Palestinian Broadcasting Corporation (PBC)

The Palestinian Broadcasting Corporation (PBC) (Arabic: هيئة الإذاعة والتلفزيون الفلسطينية), formally restructured in 2010 as the Palestine Public Broadcasting Corporation, is the official broadcaster of the Palestinian Authority. PBC was established by Presidential Decree No. 4566 of 6 July 1993, signed by President Yasser Arafat, with operations beginning in 1994 and headquarters in Ramallah. The broadcaster was restructured by Presidential Decree No. 2/2010 with the stated aim of developing it as a public broadcasting institution, but it remains institutionally subordinate to the Palestinian Authority’s official-media structure and the office of the President.

Media assets

Television: Palestine TV, Palestine Satellite Channel

Radio: Voice of Palestine

Ownership and governance

PBC operates as the official broadcaster of the Palestinian Authority under direct official-media supervision. The broadcaster was originally established under Presidential Decree No. 4566 of 6 July 1993 by President Yasser Arafat and began broadcasting operations in 1994. Presidential Decree No. 2/2010 subsequently restructured the broadcaster as the Palestine Public Broadcasting Corporation and articulated an intention to develop it as a public-service media institution. That aspiration has not materialised in practice: PBC remains institutionally subordinate to the Palestinian Authority’s official-media structure rather than functioning as an independent public-service broadcaster.

Current public PBC material identifies Minister Ahmad Assaf as the General Supervisor of Official Media, a role he has held since his appointment by President Mahmoud Abbas in January 2016. Assaf is publicly identified as supervising the Palestinian Broadcasting Corporation and official media, and as chairman of PBC in earlier official reporting. The previous reference to Ahmad Hazoury as current General Manager should be treated as outdated unless SMM has separate internal confirmation of his current role. No leadership change during the 2025/26 SMM review period was identified that would alter the broadcaster’s institutional classification.

The 2007 Hamas takeover of Gaza fragmented PBC’s territorial reach. PBC transmissions have historically been blocked in Gaza since the Hamas takeover, while the broadcaster’s operational centre has remained in Ramallah. The October 2025 Gaza ceasefire framework did not produce any publicly documented structural restoration of PBC governance or distribution in Gaza during the SMM review period.

The wider cycle context for PBC governance was shaped by President Abbas’s appointment of Hussein Al-Sheikh on 26 April 2025 as Deputy Chairman of the PLO Executive Committee and Deputy President of the State of Palestine, and by the continuation of Prime Minister Mohammad Mustafa, in office since 31 March 2024, throughout the cycle. No structural restructuring introducing editorial independence or arm’s-length governance for PBC was identified during the 2025/26 SMM review.

Source of funding and budget

PBC is funded by the Palestinian Authority through public allocations and official-media funding arrangements. According to SMM-retained expert sources and local media analysts and journalists consulted in June 2024, the broadcaster receives its operational funding from the Palestinian Authority and does not operate on significant advertising or commercial income.

No standalone 2025/26 allocation for PBC was identified in publicly disclosed Palestinian Authority budget documentation reviewed by SMM during the cycle, and no independent audited disclosure or budget breakdown for the broadcaster’s operations has been made available. This absence of independent audited disclosure for PBC-specific operations continued through the SMM 2025/26 review.

The Gaza conflict that began in October 2023 and continued through successive phases of escalation directly affected media infrastructure across the Palestinian Territories. PBC-affiliated and wider Palestinian media operations have faced disruption from insecurity, Israeli restrictions, infrastructure damage and the continuing political division between the West Bank and Gaza. The October 2025 ceasefire framework reduced some immediate conflict pressures but did not produce a documented structural funding reform or stable operational settlement for PBC during the review period.

Editorial independence

PBC operates under strict state editorial control, with content production designed to reflect and amplify the positions of the Palestinian Authority and the official-media structure under President Abbas. According to SMM-retained expert sources and local and international media analysts consulted during prior cycles, the broadcaster is widely perceived as an arm of government communication, tasked with echoing official narratives and amplifying state policies rather than serving as a platform for pluralistic or critical journalism. Editorial decisions are subject to government approval or alignment, whether directly or indirectly.

The 2025/26 cycle did not produce any structural editorial reform for PBC. The 2010 Presidential Decree No. 2/2010 articulated an intent to develop the broadcaster into a public-service media institution, but no statutory editorial-independence guarantee, internal editorial charter, independent regulatory body or external oversight mechanism monitoring PBC’s compliance with journalistic standards was identified during the cycle.

AI and digital policy

PBC has not published a public-facing institutional AI governance policy. The main digital and technical modernisation reference points for the broadcaster are its PBC.ps website, PBC Play mobile application, live streaming, social-media channels and online distribution infrastructure operated under Palestinian Authority supervision. No cycle-window AI-tool deployment or generative-AI editorial integration was identified at PBC during the SMM 2025/26 review, and no public framework governing the use of generative AI or AI-enabled systems in editorial decision-making, verification, newsroom production, archiving, distribution or audience-facing content has been published.

Classification rationale

PBC remains classified as State-Controlled (SC) for the 2026 cycle. The broadcaster operates as the official broadcaster of the Palestinian Authority under direct official-media and presidential supervision, with the 2010 restructuring as the Palestine Public Broadcasting Corporation having articulated but not delivered any functioning arm’s-length public-service architecture, and there is no statutory editorial-independence guarantee, independent oversight body or effective editorial firewall protecting PBC’s output from government direction; current public sources identify Minister Ahmad Assaf as General Supervisor of Official Media (appointed by President Abbas in January 2016), supervising PBC and the wider official-media structure. The broadcaster is funded through Palestinian Authority public funding arrangements with no significant independent commercial revenue identified, no standalone 2025/26 PBC budget line identified in publicly disclosed documentation, and no audited public financial disclosure available for PBC-specific operations. The 2025/26 cycle produced no governance, funding or editorial reform sufficient to move PBC out of the SC category: the broadcaster continued to function as the Palestinian Authority’s official broadcaster from its Ramallah headquarters under President Abbas during a cycle marked by the appointment of Hussein Al-Sheikh as Deputy President of the State of Palestine, the fragile October 2025 Gaza ceasefire framework and continuing conflict-related disruption, and the absence of structural editorial-independence safeguards.

June 2026