Türkiye’s state broadcaster marked 58 years since its first television transmission on Saturday, as senior officials celebrated its evolution into a global communications network.
The Turkish Radio and Television Corporation (TRT), ‘the voice of Türkiye’, began television broadcasting on January 31, 1968, from what officials describe as “a modest studio” in Ankara.
Burhanettin Duran, Türkiye's Head of Communications, said the launch was “not merely a technical development” but a milestone that helped shape the country’s collective memory and cultural identity.
In an anniversary message shared on X, Duran wrote that TRT’s multilingual reach enables Türkiye to “successfully represent Türkiye’s truth, culture and values on the international stage,” pointing to its documentaries, cultural productions, and digital content as key elements of this mission.
He credited reforms under President Recep Tayyip Erdogan with transforming TRT into a broadcaster that “reaches every corner of the world, distinguished by its reliable journalism and high-quality productions.”
TRT currently broadcasts in over 40 languages to audiences across Europe, Africa, Asia and the Middle East, with international services including English, Arabic, German, Russian, French, Spanish and others.
Founded in 1964, TRT was Türkiye’s sole television broadcaster for decades before the emergence of private channels in the 1990s.
It has expanded its international presence over the years as Ankara has sought to strengthen its public diplomacy and media outreach.
TRT Director General Zahid Sobaci, on the other hand, said that the broadcaster now “enters millions of homes around the world with its 18 channels,” in a post on X on Saturday.
Marking the anniversary, Sobacı also thanked TRT employees and viewers. “I congratulate everyone on the 58th anniversary of our television broadcasting, and I thank each member of the TRT family as well as our viewers,” he said.
