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Olympics notes: Will North Koreans get to watch the PyeongChang Winter Olympics?
With the PyeongChang Winter Olympics coming up, one of the issues for North-South discussion is television access for Korean Central Television. That because Seoul Broadcasting System (SBS), one of South Korea’s major TV networks, holds Olympics broadcasting rights for North Korea even though it doesn’t broadcast there. The rights for the 2018, 2020, 2022 and 2024…
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KCTV gets a widescreen, stereo upgrade
North Korea’s main TV channel, Korean Central Television (조선중앙텔레비죤), debuted a substantial technical upgrade on December 4 when it switched to widescreen, high-definition broadcasting. Until Monday, North Korean TV had broadcast via satellite to Asia on a high-definition, widescreen channel, but programming in that format appeared for only a few seconds at the start and end…
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North Korean TV YouTube channel terminated
YouTube has shut down one of the most popular Internet sources for clips from North Korean TV. The KoreanCentralTV1 channel was shuttered on Monday and visitors are now greeted with a message that reads “This account has been terminated for violating YouTube’s Community Guidelines.” The channel uploaded multiple videos each day, including clips from the evening…
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Korean Central TV output during the party congress (Updated)
Here’s an in depth look at the daily programming on Korean Central Television during the 7th Workers’ Party Congress.
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KCTV’s slow move to high-definition, what’s taking so long?
There was a little bit of excitement among North Korea watchers, myself included, earlier this year when the state TV broadcaster, Korean Central Television, took its first step towards high-definition broadcasting. It was signaled by a switch in satellite transmission formats that increased the available screen resolution by more than five times, from just over 414,000 pixels…
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Changes in North Korean TV presentation
North Korean TV news doesn’t change very much. Centrally programmed from Pyongyang, the news can be counted on the provide an update of the work of Kim Jong Un (usually depicted in still photos rather than video), commentary on issues in South Korea and the U.S., reports on innovation in industry, medicine, education and farming, and…
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Reception check: KCTV’s new satellite feed
A couple of weeks ago I reported that satellite monitors had found a new feed of Korean Central Television on Intelsat 21, a satellite above the Atlantic that covers all of the Americas and west Europe. Today I had a chance to check it out. The feed is being broadcast in standard definition PAL. That isn’t…
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North Korean TV expands satellite transmissions
Korean Central Television has appeared on a satellite above the Atlantic Ocean, extending coverage of its live signal to the Americas and Europe. The TV channel, which is North Korea’s main state-run TV service, began broadcasting on Intelsat 21 earlier in April, according to monitoring reports. KCTV has been available for more than a decade…
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KCTV launches HD satellite broadcasts
Korean Central Television, North Korea’s main national television station, has begun high-definition broadcasting. The TV station has been available in standard definition via the Thaicom satellite for more than 15 years, and earlier in January a second high-definition feed of the TV station appeared. The technical parameters of the new broadcast are as follows: 3696MHz, horizontally polarized, 4167…
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A new look at newspapers on KCTV
Earlier this month, Korean Central Television rolled out updated opening graphics for its 5pm and 8pm evening newscasts. A closer look at the programming reveals it wasn’t the only part of the newscast that was given a new look. The newspaper review, which is a staple of the early evening 5pm bulletin, also has a…
