Uganda today has a vibrant media industry. But this has not always been the case with the past yaers being characterised with only one local television; the Uganda Television (UTV).
Up until the late 1990s, Uganda had only one television station. It was the state-owned television station called Uganda Television (UTV) now called Uganda Broadcasting Corporation. The first alternative television station in the 1990s was called Sanyu TV. But it did not last long. It was Wavah Broadcasting Television (WBS) that provided a real alternative to UBC sometime in the early 2000s. It opened the way for other stations to join like Lighthouse Television, EATV and Top TV. The arrival of NTV sometime in the mid-2000s made the television space more competitive and led to a further surge in new television stations like Record, NBS and Bukedde. Content on television is mainly entertainment related, with music videos taking up a lot of time on TV. There is also emphasis on political talk shows and news. Prime time news on NTV is very popular, so is “Agataliko Nfuufu” news program on Bukedde.
Today there are several local TV stations, regional stations and international stations are received via satellite. Currently about 5 million TV are used. Television broadcast stations: 30.
There are several digital channels viewed in Uganda including international news, music and film channels. Some of these channels are free while others are paid.
Local Television
Here is a listing of several television Networks
- UBC – Uganda Television State operated, with one national service.
- NBS TV – Owned by Next Media
- BBS Terefayina – Buganda Broadcasting Services owned by Buganda Kingdom
- Channel TV
- LTV-Lighthouse TV/TBN Uganda – Kampala UG.. Christian
- Bukedde TV (Bukedde 1 and Bukedde 2)
- Top TV
- Record TV
- Channel 44
- Urban TV
- NTV (Nation TV)
- ABS Television
- Baba TV – Running programmes in Busoga
- TV West – Broadcasting in Lunyankole
- Dream TV
- Delta TV
- STV
Regional TVs
- East African Televison
- KBC – Kenya Broadcasting Corporation
- TBC – Tanzania Broadcasting Corporation
- Citizen TV Kenya
- Channel 10
- TV Africa
Here is a listing of satellite television service providers in Uganda
- MultiChoice Uganda (DStv)
- Star DTV Uganda (Star Times)
- Pearl Digital TV
- Kampala SITI Cable
- Smart TV
- Time watch cable
- Zuku TV
- GoTV