Skip to content
MONTEGRE

World News Live

Watch the world's news channels live — each one explained: who runs it, who funds it and where its reporting is strongest.

179 channels · 65 countries · 92 channels on air now

Global broadcasters

africanews

Africa · English · ● live

africanews launched in 2016 from Brazzaville, the capital of the Republic of the Congo, as a continental news channel and forms part of the euronews group. Its founding purpose is to report Africa from newsrooms on the continent rather than through the filter of the foreign press: most of its correspondents work in Africa and its agenda is set by the domestic priorities of African countries.

It broadcasts in English and French, a duality reflecting the continent's linguistic geography and allowing it to reach both francophone West Africa and anglophone East and Southern Africa. Business, health, climate and election coverage are prominent strands.

Where international channels tend to cover Africa through crisis, africanews carries routine politics, business and culture as well. For a reader who wants a development on the continent read in its local context, it is an important source.

Open the channel on YouTube

euronews

Europe · English · ● live

euronews was founded in Lyon in 1993 as a joint venture of European public broadcasters. The founding idea was straightforward: a channel that would report what happens in Europe from a continental rather than a single national vantage point. From the outset it built a structure that publishes the same pictures in multiple languages with separate audio tracks; it now broadcasts in many languages including English, French, German, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Russian, Arabic, Hungarian, Greek and Turkish.

Its best-known format is the No Comment strand: footage from the scene published with no narration or commentary, carried only with its natural sound. Because it makes visible the difference between the presentation of news and the event itself, the format holds a distinctive place in broadcast journalism.

Ownership of euronews has changed over the years and those changes have prompted debate about its independence, which readers are better off knowing. Its coverage of European Union institutions makes it one of the few sources following developments in Brussels on a routine basis.

Open the channel on YouTube
Africa

Broadcasters operating at a continental scale, not tied to a single African country, are grouped here.

Europe

Broadcasters operating at a European scale, not tied to a single country, are grouped here.

Türkiye

Europe

oe24.TV

Austria · German · ● live

oe24.TV is one of Austria's private news channels and forms the television arm of the newspaper and digital group of the same name. Its schedule is built around bulletins, live current-affairs programming and debate. It is an accessible channel for readers who want Austrian domestic politics from a source other than the public broadcaster.

Open the channel on YouTube

Belsat News

Belarus · Belarusian · ● live

Belsat is an independent television channel broadcasting in Belarusian and Russian from Poland. It reaches audiences inside Belarus by satellite and internet and is one of the principal sources carrying developments there to the outside world.

The Belarusian authorities have banned the channel and prosecuted its correspondents; cases in which journalists working for it received prison sentences have been documented in international reports. Its funding comes from Polish public sources, which readers are best placed knowing.

Open the channel on YouTube

RTBF Info

Belgium · French

RTBF Info is the news service of RTBF, Belgium's French-language public broadcaster, addressing French speakers in Wallonia and Brussels. Seeing how two public broadcasters in the same country treat the same event differently is a useful route into understanding Belgian society.

Open the channel on YouTube

VRT NWS

Belgium · Dutch

VRT NWS is the news service of VRT, Belgium's Dutch-language public broadcaster, and the news source reaching the widest audience in Flanders. Brussels hosting the European Union institutions gives the service a natural proximity to European affairs.

Open the channel on YouTube

bTV Novinite

Bulgaria · Bulgarian

bTV launched as Bulgaria's first private national television channel and became one of the broadcasters reaching the widest audience in the country. bTV Novinite is its news service, and its main evening bulletin is among the most watched news programmes in Bulgaria.

Open the channel on YouTube

HRT

Croatia · Croatian

HRT is Croatia's public broadcaster, funded by a household fee, and transmits nationwide across television and radio. Alongside the national agenda its news service weights the Balkan region and European Union affairs; Croatia's Adriatic coast and tourism economy are also regular subjects.

Open the channel on YouTube

ČT24

Czechia · Czech

ČT24 is the rolling news channel of the Czech public broadcaster Česká televize. The corporation is funded by a household licence fee and carries no advertising. Its agenda covers domestic politics, the European Union and the Central European region, with regional security coverage gaining weight since the war in Ukraine.

Open the channel on YouTube

DR Nyheder

Denmark · Danish

DR is Denmark's public broadcaster, founded in 1925 with radio. It carries no advertising. Its news service is among the broadcasts reaching the widest audience in the country, and its regional centres cover the whole of Denmark. An early mover in the digital transition of public broadcasting, DR now draws a substantial part of its audience through its own platform.

