Established in 1994, Palestinian Broadcasting Corporation (PBC) consists of a radio station that operates as the Voice of Palestine, and a satellite channel known as Palestinian Satellite Channel. Palestine TV launched broadcasting in 1996 in Gaza. The broadcaster was in the past targeted by Israel’s military that used to accuse PBC of airing propagandistic reports that incited violence.
Media assets
Television: Palestine TV, Palestine Satellite Channel;
Radio: Voice of Palestine
State Media Matrix Typology: State-Controlled (SC)
Ownership and governance
Palestine Radio and TV Corporation, the original name of PBC, was created in 1993 as a state broadcaster by the late President Yasser Arafat. In 2010, Presidential Decree No. 2 of 2010 laid the basis for establishing Palestine Public Broadcasting Corporation (PBC) as a public entity subordinated to the President. PBC replaced Palestine Radio and TV Corporation.
Source of funding and budget
There is no official information about PBC’s financial resources. Local journalists and experts interviewed for this report in June 2024 say that PBC is fully funded by the Palestinian Authority, the self-government body of the Palestinian territories. Media reports confirm that. The latest data about the PBC budget are from 2017.
Editorial independence
Although the 2010 decree was meant to transform PBC into a public service broadcaster, the organization is far from achieving its public service mission. It is rather a government tool used to disseminate the government’s perspectives and to promote its policies.
Although the Decree that established PBC in 2010 as a public media institution contains several provisions regarding the broadcaster’s mission, it (or any official regulation of PBC) does not include any provisions regarding news and editorial independence.
No body or mechanism to independently validate the editorial independence of PBC has been identified.
July 2024