Office de Radio et Télévision des Comores

Office de Radio et Télévision des Comores, commonly abbreviated ORTC, is the national public radio and television organization of the Comoros. It operates a radio service and ORTC-TV, the country’s national television channel, broadcasting principally in Comorian, French, and Arabic. Its role combines news and public information with cultural, educational, and general-interest programming for the islands of the Comoros. The institution traces its origins to the establishment of Radio Comores during the period when the Comoros Archipelago was a French overseas territory. On September 1, 1960, the Société de radiodiffusion de la France d’outre-mer arranged the laying of the first stone of a radio facility at Dzaoudzi, in Petite-Terre on Mayotte. Trial broadcasts began from the Dzaoudzi transmitter in February 1961. The broadcaster subsequently passed through several French institutional structures: the Radio Cooperation Office, or OCORA, from 1962; the French Radio-Television framework from 1964; and the regional broadcasting organization FR3-Comores from January 1975. Following the Comoros declaration of independence in December 1975, French FR3 personnel withdrew from the Moroni premises. The local service came under Comorian management and resumed the name Radio Comores, becoming the national radio service of the newly independent state. The organization was renamed ORTC in 1994 during a restructuring of the media sector associated with the adoption of a dedicated information code. The new name reflected the intention to expand beyond radio and establish a television service. Television development began under the government of President Mohamed Taki in 1996. With assistance and technical expertise from Canal France International, national television was inaugurated on April 27, 2006. Early ORTC-TV presenters included Faouzia Ali Amir, Loulou Saïd Islam, and Faraanti Athoumani, who received training through the project. Ali Moindjie served as the first editor-in-chief of ORTC-TV after training in Paris. The broadcaster’s headquarters in Moroni were inaugurated on September 26, 2002, in a ceremony marking the handover of a Chinese-constructed building to the Comorian authorities. ORTC has also participated in regional broadcasting cooperation. It is a member of the Indian Ocean Radio and Television Association, whose members include broadcasters from Mauritius, Madagascar, Seychelles, Réunion, and Mayotte. A regional meeting held in Moroni in 2013 supported the development of a news-exchange arrangement among participating broadcasters, which became operational on November 4 of that year. ORTC has additionally carried selected programs from China Central Television’s French-language service, including news, lifestyle content, and an introductory Mandarin program. Digital terrestrial television broadcasting began in 2015. As the country’s national public broadcaster, ORTC occupies a central position in Comorian media and state communication. The television service has operated in a small and developing broadcast market in which independent and opposition television initiatives have not remained continuously active. The available reference material identifies ORTC as the only operating television station in the Comoros at the time described, alongside its established national radio role.

The institutional history of ORTC began before the modern Comorian state. In 1960, the Société de radiodiffusion de la France d’outre-mer organized construction of the first Radio House at Dzaoudzi on Mayotte, then part of the French overseas territory of the Comoros Archipelago. Trial Radio Comores broadcasts began in February 1961 from the Dzaoudzi transmitter. The service was incorporated into successive French broadcasting arrangements, first through the Radio Cooperation Office, known as OCORA, in 1962, and later through the French Radio-Television structure from June 1964. After the breakup of the French Office de Radiodiffusion-Télévision Française at the end of 1974, the service became FR3-Comores on January 6, 1975. The political transformation of the archipelago changed its institutional status soon afterward. When the Federal Islamic Republic of the Comoros declared independence on December 14, 1975, FR3 personnel left the Moroni facilities. The radio operation passed to Comorian management, resumed the Radio Comores name, and served as the national radio broadcaster of the independent country. The French service continued separately in Mayotte, which remained under French administration. A restructuring of the Comorian media sector in 1994, associated with the work of Houmed Msaidié and the creation of a dedicated information code, resulted in the renaming of Radio Comores as the Office de Radio et Télévision des Comores. The new institutional identity anticipated the addition of television. During President Mohamed Taki’s government, ORTC began developing a television operation in 1996. The project eventually received assistance from Canal France International, including technical expertise and training for personnel. The ORTC headquarters building in Moroni was inaugurated on September 26, 2002. The facility was constructed with Chinese assistance, and the ceremony included the formal transfer of the building to the Comorian authorities by the embassy of the People’s Republic of China. Television broadcasting was inaugurated nationally on April 27, 2006. Faouzia Ali Amir, Loulou Saïd Islam, and Faraanti Athoumani were among the first television news presenters and received training through the international cooperation project. Ali Moindjie became the first editor-in-chief of ORTC-TV after training in Paris. ORTC developed within a limited national media environment and combined the pre-existing radio service with the new television channel. Its broadcasts use Comorian, French, and Arabic. The television schedule has included domestic news and public information as well as acquired programming. At one stage, ORTC-TV carried programs from CCTV-F, the French-language service of China Central Television, including news, lifestyle material, and an introductory Mandarin-language program. The reference account states that these programs occupied at least two hours per day in 2009. The broadcaster has maintained a regional role through membership in the Indian Ocean Radio and Television Association. The association brings together ORTC with broadcasters from Mauritius, Madagascar, Seychelles, Réunion, and Mayotte. Its 2013 gathering in Moroni helped create a mechanism for exchanging news reports among the participating territories and countries; the exchange became operational on November 4 of that year. ORTC later introduced digital terrestrial television broadcasting in 2015. The available account describes ORTC as the Comoros’ national public radio and television organization and identifies it as the country’s only television broadcaster at the time covered, after other independent or opposition television initiatives had closed.