Open the channel on YouTube

Yle Uutiset

Finland · Finnish

Yle is Finland's public broadcaster and publishes in both Finnish and Swedish, the country's second official language, as well as in the Sámi languages. Its news service, Uutiset, is among the most trusted sources of information in the country. Finland's long land border with Russia has led Yle to develop particular institutional attention to security and border reporting.

Open the channel on YouTube

SKAI

Greece · Greek

SKAI is the television channel of one of Greece's private broadcast groups and holds a strong position in news and current affairs. The group also operates radio and digital publishing. Its agenda covers domestic politics, the economy and developments in the Eastern Mediterranean.

Open the channel on YouTube

ATV

Hungary · Hungarian

ATV is one of Hungary's private news and current-affairs channels. Its schedule is built around bulletins, political debate programming and interviews. Given the structure of the country's media environment, it is worth watching with the channel's position in mind.

Open the channel on YouTube

La7

Italy · Italian

La7 is one of Italy's private national channels and holds a strong position in news and current affairs. Its evening political debate programmes are among the principal places where Italian public argument is followed. Its identity rests on an analytical line distinct from the entertainment-weighted commercial channels.

Open the channel on YouTube

Rainews24

Italy · Italian

Rainews24 is the rolling news channel of the Italian public broadcaster RAI. RAI is a public corporation funded by a household licence fee and holds the widest transmission network in the country. Alongside the national agenda the channel weights European Union affairs and the Mediterranean basin; Italy's position in the Mediterranean makes migration and maritime security regular features of its output.

Open the channel on YouTube

NOS Journaal

Netherlands · Dutch

NOS is the organisation responsible for news production within the Dutch public broadcasting system. Where other broadcasters in the system represent particular social constituencies, NOS produces the impartial news service addressed to the whole public, which makes it the carrier of common ground in the Netherlands. Its main evening bulletin is the most watched news programme in the country. The organisation also holds broadcast rights to major sporting events.

Open the channel on YouTube

NRK

Norway · Norwegian

NRK is Norway's public broadcaster, founded in 1933. It carries no advertising and is tax-funded. Its national transmission network meets an obligation to reach everyone across a geography broken by fjords with a scattered population — a service no commercial broadcaster could sustain. NRK also broadcasts in Sámi and has particular depth in coverage of the Arctic.

Open the channel on YouTube

TVN24

Poland · Polish

TVN24 is Poland's rolling news channel and one of the best-known instances of private broadcasting in the country. The process around the renewal of its licence became one of the most visible episodes in Poland's argument over media independence and drew international attention. Domestic politics and investigative files dominate its agenda.

Open the channel on YouTube

TVP World

Poland · English · ● live

TVP World is the English-language international channel of the Polish public broadcaster TVP. Central and Eastern Europe, the war in Ukraine and regional security carry marked weight in its agenda, a focus made natural by Poland's position on the Ukrainian border. It is a useful source for following the region in English from outside the Western European channels.

Open the channel on YouTube

RTP

Portugal · Portuguese

RTP is Portugal's public broadcaster. Alongside its domestic channels it runs international services for Portuguese speakers worldwide; RTP África broadcasts to the Portuguese-speaking countries of Africa. That structure makes the corporation the principal news infrastructure across Portugal's linguistic geography.

Open the channel on YouTube

Antena 3 CNN

Romania · Romanian

Antena 3 CNN is one of Romania's rolling news channels and operates a brand partnership with CNN, with content and editorial management belonging to its Romanian owner. Its schedule is built around bulletins and political debate programming.

Open the channel on YouTube

N1

Serbia · Serbian

N1 is a regional news channel broadcasting in Serbia as well as Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina, operating a brand partnership with CNN. It is known for an independent editorial line and reports developments in the Balkans in a frame that crosses national borders; being able to follow the same event's resonance in three countries on one channel carries particular value for a reader who knows the region's history.

Cases of pressure on its journalists have been documented in international reports.

Open the channel on YouTube

RTS

Serbia · Serbian

RTS is Serbia's public broadcaster and holds the widest transmission network in the country. Its editorial independence is a recurring subject in Serbia's media debate. Its news service covers the national agenda, regional politics and the European Union accession process.

Open the channel on YouTube

SVT Nyheter

Sweden · Swedish

SVT is Sweden's public television broadcaster, and its news service ranks consistently among the most trusted sources of information in the country. It carries no advertising and its editorial independence is set out in law. Its regional centres cover the whole of Sweden including the sparsely populated north, and SVT also broadcasts in Sámi.

