ERTU
 |
|
| Type | Broadcast radio, television and online |
|---|---|
| Country | Egypt |
| Availability | National International |
| Headquarters | Cairo, Egypt |
| Owner | Government of Egypt |
|
Launch date
|
1971 |
|
Official website
|
www.ertu.org |
The Egyptian Radio and Television Union (ERTU), Arabic: اتحاد الاذاعة و التليفزيون المصري Ittihād al-Idhā‘ah wal-Tilīfizyūn al-Miṣrī), formerly the Arab Radio and Television Union, is the public broadcaster of Egypt, operated by the Egyptian government. It is a member of the European Broadcasting Union.
Egyptian Radio began broadcasting on 31 May 1934 in agreement with the Marconi Company. The General Manager of the station for the period was Said Basha Lotfi who presided over the station from May 1934 to December 1947. In December 1947, the contract with Marconi was suspended in favour of an Egyptian national broadcasting station. The station is known also for its call "This is Cairo" (in Arabic هنا القاهرة pronounced Houna al Qaahira). It is considered the First Program (in Arabic البرنامج الأول) of the ERTU.
Later on three main new radio channels were added, namely the pan-Arab The Voice of the Arabs (صوت العرب) in 1953, Egyptian Radio's Second Programme (البرنامج الثاني) in 1957 and the pan-Arab Middle East Radio (إذاعة الشرق الأوسط) in 1964. All four stations broadcast on high powered medium wave transmitters covering most of the Middle East and North and East Africa.
Egyptian television began broadcasting six hours daily on 21 July 1960 with a state-run channel that held a monopoly on terrestrial broadcasts.
In 1971 a new decree established the Arab Radio and Television Union, and created four distinct sectors: radio, television, engineering, and finance, each of which had a chairman who reported directly to the minister of information. The name of the Union was changed to the Egyptian Radio and Television Union, the name by which it is still known. Today, its total daily broadcast time on its various channels amounts to 490 hours.
Already in 1950 its predecessor the Egyptian State Broadcasting (الإذاعة الحكومية المصرية) was one of the founding members of the European Broadcasting Union in 1950. After the admittance of the Israel Broadcasting Service in 1958, it cancelled its active memberships, as did the Syrian Broadcasting Services. It was readmitted as an active member 1 January 1985.
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