Turkish Radio and Television Corporation facts for kids

"TRT" redirects here. For other uses, see TRT (disambiguation).

Quick facts for kids
Turkish Radio and Television Corporation
Logo used since 2018
Native name	Türkiye Radyo ve Televizyon Kurumu
Type	Incentive
Industry	Television station Radio station
Founded	1 May 1964; 61 years ago (1964-05-01) (Corporation) 31 January 1968; 57 years ago (1968-01-31) (Television)
Headquarters	Çankaya, Ankara, Turkey
Key people	Zahid Sobacı (Director general) Ahmet Albayrak (Chairman of the Board)
Owner	Government of Turkey

The Turkish Radio and Television Corporation (TRT; Turkish: Türkiye Radyo-Televizyon Kurumu) is Turkey's national public broadcaster. It was started in 1964. For many years, TRT was the only TV and radio broadcaster in Turkey. It had a complete control over broadcasting until other companies started their own radio stations in 1990 and TV stations in 1992. Today, TRT broadcasts its programs all around the world. This includes places like Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Asia, the United States, and Australia.

About 70% of TRT's money comes from a special tax on TV and radio sets. Until January 2022, a 2% TRT tax was also added to electricity bills. This is similar to how the BBC in the United Kingdom gets its money. The rest of TRT's funding comes from government help (about 20%) and from advertisements (about 10%).

TRT's Journey Through Time
- Leaders of TRT
TRT's Channels and Services
TRT Programs Around the World
News Services
TRT Logos Through the Years
See also

TRT's Journey Through Time

TRT's main building in Ankara.

TRT Istanbul Tepebaşı studios.

TRT's first version, called Türkiye Radyoları, helped start the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) in 1950. TRT later rejoined the EBU in 1972. The original company began testing radio broadcasts in 1926. They built a radio studio in Istanbul in 1927 and another in Ankara in 1928.

TV test broadcasts for TRT 1 began on January 31, 1968. A full national TV schedule started in December 1971. This connected areas around Ankara, Istanbul, and İzmir. TRT also joined the Asia-Pacific Broadcasting Union in 1976.

All TV programs were in black and white from 1968 until New Year's Eve on December 31, 1981. That's when the first color TV tests began. All channels switched to full color on March 15, 1984.

A new TRT logo was shown on January 31, 2001. It used red for the flag of Turkey, green for farmlands, and blue for the seas. In January 2018, TRT celebrated its 50th anniversary. All TRT channels showed old clips and news studio designs to celebrate.

During the July 2016 coup attempt in Turkey, TRT offices in Istanbul and Ankara were raided. A TRT news anchor was made to read a statement from the people behind the coup live on TV. After this event, some TRT employees were moved to other jobs or left the company.

Leaders of TRT

Here are the people who have led TRT over the years:

Adnan Öztrak (1964–1971)
Musa Öğün (1971–1973)
İsmail Cem (1974–1975)
Nevzat Yalçıntaş (1975)
Şaban Karataş (1976–1977)
Cengiz Taşar (1978–1979)
Doğan Kasaroğlu (1979–1981)
Macit Akman (1981–1984)
Tunca Toskay (1984–1988)
Cem Duna (1988–1989)
Kerim Aydın Erdem (1989–1993)
Tayfun Akgüner (1993–1996)
Yücel Yener (1997–2003)
Şenol Demiröz (2003–2005)

TRT's Channels and Services

Television Channels

Ankara Radio in the 1940s. The Radio Kids Club program was broadcast every Saturday.

You can watch all TRT television channels using the Turksat satellite in Europe and Asia. They are also available on regular TV in Turkey and nearby countries. Some channels are on cable TV systems too.

Channels in Turkey

TRT 1 (started January 1968) – This is a general entertainment channel. It shows Turkish and foreign TV series, movies, live music shows, sports, news, and special events.
TRT 2 (started September 1986, relaunched February 2019) – This channel focuses on culture and education. It shows art programs, talk shows, documentaries, and local and foreign films.
TRT 3 Spor (started October 1989) – This channel broadcasts live and old sports events. When the Turkish parliament is meeting, TRT 3 shows live coverage of the Turkish Grand National Assembly.
TRT Çocuk (started November 2008) – This channel is for children. It shows animated and educational programs 24 hours a day.
TRT Kurdî (started January 2009) – This channel broadcasts in Kurdish.
TRT Müzik (started November 2009) – A 24-hour music channel. It plays Turkish folk, classical, pop, rock, and jazz music.
TRT Belgesel (started November 2009) – A 24-hour channel showing only documentaries.
TRT Haber (started May 2010) – This channel provides news, current events, sports news, and weather.
TRT 4K (started February 2015) – This is TRT's Ultra HD television channel. It was the first 4K TV channel in Turkey.
TRT Spor Yıldız [tr] (started September 2019) – This is another sports channel, similar to TRT Spor.

