PTV is the state-owned television broadcaster of Pakistan, established in 1964. Since that time, the company has expanded significantly, becoming a major television broadcaster with a workforce of 6,000 employees. The station’s portfolio comprises the following channels: PTV Home, PTV Global, PTV National, PTV News and PTV Sports. The company’s programming is broadcast in Urdu, English, and a number of local languages spoken in various regions of Pakistan.
Media assets
Television: PTV News, PTV Home, PTV Sports, PTV World, PTV National, AJK TV, PTV Bolan, PTV Global, PTV Parliament
State Media Matrix Typology: Captured Public/State-Managed (CaPu)
Ownership and governance
PTV is a limited liability company fully owned by the Pakistani Government. Like PBC, PTV is operated as a department of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting.
PTV’s supreme governing structure is its board of directors that is appointed by the Federal Government. The Managing Director of PTV is also appointed by the government.
Source of funding and budget
In 2019, PTV operated with a total budget of PKR 11.1bn (US$ 61.9m). Over 71% of this was accounted for by revenues generated through the collection of a license fee attached to the electricity bill paid by households and companies. This form of funding is expected to prevent, to some extent, pressures from the government.
In 2020, the license fee was increased from PKR 35 (US$ 0.20) to PKR 60 (US$ 0.35) per month. In the 2020-2021 fiscal year, PTV generated revenues from advertising totalling PKR 1.3bn, representing a record high. However, the broadcaster also has liabilities amounting to PKR 19.41bn for the same period.
In the 2022 financial year, the government allocated approximately PKR 700m (equivalent to US$ 4.1m) to PTV.
Editorial independence
The analysis of editorial independence at PBC is comparable to that of PTV, given the similar treatment of state media in Pakistan by authorities over an extended period. PTV has been identified for decades as a government-affiliated media outlet.
Despite a brief period of optimism in 2018 when the Prime Minister pledged to lift the censorship regulations imposed on state media, the situation has not improved. PTV continues to operate as an official state media outlet with the primary objective of disseminating information about the government, according to local experts and journalists interviewed for this report in March 2023 and June 2024.
There is no domestic legislation in place, nor is there an independent assessment or oversight mechanism, that would validate the independence of PTV.
September 2024