Tolo
An Afghan commercial television channel operated by MOBY Group, known for news, entertainment, drama, reality programming, and public-interest content.
Last updated October 14, 2026
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Overview
TOLO is a commercial television channel in Afghanistan operated by MOBY Group. The Persian name طلوع means “sunrise,” a reference that suits the channel’s role in the expansion of private broadcasting after the fall of the Taliban regime. Launched in Kabul in 2004, TOLO was among Afghanistan’s first commercial television stations and helped broaden the country’s television landscape beyond state broadcasting. Its programming combined news, entertainment, sports, drama, investigative journalism, imported series, and reality formats, making the station a highly visible part of everyday media consumption in Afghanistan. The channel developed a broad distribution footprint during its first years. By November 2007, it was reportedly available in 14 Afghan cities through free-to-air terrestrial transmission and was also accessible across the region through satellite and terrestrial antenna reception. TOLO broadcasts primarily in Dari-Persian and Pashto-oriented programming environments, while related MOBY Group channels serve more specialized purposes. Its sister stations include TOLOnews, an around-the-clock news channel, and Lemar TV, which is associated particularly with Pashto-language programming. TOLO’s influence has come from the combination of accessible mass entertainment and locally produced programming. Its early schedule included sports coverage, reality television, investigative journalism, and serial drama. Afghan Star, a singing competition adapted from the international Idol format, became one of the channel’s best-known programs. The show created a nationally recognizable platform for aspiring Afghan performers and was later examined in the documentary film Afghan Star, which received two awards at the 2009 Sundance Film Festival. Another notable production was Raaz Hai Een Khana, a locally made drama series that received a Special Award at the Seoul Drama Awards in 2008. The series was written, performed, filmed, produced, and broadcast by Afghans for an Afghan audience, making it an important example of the country’s emerging television production sector. The station also commissioned or broadcast programming designed to address public institutions and social issues. Eagle Four, a police drama introduced in 2010 and partly funded by the United States government, used a format sometimes compared with the American series 24. TOLO has additionally carried foreign content, including Turkish dramas and the Pakistani animated superhero series Burka Avenger, alongside domestic productions. The channel’s prominence has also exposed it to serious political and security risks. On 21 January 2016, a Taliban suicide car bomber attacked a vehicle carrying TOLO staff on Darulaman Road in Kabul. At least seven employees were killed, including three women, and 26 people were wounded. The attack was widely condemned internationally as an assault on journalists, media workers, and freedom of the press. It underscored the dangers faced by Afghan broadcasters that reported on militant groups or presented themselves as independent commercial media organizations. The Taliban takeover of Afghanistan in August 2021 led to major changes in TOLO’s personnel, programming, and operating environment. Approximately 150 staff members fled the country during and after the takeover, according to reporting summarized in the channel’s reference material. Restrictions imposed on television content, including prohibitions on depictions of men and women interacting, sharply reduced the range of entertainment formats that could be broadcast. Afghan Star was removed from the schedule, while music restrictions further constrained conventional programming. TOLO responded by reducing entertainment output, increasing religious programming, developing single-sex programs on subjects such as cooking, travel, and entrepreneurship, and attempting to expand educational content for girls who were no longer able to attend school. TOLO therefore remains both a commercial broadcaster and a prominent example of how Afghanistan’s media institutions have adapted to severe political and regulatory pressure.
