Vietnam Television
Encyclopedia
Vietnam Television, or VTV, is the national television broadcaster for Vietnam
. Like all media of Vietnam
, its programming is directly controlled by the government
.
and one in English in Saigon).
VTV was established with technical assistance and training from Cuba
on September 7, 1970, in Hanoi
. During the Vietnam War
it broadcast intermittently from a mountainous region.
After Reunification in 1975, the former US-run stations in the south became part of the national network and broadcasting was extended to the entire country.
Color television
was introduced in 1978. Vietnam Television became an official name on April 30, 1987. And by 1990, VTV viewers had two national TV channels to choose from.
VTV's regional broadcasting centers are located in Ho Chi Minh City
, Huế
, Da Nang
, Phu Yen, Nha Trang
, Cần Thơ, Vinh
and Tam Dao. Programming is relayed nationwide via a network of provincial and municipal television stations. There are transmitters in most outlying areas of the country. By 2003, more than 80% of all urban households owned a television set. The percentage was considerably less in rural areas, but even the most remote village cafe has a TV and video
or DVD
player.
In addition, each major city and most of the 64 provinces
have their own television stations.
Since 2003, all above channels have also been made available via satellite.
In addition, VTV has also offered 9 channels (from VCTV1 to VCTV9) in the system of cable television
VCTV, including many translated programs from Reuters
, ESPN
, Discovery Channel
, BBC
plus about 40 original channels but users have to pay for these programs.
and miniseries
. However, only about 30% of the entertainment programming shown on VTV is made locally. The rest is imported and dubbed in Vietnamese. Shows include Korean and Chinese serial melodramas
, which are the mainstay of nightly programming on VTV3.
Aside from news and current affairs programming, VTV1 devotes itself to orchestral concerts, ballets, traditional theater and ethnic minority culture shows.
VTV4 has been criticized by Vietnamese emigrees who find the channel's one-sided support of the one-party Communist state distressing and offensive.
Vietnam
Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...
. Like all media of Vietnam
Media of Vietnam
Media of Vietnam are tightly regulated by the Vietnamese government. First and foremost, the media are a tool for government information and propaganda...
, its programming is directly controlled by the government
Politics of Vietnam
Notwithstanding the 1992 Constitution's affirmation of the central role of the Communist Party, the National Assembly, according to the Constitution, is the highest representative body of the people and the only organization with legislative powers. It has a broad mandate to oversee all government...
.
History
The first television broadcasts in Vietnam were in the 1960s when the United States set up two channels (one Vietnamese languageVietnamese language
Vietnamese is the national and official language of Vietnam. It is the mother tongue of 86% of Vietnam's population, and of about three million overseas Vietnamese. It is also spoken as a second language by many ethnic minorities of Vietnam...
and one in English in Saigon).
VTV was established with technical assistance and training from Cuba
Cuba
The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
on September 7, 1970, in Hanoi
Hanoi
Hanoi , is the capital of Vietnam and the country's second largest city. Its population in 2009 was estimated at 2.6 million for urban districts, 6.5 million for the metropolitan jurisdiction. From 1010 until 1802, it was the most important political centre of Vietnam...
. During the Vietnam War
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
it broadcast intermittently from a mountainous region.
After Reunification in 1975, the former US-run stations in the south became part of the national network and broadcasting was extended to the entire country.
Color television
Color television
Color television is part of the history of television, the technology of television and practices associated with television's transmission of moving images in color video....
was introduced in 1978. Vietnam Television became an official name on April 30, 1987. And by 1990, VTV viewers had two national TV channels to choose from.
VTV's regional broadcasting centers are located in Ho Chi Minh City
Ho Chi Minh City
Ho Chi Minh City , formerly named Saigon is the largest city in Vietnam...
, Huế
Hue
Hue is one of the main properties of a color, defined technically , as "the degree to which a stimulus can be describedas similar to or different from stimuli that are described as red, green, blue, and yellow,"...
, Da Nang
Da Nang
Đà Nẵng , occasionally Danang, is a major port city in the South Central Coast of Vietnam, on the coast of the South China Sea at the mouth of the Han River. It is the commercial and educational center of Central Vietnam; its well-sheltered, easily accessible port and its location on the path of...
, Phu Yen, Nha Trang
Nha Trang
Nha Trang is a coastal city and capital of Khanh Hoa province, on the South Central Coast of Vietnam. It is bounded on the North by Ninh Hoà district, on the East by the South China Sea, on the South by Cam Ranh town and on the West by Diên Khánh district...
, Cần Thơ, Vinh
Vinh
Vinh is a city in Vietnam. It is located in the northern half of the country, and is the capital of Nghệ An Province. Politically, Vinh is a municipality within Nghệ An Province. On September 5th, 2008, it was upgraded from Grade-II city to Grade-I city, the fourth Grade-I city of Vietnam after...
and Tam Dao. Programming is relayed nationwide via a network of provincial and municipal television stations. There are transmitters in most outlying areas of the country. By 2003, more than 80% of all urban households owned a television set. The percentage was considerably less in rural areas, but even the most remote village cafe has a TV and video
VHS
The Video Home System is a consumer-level analog recording videocassette standard developed by Victor Company of Japan ....
or DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
player.
In addition, each major city and most of the 64 provinces
Provinces of Vietnam
Vietnam is divided into 58 provinces and five centrally governed cities existing at the same level as provinces ....
have their own television stations.
