Television
The National Television was established in the 1960s and was supported by NRC expertise and facilitation. Through the years, the National Radio and TV have been branded as a national entity and are now referred to as the National Radio and Television Corporation (NRTC). The two institutions have unified management which has made it easier for the regime to control content and manage staff. The National TV maintains the same status of the National Radio as the government follows the same total control policies.
Officially there are 19 television stations operating in Sudan using the Nilesat satellite, but there are state television stations that also benefit from the national television’s access to the same satellite. Although the television channels in Sudan are free and there are no subscription fees or conditions applied to consumers, recently some private and national television stations have been moving to the new system called DVB-S2 which will block approximately half of the consumers who do not have access to the HD digital home satellite television receiver.
Private media lacks the freedom required to operate and compete in the local market. The advance of TV channels from other Middle East countries has attracted the Sudanese public for entertainment content more than the local TVs stations. This lack of support creates instability in the market and leads to the closure of many private media channels such as Harmony TV.