History
TOLO emerged during the post-2001 reconstruction of Afghanistan’s media sector. The channel was launched in Kabul in 2004 by MOBY Group as a commercial television service, at a time when privately operated broadcasters were beginning to supplement state media. Its arrival helped introduce a more competitive television environment, with programming designed for a broad Afghan audience rather than for a narrowly defined state-broadcasting mandate. In its formative period, TOLO built its identity around a mixture of entertainment, information, and locally relevant cultural programming. Sports broadcasts, reality television, drama, and investigative journalism appeared alongside imported programs. The station’s availability expanded rapidly: by November 2007, it was reported to be broadcasting in 14 Afghan cities through free-to-air terrestrial transmission, while satellite distribution made it accessible beyond the immediate areas covered by its terrestrial signal. The channel’s output served Dari-Persian audiences and operated within a wider MOBY Group portfolio that included TOLOnews and Lemar TV. Local production became central to TOLO’s cultural importance. Raaz Hai Een Khana was a landmark Afghan drama because its writing, acting, filming, production, and broadcast were carried out by Afghans for Afghan viewers. The series received a Special Award at the Seoul Drama Awards in October 2008. TOLO’s Afghan Star talent competition likewise became a major popular format. Adapted from the international Idol franchise, the program turned singing competition into a nationally visible television event and provided a platform for performers in a country whose cultural and entertainment industries had been heavily disrupted by decades of conflict. The program later featured in the 2009 documentary Afghan Star, which won two awards at the Sundance Film Festival. The channel also used drama to engage with state and security themes. Eagle Four, launched in 2010, was a police drama modeled in part on the pacing and format associated with the American series 24. The production was partly funded by the United States government, reflecting the use of television drama as a means of supporting public communication and institutional narratives. TOLO’s schedule also included foreign productions, such as Turkish dramas and the Pakistani animated series Burka Avenger. TOLO’s profile made it a target during the Afghan conflict. On 21 January 2016, a Taliban suicide car bomber detonated explosives near a bus carrying TOLO staff on Darulaman Road in Kabul. At least seven employees died, including three female employees, and 26 people were wounded. The attack received widespread international condemnation and was treated as a direct attack on journalists and the principle of press freedom. It became one of the defining events in the channel’s history and highlighted the risks faced by private broadcasters reporting in a conflict environment. The Taliban takeover on 15 August 2021 transformed TOLO’s operating conditions. Approximately 150 staff members fled the country during and after the takeover. The broadcaster also had to alter its output in response to Taliban restrictions. Rules affecting music and the depiction of interactions between men and women substantially narrowed the range of conventional entertainment that could be shown. Afghan Star was taken off air, and TOLO reduced its entertainment slate while increasing religious programming. To maintain a usable schedule, the channel developed single-sex programs focused on cooking, travel, and entrepreneurship, and it sought to produce more educational material, including programming intended to support girls excluded from formal schooling. TOLO’s later history is therefore defined by both its continuing role as a major Afghan television brand and its adaptation to censorship, staff displacement, and an increasingly restrictive media environment.
- 2021
Programming and staffing change after the Taliban takeover
[1]Following the Taliban takeover, staff leave the country and restrictions lead TOLO to reduce entertainment, increase religious content, remove Afghan Star, and develop more narrowly structured programming.
- 2016
Deadly attack on TOLO employees
[1]A Taliban suicide car bombing targeting a TOLO staff bus in Kabul kills at least seven employees and wounds 26.
- 2012
The Network documentary focuses on TOLO
[1]Eva Orner’s documentary The Network examines the channel and receives a limited international release in 2013.
- 2010
Eagle Four begins broadcasting
[1]TOLO introduces Eagle Four, a police drama partly funded by the United States government and commonly compared with the American series 24.
- 2009
Afghan Star documentary wins Sundance awards
[1]The documentary Afghan Star, centered on TOLO’s talent competition, receives two awards at the Sundance Film Festival.
- 2008
Raaz Hai Een Khana receives a Seoul Drama Award
[1]The Afghan-produced drama receives a Special Award at the Seoul Drama Awards, recognizing a locally created series made for Afghan audiences.
- 2007
Terrestrial reach expands to 14 Afghan cities
[1]By November, TOLO is reported to be broadcasting in 14 Afghan cities through free-to-air terrestrial transmission and to be available regionally through satellite and terrestrial antenna reception.
