TV channels Uganda

Ugandan television pairs strong Luganda-language national networks with a dense regional layer reaching the west and the north of the country - so that a viewer in Kabarole or Gulu follows the same national day as a viewer in Kampala.

How television came to Uganda

Broadcasting in Uganda began under British rule with the Uganda Broadcasting Service of 1954, which became Radio Uganda after independence. Television reached the country in October 1963, when Uganda Television began broadcasting from Kampala - one of the earliest TV services in East Africa, arriving just as the country marked its first year of independence. Under Idi Amin the main news once ran a full hour in four languages, English, Swahili, French and Arabic. For decades the state channel was the only picture; the liberalisation of the 1990s brought private stations, and the 2000s added the big Luganda-language networks that now anchor national viewing. In 2005 the state's radio and television operations merged into the Uganda Broadcasting Corporation, whose UBC TV channel still broadcasts from Nile Avenue in Kampala.

National and Luganda-language television

Bukedde TV 1 and Bukedde TV 2, from the Vision Group - the Kampala media house behind the New Vision and Bukedde newspapers - serve the Luganda-speaking audience, the largest language community in the country, with news, talk and drama. BBS TV is the broadcaster of the Buganda kingdom, covering the life of the kingdom and its institutions. BTV adds another general service to the national mix.

The regional layer

Western Uganda is covered by TV West, Tayari West TV, KRC TV and FORT TV, which bring the region's own news and events to the screen, while the north is served by Wan Luo TV.

Faith-based channels

Religious programming - a major strand of Ugandan broadcasting - is carried by Alpha Digital and Ark TV. From election nights to kingdom ceremonies, these networks together cover the events of the whole country. Distribution is changing fast, meanwhile: Uganda is migrating from analogue to digital broadcasting under a campaign of the Uganda Communications Commission, and alongside free-to-air decoders the pay platforms DStv, GOtv, Zuku, SimbaTV and StarTimes compete for urban viewers.