuring of the media that was begun in 2014, the NMA is even more closely monitoring the content on its media to ensure it is fully aligned with the government’s interests and agenda.
No independent oversight or assessment mechanism that would validate the editorial independence of the NMA’s media outlets has been identified.
August 2023