National Television and Radio Company of Uzbekistan (MTRK)

MTRK is Uzbekistan’s state broadcaster, operating national and regional television and radio services. Regular radio broadcasting in Tashkent dates from 11 February 1927 and regular television broadcasting from 5 November 1956. In independent Uzbekistan, the former state committee was transformed into the State Television and Radio Broadcasting Company by presidential decree on 7 January 1992 and reorganised as Oʻzteleradio on 7 May 1996. Presidential Decree PF-3678 of 8 November 2005 reconstituted Oʻzteleradio as the National Television and Radio Company of Uzbekistan, while Resolution PQ-245 of 27 December 2005 established its operating structure.

Media assets

Central television: Oʻzbekiston, Yoshlar, Sport, Toshkent, Madaniyat va Maʼrifat, Dunyo Boʻylab, Bolajon, Navo, Diyor, Oilaviy, Kinoteatr, Mahalla, Oʻzbekiston 24 and Oʻzbekiston Tarixi

Territorial television: Qoraqalpogʻiston, Andijon, Buxoro, Fargʻona, Jizzax, Namangan, Navoiy, Qashqadaryo, Samarqand, Sirdaryo, Surxondaryo and Xorazm

Central radio: Oʻzbekiston, Yoshlar, Toshkent, Mahalla and Oʻzbekiston 24

Territorial radio: twelve services operated by the territorial television and radio companies

Government planning documents record 26 television channels and 17 radio stations within the MTRK system. Programming is principally in Uzbek, with Russian, Karakalpak and other-language output varying by service and region.

The system is not uniform in legal form. Under Resolution PQ-245, the Yoshlar teleradio channel operates as a joint-stock company in which the state and the Youth Union of Uzbekistan each hold 50 per cent. MTRK administers the state share, while Bolajon and Navo operate within the Yoshlar structure. Other channels and territorial companies sit directly within the MTRK system.

Ownership and governance

MTRK is state-owned and accountable to the Cabinet of Ministers. Under its governing regulation, the chairman and four deputy chairmen are appointed and dismissed by the Cabinet of Ministers in agreement with the President.

Abdurashid Joʻraboyev was appointed chairman on 2 February 2024, succeeding Alisher Xoʻjayev. MTRK’s current leadership page continues to identify him as chairman. Before joining MTRK, Joʻraboyev headed the Prime Minister’s Secretariat. His earlier positions included deputy adviser to the President, head of a Cabinet secretariat responsible for youth policy, culture, mass media and public organisations, and chairman of a Legislative Chamber committee covering information and communications technology.

The chairman appoints the heads of MTRK’s subdivisions, organisations and institutions. He may also alter their organisational structures within the overall staffing limits approved for the MTRK system. The company has a collegium, but its membership is approved by the Cabinet on the chairman’s recommendation and it does not constitute independent supervision.

Presidential Decree PF-111 of 14 July 2025 abolished the Agency for Information and Mass Communications and transferred its information-sphere monitoring and control functions to Uzkomnazorat. This altered the surrounding state oversight structure but did not change MTRK’s ownership or establish an independent broadcasting regulator.

Source of funding and budget

MTRK is financed principally from the state budget. Uzbekistan’s 2026 State Budget Law allocates MTRK UZS 887.5908 billion, comprising UZS 811.6408 billion in current expenditure and UZS 75.95 billion in capital expenditure. The allocation includes UZS 20 billion for converting Oʻzbekiston 24 and Mahalla to full high-definition broadcasting.

The currently published amended 2025 budget records an allocation of UZS 927.9255 billion. The UZS 881.3 billion figure reported in January 2025 represented an earlier budget position and should not be treated as the final published annual allocation.

State financing is not MTRK’s only permitted source. Resolution PQ-245 provides for financing from the State Budget and extra-budgetary income authorised by law.

MTRK’s open-data portal publishes quarterly information on budget distributions, expenditure, balance sheets and movements in extra-budgetary funds.

Editorial independence

Local journalists and analysts interviewed by State Media Monitor in 2023 and 2024 said that MTRK’s editorial content closely mirrors government communications.

The governance structure supports that assessment. MTRK is accountable to the Cabinet of Ministers; the Cabinet appoints its chairman and deputies in agreement with the President; and the chairman appoints the heads of individual channels and other subdivisions. No institutionally independent body participates in these appointments or supervises editorial policy.

Formal legal safeguards nevertheless exist. Articles 5 and 5¹ of Uzbekistan’s Law on Mass Media declare the media free, prohibit obstruction of or interference in media activity, and provide that state support must not be used to restrict professional independence. Article 7 prohibits censorship, including requirements for prior approval, alteration or withdrawal of material.

These provisions do not establish structural independence at MTRK. State Media Monitor identified no independent governing body, protected editorial appointment process or external mechanism capable of enforcing editorial autonomy against the state owner and government-appointed management.

AI and digital policy

State Media Monitor could not identify a published MTRK policy governing generative artificial intelligence, mandatory human verification, model provenance or audience disclosure, and could not establish the extent to which AI is used in production.

Uzbekistan adopted an Artificial Intelligence Development Strategy to 2030 in October 2024. Amendments enacted in January 2026 subsequently introduced AI provisions into the Law on Informatization, including a prohibition on relying exclusively on AI for legally significant decisions affecting individual rights.

Binding Rules of Ethics for the Development and Use of Artificial Intelligence took effect on 17 June 2026. They apply to developers, implementers and users of AI systems and establish principles including transparency, explainability and human oversight. They also require users to receive information about relevant capabilities, limitations and risks.

State Media Monitor did not identify a separate provision requiring broadcasters to label every news item produced or assisted by artificial intelligence.

Classification rationale

MTRK remains classified State-Controlled Media (SC).

It is state-owned and state-governed. MTRK is accountable to the Cabinet of Ministers, which appoints and dismisses its chairman and deputies in agreement with the President. The chairman appoints the heads of individual channels and subdivisions. No independent supervisory board, protected appointment procedure or external governance mechanism was identified.

It is predominantly state-funded. The 2026 State Budget allocates MTRK UZS 887.5908 billion. Extra-budgetary income is legally permitted and quarterly information is published, but its proportion of consolidated revenue and the existence of independent audited accounts were not established.

Its editorial agenda is aligned with the state. Interview evidence describes output closely reflecting government communications, while MTRK’s governance and appointment arrangements provide no separation from the executive. The freedom and anti-censorship guarantees in the Mass Media Law are relevant formal protections but are not supported by institutionally independent governance or enforcement.

September 2026