Terrestrial channels (3)
- VTV1VTV1VTV1 is a television channel from Vietnam.Launched in 7 September 1970, the transmission hours is 18.5 hours broadcasting politics, economy, culture and societyUsed to have other names: TV Viet Nam, VTV, TV1 and THV1.-External links:**...
(channel 9): News and current affairs broadcast from 05:00 to 23:45. VTV1 initially broadcast on January 1, 1990. - VTV2 (channel 11): Science, technology and education broadcast from 05:00 to 00:05. VTV2 initially broadcast on January 1, 1990.
- VTV3VTV3VTV3 is a substation operated and owned by Vietnam Television. It is launched in 1996 and operates 24 hours since 2003. It is the sports television....
(channel 22): sports and entertainment. VTV3 was started in April 1995. - VTV6: Youth channel. VTV6 was started on April 29, 2007
International channels (1)
- VTV4: An international channel launched in 2000, offering a best-of package of programming from the three domestic channels to VietnameseVietnamese peopleThe Vietnamese people are an ethnic group originating from present-day northern Vietnam and southern China. They are the majority ethnic group of Vietnam, comprising 86% of the population as of the 1999 census, and are officially known as Kinh to distinguish them from other ethnic groups in Vietnam...
worldwide.
Cable/satellite channels (5)
- VTV5: Introduced on February 10, 2002 to serve the ethnic minority communities in Vietnam.
- VTV7: Youth and education, in preparation.
- VTV8: English channel, in preparation.
- VTV9: South favor, started on 1 October 2007
Regional channels (5)
- VTV Huế
- VTV Đà Nẵng
- VTV Phú Yên
- VTV Cần Thơ 1
- VTV Cần Thơ 2
Since 2003, all above channels have also been made available via satellite.
In addition, VTV has also offered 9 channels (from VCTV1 to VCTV9) in the system of cable television
Cable television
Cable television is a system of providing television programs to consumers via radio frequency signals transmitted to televisions through coaxial cables or digital light pulses through fixed optical fibers located on the subscriber's property, much like the over-the-air method used in traditional...
VCTV, including many translated programs from Reuters
Reuters
Reuters is a news agency headquartered in New York City. Until 2008 the Reuters news agency formed part of a British independent company, Reuters Group plc, which was also a provider of financial market data...
, ESPN
ESPN
Entertainment and Sports Programming Network, commonly known as ESPN, is an American global cable television network focusing on sports-related programming including live and pre-taped event telecasts, sports talk shows, and other original programming....
, Discovery Channel
Discovery Channel
Discovery Channel is an American satellite and cable specialty channel , founded by John Hendricks and distributed by Discovery Communications. It is a publicly traded company run by CEO David Zaslav...
, BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
plus about 40 original channels but users have to pay for these programs.
Programming
VTV has its own film production company, the Vietnam Television Film Center, or VFC, which makes made-for-television moviesTelevision movie
A television film is a feature film that is a television program produced for and originally distributed by a television network, in contrast to...
and miniseries
Miniseries
A miniseries , in a serial storytelling medium, is a television show production which tells a story in a limited number of episodes. The exact number is open to interpretation; however, they are usually limited to fewer than a whole season. The term "miniseries" is generally a North American term...
. However, only about 30% of the entertainment programming shown on VTV is made locally. The rest is imported and dubbed in Vietnamese. Shows include Korean and Chinese serial melodramas
Soap opera
A soap opera, sometimes called "soap" for short, is an ongoing, episodic work of dramatic fiction presented in serial format on radio or as television programming. The name soap opera stems from the original dramatic serials broadcast on radio that had soap manufacturers, such as Procter & Gamble,...
, which are the mainstay of nightly programming on VTV3.
Aside from news and current affairs programming, VTV1 devotes itself to orchestral concerts, ballets, traditional theater and ethnic minority culture shows.
VTV4 has been criticized by Vietnamese emigrees who find the channel's one-sided support of the one-party Communist state distressing and offensive.
See also
- Cinema of VietnamCinema of VietnamThe cinema of Vietnam originates in the 1920s, and has largely been shaped by wars that have been fought in the country from the 1940s to the 1970s. Better known Vietnamese language films include Cyclo, The Scent of Green Papaya and Vertical Ray of the Sun, all by French-trained Việt Kiều director...
- Culture of VietnamCulture of VietnamThe Culture of Vietnam, an agricultural civilization based on the cultivation of wet rice, is one of the oldest in East Asia; the ancient Bronze age Dong Son culture is considered to be one of its most important progenitors...
- Communications in VietnamCommunications in VietnamCommunications in Vietnam include the use of telephones, radio, television and Internet.-Telephones:Vietnam is putting considerable effort into modernization and expansion of its telecommunication system, but its performance continues to lag behind that of its more modern neighbors...
- Media of VietnamMedia of VietnamMedia of Vietnam are tightly regulated by the Vietnamese government. First and foremost, the media are a tool for government information and propaganda...
- Ho Chi Minh City TelevisionHo Chi Minh City TelevisionHo Chi Minh City Television is the official televised channel of Ho Chi Minh City. HTV broadcasts in three channels: entertainment & advertisement service and gameshow on HTV7, information, propaganda-trend, official and analog-digital on HTV9, and HTV4. HTV also has several specific cable and...