Ethiopian Broadcasting Corporation (EBC) is Ethiopia’s state-owned public service broadcaster, headquartered in Addis Ababa. The broadcaster originated as Ethiopian Radio (established in 1935) and Ethiopian Television (ETV)(launched in 1964). In 2015, following the merger of the two, the organization was rebranded as EBC.
Media assets
Television: Nationwide-ETV News, ETV Languages, ETV Entertainment, ETV Sport, ETV East, ETV West, ETV North, ETV South, ETV Representative
Radio: Ethiopian National Radio, FM Addis 97.1, FM 104.7
State Media Matrix Typology
Ownership and governance
EBC is fully owned by the Ethiopian government and operates under the Ethiopian Broadcasting Corporation Establishment Proclamation No. 858/2014, which defines it as an autonomous institution accountable to Parliament. However, the corporation’s autonomy has been widely questioned.
The governing board includes six members affiliated with the ruling party. As of June 2025, Fekadu Tessema, a senior figure formerly leading the Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF), continues to serve as board chair—a position he has held since 2019.
The chief executive officer is nominated by the government and confirmed by Parliament. In December 2023, Parliament appointed Getnet Tadesse as the new Director General of EBC, replacing long-serving director Nigusu Tilahun.
Source of funding and budget
EBC’s budget and funding structure remain opaque. The founding proclamation vaguely states that EBC shall be financed through government allocations and other unspecified revenues “collected in accordance with this proclamation.” There is no publicly available annual financial report.
Although EBC claimed in 2016 that it was fully self-financed through advertising revenues, this has not been independently verified. More than 50% of its current budget is estimated to come from direct government funding, according to internal sources and media analysts.
The license fee, meant to be a public contribution to fund EBC, remains poorly enforced. Despite a November 2022 bill doubling the annual license fee from ETB 60 to ETB 120 (approx. US$ 2.2), the collection rate remains low. The bill includes enforcement mechanisms such as fines and jail time for non-payment, sparking public and parliamentary criticism. Legislators argued that EBC’s content quality should improve before any increase in public contributions is justified. Despite opposition, the bill was passed by the House of People’s Representatives in late 2022.
According to official data, EBC’s budget for the 2023–2024 fiscal year reached approximately ETB 600 million (US$ 10.4 million). No official data has been released yet for the 2024–2025 budget, but early parliamentary discussions suggest a moderate increase tied to infrastructure upgrades and digital broadcasting investments.
Editorial independence
While the legal framework does not grant the EBC board formal editorial control, practical boundaries between governance and editorial decision-making remain blurred. EBC has consistently been perceived as an outlet closely aligned with the government.
Under Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, concerns about direct interference have intensified. Several senior journalists from EBC, interviewed in 2023 and 2024, reported recurring instances of editorial censorship, especially during politically sensitive events such as the Tigray conflict, Oromia protests, and election coverage.
The proclamation establishing EBC outlines the broadcaster’s general mission but fails to provide specific legal guarantees for editorial independence. No independent regulatory or supervisory mechanism exists to monitor or protect editorial freedom at the corporation.
As of mid-2025, multiple academic assessments and watchdog reports continue to categorize EBC as a pro-government outlet, raising questions about its capacity to fulfill a public service mandate in line with democratic norms.
June 2025