Open the channel on YouTube

TV4 Nyheterna

Sweden · Swedish

TV4 is Sweden's largest commercial broadcaster, and its news service Nyheterna is the principal private alternative to the public broadcaster. Its bulletins reach a wide audience, and its local news strands across the country make it strong in regional reporting.

Open the channel on YouTube

RTS Info

Switzerland · French

RTS is Switzerland's French-language public broadcaster, addressing the French-speaking cantons in the west of the country. Geneva's role as host to international organisations gives the service particular access in diplomatic and humanitarian coverage.

Open the channel on YouTube

SRF News

Switzerland · German

SRF is Switzerland's German-language public broadcaster and addresses the country's largest language community. Its news service carries a particular specialism in covering the referendums held frequently under Swiss direct democracy: explaining the questions put to a vote and presenting the arguments of both sides in balance is a legal obligation of the corporation.

Open the channel on YouTube
Austria

In Austria the public broadcaster ORF holds the widest transmission network and is funded by a household contribution. Private broadcasting developed late; the small size of the market and a shared language with Germany mean Austrian audiences also have direct access to German channels.

Belarus

Independent broadcasting in Belarus has effectively ended. Television and radio inside the country are under state control; independent journalists have been imprisoned, many outlets banned after being designated "extremist", and most journalists have been forced to leave. Independent Belarusian- and Russian-language journalism is now produced largely from outside the country.

Belgium

Broadcasting in Belgium is divided by language community: the Dutch-speaking north and the French-speaking south have entirely separate public broadcasters. There is no single national public broadcaster, which is the clearest broadcasting expression of Belgium's federal structure.

Bulgaria

Private television broadcasting in Bulgaria began in the late 1990s and a strong commercial sector quickly formed alongside the public broadcaster. Media pluralism and ownership transparency in the country are subjects addressed regularly in international reports.

Croatia

In Croatia the public broadcaster HRT is one of the institutions that became an independent national broadcaster after the break-up of Yugoslavia, and it holds the widest transmission network in the country.

Czechia

In Czechia the public broadcaster Česká televize is one of the institutions that lived through the transition from communist-era state television to a democratic public broadcaster; the best-known moment of that change was the journalists' protest for the corporation's independence in 2000–2001, which drew wide public support.

Denmark

In the Nordic countries public service broadcasting is regarded as the central institution establishing society's common ground and enjoys broad public support. Funding has been moved from a household fee to a tax-based model, the aim being to remove the institution from renegotiation in every parliamentary term.

Finland

In the Nordic countries public service broadcasting is regarded as the central institution establishing society's common ground and enjoys broad public support. Funding has been moved from a household fee to a tax-based model, the aim being to remove the institution from renegotiation in every parliamentary term.

Greece

Private television broadcasting in Greece began in the late 1980s, and the market took shape under the ownership of large business groups. The public broadcaster ERT was closed by government decision in 2013 and reopened two years later — an episode cited as one of the starkest examples in Europe of the political fragility of public service broadcasting.

Hungary

The concentration of media ownership in Hungary has been the subject of regular reports by European Union institutions and international press freedom organisations. The consolidation of a large number of outlets under a single foundation sits at the centre of the country's argument about media pluralism, and readers should weigh Hungarian output in that context.

Italy

Broadcasting in Italy is an arrangement in which the public broadcaster RAI stands alongside the private sector. Political influence over RAI's governance — the practice known as lottizzazione, whereby channels were in effect apportioned among political parties — is one of the country's oldest media arguments.

Netherlands

Dutch broadcasting rests on a model with few equals: public airtime is allocated to different membership associations and organisations according to their size. This tradition of pillarisation was designed so that different world views could appear on the public screen in their own voice.

Norway

In the Nordic countries public service broadcasting is regarded as the central institution establishing society's common ground and enjoys broad public support. Funding has been moved from a household fee to a tax-based model, the aim being to remove the institution from renegotiation in every parliamentary term.

Poland

Media in Poland have stood at the centre of one of the sharpest political arguments of the past decade. The editorial independence of the public broadcaster and pressure on private broadcasters have surfaced repeatedly with changes of government, and European Union institutions have pursued proceedings on the matter. Readers should weigh Polish output in that context.

Portugal

In Portugal the public broadcaster RTP was founded in 1957 and lived through the transition from dictatorship to democracy. The country's ties with the Portuguese-speaking world — Brazil, Angola, Mozambique — shape the international dimension of its broadcasting.

Romania

Private news channels in Romania are the product of a broadcast market that developed rapidly after 1989. The number of rolling news channels is high for the country's population by European standards, and the political differentiation between them is pronounced.