• 2015

  Digital terrestrial broadcasts begin

  [1]Office de Radio et Télévision des Comoresen.wikipedia.org

  ORTC introduced digital terrestrial television transmission.

• 2013

  Indian Ocean broadcasters establish news-exchange initiative

  [1]Office de Radio et Télévision des Comoresen.wikipedia.org

  An association meeting held in Moroni developed a regional news-exchange operation involving broadcasters from the Indian Ocean region.

• 2006

  ORTC-TV launches nationally

  [1]Office de Radio et Télévision des Comoresen.wikipedia.org

  National television broadcasting was inaugurated on April 27 with assistance and expertise from Canal France International.

• 2002

  Moroni headquarters inaugurated

  [1]Office de Radio et Télévision des Comoresen.wikipedia.org

  A new ORTC headquarters in Moroni was formally handed over to the Comorian authorities on September 26 after construction with Chinese assistance.

• 1996

  Television development project begins

  [1]Office de Radio et Télévision des Comoresen.wikipedia.org

  During the government of President Mohamed Taki, ORTC began planning and implementing a national television service.

• 1994

  Radio Comores is renamed ORTC

  [1]Office de Radio et Télévision des Comoresen.wikipedia.org

  A media-sector restructuring renamed Radio Comores as the Office de Radio et Télévision des Comores and set the organization on a path toward television broadcasting.

• 1975

  Radio Comores comes under Comorian management

  [1]Office de Radio et Télévision des Comoresen.wikipedia.org

  Following Comorian independence, French FR3 personnel withdrew and the Moroni radio operation resumed the Radio Comores name under national management.

• 1967

  Studios move to Moroni

  [1]Office de Radio et Télévision des Comoresen.wikipedia.org

  The service left its original Dzaoudzi-area premises on October 15 and established studios in Moroni on Grande Comore.

• 1962

  Service enters the OCORA framework

  [1]Office de Radio et Télévision des Comoresen.wikipedia.org

  The broadcaster became associated with the Radio Cooperation Office, or OCORA, under French radio and television administration.

• 1961

  Trial Radio Comores broadcasts begin

  [1]Office de Radio et Télévision des Comoresen.wikipedia.org

  The first trial broadcasts were transmitted from the Dzaoudzi station in February.

• 1960

  Radio House construction begins in Dzaoudzi

  [1]Office de Radio et Télévision des Comoresen.wikipedia.org

  The French overseas broadcasting organization SORAFOM organized the laying of the first stone for a radio facility in Dzaoudzi, Mayotte, then part of the Comoros Archipelago.

The Comoros national public-service broadcaster, providing radio and television news, information, cultural, educational, and general-interest programming in Comorian, French, and Arabic.

• National radio service · 1961

  Radio Comores

  The organization’s national radio service and historical predecessor to the ORTC identity. It originated in the early 1960s during the French administration of the Comoros Archipelago and became the radio service of the independent Comorian state after 1975. Radio programming forms the audio foundation of ORTC’s public-service broadcasting role.

• National television channel · 2006

  ORTC-TV

  ORTC’s national television channel, launched in 2006 after several years of development and international technical assistance. Its output includes news and public-information programming in the broadcaster’s principal languages, alongside cultural, educational, and acquired general-interest content. Digital terrestrial transmission was introduced in 2015.

• 2015

  Adopt digital terrestrial television transmissionGeneration change

  Background

  The television service required modernization of its terrestrial distribution technology.

  Action taken

  ORTC began digital terrestrial television broadcasts.

  Aftermath

  The change marked a technical transition in the distribution of ORTC-TV programming.

  Source

• 2006

  Launch national television serviceProduct launch

  Background

  ORTC had pursued television development since 1996 and received support from Canal France International.

  Action taken

  The organization inaugurated national television broadcasting under the ORTC-TV identity on April 27.

  Aftermath

  ORTC became a combined national radio and television broadcaster, expanding its public-service reach beyond radio.

  Source

• 1994

  Create a combined radio and television broadcaster identityStrategy

  Background

  The Comorian media sector was restructured and the established Radio Comores service was being positioned for expansion into television.

  Action taken

  Radio Comores was renamed the Office de Radio et Télévision des Comores, or ORTC.

  Aftermath

  The renamed organization developed a television project that ultimately led to the launch of ORTC-TV in 2006.

  Source

1. 1Office de Radio et Télévision des Comoresen.wikipedia.org