Asia

Bangladesh profile - Media

  • 27 August 2019
Newspaper readers in Bangladesh Image copyright Getty Images

TV is the most popular medium. State-owned BTV is the sole network with national terrestrial coverage. Satellite and cable channels and Indian TV stations have large audiences.

State radio covers almost the entire country. BBC World Service in English and Bengali is heard on 100 FM in Dhaka.

Newspapers are outspoken and privately-owned. English-language titles appeal mainly to an urban readership.

Media tend to be polarised, aligning themselves with one or other of the main political factions.

Freedom House says journalists and media face lawsuits, harassment and physical attacks. A 2018 digital security law allows for prison terms for "negative propaganda".

The telecom regulator says there were 92 million internet users by February 2019. The vast majority are using mobile devices.

Access to the internet is usually unrestricted, says US-based Freedom House. But access to social media, messaging platforms and news sites has occasionally been blocked by the authorities.

Some prominent bloggers who have written about Islamic fundamentalism have been murdered for their writing. Bloggers and social media users have been arrested on blasphemy-related charges.

The press

Television

Radio

News agencies/internet

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