Serbia

Media independence in Serbia is among the subjects assessed regularly in the country's European Union accession process. Reports by international press freedom organisations highlight pressure on journalists and the distribution of public funds to media. Readers should weigh Serbian output in that context.

Sweden

In the Nordic countries public service broadcasting is regarded as the central institution establishing society's common ground and enjoys broad public support. Funding has been moved from a household fee to a tax-based model, the aim being to remove the institution from renegotiation in every parliamentary term.

Switzerland

Public broadcasting in Switzerland is conducted separately in four official languages: German, French, Italian and Romansh. The regional organisations under the SRG SSR umbrella produce independent news in their own languages — an institutional solution showing how a public sphere is built in a four-language country.

North America

Latin America

C5N

Argentina · Spanish · ● live

C5N is one of Argentina's rolling news channels, based in Buenos Aires. Its schedule is built around continuous daytime live output, field links and political debate programming.

Argentina's economic crises have made inflation and exchange rate reporting a permanent fixture of the country's news channels, which has given Argentine journalism a distinctive fluency in economics.

Open the channel on YouTube

24 Horas (TVN)

Chile · Spanish · ● live

24 Horas is the news service of TVN — Televisión Nacional de Chile — the country's public broadcaster. TVN is state-owned but has its editorial independence set out in law and must generate its own revenue, a hybrid structure distinctive in Latin America.

Chile's exposure to earthquakes and tsunamis has led the corporation to develop particular capacity in disaster coverage.

Open the channel on YouTube

Teletrece (T13)

Chile · Spanish · ● live

Teletrece — T13 — is the news service of Canal 13, one of Chile's private networks, and produces one of the country's longest-established bulletins.

Chile's constitutional debate and social movements in recent years have formed the central agenda of its journalism and tested the live coverage capacity of its channels.

Open the channel on YouTube

Noticias Caracol

Colombia · Spanish · ● live

Noticias Caracol is the news service of Caracol Televisión, one of Colombia's largest networks, and produces the country's most watched bulletins.

The peace process, the transformation of armed groups and security conditions in rural areas are regular subjects in its reporting; Colombia's decades-long internal conflict has given the country's journalism deep institutional experience in this field.

Open the channel on YouTube

Noticias RCN

Colombia · Spanish · ● live

Noticias RCN is the news service of RCN, Colombia's other major national network and Caracol's principal rival. Comparing how the two treat the same event is a practical route into seeing the divisions in Colombian politics.

The service covers the national agenda, the economy and regional news.

Open the channel on YouTube

Milenio

Mexico · Spanish · ● live

Milenio is a Mexican news group running a newspaper, digital publishing and a television channel together. Its television output follows a schedule built around a continuous daytime live band and discussion programming.

Journalism in Mexico is counted among the most dangerous professions in the world, and attacks on reporters working in regions connected to organised crime appear regularly in international reports. Knowing those conditions matters when reading Mexican journalism, because it shows the risk under which these reporters work.

Open the channel on YouTube

Latina Noticias

Peru · Spanish · ● live

Latina Noticias is the news service of Latina Televisión, one of Peru's major national networks. Its output is built around bulletins, investigative files and current-affairs programming.

Peru's political instability in recent years — successive presidential crises and corruption investigations — has formed the central agenda of the country's journalism.

Open the channel on YouTube

RPP Noticias

Peru · Spanish · ● live

RPP — Radio Programas del Perú — was founded in 1963 and is the news organisation with the widest reach in Peru. Its origins in radio are decisive given the country's geography: for communities in the Andes and the Amazon basin the primary source of news is radio, not television.

The organisation now runs radio, television and digital publishing together. During earthquakes and natural disasters RPP's national radio network functions in practice as emergency information infrastructure.

Open the channel on YouTube

TeleSUR English

Venezuela · Spanish · ● live

teleSUR was founded in 2005 on Venezuela's initiative as a joint venture of several Latin American governments, a continental news channel. Its founding purpose was stated openly: to tell Latin America from the continent's own vantage point rather than through the frame of northern international channels.

The channel is state-funded and its editorial line aligns with the political position of the governments that founded it, which readers should hold in mind. Against that, it carries distinct value as a source viewing Latin American developments from within the continent and outside the customary frame. Its English edition addresses an international audience.

Open the channel on YouTube
Argentina

Television remains central to news consumption across Latin America, and in most countries the broadcast market is held by a small number of large family firms. A shared language — Spanish everywhere but Brazil — creates a continuous news flow across the continent: a development in one country carries directly onto the screens of its neighbours. That makes Latin America more than the sum of separate national markets; it is an integrated media space in its own right.

