Founded in 1974, Télévision Centrafricaine (TVCA) serves as the official public broadcaster of the Central African Republic. Despite its national mandate, the station’s reach remains largely confined to the capital, Bangui, owing to outdated infrastructure and malfunctioning transmission equipment. As of mid-2025, only one of its two transmitters remains operational, and even that functions with limited range and reliability.
Media assets
Television: TVCA
State Media Matrix Typology
Ownership and governance
TVCA is a state-run entity operating directly under the Ministry of Communication and Media. It does not benefit from the oversight of a board of directors, nor is its status regulated by a dedicated media law. Instead, it functions as a directorate within the ministry, with its senior leadership appointed through opaque procedures heavily influenced by the presidency. According to journalists familiar with the broadcaster, the president’s office has historically exerted significant sway over editorial and managerial appointments—a practice last documented in 2020.
Source of funding and budget
The broadcaster is wholly financed by the state, but budgetary details remain undisclosed to the public. Government funding covers operational costs, though no detailed allocation figures have been made available since 2020. In a symbolic gesture to revitalize the institution, President Faustin-Archange Touadéra ordered a refurbishment of the broadcaster’s headquarters in 2020—its first major upgrade in over four decades. This led to a formal relaunch of the station in March 2020, though its structural limitations persist.
Editorial independence
TVCA operates more as a government mouthpiece than as an independent public broadcaster. Editorial content is overwhelmingly focused on covering the activities and pronouncements of government officials, with little space for critical or pluralistic perspectives.
The station’s editorial autonomy is effectively curtailed by its management structure and political oversight. While the General Directorate claims its mission is to inform, educate, and entertain the public with trustworthy programming, no legal safeguards or external evaluation mechanisms exist to guarantee or verify its independence.
July 2025