Jordan Radio and Television Corporation

The Jordan Radio and Television Corporation (JRTV) is the main broadcaster in Jordan. It started in 1985 when two older groups, Jordan Radio and Jordan Television, joined together.

Before that, Jordan’s first radio programs came from other places in the Middle East. Jordan, then called Transjordan, did not start its own radio service until 1948, and the first broadcast happened in 1956. Today, Radio Jordan plays all day in Arabic, with English for 21 hours and French for 13 hours each day.

The main channel of JRTV is a satellite channel named Al-Urdunniyya (Arabic: الأردنية), which means “the Jordanian” channel.

History

Television in Jordan started in April 1968. It began with just one studio and three hours of black-and-white programs each day. The station was called JTV (Jordan Television Corporation) and got help from a US company called RTV International.

Over the years, JTV achieved many firsts. In 1972, it became the first station in the area to launch a second channel, Channel 2, which showed foreign programs, including news in English. In 1974, JTV began showing programs in full color using the PAL system. By 1975, its broadcasts reached all parts of the country.

In 1985, Jordan Radio and Jordan Television joined together to form the Jordan Radio and Television Corporation, known as JRTV. Later developments included the launch of the Jordan Satellite Channel in 1993 and a third channel in 1998 for parliamentary sessions and sports.

In 2001, JRTV restructured its channels. Channels 1 and 2 merged into one main channel, Channel 2 focused on sports, and Channel 3 showed cartoons in the morning and movies in the evening. Today, viewers can watch Al-Urdunniyya live online at jrtv.jo.

Services

JRTV runs three TV channels and four radio stations all over Jordan.

Radio stations

Jordanian Radio (Radio al-Urdunniyah) – a main station for everyone
Radio Amman FM – a station focused on Amman, Jordan's capital; Irbid has its own version
Radio Jordan – plays music and shows in English or French, depending on the time; it has been on English since 1973 (first on medium wave, then FM since 1994) and in French since 1992
Holy Quran Radio