Euronews will launch its Turkish service this Saturday January 30, at 20.00 CET. The Turkish internet service premiered last Friday, January 22, and features all Euronews programmes on demand.
The Turkish version of the channel will be available via Turksat. Turkish Radio and Television (TRT), a Euronews shareholder, will broadcast a daily Euronews branded block on its terrestrial channel TRT2, reaching all Turkish homes. The satellite bouquet, Digiturk, which already broadcasts the existing eight languages of the channel: Arabic, English, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, will now extend its service to include Turkish.
At the invitation of Turkish prime minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the launch of the ninth language of the channel will be held at Dolmabahçe Palace in Istanbul. The director-general of Turkish Radio and Television (TRT), Ibrahim Sahin, will attend the event, along with Pier Luigi Malesani, chairman of the Euronews Supervisory Board, Philippe Cayla, chairman of the Executive Board, and managing director Michael Peters.
The new language version will be provided by a team of 30 staff. It will broadcast across the Euronews global network of satellites and can be rebroadcast by international platforms including those already distributing euronews (cable, ADSL, satellite and terrestrial) reaching some 300 million homes in 151 countries.