Syria state TV relaunches, months after Assad’s ouster

İSTANBUL: Syrian state television officially relaunched on Monday with a trial broadcast almost five months after the ouster of longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad and following delays blamed on sanctions and dilapidated equipment.

After Syria’s new authorities took power in December, state media and other television channels, radio stations and outlets affiliated with Assad’s government suspended broadcasting and publishing.

At 5:00 pm (1400 GMT) on Monday, a presenter appeared on television screens, welcoming viewers and announcing the start of a test broadcast of Syria’s Alekhbariah television channel from Damascus via two satellite providers.

The channel showcased its new branding and broadcast images of Damascus and Ummayad Square, where the Public Authority for Radio and Television headquarters are located, as well as images of correspondents across the country.

“Today, the first official television channel has launched,” said new authority chief Alaa Bersilo, vowing it would be “a mediator between the state and society”.

He said broadcasting was delayed several times “due to television infrastructure” and “sanctions on the former regime which impacted satellite broadcast efforts”.

The channel’s director Jamil Srur said: “We were keen on Alekhbariah being fit for the new Syria, and this is what delayed its launch”.

In a post on X, Information Minister Hamza al-Mustafa called the launch “a very emotional moment”, expressing hope that the channel would be help rebuild the national media and be a model for “rebuilding trust” with Syrians.

After forces led by Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) took Damascus on December 8 and announced Assad’s overthrow, state news agency SANA stopped operating for more than a day before resuming with new staff.

But state television failed to keep up with fast-evolving events, at first broadcasting archive footage and later ceasing transmissions.

The new authorities have cracked down on outlets that were close to the ousted government, particularly Al-Watan daily and Sham FM radio.

For decades, Syria’s ruling Baath party and the Assad family dynasty heavily curtailed all aspects of daily life, including freedom of the press and expression, while the media became a tool of those in power and the entry of foreign media was heavily restricted.

Since Assad’s fall, outlets in exile or in formerly opposition areas have come to prominence, and foreign journalists have flooded in.

Syria ranks 177 out of 180 countries and territories on the 2025 World Press Freedom Index published by the Paris-based Reporters Without Borders (RSF).

While Assad’s ouster ended “five decades of brutal and violent repression of the press… journalists’ newfound freedom remains fragile due to ongoing political instability and mounting economic pressures,” according to RSF.

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