Radio broadcasting in Sri Lanka dates to 1923. Radio broadcasting, like other forms of media in Sri Lanka, is generally divided along linguistic lines with state and private media operators providing services in Sinhala,

Tamil Tamil may refer to: * Tamils, an ethnic group native to India and some other parts of Asia **Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka also called ilankai tamils **Tamil Malaysians, Tamil people native to Malaysia * Tamil language, nativ ...

, and

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

language.

History

The first radio broadcast in Ceylon was in 1923 when recorded music was broadcast using parts of radio equipment from a captured German submarine. Regular broadcasting started in

Colombo Colombo ( ; si, කොළඹ, translit=Koḷam̆ba, ; ta, கொழும்பு, translit=Koḻumpu, ) is the executive and judicial capital and largest city of Sri Lanka by population. According to the Brookings Institution, Colombo m ...

in July 1924. Ceylon's first radio station Radio Colombo started regular broadcasting on 16 December 1925. The station was taken over by the British military during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

who renamed the station Radio SEAC which broadcast across South Asia from October 1944. After the war the station was handed back to the civilian government of Ceylon who renamed it Radio Ceylon on 1 October 1949. The station was immensely popular both in Ceylon and other parts of Asia. The Ceylon Broadcasting Corporation Act No. 37 of 1966 incorporated the Department of Broadcasting. Radio Ceylon became a public corporation on 30 September 1967, changing its name to Ceylon Broadcasting Corporation (CBC). Ceylon was renamed Sri Lanka in 1972 after becoming a republic and consequently CBC was renamed

Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation The Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation (SLBC) ( si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා ගුවන් විදුලි සංස්ථාව, ''Shrī Lankā Guvan Viduli Sansthāva'', ta, இலங்கை ஒலிபரப்புக் க� ...

(SLBC). SLBC broadcast on medium wave until 1993 when

FM broadcasting FM broadcasting is a method of radio broadcasting using frequency modulation (FM). Invented in 1933 by American engineer Edwin Armstrong, wide-band FM is used worldwide to provide high fidelity sound over broadcast radio. FM broadcasting is cap ...

began. 95% of the country received FM transmissions by 1999. The government maintained a monopoly on radio broadcasting until the early 1990s when private radio stations were allowed to broadcast. Today there are numerous private radio stations but the state-owned stations continue to dominate the market.

Radio stations

The following is a list of radio stations based in Sri Lanka.

Terrestrial radio

Internet radio

International broadcasters

Several international broadcasters operate radio stations aimed at Sri Lankan audiences but broadcasting from outside Sri Lanka: *

All India Radio All or ALL may refer to: Language * All, an indefinite pronoun in English * All, one of the English determiners * Allar language (ISO 639-3 code) * Allative case (abbreviated ALL) Music * All (band), an American punk rock band * ''All'' (All ...

* BBC World Service Sinhala Service (Sandeshaya) * BBC World Service Tamil Service (Tamilosai) *

China Radio International China Radio International (CRI) is the state-owned international radio broadcaster of China. It is currently headquartered in the Babaoshan area of Beijing's Shijingshan District. It was founded on December 3, 1941, as Radio Peking. It later ...

Sinhala Service *

Tamil Service *

Radio Veritas Asia Radio Veritas Asia was the non-commercial Catholic shortwave station broadcasting to Asia. It is based in Quezon City, Philippines, and is owned by the Philippine Radio Educational and Information Center, which previously owned the original Rad ...

Some broadcasters use local transmitters to relay their broadcasts. Deutsche Welle broadcasts are relayed via

Trincomalee Trincomalee (; ta, திருகோணமலை, translit=Tirukōṇamalai; si, ත්‍රිකුණාමළය, translit= Trikuṇāmaḷaya), also known as Gokanna and Gokarna, is the administrative headquarters of the Trincomalee Dis ...

on medium wave and short wave. Trans World Radio India broadcasts on medium wave using SLBC's transmitter in

Puttalam Puttalam ( si, පුත්තලම, translit=Puttalama; ta, புத்தளம், translit=Puttaḷam) is the largest town in Puttalam District, North Western Province, Sri Lanka. Puttalam is the administrative capital of the Puttalam Di ...

. The

International Broadcasting Bureau The International Broadcasting Bureau (IBB) is the technical support outlet within the United States Agency for Global Media (USAGM) (former Broadcasting Board of Governors, BBG), which is a U.S. independent agency. The IBB supports the day-to- ...

broadcasts programmes from

Voice of America Voice of America (VOA or VoA) is the state-owned news network and international radio broadcaster of the United States of America. It is the largest and oldest U.S.-funded international broadcaster. VOA produces digital, TV, and radio content ...

Radio Azadi Radio Azadi (formerly Radio Free Afghanistan) is the Afghan branch of the U.S. government's Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty's (RFE/RL) external broadcast services. It broadcasts 12 hours daily as part of a 24-hour stream of programming in co ...

, Radio Free Afghanistan, Radio Free Asia,

Radio Liberty Radio is the technology of signaling and communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 30 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transmit ...

and

Radio Sawa Radio Sawa ( ar, راديو سوا) is a Middle Eastern radio station broadcasting in the Arab world. The station is a service of the Middle East Broadcasting Networks, Inc., which also operates Alhurra Television and is publicly funded by the U. ...

on short wave using the relay station at Iranawila.

References

* * {{Asia topic, List of radio stations in Sri Lanka