Burundi National Radio and Television

History

Burundi National Radio and Television began broadcasting in 1960 with the launch of Radio Burundi when the country was still part of a Belgian colony. Television broadcasting only began in 1984, long after Burundi gained independence. The television station uses a 0.5kW transmitter in Bujumbura on UHF channel 25. Among its founding staff was Rwandan-born Valence Rwamukwaya, who worked for Burundi's national radio for two years, beginning in 1982.

RTNB operates two radio stations and one television channel, broadcasting news, cultural programmes, and entertainment.

In June 2013, Burundi began transitioning from analogue to digital television, intending to complete the process by the end of 2014. However, the migration was delayed due to the 2015 Burundian unrest. President Pierre Nkurunziza officially launched digital broadcasting in December 2016, starting with Bujumbura and gradually expanding nationwide. RTNB appointed a new general director in August 2016. On 23 April 2017, RTNB lost its employee in a traffic accident. RTNB completed the digital migration later in 2017, though as of mid‑2023, the system remained not fully operational.

Idents

There are two known idents of the station. The first, used from 2008 to 2017, contains a mountain landscape background with the Burundian flag displayed inside the text RTNB at the centre of the screen. The second, introduced after 2017, includes the day's broadcast program. An example of a typical broadcast schedule would list Amakuru, Journal, News, next program, advertisement, special documentaries and idents.