Borundia was the first country in northern Nesionyta to begin television broadcasts, with the launch of BTV on July 1, 1956. It was the sole television station in Borundia until the launch of BTV2 in 1976, which ceased broadcasting in 1981 due to financial reasons. BTV was left again as the only television station in Borundia and became the sole legal station in 1983. As a part of media liberalization of Borundia, private media was legalized in 1990, which led to the launch of Ruħ Qanal, the country's first privately-owned television channel. Pirate television was decriminalized in 1998, to allow more freedom to the television market, but pirate television was only allowed for community stations, which can broadcast without a license as long as the government permitted them to do so. Pirate community stations, very popular in Borundia, can still request for a license. In 2013, around 80 pirated stations gained broadcast license to officially be on-air.
Borundia's most populous city, Banonkor, is often known as the 'capital of pirate television', due to its very high number of pirated television stations. BTA estimated in 2009 that around 267 television stations operate in the city without a license, the most of any city in the world. Daraf TV is one of the most popular unlicensed stations in Banonkor, with an average audience of 10,000 people per day. Non-community pirate television stations, illegal in Borundia, exist in the country, and most of them were even shut down.
History
The Borundian Federation started experimental television broadcasts in 1937 in a suburban area in Banonkor. The experimentally named B5KXB commenced test transmissions on the night of November 12, 1937, but was interrupted after World War II spread in the archipelago. From that same suburban area, television was officially introduced in 1955 by the Borundian military government as a tool for development. With a group of sixteen businessmen, Broadcast Program Signal, later renamed to Borundia Television, went on the air on July 1, 1956. It later spread to other islands during the late 1950s. At the time, television was seen as a luxurious item, and only rich families owned them. In the mid-1960s, television became more mainstream for the middle class, and broadcasts expanded to four hours in 1968. BTV retained its monopoly until BTV2 was launched in 1976, which was popular among the youth.
Due to the 1981 debt crisis, which led to the dissolution of the Borundian Federation in 1983, BTV2 was shut down, leaving BTV the sole television channel in the entire country. In 1983, BTV was constantly used to air pro-AAK propaganda, and private media was outlawed until 1990. Government's monopoly on television ended the next year, when Ruħ Qanal was launched. A number of pirate television stations were established when they were legalized by the Borundian government for community-purpose only in 1998.
Pirate television
Pirated television stations are very common in Borundia, and is estimated that most of the television stations in Borundia are, in fact, unlicensed. According to community television guidelines, they are only permitted to broadcast for a maximum of five hours, and are not allowed to broadcast on cable television. Copyrighted content can be aired as long as they had the permission to do so. Occasionally, videos from websites like YouTube and VidSpace are broadcast on some of these stations, due to the slow WiFi speed in Borundia. They are often confused with regional television stations, which are far different from these stations. Reports estimate that, as of 2013, out of all the 1,503 television channels in Borundia, the most of any Nesionytan country, 70% of them are unlicensed.
List of channels
Major television stations
| Name | Local name | Launched | Genre | Language | Owned by |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BTV | Ħəberündiye Telefisyan | 1956 | General entertainment | Borundian | BRT |
| BTV2 | ĦT Dün | 1976; relaunched in 1999 | Youth entertainment | English | |
| BTV Khəbar | ĦT Khəbar | 2002 | News | Borundian Latawei |