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| Type | Private corporation (since 1992) Formerly government-owned public broadcaster |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1973 (as Radio NYAB) 1986 (radio, as BBS) 1999 (television) |
| Headquarters | Thimphu, Bhutan |
| Key people | Jigme Singye Wangchuck |
| Industry | Broadcasting |
| Products | TV, radio, online services |
| Website | www.bbs.com.bt |
The Bhutan Broadcasting Service (BBS) is the national radio and television service in Bhutan. A private corporation formerly run by the state, it is currently the only service to offer both radio and television to the Kingdom, and is the only television service to broadcast from inside the Bhutanese border.
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For many years, Bhutan did not have modern telecommunications. The first radio broadcasts commenced in November 1973, when the National Youth Association of Bhutan (NYAB) began radio transmissions of news and music for a half-hour each Sunday, under the name "Radio NYAB."[1] The transmitter was first rented from a local telegraph office in Thimphu. The government took over Radio NYAB in 1979,[2] and renamed it the Bhutan Broadcasting Service in 1986,[3] with expansions in radio scheduling as well as construction of a modern broadcast facility occurring in 1991.[3]
For a long time, Bhutan was the only nation in the world to ban television.[4] The first night of television broadcasts finally occurred on June 2, 1999, on the night of the Jigme Singye Wangchuck's silver jubilee.[5]
Shortwave radio reached all of Bhutan in 1991. In June 2000, FM stations opened in the south and west of the country, expanding to central Bhutan in January 2001. By the end of 2005, FM radio service reached the entire country. Shortwave service started transmissions for international listeners in 2007. Radio airs for 15 hours every day, seven in Dzongkha, three each in Sharchop and English, and two in Lhotsam.
News, documentaries, and entertainment programs were originally broadcast for three hours in the evening (7 p.m. to 10 p.m.), seven days a week, but expanded to four hours (6 p.m. to 10 p.m.) in December 2004. Once limited to the capital city, television service spread to the entire Kingdom via satellite in February 2006.
In 2008, BBS expanded their television schedule to air from 6 p.m. to 11 p.m. Most of the programming is aired in Dzongkha, but two current events and news programs each night are aired in English.
The programming from the previous night is repeated from 6 a.m. to 11 a.m. the next morning. Special entertainment and music request programs are also aired between 3 p.m. and 6 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays.
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