Bangladesh Television (BTV)

Bangladesh Television (BTV) is the state-owned national broadcaster of Bangladesh and the country’s oldest television network. It began transmission on 25 December 1964 as a pilot station in Dhaka, then part of East Pakistan, and was renamed Bangladesh Television after independence in 1971. It operates a national channel, a regional station in Chattogram (Chittagong), the parliamentary channel Sangsad Television, and the news channel BTV News.

Media assets

Television: BTV, BTV News, BTV Chattogram, Sangsad Television

BTV News launched on 31 December 2024, replacing the former international satellite service BTV World, which ceased operations the same day.

Ownership and governance

BTV is a government-owned broadcaster under the administrative control of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting. Its senior management, including the Director General, is appointed by the government, which sets the broadcaster’s budget and strategic direction. The most recent BTV director-general appointment identified was that of Mahbubul Alam in September 2024, made by the Ministry of Public Administration on a contractual basis under the interim government; the post is filled by government notification rather than through any independent or competitive process. No independent governing board, protected appointment procedure or statutory editorial firewall was identified.

The governance context has been in flux since the fall of the Awami League government in August 2024, but the essential structure has not changed. Following that political transition, the interim administration led by Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus launched a Media Reform Commission, which submitted its report to the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting in March 2025. The Commission recommended merging BTV, Bangladesh Betar and the Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha (BSS) news agency into a single, legally autonomous “National Broadcasting Corporation” governed by an independent media commission. In June 2025 a five-member advisers’ committee chaired by C.R. Abrar was formed to prepare a roadmap for the autonomy of BTV and Bangladesh Betar.

None of this was enacted. By late 2025, reporting indicated that the drive to grant BTV autonomy had become the committee’s only notable initiative and was facing resistance from BTV employees and parts of the bureaucracy, while most of the broader reform agenda had stalled. In January 2026 the interim government moved instead toward two draft laws, a Broadcasting Ordinance and a National Media Commission Ordinance, which drew criticism from press-freedom advocates who argued the drafts could entrench state control rather than remove it.

The political framework then changed again. A general election held on 12 February 2026 returned the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) to power with a large majority, and Tarique Rahman was sworn in as Prime Minister on 17 February 2026, ending 18 months of interim rule. The reform proposals developed under the interim government now rest with the elected administration, which had not enacted BTV’s structural separation from the state as of mid-2026.

Source of funding and budget

BTV depends predominantly on the state. Once substantially funded by advertising, its commercial revenue was eroded by the growth of private broadcasters, and the government now covers most of its costs, including salaries and capital expenditure. It also collects a licence fee, historically insufficient to meet operating costs. No recent audited breakdown of the balance between state funding and other income was identified.

Editorial independence

BTV has no editorial independence. It has long been regarded as an outlet for the government of the day, and its editorial line has followed official positions across successive administrations.

Independent assessment supports this. In the 2026 RSF World Press Freedom Index, published in April 2026, Bangladesh ranked 152nd of 180 with a score of 33.05, in the “very serious” category and down three places from 149th in 2025. RSF stated that BTV, Bangladesh Betar and BSS lack editorial independence and function as government mouthpieces. This assessment, made after the reform process began, indicates that the changes discussed since 2024 had not altered the broadcaster’s character. In May 2025 the interim government’s Information and Broadcasting Adviser had asserted that BTV, Bangladesh Betar and other outlets were free from government influence; RSF’s subsequent, independent evaluation did not support that characterisation. No domestic legal framework or independent body guaranteeing BTV’s editorial autonomy was identified, and RSF noted that the Cyber Security Act continued to permit warrantless arrests of journalists.

BTV was a focal point of the 2024 unrest. During the mass protests that culminated in the resignation of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on 5 August 2024, its Dhaka headquarters was set on fire on 18 July 2024, reflecting public identification of the broadcaster with the outgoing government.

AI and digital policy

BTV distributes content through terrestrial, satellite and online channels. No editorial policy governing generative artificial intelligence, synthetic media, automated production or disclosure of AI-assisted content was identified, and no national framework regulating AI use by state media was identified.

Classification rationale

BTV remains classified State-Controlled (SC). It is state-owned, its senior management is government-appointed, its budget and strategic direction are set by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, and no statutory board, regulator or editorial firewall protects its decision-making.

The reform process initiated after 2024 was significant but did not change the classification. The proposal to merge BTV, Betar and BSS into an autonomous corporation, and the committee formed to prepare a roadmap for BTV’s autonomy, remained proposals: neither was enacted before the interim government left office, and the RSF 2026 assessment confirms that BTV continued to function as a government broadcaster throughout. The 2026 draft ordinances were contested and, in the view of press-freedom advocates, risked reinforcing rather than removing state control. With an elected BNP government in office from February 2026, the direction of any future reform is undetermined, and the new administration had not set out a public position on BTV’s structural autonomy as of mid-2026.

The classification would be revisited if legislation establishing an independent governing board, protected appointments, secure multi-year funding and an enforceable editorial firewall were enacted and implemented in practice. No such change had occurred as of mid-2026.

July 2026