Télé Liban
| Tele Liban Logo | |
| Type | Terrestrial & satellite television network |
|---|---|
| Country | |
| Availability | Lebanon Arab World European Union Australia Canada United States |
| Founded | 1959 |
| Owner | Lebanese Public (Governmental corporation) |
Official website | Official website |
Télé Liban (also known as TL, Template:Lang-ar) is the first Lebanese public television network, owned by the Lebanese government. TL is the current Lebanese member of the European Broadcasting Union (EBU).[1]
History
Compagnie libanaise de Télévision
The Lebanese government granted businessmen Wissam Izzeddine and Alex Moufarrej the first local television license in August 1956, and private Compagnie libanaise de Télévision (CLT). CLT aired programs for the first time on 28 May 1959, making it the first TV station not only in Lebanon but also in the region.[2] The station was officially launched by General Sleiman Nawfal with the aid of France.[1][3]
Télé-Orient=
The station remained Lebanon's only television station until Télé-Orient obtained its own license in July 1961[2] and began operating from Hazmieh.[4]
The Golden Age
Throughout the 1960s and until the 1970s, Télé Liban provided local, original programming as well as imports from France and the United States.[5] What made Télé Liban unique in the region was its creation of innovative content for a pluralistic country like Lebanon.[5]
During the Civil War
During the Lebanese Civil War, the two private television stations had been taken over by militias, CLT-based channel 7 located in West Beirut had been dominated by the left wing and Muslim militias and Télé-Orient Hazmieh station 5 located in Christian suburbs of East Beirut by right wing Christian militias. Both stations fell into presenting biased coverage according to the party dominating the station.
The newly elected president, Elias Sarkis wanted a unified media outlet to promote his agenda of peace and unity.[6] The two privately owned stations, CLT and Télé Orient, and their subsidiaries agreed to merge in a deal where half the shares were owned by the Lebanese government.[7] The Legislative Decree No. 100 was published in the National Gazette on 7 July 1977, making the merger official[6]
The private CLT and Télé-Orient rival stations would later be completely acquired and the merged company became a public television station and name changed to Télé Liban.
Post-War Period
When the civil war ended, Télé Liban's monopoly was removed under the 1994 Audiovisual Media Law, and the station found itself for the first time facing tremendous competition.[8] Other television stations with more innovative programming, such as the Lebanese Broadcasting Corporation International, overtook Télé Liban's audience in the 1990s.[9]
Rafic Hariri bought the private sector shares of Télé Liban months before he became prime minister in 1992 and appointed Fouad Naïm as chairman, who quickly revamped the station.[10] However, the government bought back all the shares from the private sector in 1994.[11]
The plethora of private terrestrial and satellite stations available in the Lebanese television market came at the expense of Télé Liban, which since the late 1990s been in continuous decline.[5]
Administration
Initially, Télé Liban was managed by a board composed of twelve directors, six representing the government and six representing TLC and Télé Orient.[6]
The chair of the channel is appointed by the Lebanese cabinet. Jean Claude Boulos and Ibrahim El Khoury (chairman from 1999 to 2013) were former presidents of the channel during the 1990s.[12] from 2014 to 2017 Talal Makdessi was the new temporary president of the channel until a committee from the new Council of Ministers appointed a new board,[13] but currently Télé Liban does not have a Chairman of the Board knowing that after a judicial decision on 26 May 2017, Makdessi was dismissed[14][3]
Availability
As of 2012, Télé Liban became available for viewers in North and South America through over-the-top technology on myTV.[15]
See also
References
- ^ a b "Tele Liban". Tele Liban. Retrieved 22 October 2012.
- ^ a b "Télé Liban looks to continue a long, prestigious history". Annahar. Retrieved 22 May 2018.
- ^ a b "Lebanese media coverage of oil and gas sector" (PDF). SKeyes. August 2014. Retrieved 16 September 2014.[permanent dead link]
- ^ Harb, Zahera. Channels of Resistance in Lebanon: Liberation Propaganda, Hezbollah and the Media, I.B.Tauris (15 April 2011), page 98
- ^ a b c Kraidy. Marwan M.Hybridity, or the Cultural Logic of Globalization, Pearson Longman, Temple University, 2005, page 123
- ^ a b c Harb, Zahera. Channels of Resistance in Lebanon: Liberation Propaganda, Hezbollah and the Media, I.B.Tauris (15 April 2011), page 97
- ^ Harb, Zahera. Channel of Resistance in Lebanon: Liberation Propaganda, page 97
- ^ Sakr, Naomi. Arab Television Today, I. B. Tauris & Co. Ltd., London 2007, page 34
- ^ Rugh, William A. Arab Mass Media: Newspapers, Radio, and Television in Arab Politics, Praeger Publishers, Westpport, CT, 2004, page 203
- ^ Harb, Zahera. Channels of Resistance in Lebanon: Liberation Propaganda, Hezbollah and the Media, I.B.Tauris (15 April 2011), page 102
- ^ Harb, Zahera. Channels of Resistance in Lebanon: Liberation Propaganda, Hezbollah and the Media, I.B.Tauris (15 April 2011), page 103
- ^ "Lahoud implores Tele-Liban to prioritize satellite broadcasting". The Daily Star. 30 April 1999. Retrieved 22 October 2012.
- ^ "Télé Liban launches reforms". BusinessNews.com.lb. Retrieved 19 February 2021.
- ^ "Télé Liban". lebanon.mom-rsf.org. Retrieved 19 February 2021.
- ^ Channels List Archived 28 June 2012 at the Wayback Machine My TV.
| National |
|  |
|---|---|---|
| Cable and satellite | ||
| Defunct | ||
