The Radiotelevisão Caboverdiana (RTC) is the public service media in Cape Verde. It runs the television channel TCV and the radio broadcaster RCV.
Media assets
Television: TCV
Radio: RCV
State Media Matrix Typology: Captured Public/State Managed Media (CaPu)
Ownership and governance
Radiotelevisão Caboverdiana (RTC) was established in May 1997 based on a proposal from José António dos Reis, then-Minister of Social Communication. The corporation was created by merging Rádio Nacional de Cabo Verde (RNC) and Televisão Nacional de Cabo Verde (TNCV). It is a publicly owned enterprise wholly owned by the government. Its leadership is appointed by an independent council. Until 2019, the government appointed the broadcaster’s governing body, which allowed for more state interference.
Source of funding and budget
The main source of financing at RTC is the revenue from a license fee, set at CVE 4.80 a month, which is collected by ELECTRA, the country’s flagship energy provider. In 2021, the revenue generated by the fees reached CVE 445m (US$ 4.76m), according to the latest available data from media reports. That was an increase from CVE 439m (US$ 4.5m) in 2020.
Some 70% of the funding generated by the fee is used to finance RTC with the rest going to cover digital transmission and other costs. The license fee usually covers over two-thirds of the RTC’s budget.
Editorial independence
RTC has editorial statutes (one for each TCV and RCV) that require its journalists to act professionally and conduct their work independently. Nevertheless, the broadcaster is still highly politicized, as state bodies continuously pressure it to give it favorable coverage. Analysis from international media freedom NGOs found that the decisions of the RTC’s main governing bodies “always coincide with what the government wants.” The broadcaster is known to prioritize coverage of the government’s activities. As a result of these pressures, self-censorship is a common phenomenon at RTC.
No oversight or assessment mechanism to validate RTC’s editorial independence was identified during the latest round of research.
July 2024