Chile

Television remains central to news consumption across Latin America, and in most countries the broadcast market is held by a small number of large family firms. A shared language — Spanish everywhere but Brazil — creates a continuous news flow across the continent: a development in one country carries directly onto the screens of its neighbours. That makes Latin America more than the sum of separate national markets; it is an integrated media space in its own right.

Colombia

Television remains central to news consumption across Latin America, and in most countries the broadcast market is held by a small number of large family firms. A shared language — Spanish everywhere but Brazil — creates a continuous news flow across the continent: a development in one country carries directly onto the screens of its neighbours. That makes Latin America more than the sum of separate national markets; it is an integrated media space in its own right.

Mexico

Television remains central to news consumption across Latin America, and in most countries the broadcast market is held by a small number of large family firms. A shared language — Spanish everywhere but Brazil — creates a continuous news flow across the continent: a development in one country carries directly onto the screens of its neighbours. That makes Latin America more than the sum of separate national markets; it is an integrated media space in its own right.

Peru

Television remains central to news consumption across Latin America, and in most countries the broadcast market is held by a small number of large family firms. A shared language — Spanish everywhere but Brazil — creates a continuous news flow across the continent: a development in one country carries directly onto the screens of its neighbours. That makes Latin America more than the sum of separate national markets; it is an integrated media space in its own right.

Venezuela

Independent broadcasting in Venezuela operates under severe restriction; the licences of many private channels have not been renewed or the channels have changed hands. Conditions for journalism in the country are addressed regularly in reports by international press freedom organisations.

Middle East

Al Qahera News

Egypt · Arabic

Al Qahera News is an Arabic-language news channel launched in Egypt. Egyptian domestic politics, regional developments and subjects across the Horn of Africa and the Eastern Mediterranean feature in its agenda; Egypt's position in neighbouring crises such as Gaza and Sudan is a regular field of its coverage.

It should be watched with its proximity to the state in mind; equally, it is a first-hand source for Egypt's official position.

Open the channel on YouTube

eXtra News

Egypt · Arabic

eXtra News is one of Egypt's Arabic-language news channels. Its schedule is built around bulletins, current-affairs programming and business strands.

It should be watched with the structure of the country's media environment in mind.

Open the channel on YouTube

i24NEWS

Israel · English

i24NEWS is a Tel Aviv-based international news channel broadcasting in three languages — English, French and Arabic. That trilingual structure expresses its founding idea: to carry journalism from Israel and the region directly to an international audience.

The channel reports regional developments in a frame that looks out from Israel, which readers are best placed knowing and reading alongside sources broadcasting from the other side.

Open the channel on YouTube

Al Jazeera Arabic

Qatar · Arabic · ● live

Al Jazeera Arabic went on air in Doha in 1996 and permanently changed television journalism in the Arab world. Until then news broadcasting in the region was a monopoly of state television and the debate programme did not exist; Al Jazeera found its audience immediately with programmes in which opposing views met live and with reporting that stepped outside the state account.

Its influence on regional politics was clearest during the Arab uprisings of 2011; its broadcasts were blocked in several countries, its bureaus closed and its correspondents detained. The channel is the subject of a permanent argument about impartiality because of its funding relationship with the Qatari state, and that information is necessary for readers on questions of intra-Gulf rivalry.

Against that, Al Jazeera Arabic is one of the most comprehensive institutions in Arabic-language journalism in field presence and archive.

Open the channel on YouTube

Al Arabiya English

Saudi Arabia · English

Al Arabiya English is the channel's English-language service, carrying developments in the Gulf to an international audience. Business, energy and regional diplomacy form the weight of its coverage.

Saudi Arabia's economic transformation programme and its regional foreign policy are subjects it follows routinely.

Open the channel on YouTube

Al Arabiya

Saudi Arabia · Arabic

Al Arabiya went on air in Dubai in 2003 as an Arabic news channel within the MBC group. Its founding was read as a search for a counterweight to Al Jazeera, and the channel has followed a line close to Saudi Arabia since.

Business journalism is a particular strength: it covers Gulf markets, oil and regional investment comprehensively. For a reader who wants regional political developments in a frame different from the Doha-based channels, it is a direct source.

Open the channel on YouTube

Sky News Arabia

United Arab Emirates · Arabic · ● live

Sky News Arabia went on air in Abu Dhabi in 2012 as an Arabic news channel, founded as a joint venture between an Abu Dhabi-based investment vehicle and Britain's Sky group. That partnership gave the channel a format and register drawn from the British broadcasting tradition: news presented in short cycles, fast breaking capability and a comparatively measured tone.

