TV channels DR Congo

The television of the Democratic Republic of the Congo grew from a single government signal in Kinshasa into a field where private channels cover the life of a country the size of a continent.

How television came to the Congo

The state broadcaster descends from Radio Congo Belge, set up by the colonial authorities in 1940 and reborn after independence as Radiodiffusion Nationale Congolaise. Television began in Kinshasa in November 1966, when that service added pictures to sound and took the name Radio-Television nationale congolaise: three hours each evening on channel 5, installed under a cooperation agreement with France, with a second service soon added in Lubumbashi. Renamed Tele-Zaire in 1972 and reorganised as the Office Zairois de Radiodiffusion et de Television in 1981, the broadcaster took back its present name, RTNC, in 1997. For decades the state picture was the only one; the liberalisation of the 1990s opened the air to private broadcasters, beginning with Antenne A in 1991, and the return of peace in the 2000s let the field spread - by 2005 Kinshasa alone counted some twenty local stations.

RTNC and the private field

RTNC remains the only public broadcaster with national reach, covering around 70 percent of the territory and broadcasting in French and the four national languages - Lingala, Kikongo, Swahili and Tshiluba. Around it, commercial and church-run stations crowd the airwaves of Kinshasa, Lubumbashi and the provincial cities; most are local in range, and many grew out of radio stations, sharing staff and equipment with them. Some became political prizes: in 2000 the state seized Canal Kin and RTKM, returning them to their owners at the end of 2001.

News and general programming

Baraka Television stands on the news side of the Congolese lineup, following national events, while EVI TV carries entertainment for the general audience.

Films and learning

Lollywood HD TV is the movie shelf of the lineup, while RL PRO TV brings educational programming - a valuable service in a country where television often doubles as a classroom. In a land where print is thin outside the capital and radio still leads, television remains an essentially urban window - and Congolese channels have learned to make the most of limited means.