Société de radio et de télévision du Bénin (SRTB)

The Société de radio et de télévision du Bénin (SRTB) is Benin’s national public broadcaster and the country’s primary state-run media institution. Public broadcasting in Benin traces back to the Office de radiodiffusion et de télévision du Dahomey (ORTD), created in 1972; it became the Office de radiodiffusion et de télévision du Bénin (ORTB) in 1975 after Dahomey adopted the name Benin, and television broadcasting began in 1978. In a significant institutional overhaul, the government created SRTB by Decree No. 2023-582 of 8 November 2023, through the merger-absorption of ORTB and the Centre multimédia des adolescents et des jeunes du Bénin (CMAJB). The reconstituted broadcaster oversees three television channels and four radio stations, and is headquartered in Cotonou; its new visual identity was launched on 6 April 2025.

The merger combined ORTB’s national reach with CMAJB’s youth-focused platforms, the former Ado TV, relaunched as Bénin TV Junior in 2025, and Ado FM, in what the government described as a move to modernise and diversify public broadcasting.

Media assets

Television: Bénin TV, Bénin TV Junior and Bénin TV Alafia

Radio: Radio Bénin, Radio Parakou, Kiff FM and Radio Bénin Alafia

Ownership and governance

SRTB is a state-owned public audiovisual company, created by Decree No. 2023-582 of 8 November 2023. Its predecessor ORTB had been governed under an earlier framework, formalised through ordinance No. 75-43 of 1975, amended after 1990 as Benin transitioned to multi-party democracy, with decree No. 99-315 of 1999 granting public-establishment status of a “social, scientific and cultural character”, which now serves as historical background to the current entity.

The broadcaster operates under the authority of the government department responsible for communication, which retains de facto control over strategic decisions, including financial appropriations and managerial appointments. Following the inauguration of President Romuald Wadagni and the formation of his first government on 24 May 2026, Benin re-established a Ministry of Communication in charge of Media, a portfolio that had been abolished in 2021, and appointed Aurélie Adam Soulé Zoumarou to head it; Beninese media described the restoration of a dedicated communications ministry as a notable signal in a period of declining press freedom.

According to the State Media Monitor review, SRTB’s governing board was reduced from seven to five members under a 2022 reform; board members are nominated or vetted by state institutions, including the presidency and line ministries, reinforcing the broadcaster’s close alignment with government priorities. Leadership has turned over in the current cycle: Angela Aquereburu Rabatel, a Togolese audiovisual professional, was appointed Director-General in February 2025 and took office in March 2025, but left the role in March 2026; Beninese reporting identified Ogoutchina Koundé, a longstanding figure in Benin’s public broadcasting, as interim Director-General, with Serge Ayaka taking interim charge of the national television service.

Source of funding and budget

SRTB is predominantly financed through state budget allocations, with the responsible ministry proposing the broadcaster’s annual budget for government ratification; although its corporate mandate permits advertising and related commercial activity, no detailed public financial statements were identified, and the broadcaster appears structurally dependent on public funds, and, by extension, exposed to political influence. No public financial reports have been made available since the 2023 institutional reform.

Late budget approval has been a recurring grievance among staff. According to the State Media Monitor review, although the salary allocation for 2024 was approved only in mid-2024, its downstream effects continued to be felt into 2025, with programmes, equipment and operations chronically underfunded; the staff union SYNTRAP warned in late 2024 that, without improved conditions, the broadcaster could face “dead-air days.” The financial strain has continued into 2026: Beninese media reported successive waves of staff reductions at SRTB during the year, reported to total around 200 posts, described as the largest cuts since the transformation of ORTB into SRTB.

Editorial independence

There is no formal statute granting SRTB editorial autonomy; while its legal framework does not explicitly authorise the government to interfere with content, editorial decisions are in practice heavily influenced by the executive. Reporters Without Borders reports that SRTB is required to relay the government’s message and that an editorial committee composed of government members reviews television news reports in advance (direct editorial control rather than merely informal alignment) and has repeatedly characterised the broadcaster, and previously ORTB, as functioning as a government mouthpiece, particularly under the administration of former President Patrice Talon.

There is no independent oversight mechanism to assess or enforce editorial independence, and journalists within the organisation reportedly face internal censorship and pressure to align coverage with official narratives, especially during election cycles or political crises, a concern heightened by the broadcaster’s role during the April 2026 presidential election, in which the governing coalition’s candidate, Romuald Wadagni, was confirmed by the Constitutional Court as the winner with 94.27% of the vote, an outcome opposition and rights groups criticised as a heavily managed succession.

These conditions sit within a national media environment that has deteriorated markedly: Benin fell 21 places to 113th of 180 in the RSF 2026 World Press Freedom Index, with its score dropping to 47.39, placing it in the “difficult” category, after a decade in which, according to Reporters Without Borders, 17 media outlets were suspended.

AI and digital policy

No SRTB-specific published policy on AI-generated content, synthetic-media disclosure, or content-provenance standards such as C2PA was identified. Benin has pursued an active digital-governance agenda in recent years, led by the ministry previously responsible for the digital economy and digitalisation, but this has not yet extended to sector-specific rules on AI-generated or synthetic news content in the public broadcasting sphere.

May 2026