Its editorial line aligns with the United Arab Emirates' regional position, which readers are best placed knowing. Comparing an event's telling on the Doha, Riyadh and Abu Dhabi channels shows intra-regional political division directly.

Open the channel on YouTube
Egypt

Egypt has one of the largest populations and oldest press traditions in the Arab world, and Cairo was the centre of Arabic-language publishing through the twentieth century. The country's media environment today is held largely by organisations close to the state, and independent broadcasting operates under severe restriction — a situation addressed regularly in international press freedom reports. Readers should weigh Egyptian output in that context.

Israel

Israel has a lively and competitive media environment; its journalistic tradition is strong and domestic political argument is conducted sharply on screen. A military censor conducts pre-publication review on certain security matters, a known structural constraint on journalism in the country that readers should be aware of.

Reading Israeli and Arabic-language output side by side on the region's conflicts is the direct way to see how the same event is told from both sides.

Qatar

Satellite broadcasting transformed regional politics in the Arab world from the mid-1990s. Until then audiences in each country could reach only their own state television; satellite created a shared Arabic-language public sphere across national borders and made it possible for a development in one country to be watched simultaneously across the region.

The founding channels of that space emerged in the Gulf and were funded largely by states or sources close to them. That produces a distinctive feature of Arabic-language journalism: editorial differences between channels frequently carry the traces of regional political rivalry. Seeing how an event is told differently on channels from Doha, Riyadh, Abu Dhabi and Cairo, side by side, is one of the most direct routes into the region's politics — and it is precisely why these channels appear together in the list below.

Saudi Arabia

Satellite broadcasting transformed regional politics in the Arab world from the mid-1990s. Until then audiences in each country could reach only their own state television; satellite created a shared Arabic-language public sphere across national borders and made it possible for a development in one country to be watched simultaneously across the region.

The founding channels of that space emerged in the Gulf and were funded largely by states or sources close to them. That produces a distinctive feature of Arabic-language journalism: editorial differences between channels frequently carry the traces of regional political rivalry. Seeing how an event is told differently on channels from Doha, Riyadh, Abu Dhabi and Cairo, side by side, is one of the most direct routes into the region's politics — and it is precisely why these channels appear together in the list below.

United Arab Emirates

Satellite broadcasting transformed regional politics in the Arab world from the mid-1990s. Until then audiences in each country could reach only their own state television; satellite created a shared Arabic-language public sphere across national borders and made it possible for a development in one country to be watched simultaneously across the region.

The founding channels of that space emerged in the Gulf and were funded largely by states or sources close to them. That produces a distinctive feature of Arabic-language journalism: editorial differences between channels frequently carry the traces of regional political rivalry. Seeing how an event is told differently on channels from Doha, Riyadh, Abu Dhabi and Cairo, side by side, is one of the most direct routes into the region's politics — and it is precisely why these channels appear together in the list below.

Asia

Jamuna TV

Bangladesh · Bengali

Jamuna TV is one of Bangladesh's national Bengali-language news channels. Its output is built around bulletins, current-affairs programming and field reporting.

Bangladesh's status as one of the countries most vulnerable to climate change has made flood and cyclone coverage a permanent fixture of its channels' agendas.

Open the channel on YouTube

South China Morning Post

Hong Kong · English

The South China Morning Post was founded in 1903 and is Hong Kong's long-established English-language newspaper. For more than a century it has been one of the principal sources explaining China to the English-reading world, and the city's role as an international financial centre has given its business coverage particular depth.

The paper was acquired by Alibaba Group in 2016, a change of ownership that opened international debate about its editorial independence and a fact readers should hold.

Its video service produces documentaries, explanatory content and event-driven live coverage.

Open the channel on YouTube

TVB News

Hong Kong · Chinese

TVB is Hong Kong's largest free-to-air broadcaster and sits at the centre of television journalism in the city, publishing in Cantonese and English.

Its editorial line became a subject of public argument during the 2019 protests and the period that followed, which readers are best placed knowing.

Open the channel on YouTube

Khabar 24

Kazakhstan · Kazakh

Khabar 24 is Kazakhstan's rolling news channel. Domestic politics, the economy and developments across Central Asia feature in its agenda, with the country's position as an energy exporter and its geography between China and Russia as regular fields of coverage.

It should be watched with its relationship to the state in mind. Against that, Central Asia receives little attention on international channels, and for a reader who wants to follow the region directly this is an accessible source.

