{{distinguish|Kohavision}} {{multiple issues|{{confusing|date=July 2009}} {{more citations needed|date=December 2008}} {{Expand Arabic|تلفزيون الكويت|date=December 2010}} {{Use dmy dates|date=March 2026}}}} {{Infobox television channel | name = Kuwait TV | logo = KuwaitTV.svg | logo_size = 200px | launch_date = {{Start date and age|1961|11|15|df=y}} | picture_format = 1080p HD (only) | owner = Ministry Of Information (Kuwait) | sister_channels = | website = [https://media.gov.kw/LiveTV.aspx Official website] | country = Kuwait | area = Middle East, Europe, North America, Asia, Australia, South America, Pakistan }} '''Kuwait Television''' is Kuwait's official state-run television station, and part of the Kuwaiti Ministry of Information.
Kuwait Television has 9 channels, a satellite channel, and a streaming platform:
* Kuwait Television Channel 1 * Kuwait Television Channel 2 * Kuwait Television Sport Channel * Kuwait Television Sport 2 Channel * Kuwait Television Kids Channel * Kuwait Television Al Akhbar Channel * Kuwait Television Al Qurain Channel * Kuwait Television Al Araby Channel * Kuwait Television Ithra' Channel * Kuwait Television Al Majles Channel (satellite) * Kuwait Television Thalik Bilbayt Channel * Kuwait Television Drama Channel * Kuwait Television Masriya Channel * 51 Kuwait (Streaming Platform)
==History==
===Early history=== The history of Kuwaiti television started on an unknown date in late 1959 or early 1960. Merchant Murad Behbehani, an agent working for RCA, set up a 100-watt transmitter with a limited schedule consisting of cartoons and feature films. His only goal was to encourage sales of television sets.<ref name="analytical1989">{{cite web |title=An analytical study of television and society in three Arab states: Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and Bahrain |url=https://etd.ohiolink.edu/acprod/odb_etd/ws/send_file/send?accession=osu1487599963593497&disposition=inline |access-date=12 February 2024 |website=Ohio State University via UMI |date=1989 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240212120119/https://etd.ohiolink.edu/acprod/odb_etd/ws/send_file/send?accession=osu1487599963593497&disposition=inline |archive-date=12 February 2024 |url-status=live }}</ref>
Kuwait Television began broadcasting on 15 November 1961, taking over the control of Bahbahani's television station,<ref name="analytical1989"/> from the eastern district of Kuwait City.<ref>{{cite web|title=Kuwait Television|url=http://www.media.gov.kw/portal/default_enasp|publisher=Ministry of Information Kuwait|accessdate=29 March 2013}}{{Dead link|date=May 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> It was the first TV station in the Arabian Peninsula, founded and created by Behbehani, initially broadcasting in black and white for four hours a day. By the early 1970s, it started covering topics related to Israel, which Kuwait doesn't recognize, under the name ''Know Your Enemy''. Broadcasters in other Arab countries refused to cover Israeli developments. At the time, it had among the most advanced television infrastructure in the Arabian region, with a single transmitter comfortable enough to reach the entire country, coupled with that, most Kuwaitis were affluent enough to afford a television set, which corresponded to over 100,000 sets in that period.<ref name="TV70s">{{cite book |title=The Universal Eye: World Television in the Seventies |date=1972 |author= Timothy Green |publisher=The Bodley Head |url=https://www.worldradiohistory.com/BOOKSHELF-ARH/Business/The-Universal-Eye-Green-1972.pdf |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20241221080341/https://www.worldradiohistory.com/BOOKSHELF-ARH/Business/The-Universal-Eye-Green-1972.pdf |archive-date=21 December 2024}}</ref>{{rp|234}}
It started color television using the PAL system in March 1974,<ref>{{cite book|title=Kuwait, Post Report|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=K5jW6pVCmC4C|year=1984|publisher=U.S. Department of State}}</ref> for the first ever round of the Arabian Gulf Cup, from Bahrain. Early broadcasters included Salem Al-Fahd, Reza Faili and Jassim Al-Shehab.<ref name="kuna">[http://www.kuna.net.kw/NewsAgenciesPublicSite/ArticleDetails.aspx?id=1953048&Language=ar كونا : حدث في مثل هذا اليوم في الكويت - التاريخ - 15/11/2008]</ref> In 1978, KTV moved to new, technologically advanced premises. Studios varied between 30 and 800 square meters, the largest of which was used for Iftah Ya Simsim, the Arabic adaptation of Sesame Street.<ref name="analytical1989" />
===Modern history===
In May 2024, Kuwait Television launched 51 Kuwait, a streaming platform with all KTV shows as well as live access to all Kuwait TV channels. The name 51 was used to honour the first ever radio broadcast from Kuwait which was in May 1951.<ref>{{Cite web |date=17 March 2024 |title=Platform 51: The information ministry's streaming gateway |url=https://kuwaittimes.com/article/12187/kuwait/other-news/platform-51-the-information-ministrys-streaming-gateway/ |website=Kuwait Times}}</ref> On 28 July, Kuwait TV launched the Al Akhbar Channel, which handles all international news coverage.<ref>{{Cite web |title=News channel 'Al-Akhbar' to be launched on July 28 |url=https://kuwaittimes.com/article/16899/kuwait/other-news/news-channel-al-akhbar-to-be-launched-on-july-28/ |website=Kuwait Times}}</ref>