- 2004
TOLO launches in Kabul
[1]MOBY Group launches TOLO as a commercial television station in Kabul, helping establish a post-2001 private broadcasting sector in Afghanistan.
Products and positioning
A leading Afghan commercial television channel combining mass-market entertainment, locally produced programming, and news-oriented content, with a strong emphasis on Dari-Persian and Afghan audience needs.
Reality television and music competition
Afghan Star
TOLO’s adaptation of the international Idol format is a televised singing competition judged by figures from Afghanistan’s music industry. It became one of the channel’s most recognizable programs and a significant platform for Afghan performers. The show was later the subject of the documentary Afghan Star, which won two awards at the 2009 Sundance Film Festival. It was removed from the air after the 2021 Taliban takeover amid restrictions affecting music and mixed-gender television presentation.
Drama series
Raaz Hai Een Khana
Meaning “The Secrets of This House,” this drama was produced by Kaboora Productions and was written, acted, filmed, produced, and broadcast by Afghans for Afghan viewers. Its production represented the growth of Afghanistan’s domestic television industry. The series received a Special Award at the Seoul Drama Awards in 2008.
Police drama · 2010
Eagle Four
A police drama introduced by TOLO in 2010 and partly funded by the United States government. The series was often compared with the American action-thriller format 24 and used serialized television drama to present Afghan policing and security themes to a mass audience.
News and public affairs
News and investigative programming
TOLO’s schedule has included news-oriented and investigative journalism alongside entertainment. The broader MOBY portfolio also includes TOLOnews, a sister channel broadcasting news throughout the day. Together, these services have made the TOLO brand an important part of Afghanistan’s commercial media infrastructure.
Specialized television programming · 2021
Single-sex, religious, and educational programming
After the 2021 Taliban takeover, TOLO adjusted its schedule in response to restrictions on music and on television depictions of men and women interacting. The channel reduced conventional entertainment, expanded religious programming, and developed single-sex formats covering cooking, travel, and entrepreneurship. It also sought to create educational programming for girls affected by restrictions on school attendance.
Controversies
2021
Media restrictions after the Taliban takeover
Following the Taliban takeover, restrictions on music and on portrayals of men and women interacting constrained TOLO’s entertainment output. The channel removed Afghan Star, reduced entertainment programming, and increased religious and single-sex formats.
2016
Taliban attack on TOLO staff
On 21 January 2016, a Taliban suicide car bomber attacked a vehicle carrying TOLO staff on Darulaman Road in Kabul. At least seven employees, including three women, were killed and 26 people were wounded. The attack was internationally condemned as an assault on media workers and freedom of the press.
Brand decisions
2021
Reconfigure the schedule under Taliban restrictionsStrategyBackground
The Taliban takeover introduced restrictions affecting music, mixed-gender depictions, and the kinds of entertainment that could be broadcast. Staff displacement also weakened the channel’s production capacity.
Action taken
TOLO reduced entertainment programming, increased religious content, removed Afghan Star, and developed single-sex programs about cooking, travel, and entrepreneurship. It also sought to expand educational programming.
Aftermath
The channel continued operating but with a substantially narrower entertainment offering and a schedule more directly shaped by political and religious regulation.
2010
Launch Eagle FourProduct launchBackground
TOLO had established a schedule combining entertainment with locally produced drama and public-interest themes.
Action taken
The channel introduced Eagle Four, a police drama partly funded by the United States government.
Aftermath
The program extended TOLO’s locally produced drama portfolio into security and institutional storytelling.
2004
Enter Afghanistan’s commercial television marketStrategyBackground
Afghanistan’s post-2001 media environment allowed privately operated broadcasters to develop alongside state media.
Action taken
MOBY Group launched TOLO in Kabul as a commercial channel offering a broad mix of news, entertainment, sports, drama, and locally relevant programming.
Aftermath
TOLO became one of Afghanistan’s most prominent commercial television brands and helped expand access to privately produced television.
Sources1 sources
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