Arts, heritage and media
Horn Cable Television (HCTV): Hargeisa's private news channel
Horn Cable Television (HCTV) is a private Somali-language TV channel founded in 2003 and based in Hargeisa, with studios in London and Birmingham. It broadcasts around the clock in Somaliland and by satellite to Africa, Europe, Asia and Australia. Wikipedia names its owner as the Hargeisa businessman Farhan Haji Ali.
What it is
Horn Cable Television is a private, news-led Somali-language channel. It was founded in 2003 and has its headquarters in Hargeisa, with studios in Birmingham and London among other places (Horn Cable Television, Wikipedia; Somali Media Mapping Report, 2014). It earns its money from advertising.
Owner
Wikipedia names the owner as Farhan Haji Ali, a Hargeisa businessman who also owns the company FAACO (Wikipedia).
Reach
HCTV broadcasts 24 hours a day across Somaliland. By satellite its signal reaches other parts of Africa, Europe, Asia and parts of Australia, and it streams live online (Wikipedia; HCTV). When Somali National Television relaunched in 2011, it used the same Thaicom satellite as Horn Cable TV, Universal TV and Somali Channel (Somali National Television, Wikipedia).
Programmes and staff
Programmes cover news and current affairs, business, politics, drama, music and religion. Wikipedia counts about 90 field reporters across the Horn of Africa, about 60 journalists at the Hargeisa headquarters, and 7 staff in Mogadishu, where Hamdi Hussein heads the branch (Wikipedia). The channel is a member of the National Union of Somali Journalists (NUSOJ).
Somaliland National TV and Universal TV
Somaliland's first private TV station, Somaliland Space Channel, opened in 1997. The government channel, Somaliland National Television (SLNTV), began on 20 July 2005, before that year's parliamentary election, with a 1.5 kW transmitter in Hargeisa, later reaching Burao, Berbera and Borama and then satellite (Somaliland National TV, Wikipedia; Somaliland Ministry of Information).
Universal TV, a Somali satellite channel founded in 2005 with studios in Kuala Lumpur and London, had its Hargeisa office raided and closed by Somaliland police on 27 June 2020, accused of covering Somalia's independence anniversary rather than Somaliland's; its crew were jailed, and the Committee to Protect Journalists called for the station to reopen (CPJ, July 2020). Somaliland revoked Universal TV's licence on 12 February 2025 (Somali Magazine).
Somaliland's other TV channels
Wikipedia's list of television channels in Somaliland includes Somaliland National TV, Horn Cable TV, Ardaa TV, SOMNEWS TV, Eryal TV, Saab TV, Bulsho TV, Baddacas24 TV, Kalsan TV, True Cable TV, Star TV, Rayo TV, Horyaal TV, CBA TV (Codka Bariga Afrika), MM Somali TV and Sahan TV (Media of Somaliland, Wikipedia).
Somaliland's constitution and media law make defamation a civil matter, not a crime, according to the same overview (Wikipedia; Somaliland Press Law).
Read more
Sources
- Horn Cable Television, Wikipedia · en.wikipedia.org
- Somali Media Mapping Report, 2014 · somali-media.so
- HCTV · hctv.tv
- Somali National Television, Wikipedia · en.wikipedia.org
- Somaliland National TV, Wikipedia · en.wikipedia.org
- Somaliland Ministry of Information · mingc.govsomaliland.org
- CPJ, July 2020 · cpj.org
- Somali Magazine · somalimagazine.so
- Media of Somaliland, Wikipedia · en.wikipedia.org
- Somaliland Press Law · somalilandlaw.com
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