Qatar Television

Qatar TV
Logo used since 2012
CountryQatar
Broadcast areaMiddle East, North Africa, Asia-Pacific,
HeadquartersDoha, Qatar
Programming
LanguageArabic
Picture format1080i HDTV
Ownership
OwnerQatar Media Corporation
History
Launched23 August 1970 (1970-08-23)
Links
Websiteqtv.qa

Qatar Television, (Arabic: تلفزيون قَطَر, romanized: Tilifizyūn Qaṭar); abbreviated as Qatar TV (or QTV), is a Qatar Government owned public service national television channel in Qatar which is owned and run by Qatar Media Corporation.[1]

Launched in August 1970, QTV was the first television network to produce and transmit its own programmes in the country. The network broadcasts various programmes including news, economical bulletins, documentaries, religious programmes and entertainment.

History

In the late 1960s, Qatar initiated plans to establish a national television service, later to be known as Qatar TV, under the Ministry of Information. The project involved constructing a central broadcasting station in Doha equipped with modern studios, production equipment, and transmission facilities. Extensive efforts were made to recruit and train Qatari staff in technical, editorial, and production roles, with some sent abroad for specialized training in other Arab and international broadcasting institutions. Trial operations featured pilot productions of news, cultural segments, entertainment programs, and coverage of national events, to prepare for a regular broadcasting schedule.[2]

Qatar TV's inaugural official broadcast, thereby marking the commencement of regular public transmissions, took place at 5 p.m. on 15 August 1970, approximately two years after the launch of Qatar Radio in 1968. It quickly became an established presence in households and government institutions across the country.[3]

Programmes were aired every day for three to four hours with a 50 kW transmitter[4] broadcast on channel 11.[5] Spillover enabled its signal to be received in parts of other Gulf countries and southern Iran.[6] In 1974, it began transmitting color broadcasts. It had a monopoly on television audience until 1993, when Qatar Cablevision began broadcasting satellite channels. Despite the broadening of television offerings, Qatar TV remains popular amongst locals.[7]

Preparations for a new HD studio were underway in 2012.[8]

Content

The channel has a strong traditionalist offering, with heavy amounts of religious and self-help programs, as well as news bulletins.[9] In 2013, it purchased its first Turkish series, Karadayı.[10]

Qatar Television has had three logos since its inception. The first was a drawing of a falcon, created by the station's in-house designer, Fouad Mohammad Ahmad Al Shibiny, who also made the national emblem. It was replaced in 2000 by a symbol representing the Al Dana pearl, created by Mohammed Ali Abdulla, and, in 2012, by the current one, featuring the calligraphic name of the country in Arabic, and the English name of the channel below.[11]

See also

References

  1. ^ "Media". Embassy of Qatar in Italy. Archived from the original on March 10, 2011. Retrieved April 8, 2015.
  2. ^ "Doha Television" (PDF). Doha Magazine (in Arabic) (10): 34–37. August 1970. Archived from the original (PDF) on August 19, 2025. Retrieved August 12, 2025.
  3. ^ "Qatar TV celebrates 54 years of creativity and leadership". The Peninsula Qatar. August 15, 2024. Retrieved August 12, 2025.
  4. ^ "The era of reform". New York: Permanent Mission of the State of Qatar to the United Nation. 1973. p. 4.
  5. ^ "Television Factbook" (PDF). 1977. p. 1126-b. Retrieved March 31, 2021.
  6. ^ "World Communications" (PDF). UNESCO. 1975. p. 335. Retrieved April 19, 2024.
  7. ^ Tourya Guaaybess (January 11, 2013). National Broadcasting and State Policy in Arab Countries. Palgrave Macmillan. pp. 1899–1900. ISBN 978-1-137-25765-9. Retrieved June 13, 2013.
  8. ^ "Qatar TV's new channel to launch under Pebble Beach Systems". broadcastprome.com.
  9. ^ "Como é a TV no Catar? País da Copa tem 13 canais estatais e já fez série fenômeno". Na Telinha (in Brazilian Portuguese).
  10. ^ "Qatar TV to air Turkish Drama – Karadayi". Asia-Pacific Broadcasting Union.
  11. ^ Salari, Fatemeh (August 17, 2022). "Fifty-two years on: Qatar TV celebrates anniversary". Doha News. Retrieved August 12, 2025.
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