== Channels ==
=== Kuwait Television Channel 1 (KTV1) === KTV1 launched on 7 April 1992 with 24-hour broadcasting.<ref name="KTV1">{{cite web|title=KTV1|url=http://www.media.gov.kw/portal/default_en.asp?id=1|publisher=Ministry of Information Kuwait|accessdate=29 March 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130323090055/http://www.media.gov.kw/portal/default_en.asp?id=1|archive-date=23 March 2013|url-status=dead}}</ref> By 1997, the channel was broadcasting Kuwaiti-produced programmes around the world.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Wheeler|first=Deborah|title=New Media, Globalization and Kuwaiti National Identity|journal=Middle East Journal|year=2000|volume=54|series=3|issue=The Information Revolution|page=434|jstor=4329510}}</ref> KTV1 is a state-run channel. Its programming cycle changes approximately every three months, and shows special content during the month of Ramadan. Daily programs on the channel include Good Morning Kuwait, Baitak, and Good Evening Kuwait. Also included in the broadcasts are a variety of cultural and religious programs, and coverage of state events.<ref name="KTV1"/>
=== Kuwait Television Channel 2 (KTV2) === KTV2 is the only one of the state-run channels to broadcast in English. The channel started broadcasting in 1978 as the Second Program.<ref name="analytical1989"/> It shows English programs and Arabic programs that have been dubbed in English, showing family centered local programming. The channel's stated mission is to promote Kuwait's media abroad, to show foreign viewers something of Kuwaiti culture and news, and to foster relationships between the State, the Kuwaiti public, and English speakers in Kuwait.<ref>{{cite web|title=KTV2|url=http://www.media.gov.kw/portal/default_en.asp?id=2|publisher=Ministry of Information Kuwait|accessdate=29 March 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121025071516/http://www.media.gov.kw/Portal/default_en.asp?id=2|archive-date=25 October 2012|url-status=dead}}</ref>
=== Kuwait Television Al Akhbar Channel === Al Akhbar is the state-run international news coverage channel.
=== Kuwait Television Sport Channel (KTV Sport) and Kuwait Television Sport 2 Channel (KTV Sport 2) === KTV Sport began broadcasting on 1 November 1993.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.kuna.net.kw/ArticleDetails.aspx?id=2344344&language=en|title = KUNA : Kuwait TV celebrates 52nd anniversary - Media - 14/11/2013}}</ref> Initially chaired by Mohammed Al Zamel, this channel was considered at the time to be the leading sports channel in the Arabic Gulf region.<ref name="KTV Sport">{{cite web|title=KTV Sport|url=http://www.media.gov.kw/portal/default_en.asp?id=3|publisher=Ministry of Information Kuwait|accessdate=29 March 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130426152007/http://www.media.gov.kw/portal/default_en.asp?id=3|archive-date=26 April 2013|url-status=dead}}</ref> It was originally a local sports channel, but in 2002, KTV Sport replaced their ground transmission with satellite transmission, enabling them to broadcast international sporting events as well.<ref name="KTV Sport"/> The channel also has a Plus variant.
=== Kuwait Television Al Araby Channel === Al Araby was launched on 25 February 2009, under the direction of the former Minister of Information, Sheikh Sabah Al Khalid Al Sabah.<ref>{{cite web|title=Al Araby Channel|url=http://www.media.gov.kw/portal/default_en.asp?id=6|publisher=Ministry of Information Kuwait|access-date=2013-03-29|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130424003436/http://www.media.gov.kw/portal/default_en.asp?id=6|archive-date=2013-04-24|url-status=dead}}</ref> Its programming includes literary, cultural, scientific, and artistic based shows, and it also covers important cultural events. Al Araby coordinates with KTV1 when covering national events.
=== Kuwait Television Ithra' Channel === The Ithra' Channel is dedicated to religious programmes that educate viewers about Islam, Islamic principles, and Islam's spiritual value. It coordinates with the Kuwait Ministry of Awqaf and Islamic Affairs, as well as with the Awqaf Public Foundation to produce information that supports mainstream Islam, rather than extremist ideologies.<ref>{{cite web|title=Ethra's Channel|url=http://www.media.gov.kw/portal/default_en.asp?id=5|publisher=Ministry of Information Kuwait|accessdate=29 March 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130323092042/http://www.media.gov.kw/portal/default_en.asp?id=5|archive-date=23 March 2013|url-status=dead}}</ref> The channel also covers religious events in Kuwait.
=== Other channels === Some other channels are:
* Kuwait Television Kids Channel * Kuwait Television Channel * Kuwait Television AlQurain Channel * Kuwait Television AlMajles Channel * Kuwait Television Thalik Bilbayt Channel * Kuwait Television Drama Channel
== References == {{Reflist}}
==External links== * {{Official website|https://media.gov.kw/}} {{in lang|ar}}
{{European Broadcasting Union Members}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kuwait Tv}} Category:Arabic-language television stations Category:Mass media in Kuwait Category:Television channels and stations established in 1961 Category:Television in Kuwait Category:Government-owned companies of Kuwait