TV channels Azerbaijan

Azerbaijani television has two poles: the state broadcasting core in Baku and a competitive set of private national networks - and beyond them a ring of music, regional and online services reaching audiences well past the country's borders.

The State Core and the Public Channel

AZTV is the country's oldest broadcaster and its national state channel, first transmitted from Baku on 14 February 1956 and operated since 2005 by the Azerbaijan Television and Radio Broadcasting company. The state family also includes İdman TV, airing sport from the capital since 1 January 2009, and Mədəniyyət TV, devoted to Azerbaijani culture and art. Standing apart from the state group is İTV - İctimai Televiziya, the public television channel created by the 2004 law on public broadcasting and on air since 29 August 2005.

Private Networks of the Capital

ATV - Azad Azərbaycan TV - began broadcasting on 25 December 2000. Xezer TV first launched in January 2000 and took its current shape in 2007, owned by SOCAR through its media wing. ARB TV started on 10 May 2014 as Region TV, formed by merging six regional stations, and was rebranded as ARB in 2016 under the ARB Media Group.

In Russian and for the World

CBC TV Azerbaijan - the Caspian Broadcasting Company - launched in 2009 as ATV International, took its present name in 2013 and broadcasts in Russian as the country's first international television channel. From the other side of the Atlantic, Gunaz TV has carried Azerbaijani-language satellite programming from Chicago since 2004, founded by journalist Ahmad Obali.

Music, Regional and Online Screens

Music television is covered by MTV Azərbaycan, launched as an internet channel on 11 May 2012 and on satellite since 2017 - the country's first music-oriented channel, unrelated to the American MTV - and by TMB TV. Regional and online broadcasting appears through Kanal 35, the internet service Vision TV and APA TV, the online television channel of the APA media group, while InterAz focuses on promoting the Azerbaijani language.