1950s: The Beginning

On November 29, 1956, Nara Shlepchyan addressed viewers from the television screen for the first time, saying: “Good evening, dear viewers. Today is a festive day: Armenian television is being launched. I sincerely congratulate us all on this birthday and believe that television will have a long and prosperous journey.”

On February 9, 1957, the opening ceremony of the television studio took place, and Armenian television began regular broadcasting. At the time, television was primarily perceived as a cultural phenomenon, while its informational role remained largely limited to political and propaganda purposes. In September of the same year, the first mobile production unit arrived in Yerevan from Leningrad (Saint Petersburg), expanding the possibilities of television and enabling productions outside the studio, including from theatres, concert halls, parks, factories, and other locations. Broadcasting began at 6 or 7 p.m. and lasted 30–40 minutes. Initially, programs were broadcast four days a week: Sunday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday.

1960s: Expansion

During the 1960s, construction of the Yerevan Television Center’s studio and technical complex progressed rapidly. By then, the Armenian television signal covered 99.9 percent of the country. During this decade, informational programming was added to television’s cultural component.

The television announcing school developed, with special training organized to improve the skills of announcers. The number and range of editorial departments also expanded, including children’s and youth programming, news, sports, music, propaganda, film production, literary and dramatic programming, and others. In 1969, the Yerevan creative association for television films was established. Ten years after its founding, Armenian television had achieved a leading position across the Soviet Union, with around 500 productions to its credit, including Sayat-Nova and Lipstick No. 4.

1970s: The Golden Age

The country’s rapid socioeconomic development also influenced television. The May Day parade from what is now Republic Square was broadcast in color for the first time. The first video recording equipment and film-processing facilities appeared, and another mobile production unit was acquired. During this period, plans were also made to establish an entire production complex for television films.

By 1976, Public TV already had three studios equipped with modern technology. In the early 1970s, the Television and Radio Symphony Orchestra was established, with Ohan Duryan serving as its artistic director. The program Musical Mailbox played an important role in promoting Armenian folk and popular music, with its first broadcast airing on November 25, 1977.

In 1977, the average duration of Armenian television programming reached 12 hours per day. At the time, there were approximately 500,000 television sets in the country, 100,000 of them color.

Despite the growing need to address new challenges, Armenian television expanded beyond the country’s borders and reached screens across the Soviet Union. These developments brought an increase in staff, improvements in professional expertise, and greater ability to respond quickly to crises.

1980s: Continued Development

The decade was marked by difficult but steady development. Challenges such as the emergence of high-rise buildings in the city and the expansion of cable television required new solutions. The television industry’s technical capabilities continued to grow year by year.

The already established announcing department hosted a variety of programs, with presenters reading texts both on and off camera. The program The Viewer Suggests was launched, presenting public opinions about different television programs. The video archive stored all recorded tapes, divided into two categories: archival materials and materials for current use. Programs were recorded, edited, broadcast, then erased and the tapes reused for new recordings. The same process applied to the audio archive.

In 1983, Armenian television presented another landmark production: the film-opera Anoush, filmed at Yerevan Studio. The policies of Perestroika created new opportunities for mutually beneficial cooperation with local and foreign organizations. The more liberal atmosphere also influenced the selection of programming and topics.

For Armenia, 1988 was a year of upheaval, national self-determination, and re-evaluation. The Nagorno-Karabakh issue had come to the forefront. One of the peaks of television coverage was the live broadcast of the session of the Supreme Council of Armenia on June 15. During the same period, live broadcasts were also made from Nagorno-Karabakh.

The final broadcasts of 1988 were marked by tragedy. From the first days following the December earthquake, journalists from the television’s main editorial department were present in the disaster zone. Special editions of Lraber began and ended with reports from the affected areas. Following the earthquake, thousands of people were searching for relatives and friends. In cooperation with the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the Yerevan and Yerevan Residents editorial department established a search service and a program of the same name, helping many people find their loved ones.

1990s: Independence and Television

The first years of independence were difficult for television as well. The technical infrastructure had become outdated, while there were no resources to replace it. Television was faced not with the task of development, but with preserving what already existed; international and domestic connections had been disrupted. Despite these circumstances, television became relatively free from censorship. One of the major challenges of the period was covering the extraordinary events of the time, particularly the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. In May 1992, journalists at Public TV created the program Artsakh Objective.

Alongside public and political programming, entertainment programs increased in number and began to take new forms. The program Mosaic became particularly popular, presenting the 24-hour television marathon Journey to 1991 on the final day of 1990. A month later, a new program, Channel 3, was launched, with its core creative team assembled from the very beginning: Artak Arzumanyan, Elmira Arsenyan, Artavazd Yeghoyan, Vachagan Nersisyan, and Karen Kocharyan.

In November 1996, the 40th anniversary of Armenian television was celebrated with a major ceremony. Despite considerable difficulties, the national television service continued to preserve what had been created in previous decades. In 1997, approximately six years after Haylur had been taken off the air, Tigran Naghdalyan returned to television with the authorial program Agenda. During this period, the small television studio Art-13 was also established and received support from then-Minister of Defense Vazgen Sargsyan. The program Zinuzh was created as well.

Despite the difficulties, there were signs of positive development: three hours of daily broadcasting became six, and the number of political, social, and analytical programs increased. The newly established but already well-known Lraber, responding to the country’s social, economic, and political changes, went live not only with its regular editions but also with a range of urgent discussions. In 1998, following the dissolution of Lraber, Haylur was established and began its new chapter on September 21.