Channels for International Viewers

A TRT Avaz announcer during the 2014 state elections in Austria.

TRT Türk – This channel shows international news, documentaries, and cultural programs. It is for Turks and Turkish speakers living abroad.
TRT Avaz (started March 2009) – This channel is for people in Turkic republics and Turks living in the Balkans. It focuses on entertainment and documentaries. Programs are in different languages, including Turkic and Russian.
TRT World – This channel provides international news, current events, documentaries, and cultural programs in English for people all over the world.
TRT Arabi (started April 2010) – This channel broadcasts 24 hours a day in Arabic language. Its programs are for Arabs in Turkey and the wider Arab world.
TRT Persian – This channel focuses on news from Iran and international news in Persian. It is for Iranian and international Persian-speaking audiences.

Channels in Minority Languages

TRT has a special TV channel for Kurdish speakers called TRT Kurdî, which broadcasts 24/7. There are also other TV and radio stations that broadcast programs in local languages and dialects. These include Armenian, Arabic, Bosnian, and Circassian for a few hours each week.

Another special TV channel for the Turkic world, TRT Avaz, started on March 21, 2009. It broadcasts in Azerbaijani, Russian, Kazakh, Kyrgyz, Uzbek, Tatar, and Turkmen languages. The TRT Arabic television channel began broadcasting on April 4, 2010.

Radio Channels

TRT Radio Istanbul headquarters in Harbiye, Şişli, Istanbul.

Radyo 1 (started May 1927) – This channel has spoken programs about culture, arts, drama, news, science, education, and history.
TRT FM (started May 1964) – This channel plays a mix of Turkish pop, folk, and classical music, as well as foreign pop. It also has call-in shows, news, and travel information.
Radyo 3 (started September 1974) – This channel plays classical music, jazz, world music, and foreign pop and rock.
TRT Kurdî Radyo [tr] (started 2009) – This channel broadcasts in Kurdish for Kurds in Turkey.
TRT Radyo Haber [tr] (started September 1993) – This channel focuses on news programs.
TRT Nağme – This channel plays Turkish classical music.
TRT Memleketim FM [tr] – This channel broadcasts for Turks in Europe.
TRT Türkü – This channel plays Turkish folk music and türkü.
Voice of Turkey (started December 1982) – This channel broadcasts in 26 different languages around the world.

Regional Radio Channels

Antalya Radyosu – Broadcasts in Antalya, covering the western Mediterranean Region of Turkey.
Çukurova Radyosu – Broadcasts in Mersin, covering the eastern Mediterranean Region of Turkey.
Erzurum Radyosu – Broadcasts in Erzurum, covering Eastern Turkey.
GAP Diyarbakır Radyosu – Broadcasts in Diyarbakır, covering Southeastern Turkey.
Trabzon Radyosu – Broadcasts in Trabzon, covering Northern Turkey.

Teletext and EPG

TRT began testing its teletext service, called "Telegün," on December 3, 1990, on all TV channels. An electronic program guide (EPG) is available on 6 channels.

TRT Programs Around the World

TRT, as Turkey's state television broadcaster, first showed programs from other countries. Over time, it started making its own shows and movies. Turkish TV series are very popular in Turkey and have become famous around the world. By 2018, Turkey was the second-largest exporter of TV series globally.

Turkey has been sending its TV programs to other countries since 1981. A series called "Aşk-ı Memnu," first shown on TRT in 1975, was exported to France. By 2019, Turkey was the second-largest exporter of TV series worldwide, after the United States. In 2022, about 100 Turkish series were sent to 150 countries. This shows how important TV series are for Turkey's economy and for sharing its culture. Turkish dramas are now watched by many people globally. They compete with local shows and American imports. They are popular in places like Azerbaijan, other Turkic-speaking countries, and Western Europe. It is believed that Turkish TV series now reach 400 million viewers worldwide.

Since 2000, Turkish soap operas have grown a lot. They became very successful in Turkey and then spread globally. They first became popular in areas that were once part of the Ottoman Empire, like the Balkans and the Middle East. Later, they reached places like Latin America, China, Pakistan, India, and Bangladesh. After 2010, the Turkish government also supported the film and TV industry to help with exports. TRT has made many family-friendly TV projects.

Turkish TV soap operas often mix modern ideas with traditional family values. This makes them different from American shows. These TV series have been sold to many countries, including the United States. TRT also offers its original shows for free on YouTube for international viewers, with dubbing or subtitles.

When Turkish shows first became popular in the Middle East and Balkans, people thought it was because the stories and characters felt familiar to those cultures. However, Turkish TV shows are now popular in many different regions, including Africa, Latin America, Europe, and Asia. This shows that Turkey is working to connect with more countries around the world.

TRT Persian started in December 2024. It focuses on news from Iran and international news in Persian for Iranian and international Persian audiences.