The scenario of Bangladeshi Television is something different from what it used to be in the 1990s. From the only national BTV channel, today’s market is flooded with innumerable channels seeming to catch people’s viewing taste for news, entertainment, sports, and education. Now, let us have a glimpse into the ranking of the top 10 most viewed television channels in Bangladesh, each with a different flavor of programs that interest audiences.

1. Channel I
Launch Date: October 1, 1999
Owner: Impress Group
Motto: “Hridoye Bangladesh” – Bangladesh in Heart

Channel I, owned by the Impress Group, soon gained tremendous popularity as the one broadcasting agricultural issues through different programs like “Hridoye Mati O Manush.” The channel also pioneered an agriculture bulletin for the very first time in Bangladesh and broadcasts the extremely popular political talk show “Tritio Mattra,” where politicians debate with each other in frenzy. Its programs reach viewers not only in South Asia but also in North America.

2. ATN Bangla
Launch Date: 1997
Owner: Multimedia Production Company
Slogan: “Obiram Banglar Mukh” (The Enduring Face of Bangla)

ATN Bangla is the very first Bangladeshi satellite-based TV channel that raised the potentiality for broadcasting in the region manifold. It offers all kinds of programs starting from news, movies, dramas to versatile other programs. It gained an EMMY award for children’s program “Amrao Pari” in the year 2004. It can be viewed in South Asia, the Middle East, Europe, and North America.

3. NTV
Launch Date: July 3, 2003
Chairman: Alhaj Mohammad Mosaddek Ali
Motto: “Shomoyer Sathe Agamir Pothe”

NTV is renowned for its prestige of an automation-based approach to presenting news in-depth. Other programs include documentaries, sports, and talk shows on the channel. The channel hit the screen with the reality show “Close-up One, ” and the channel is considered one of the majors of Bangladesh media as it acquires the ISO 9001:2008 certification.

4. Free television
Launch Year: 2010
Ownership: Beximco
Chairman: Salman F Rahman

Independent TV also airs much priority on news items on things relating to entertainment, sports, and even international affairs. Some of the key programs provided through this channel are “Taalash” for social issues and “Joto Khela” for sports. Its signal carriage uses Bangabandhu 1 satellite.

5. Somoy TV
Launch Date: 2011
Owner: Somoy Media Limited
Chairman: Mr. Fazlur Rahman

Somoy Television is a fully committed news channel updating people in time, underlining investigative journalism. It has a broad network of reporters across Bangladesh and operates hosts for shows like “Somoy Songlap” and “Somoy TV Bulletin.” Its signal reaches North America, Europe, the Middle East, and beyond.

6. Gazi TV (GTV)
Launched in: 2012
Owner: Gazi Satellite Television Limited
Director: Golam Dosotogir Gazi

Basically, Gazi TV is well-known for its sports broadcast including cricket. Being an official broadcasting channel of the Bangladesh Cricket Board and different other premier leagues, GTV happened to be the favorite sports channel of most lovers. It houses a mix of dramas, movies, and talk shows.

7. Ekushey Television (ETV)
Launch Date: 2000; Relaunched in 2005
Chairman: Md. Saiful Alam

Ekushey Television became the country’s first privately-owned television channel and continues to be part of Bangladeshi electronic media for over two decades now. Its tight schedule ranges from talk shows, dramas, and various cultural documentaries. The channel also boasts an international presence that’s fair in number, catering to Bangladeshi expatriates.

8. RTV
Launch Date: 2005 Property of: Bangla Television Corporation Ltd

CEO: Syed Ashik Rahman

RTV produces massive amounts of programs, starting from news, dramas, and entertainment. Its VOD service, RTV Plus, allows access to thousands of hours of Bangla content, including linear TV, movies, and web series. It is added here that RTV extends a great deal of help in promoting the cause of making people aware of autism.

9. Bangla Vision

Launch Date: March 31, 2016

Owner: Shamol Bangla Media Ltd Chairman :Abdul Haque Bangla Vision upholds Bengali culture and drama. It has different popular shows such as “Sundorjer Kotha” and “Amer Ami” added with a mix of entertainment and cultural package. It does come with a promise of connecting viewers to their heritage of Bengali origin and is available on Apstar 7.

10. Maasranga Television

Launch Date: 2011 Owner: Square Group Chairperson: Mr. Samuel S Chowdhury Maasranga TV is a combo of both amusement and news and very popular Indian animated serials. Recently, it has gained fame due to its program and international broadcast to Australia, Asia and Europe. Masranga also participates with UNICEF for children’s program.

Growth of television in Bangladesh brings dynamism in the media scenario, opening up the viewer window on various dimensions. Starting off from a few pioneer channels to different flavor creation by new entrants, Bangladeshi TV channels have been continuously enriching the flavor of viewing with different tastes of programs. Certainly, it would be interesting to observe how, with changes in technology and media, these channels will get remade and how new players will get on board the industry.