2000s: New Horizons

During this decade, a new phase of technological modernization began. By 2008, the television infrastructure had been completely upgraded, including the central technical facilities and television studios. These changes brought a fundamental rethinking of traditional approaches to television production and required close cooperation between creative and technical teams. This, in turn, created a need to redesign and modernize the physical infrastructure.

In 2003, the Public TV Company established an International Relations Department responsible for creating and strengthening cooperation with international organizations. In 2005, the first virtual studio was established, reducing the costs associated with physical sets. Programs such as The Fairy Tale Calls and other popular shows were produced there. From the same year, under the law, the television company was required to broadcast all programs and films in Armenian.

New creative units also emerged within the News Department, bringing a more creative approach to television production. During this decade, the large-scale chemical processing, digitization, and preservation of the Public TV archive also began. A structured database of archival materials and a dedicated search system were established. Alongside major technical and content-related changes, considerable attention was given to improving working conditions for employees and strengthening international relations.

In 2005, Armenia became a full member of the European Broadcasting Union. Beginning in 2006, Public TV participated in major European music events, including the Eurovision Song Contest, followed by the Junior Eurovision Song Contest in 2007. Public TV also acquired exclusive rights to broadcast high-quality film and music content and regularly covered and broadcast live Armenia’s participation in major international sporting and cultural events.

2010s

In 2009, the Yerevan Studio of Television Films produced the feature film The Slaughtered Dove, based on the novella of the same name by Nar-Dos. In 2010, viewers were presented with the five-part television feature film The Memoirs of a Thief, based on Raffi’s novel of the same name. In 2011, The Artist was produced based on Shirvanzade’s short story of the same name.

Among the pioneers of Armenian television series production were Orphans and Anna, followed by Our Village in 2013 and Emergency in 2014. In 2015, the television series Special Department premiered.

During these years, the continuous development of television technology created the conditions for the transition to digital broadcasting.

In 2015, the Public TV Company received a new HD mobile television production unit equipped with 10 cameras, as well as an HD satellite broadcasting station, from the Government of the People’s Republic of China. The Chinese government also provided Public TV with a digital news-gathering vehicle free of charge. Through Armenian-Japanese cooperation, the Public TV archive was fully renovated, with the Golden Archive preserved and maintained under precisely controlled temperature and humidity conditions.

On September 13, 2016, Public TV launched its 60th broadcasting season and, on the same day, transitioned to high-definition (HD) broadcasting.

2020s: First for 70 Years

At the beginning of the 2020s, as part of its 65th anniversary, the Public TV Company underwent a rebranding and announced the creation of a television family.

Today, the television family consists of four broadcast channels and one digital platform.

First Channel offers a diverse range of television programming through a continuously evolving schedule. Alongside news and entertainment, as well as public affairs, cultural, and sports programming, First Channel holds exclusive broadcasting rights to numerous projects, produces its own films, and makes its content accessible to hundreds of thousands of viewers living both in Armenia and abroad.

First News Channel was established and began operating on June 9, 2021. With nationwide coverage, it provides 24-hour news, thematic debates, and exclusive interviews. Since 2024, First Channel America has been serving Armenian communities across North and South America, not only broadcasting Public TV programs but also producing its own special projects. First Channel International operates on the same principle, with coverage extending across all continents and featuring news and interviews in Western Armenian. The experimental platform Nor Aliq was launched in March 2024, producing youth-oriented programs and publishing its informational and entertainment content exclusively through its official social media channels under the same name.

Since 2021, Public TV has also provided young people with opportunities to develop their professional skills. The First Channel Media Academy was established, offering intensive and free courses designed to equip students with professional knowledge and skills, with the prospect of joining Public TV’s larger family in the future.

Following Armenia’s victory in the Junior Eurovision Song Contest in 2021, Public TV hosted the 20th anniversary edition of the international Junior Eurovision Song Contest in Yerevan in 2022.

In 2023, construction began on Armenia’s largest television studio as part of Armenian-Chinese cooperation. Public TV’s eighth studio is the first new production infrastructure built in Armenia since independence and will house a 1,000-square-meter studio. Large-scale cultural and entertainment productions will be filmed there.

Several studios were renovated, the television’s technical facilities were upgraded, and working conditions for employees were improved.

Today, Public TV programming can be accessed through its updated websites, as well as via mobile phones and tablets. In 2024, applications for iOS and Android were launched, allowing users to download them free of charge and follow the broadcasts of all four television channels around the clock.

In 2026, through an exclusive partnership with the European Broadcasting Union, Yerevan hosted the Eurovision Young Musicians for the first time. The event set a new benchmark in the history of the competition in terms of both its creative and organizational execution.

Throughout its seasons, Public TV has introduced new and original projects while continuing to broadcast programs beloved by its audiences. At the same time, a number of internationally renowned major formats have joined First Channel’s lineup, including Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?, The Weakest Link, The Masked Singer, and others.

Recognizing its significant contribution to cultural and regional life, since 2023 Public TV has organized the Festivar music and tourism festival every year with the support of the Ministry of Education, Science, Culture and Sport of the Republic of Armenia. To date, 14 summer and winter Festivar events have been held across different regions of Armenia. The annual festivals explore the culture, traditions, cuisine, and landmarks of each region, culminating in large-scale evening concerts.