National Media Authority

The National Media Authority manages the State-owned media. It replaces the Egyptian Radio and Television Union (ERTU) established in 1954. The National Media Authority was created in 2014 after the Ministry of Information was abolished and with the proclamation of the new Egyptian Constitution, establishing independent bodies to manage state-owned media in a move to create a public service media sector.

However, the National Media Authority was not officially set up before 2018, when a new set of laws managing the media sector was adopted. According to Law No. 178 of 2018, the powers of the National Media Authority include:

• Appointing the heads of public media organizations such as the state television and the Egyptian radio, and isolating them if they violate the conditions of appointment.
• Ensuring that public media organizations adhere to professional rules and quality of content and make it available to citizens.
• Supervising the management of the companies owned by the Authority and evaluating its performance such as Sono Cairo, the Egyptian Media Production City, Nile Sat - The Egyptian Satellite Co. and Nile Radio.
• Purchasing companies or subsidiaries in the integration of others, or engage in joint ventures with entities that engage in similar actions to work, or help to achieve the objectives of the Authority, both inside or outside Egypt.
• Investing their funds in the areas that are consistent with their objective.

The National Media Authority manages:

• State Television, which includes a number of Egyptian ground and satellite channels;
• State Radio;
• Nile Radio.

The National Media Authority owns the following companies:

• The Egyptian Media Production City, which provides satellite broadcasting studios operating in Egypt;
• Nile Sat - The Egyptian Satellite Company, which is responsible for managing the broadcast of channels on the satellite owned by Egypt.

On 20 January, 2019, the NMA signed several protocols with the Egyptian Media Group to launch a new satellite TV channel for the Arab region. It will be the first satellite TV which broadcasts throughout the Arab world aired through the Egyptian State-owned Nile Sat. The NMA and EMG also agreed to upgrade and develop content on the State-owned TV Channel 1 and Channel 2, as well as the Egyptian satellite channel Al-Masriya. According to the deal, advertising rights will be upgraded and developed. This extends the control of the EMG to the State-owned media sector, reinforcing the influence of the General Intelligence over the TV landscape in Egypt.  

Article (7) of the Law No. 178 of 2018 stipulates that the President of the Republic shall choose three persons for the membership of the Authority, including the Chairman of the National Media Authority, out of a total of 9 members. This means that the President directly appoints one third of the members of the National Media Authority. Article (7) gives the Ministry of Finance, the Council of State and the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority the authority to select a member for each of them separately as well, while the media union, General Syndicate for Press, Printing & Advertising Employees and the House of Representatives have to nominate one member for each of them, that will be chosen by and confirmed by the president. It is also required that the nominations be sent within three months of the request, and if not sent, the President of the Republic shall choose them, based on nominations of the House of Representatives. Therefore, in fact, the executive authority directly controls through the President of the Republic the power to form a national media body, which challenges its independence.

> Read more about Egyptian media legal framework