TOLO () 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 earth's s ...

operated by MOBY Group in

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan to the Durand Line, east and south, Iran to the Afghanistan–Iran 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. It is one of the most popular television channels in Afghanistan and broadcasts shows in both Dari-Persian and

Pashto Pashto ( , ; , ) is an eastern Iranian language in the Indo-European language family, natively spoken in northwestern Pakistan and southern and eastern Afghanistan. It has official status in Afghanistan and the Pakistani province of Khyb ...

History

The station was launched in

Kabul Kabul 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. The city is divided for administration into #Districts, 22 municipal districts. A ...

in 2004, and by 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 subscri ...

and throughout the region by terrestrial antenna and by satellite. Its sister channels are TOLOnews, on air all day, and Lemar TV, in the

language. TOLO was the subject of documentary film in 2012 called ''The Network'', by Eva Orner. The film saw limited international release in 2013. On 21 January 2016, a

Taliban , leader1_title = Supreme Leader of Afghanistan, Supreme leaders , leader1_name = {{indented plainlist, * Mullah Omar{{Natural Causes{{nbsp(1994–2013) * Akhtar Mansour{{Assassinated (2015–2016) * Hibatullah Akhundzada (2016–present) ...

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. During and following the 2021 Taliban takeover of Afghanistan, around 150 TOLO staff fled the country. Since the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan on 15 August 2021, Tolo TV drastically reduced entertainment programs and increased religious programs, especially since the Taliban banned music in mass media.

Programmes

Early programmes on the channel included sports broadcasts,

reality TV Reality television is a genre of television programming that documents purportedly unscripted real-life situations, often starring ordinary people rather than professional actors. Reality television emerged as a distinct genre in the early 199 ...

shows, and investigative journalism 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. TOLO’s first game-show reality programme, '' Afghan Star,'' is a competition for Afghan singers, judged by industry people in the Kabul music industry. 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 is an annual film festival organized by the Sundance Institute. It is the largest independent film festival in the United States, with 423,234 combined in-person and online viewership in 2023. The festival has acted ...

. 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 has also broadcast several foreign programs, including Turkish dramas and the

Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

animated Animation is a filmmaking technique whereby image, still images are manipulated to create Motion picture, moving images. In traditional animation, images are drawn or painted by hand on cel, transparent celluloid sheets to be photographed and e ...

superhero A superhero or superheroine is a fictional character who typically possesses ''superpowers'' or abilities beyond those of ordinary people, is frequently costumed concealing their identity, and fits the role of the hero, typically using their ...

series '' Burka Avenger''. Since the 2021 Taliban takeover, TOLO, like other TV channels, have been required to cease broadcasting content showing men and women interacting with each other, severely impacting what entertainment series are able to be broadcast. ''Afghan Star'' was removed from air as part of these restrictions. This has led to the production of new single-sex shows on topics such as cooking, travel, and entrepreneurship. The channel has also attempted to create more educational programming to aid girls who are unable to attend school under the Taliban.

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 2004 establishments in Afghanistan

History

Programmes

See also

References

External links