Open the channel on YouTube

Geo News

Pakistan · Urdu · ● live

Geo News reaches the widest audience of any news channel in Pakistan and belongs to the Jang Group, one of the country's long-established media houses, which also publishes one of Pakistan's highest-circulation newspapers.

The channel has been taken off air and removed from distribution networks several times over its history, episodes documented in international reports as concrete instances in Pakistan's press freedom debate.

Domestic politics, security and the economy dominate its agenda.

Open the channel on YouTube

Ada Derana

Sri Lanka · Sinhala

Ada Derana is among Sri Lanka's most followed news organisations, running television, radio and digital publishing together and producing in Sinhala, Tamil and English.

The country's economic crisis of 2022 and the popular movement that followed have formed the central agenda of Sri Lankan journalism in recent years.

Open the channel on YouTube

FTV News

Taiwan · Chinese

FTV News is the news service of Formosa Television, one of Taiwan's national networks. The channel is also known for the space it gives to Taiwanese (Hokkien) broadcasting — the media expression of the island's argument about language and identity.

Domestic politics, elections and relations with China feature in its agenda.

Open the channel on YouTube

TVBS News

Taiwan · Chinese · ● live

TVBS News is among Taiwan's best-known news channels and a leading example of rolling news broadcasting on the island. Its schedule is built around fast news cycles, live links and debate programming.

Military activity in the Taiwan Strait, island politics and the economy feature regularly in its reporting.

Open the channel on YouTube

Thai PBS

Thailand · Thai · ● live

Thai PBS is Thailand's public broadcaster, established in 2008. Its funding model is notable: it carries no advertising and draws its income from taxes on alcohol and tobacco, a structure designed to keep it clear both of commercial pressure and of direct dependence on the government budget.

The corporation is known for a comparatively independent line within the country's broadcast environment. Social affairs, the environment, rural development and minority communities feature prominently in its agenda.

Open the channel on YouTube

VTV24

Vietnam · Vietnamese

VTV24 is the news centre of VTV, Vietnam's state broadcaster. The corporation holds the widest transmission network in the country and stands at the centre of news production.

Its agenda covers the economy, infrastructure investment and regional developments. It should be watched in the knowledge that it is the state broadcaster.

Open the channel on YouTube
Bangladesh

Private television broadcasting began in Bangladesh in the late 1990s and a large number of Bengali-language news channels were established. Press freedom conditions and the effect of digital security legislation on journalism are recurring subjects in international reports.

Hong Kong

Hong Kong's media environment changed fundamentally after the national security law took effect in 2020. The city's long-held standing as one of Asia's freest press environments was shaken in this period; outlets closed, journalists were prosecuted, and the city's position in international press freedom rankings fell sharply. Readers should weigh output from Hong Kong in that context.

The city nonetheless remains a broadcast space distinct from the Chinese mainland: access to international platforms is open and the English-language publishing tradition continues.

Kazakhstan

Broadcasting in Kazakhstan is held largely by the state and organisations close to it. Press freedom conditions in the country are a recurring subject in international reports. Broadcasting is conducted in Kazakh and Russian, a bilingualism reflecting the country's social composition.

Pakistan

Private television broadcasting was liberalised in Pakistan in the early 2000s and a large number of news channels appeared quickly, making the country one of the fastest-growing broadcast markets in South Asia. Working conditions for journalists are difficult in return: transmission interruptions, channel blackouts and cases of pressure on reporters are recurring subjects in international reports.

Broadcasting is mainly in Urdu, with English-language channels and newspapers addressing an urban readership.

Sri Lanka

Broadcasting in Sri Lanka is conducted in three languages — Sinhala, Tamil and English — a trilingualism that reflects the country's social composition and its post-civil-war reconciliation process.

Taiwan

Taiwan has one of the freest media environments in Asia, a direct consequence of the island's democratisation: after martial law was lifted in 1987 broadcasting liberalised rapidly and an extraordinary number of news channels appeared for the size of the population. Competition is intense and the tempo of output is high.

Taiwanese journalism has a distinctive agenda: the island's international status and relations with the People's Republic of China are a permanent element of the daily news flow. Taiwan is also among the countries that have built the strongest verification infrastructure against externally run information operations, and its independent fact-checking organisations and literacy programmes are cited internationally as models.

Thailand

Broadcasting in Thailand operates within a distinctive legal frame: reporting on the royal family is protected by a law of a severity with few parallels, and that forms the known limit of journalism in the country. Readers should weigh Thai output in that context.

