TOLO ( fa, طلوع, , sunrise) is a commercial

television station A television station is a set of equipment managed by a business, organisation or other entity, such as an amateur television (ATV) operator, that transmits video content and audio content via radio waves directly from a transmitter on the ea ...

operated by MOBY Group in

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is borde ...

. Launched in 2004, it became one of the first commercial stations in the country and laid the foundation for an accessible media outlet by offering a large library of shows. A Dari Persian language channel led and owned by

Tajiks Tajiks ( fa, تاجيک، تاجک, ''Tājīk, Tājek''; tg, Тоҷик) are a Persian-speaking Iranian ethnic group native to Central Asia, living primarily in Afghanistan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan. Tajiks are the largest ethnicity in Taj ...

, it is Afghanistan's most popular television channel. The station was launched in

Kabul Kabul (; ps, , ; , ) is the capital and largest city of Afghanistan. Located in the eastern half of the country, it is also a municipality, forming part of the Kabul Province; it is administratively divided into #Districts, 22 municipal dist ...

, and as of November 2007 it was broadcasting in 14 cities in

free-to-air Free-to-air (FTA) services are television (TV) and radio services broadcast in unencrypted form, allowing any person with the appropriate receiving equipment to receive the signal and view or listen to the content without requiring a subscripti ...

and throughout the region by terrestrial antenna and by satellite. Its

sister channel In broadcasting, sister stations or sister channels are radio or television stations operated by the same company, either by direct ownership or through a management agreement. Radio sister stations will often have different formats, and somet ...

s are TOLOnews, on air all day and Lemar TV, in the

Pashto Pashto (,; , ) is an Eastern Iranian language in the Indo-European language family. It is known in historical Persian literature as Afghani (). Spoken as a native language mostly by ethnic Pashtuns, it is one of the two official langua ...

language. TOLO was the subject of documentary film in 2012 called ''The Network'', by

Eva Orner Eva Orner is an Australian Academy and Emmy Award-winning film producer and director based in Los Angeles. Her works include ''Untold Desires'' (winner of Best Documentary at the Australian Film Institute Awards, the Logie Awards and the A ...

. The film saw limited international release in 2013.

Reality TV

'' West Ta East''

A reality series based on the lives of socialites who have moved back to Afghanistan, trying to relate to ordinary Afghans in a war-torn country. It was created by Ramiz King, who is also one of the main characters on the show, together with his sister Rohina.

'' Afghan Star''

TOLO’s first game-show reality programme focused on the competition of singing in between talented people of Afghanistan and judged by the superstars of the industry of Kabul. The programme is an adaptation and remake of the Idol Franchise. The show was the subject of the 2009 documentary film ''Afghan Star'', which won two awards at the 2009

Sundance Film Festival The Sundance Film Festival (formerly Utah/US Film Festival, then US Film and Video Festival) is an annual film festival organized by the Sundance Institute. It is the largest independent film festival in the United States, with more than 46,6 ...

Programmes

''Raaz Hai Een Khana'' ("The Secrets of This House") took the Special Award at the Seoul Drama Awards in October 2008. Telecast by TOLO and produced by Kaboora Productions, ''Raaz Hai Een Khana'' is the first drama series entirely written, acted, filmed, produced and broadcast by Afghans, for Afghans in Afghanistan. It was selected for a Special Prize amongst 152 entries from 33 countries. In 2010 TOLO TV began '' Eagle Four'', a police drama often compared to the American series 24; it was partially funded by the U.S. government. TOLO TV also broadcasts several foreign programs, including Turkish dramas and the

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...

animated Animation is a method by which still figures are manipulated to appear as moving images. In traditional animation, images are drawn or painted by hand on transparent celluloid sheets to be photographed and exhibited on film. Today, most ani ...

superhero A superhero or superheroine is a stock character that typically possesses ''superpowers'', abilities beyond those of ordinary people, and fits the role of the hero, typically using his or her powers to help the world become a better place, ...

series ''Burka Avenger''.

Attacks

On 21 January 2016, a

Taliban The Taliban (; ps, طالبان, ṭālibān, lit=students or 'seekers'), which also refers to itself by its state (polity), state name, the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a Deobandi Islamic fundamentalism, Islamic fundamentalist, m ...

suicide car bomber detonated explosives near a bus carrying staffers from TOLO in Darulaman Road in Kabul, killing at least 7 staff members – including 3 female employees - and wounding 26 others. The attack drew widespread global condemnation, with various world countries, activists and media organizations denouncing it as an attack on Afghanistan's freedom of press.

References

External links

Official site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tolo Tv Television in Afghanistan Mass media in Kabul Television channels and stations established in 2004 Television stations in Afghanistan Persian-language television stations