TRT 1

Overview

TRT 1 is the flagship television channel of the Turkish Radio and Television Corporation (TRT), Turkey’s public broadcaster. It is the oldest television channel in the country and offers a general-interest schedule of drama series, news, family entertainment, documentaries and coverage of national events. Its large-scale historical dramas in particular have won audiences far beyond Turkey’s borders.

History

TRT 1 traces its history to the start of regular television broadcasting by TRT in Ankara in 1968, making it the founding channel of Turkish television. For two decades it was the country’s only television service, until TRT added further channels and private broadcasters emerged in the early 1990s. The channel has since evolved alongside Turkey’s rapidly changing media market, moving through colour transmission, nationwide terrestrial coverage, satellite distribution and, more recently, digital platforms including TRT’s international streaming service tabii.

Programming

The channel is best known today for prestige Turkish drama. Productions such as Diriliş: Ertuğrul, a historical epic about the forebears of the Ottoman dynasty, became major international successes and were exported to dozens of countries. Other prominent titles include the Ottoman-era drama Payitaht Abdülhamid. Alongside drama, TRT 1 broadcasts news bulletins, morning and family programming, game shows, documentaries, religious programming during Ramadan, and major sporting events for which TRT holds rights.

Significance

As the first television channel in Turkey, TRT 1 occupies a foundational position in the nation’s broadcasting history and remains one of the country’s most-watched channels. Its dramas have become one of Turkey’s most visible cultural exports, contributing to the global boom in Turkish series. As the flagship of the public broadcaster, it also serves as the principal screen for national ceremonies, official addresses and moments of collective importance in Turkish public life, while its programming reaches Turkish-speaking audiences abroad through TRT’s international distribution.