A large share of the broadcast market is held by structures connected to the military and state institutions, and within that picture the public broadcaster Thai PBS occupies a distinct place.

Vietnam

Media in Vietnam are under state and party control; there is no independent broadcasting and outlets operate as state institutions. The channel below sits within that structure and carries the state's official account, which readers should hold in mind.

Against that, Vietnam's rapid economic growth and regional position are subjects worth following, and this channel shows the state's official view of them directly.

Africa

Echorouk News

Algeria · Arabic · ● live

Echorouk is the television channel of the media group that publishes one of Algeria's most widely read newspapers, and is among the channels founded after the sector opened to private broadcasting.

Its agenda covers domestic politics, security developments across the Sahel and energy; Algeria's position as a gas exporter has made the last of these internationally significant in recent years.

Open the channel on YouTube

GHOne TV

Ghana · English

GHOne TV is one of Ghana's private television channels, producing news and current-affairs programming. Its schedule is built around bulletins, debate programming and field reporting.

Broadcasting in English makes the Ghanaian agenda accessible to an international audience.

Open the channel on YouTube

JoyNews

Ghana · English · ● live

JoyNews is the news channel of the Multimedia Group, one of Ghana's leading media organisations. The group also runs one of the country's most listened-to radio stations and produces news across radio, television and digital in an integrated way.

The channel is known for investigative files and has played a part in bringing major corruption investigations in Ghana into public view. Domestic politics, the economy and the West African region feature in its agenda.

Open the channel on YouTube

2M

Morocco · Arabic · ● live

2M is among the Moroccan channels reaching the widest audience and broadcasts in Arabic and French. That bilingualism opens it both to a domestic audience and to the Moroccan community in Europe.

Its agenda covers domestic politics, the economy and migration between Africa and Europe — a subject kept permanently current by Morocco's position between two continents.

Open the channel on YouTube

Arise News

Nigeria · English · ● live

Arise News is a Nigeria-based English-language international news channel with production centres in Lagos, London and New York. Its founding idea is to carry African journalism directly to an international audience.

Nigerian domestic politics, African economies and the continent's international relations feature in its agenda. For a reader who wants Africa from the continent's own newsrooms rather than through the filter of the foreign press, it is a distinct source.

Open the channel on YouTube

Channels Television

Nigeria · English · ● live

Channels Television is among Nigeria's best-known private news channels and is treated as a reference point for journalistic standards in the country. It is known for election coverage and live political debate programming.

Federal politics, the economy, security and developments across West Africa feature in its agenda. Broadcasting in English makes the Nigerian and West African agenda directly accessible to an international audience.

Open the channel on YouTube
Algeria

Private television broadcasting is relatively recent in Algeria; a sector long held as a state monopoly was opened to private channels in the early 2010s. The country broadcasts in Arabic and French.

Ghana

Ghana ranks among the higher-placed African countries in press freedom indices and has a lively broadcast environment. Radio is central to news consumption there: hundreds of local stations reach rural communities in their own languages, and much of the country's public debate is conducted on that medium.

Morocco

Broadcasting in Morocco is conducted in Arabic and French, with Amazigh-language output also officially recognised. The country's geographic proximity to Europe and historical ties with France connect its media environment to both the Arab world and the francophone space.

Nigeria

Nigeria is Africa's most populous country and has one of the continent's liveliest private broadcast markets. Hundreds of radio and television channels operate there; broadcasting is in English, with substantial output also in Hausa, Yoruba and Igbo.

The agenda of Nigerian journalism spans the continent's largest economy, a complex federal politics and the security crisis in the north. The country's journalistic tradition is strong; against that, cases of pressure on reporters are documented in international reports.

Oceania

1News

New Zealand · English

1News is the news service of TVNZ, New Zealand's state-owned broadcaster, and produces the country's most watched bulletin. TVNZ is state-owned but operates commercially on advertising revenue, a hybrid particular to New Zealand.

The Pacific islands are a regular subject in its reporting; New Zealand's position in the region makes Pacific developments visible here in a way they rarely are elsewhere. Earthquake and natural disaster coverage is another area of institutional strength.

Open the channel on YouTube
New Zealand

New Zealand's media market is small, and that shapes broadcasting directly: a handful of national broadcasters operate on limited advertising revenue. Broadcasting in the country carries a distinctive obligation: the representation of the Māori language and culture on air is secured in law and institutionally, with a dedicated broadcaster established for the purpose.

Streams are shown from each broadcaster's own official YouTube channel through the YouTube player; the content and all rights belong to those broadcasters. Montegre does not broadcast or retransmit. Live news coverage may contain distressing footage.