Azerbaijan Television and Radio Broadcasting (AzTV)

Azerbaijan Television and Radio Broadcasting, commonly known as AzTV, is Azerbaijan’s state broadcaster and is constituted as a closed joint-stock company. Azerbaijan Radio began broadcasting on 6 November 1926, while television broadcasting began on 14 February 1956. The present company was established from the former Azerbaijan State Television and Radio Broadcasting Company by Presidential Decree No. 213 of 23 March 2005. It operates three television channels and two radio services.

Media assets

Television: AzTV, İdman TV and Mədəniyyət TV

Radio: Azerbaijan Radio and International Radio, also branded Voice of Azerbaijan

AzTV’s current institutional page identifies all five services as parts of the company. Azerbaijan Radio broadcasts domestically on FM and other frequencies. International Radio, established in 1941, reported current broadcasting in twelve languages, including Azerbaijani, Turkish, Russian, English, French, Persian, Arabic, Armenian, Georgian, Lezgi, Talysh and Kurdish.

Ownership and governance

AzTV is wholly owned by the Republic of Azerbaijan. Its legal form and governance arrangements are set out in the company’s charter, approved by Cabinet of Ministers Resolution No. 106 of 18 June 2005.

The President appoints the Chairman and deputy chairmen. The company is managed operationally through a seven-member Management Board. Under the charter, the Management Board appoints and dismisses the heads of subordinate organisations and structural divisions with the consent of the Cabinet of Ministers.

Rovshan Mammadov was appointed deputy chairman on 15 January 2019 and Chairman by presidential order on 4 September 2019. AzTV’s current leadership page continues to identify him in that position.

The external regulatory structure changed in 2026. In August, the Media Development Agency was abolished and its functions were transferred to a new Media and Broadcasting Council, which also became the legal successor to the Audiovisual Council. On 8 September 2026, the President appointed Ahmad Ismayilov as chairman and appointed the Council’s six other members. The restructuring consolidated state regulation but did not establish an authority independent of the executive.

Source of funding and budget

AzTV is financed principally through the state budget. The approved 2026 budget provides approximately AZN 42.3 million, compared with approximately AZN 42.6 million in 2025. The 2026 budget breakdown also identifies separate allocations for the public broadcaster İTV, AZERTAC and the media regulatory bodies.

AzTV now publishes financial information. Its 2024 IFRS financial statements and independent auditor’s report received an unmodified audit opinion. At 31 December 2024, the company reported total assets of approximately AZN 34.164 million, liabilities of AZN 2.340 million and equity of AZN 31.823 million. It recorded a loss of approximately AZN 1.363 million for the year.

The previously reported figure of AZN 19.37 million appears in the later statements as an accumulated-profit or net-assets adjustment within equity rather than as annual operating profit.

The Chamber of Accounts has also examined AzTV’s use of public funds. Its opinion on the draft 2026 budget reported that approximately AZN 26 million paid to employees between 2023 and March 2025 had been classified as honoraria rather than wages. The Chamber said that treating the employment relationships as civil-law relationships was inconsistent with labour and tax requirements and resulted in mandatory social contributions not being deducted in full, restricting employees’ social-protection rights. The reported audit finding concerns financial and employment compliance and is not evidence about editorial practice.

Editorial independence

AzTV’s editorial agenda is closely aligned with the state. Journalists interviewed by State Media Monitor in 2023 and early 2024 described programming as consistently reflecting government positions.

The company’s formal mandate supports that assessment. Its charter directs it to produce television and radio material serving state and public interests, broadcast official state information, cover important events and speeches by state and political officials, and approve thematic broadcasting plans. AzTV’s own institutional descriptions state that İdman TV implements and promotes state sports policy, while Azerbaijan Radio seeks to preserve and develop the country’s state interests.

Independent monitoring provides direct evidence of editorial alignment. During the February 2024 presidential election, the OSCE/ODIHR found that AzTV and four other monitored broadcasters devoted less than two minutes of prime-time informational coverage in total to all contestants during the official campaign. AzTV was among the broadcasters providing extensive positive news coverage of the incumbent and regularly aired short promotional videos praising both the military and the President’s role in restoring territorial sovereignty. The mission concluded that negligible contestant coverage and the near-complete absence of critical coverage severely limited voters’ ability to make an informed choice. Its final election report recommended transforming AzTV into a genuine public-service broadcaster and placing management appointments with an independent body.

Formal statutory protections nevertheless exist. Articles 5 and 6 of Azerbaijan’s Law on Media, in force since February 2022, declare the media free, prohibit state censorship and unlawful interference, state that media activity is based on creative and editorial independence, and recognise journalists’ right to independence.

Those provisions do not create structural autonomy at AzTV. Its senior leadership is appointed by the President, subordinate appointments require executive involvement, and no independent governing body or protected editorial appointment process exists. Reporters Without Borders describes the same Media Law as legalising censorship in practice and says virtually the entire Azerbaijani media sector is under official control.

AI and digital policy

State Media Monitor could not identify a published AzTV editorial policy governing generative artificial intelligence, mandatory human verification, model provenance or audience disclosure, and could not establish the extent to which AI has been integrated into production.

Azerbaijan adopted an Artificial Intelligence Strategy for 2025 to 2028 through Presidential Decree No. 530 of 19 March 2025. The strategy establishes national development and governance objectives but is not itself a detailed editorial code for news organisations.

A binding synthetic-content rule was subsequently enacted. Law No. 387-VIIQD of 21 April 2026 added Article 13-2.7 to the Law on Information, Informatization and Protection of Information. It requires photo, video and audio material produced using artificial-intelligence technologies to carry clear and easily visible labelling when publicly displayed. The same legislative package restricts the creation and dissemination of certain fabricated or sexual material using a person’s image or voice without consent. The enacted provisions apply to material distributed through media as well as internet and telecommunications networks.

A companion amendment, Law No. 388-VIIQD, introduced an administrative fine of AZN 80 to AZN 150 for knowingly disseminating AI-generated photo, video or audio material without the required label. The legislation does not impose a separate obligation to label every text or every item merely assisted by AI.

Classification rationale

AzTV remains classified State-Controlled Media (SC).

It is wholly state-owned and directly state-governed. The Republic of Azerbaijan owns the company. The President appoints its chairman and deputy chairmen, while appointments to subordinate leadership require Management Board action and Cabinet consent. No independent supervisory board, protected appointment procedure or governance mechanism separates management from the executive.

It is principally state-funded. AzTV received an identifiable allocation of approximately AZN 42.3 million in the 2026 state budget. Commercial income is permitted and recorded, but its proportion was not established. Audited 2024 accounts are now available, correcting the earlier finding that the company published no financial information.

Its editorial agenda is directed by the state. The charter requires the company to broadcast official information and cover state officials and policy priorities. OSCE/ODIHR monitoring documented extensive positive coverage of the incumbent President and negligible coverage of other contestants during the 2024 election campaign. The formal freedom and anti-censorship provisions of the Media Law are not supported by independent governance or an enforcement mechanism capable of protecting AzTV’s editorial autonomy.

September 2026