Television
Television in Kuwait made a small beginning in 1957.
However, the first real steps towards television
transmission were taken in November 1961 when the late
Amir of Kuwait, Sheikh Abdullah Al-Salem Al-Sabah,
ordered that Kuwait TV be transferred to the State.
Kuwait TV, thereof, became a part of the Ministry of
News and Guidance, now known as the Ministry of
Information. Soon, the Al-Muha’a transmission station
was established and its transmission reached the entire
country.
Development of television
in Kuwait happened in three phases. Phase one began when
Kuwait TV began telecasting programmes in black and
white for four hours per day from November 15, 1961
until March 15, 1974. The second phase began with the
transmission of the colour German PAL signals.
The third phase began with
the inauguration of its new headquarters in the
Information Complex on February 17, 1979. The new
building was equipped with the most sophisticated
equipment enabling the station to offer a variety of
programmes -- drama, cartoons, cultural, scientific,
religious, Arabic programmes, local series, western
series, variety programmes, news and political
programmes.Al-Rai was the first private TV station via
satellite. Satellite dishes are widely
used and enable viewers to watch popular pan-Arab TV
stations.
Kuwait has four state-run
TV channels.
KTV 1 broadcasts a
comprehensive variety of programmes in Arabic including
music shows, films and news and current affairs
programmes from morning until late evening.
KTV2 telecasts a variety
of family programmes in English. Many of these
programmes are extremely popular. Some programmes, such
as the evening movie, are subtitled in Arabic.
KTV3 is Kuwait’s sports
channel. It telecasts a truly wide selection of live and
pre-recorded sporting events from all over the world,
some with voice-overs in Arabic.
KTV4 is a recreational
channel and offers an entertaining mix of programmes in
Arabic and English throughout the night.
Marking a first in Kuwait’s
history, Studio 160 - a digital video studio - has been
established. The studio has enabled better quality
transmission and picture resolution without any signal
loss during transmission.
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