Nepal Television (NTV) is the most popular television station in Nepal. It had a monopoly on television broadcasting until 2003, when the first private television channels were allowed to operate in the country.
Media assets
Television: NTV, NTV Plus, NTV News, NTV Kohalpur, NTV Itahari
State Media Matrix Typology: State-Controlled (SC)
Ownership and governance
NTV is a wholly government-owned company under the Ministry of Communication and Information Technology. In May 2023, it was reported that the Nepalese government plans to merge Nepal Television and Radio Nepal into a single public broadcaster within the next two fiscal years.
In September 2024, the Public Service Broadcasting Bill was passed by both houses of parliament. The bill stipulates that the two institutions, Radio Nepal and Nepal Television, are to be operated as a single entity. The chair of the council that will be responsible for overseeing the newly formed institution will be a state official, either the communications minister or a state minister. Until the new institution is fully operational, we will maintain the two media outlets separately in our database.
Source of funding and budget
NTV is mainly funded by the government. State subsidies make up the largest part of the broadcaster’s budget. The government also spends money from a state advertising fund to finance the station, according to local experts and journalists interviewed for this report in May 2023 and June 2024.
Editorial independence
Despite efforts and initiatives by NGOs and politicians to transform NTV into a truly independent public service broadcaster, it is still editorially controlled by the government and perceived as a government mouthpiece.
The proposed merger of Radio Nepal and Nepal Television was anticipated to facilitate enhanced editorial autonomy for the two entities. However, the bill did not ultimately include the provisions recommended by experts with the objective of guaranteeing the broadcaster’s editorial autonomy. Therefore, it is unlikely that there will be any change in the way they report.
No national statute or independent evaluation or monitoring mechanism was identified to validate NTV’s editorial independence.
September 2024