Tigray Broadcasting Service (TBS) has suspended its flagship News and Narrative program, citing threats, political pressure and financial constraints, raising fresh concerns about shrinking media freedom and transparency in Tigray.
In a statement issued today, TBS management said journalists, editors, shareholders and sponsors have faced intimidation and mounting security pressures, making continued production from its Mekelle studio increasingly unsafe. The broadcaster said these pressures have also discouraged investment and sponsorship, worsening its financial crisis.
TBS, which began operations in February 2024, describes itself as an independent watchdog committed to challenging top-down political communication, holding those in power accountable, and providing Tigrayans with alternative perspectives. The broadcaster says its refusal to align itself with competing political interests has increasingly made it a target of an "if you are not with me, you are against me" political culture.
The development is particularly concerning amid growing "zero-tolerance" rhetoric by the powerful TPLF secretariat toward critics and dissenting voices. When such an approach extends to journalism and legitimate criticism, it risks becoming a mechanism for silencing scrutiny rather than strengthening accountability.
Tigray is emerging from a devastating war and faces critical questions over governance, reconstruction, displacement, corruption and implementation of the Pretoria Agreement. Weakening independent media at such a moment represents a serious backsliding for transparency and democratic accountability.
TBS will continue producing limited content outside its studio while seeking alternatives. But the suspension of one of its major news programs sends a troubling message: independent journalism in Tigray is facing an increasingly hostile political, security and financial environment.
The TBS decision also appears to be part of a wider and troubling trend. A number of Tigrayan content creators, commentators and independent media platforms, including Corner Press, Romanat Online and Hara Media, have reportedly moved their operations or prominent personnel outside Tigray in recent months.
Their departure adds to concerns that the political and security environment is becoming increasingly difficult for journalists and commentators seeking to operate independently inside Tigray. If critical voices increasingly feel they can speak and work freely only from outside the region, the result could be a serious erosion of media pluralism, transparency and public accountability at a particularly consequential moment for Tigray.
Full English Translation of TBS Statement from Tigrigna, restructured for readability by UMD Media
News and Narrative Program at TBS Suspended!
Statement
Aimed at opening a special chapter in Tigray’s media and communication sector, founded by three professionals and two investors, and having raised shares from numerous shareholders who strive to improve our country’s press culture, our organization, TBS TV, which went on air in February 2024, is a private satellite television channel that has remained on the air for two and a half years with professional competence, public courage, and comprehensive content.
Working for two and a half years with limited capacity, ambitious plans, and great passion, TBS managed to enter almost every Tigrayan home. It emerged as a voice for the camp that believes change is necessary to create a whole, uncompromised, fully democratic, recovering and prosperous Tigray.
However, amidst a volatile environment and a unique situation where our people, whom we consider our backbone, have been taken hostage, TBS recently announced in an official statement that it was facing the threat of being pulled off satellite due to financial shortages.
Even now, although there is prepaid time that allows it to remain on satellite for less than two months, a sustainable ground that would allow the institution to stay on air has not been found; thus, it has not escaped the risk of being removed from the satellite.
Furthermore, the daily pressure, intimidation, and growing life threats and dangers faced by our team, members, and studio located here in Mekelle, who operated within an integrated infrastructure and organizational structure, have led to the decision to suspend the daily news and narrative program broadcast every evening at 8:00 PM, starting today, August 11, 2026.
Due to the political and security situation created in Tigray, the investors, journalists, editors, and sponsoring organizations/entities of TBS faced widespread pressure and intimidation while trying to plan and execute alternative options, such as securing a mobile studio, new staff setup, or alternative broadcasting locations. As a result, financial bottlenecks arose, making it impossible to implement "Plan B."
Consequently, the beloved News and Narrative program, as well as a significant number of programs requiring studio production, have been suspended. Beyond these, a decision has been made for our journalists to produce lighter, decentralized content from their respective locations to keep broadcasts going.
TBS attempted to serve as a platform for discussion for the "Critical Mass", the general public that lacks capacity, money, power, and access by standard measures, but strives for and possesses the potential for genuine, healthy change in Tigray.
It aimed to be a trusted voice for the silenced, a public voice and testament for external actors with flawed assessments of Tigray, and a fighter in the media landscape. Although the goal was to transition from the risk of closure toward measurable impact and sustainable existence, the lack of a favorable political and security environment allowing 85% of shareholders to pay their contributions, along with the absence of opportunities for sponsors to step forward, has left the institution victim to our backward culture of "If you are not with me, you are against me."
In other words, an institution that set out with a public duty and national mission cannot operate in a way that compromises its editorial policy or under conditions of "say this, and we will fund you." Its foundation and backbone are this non-artificial "Critical Mass."
However, overall challenges facing the people, displacement, gun-backed politics, and general political and socio-economic complexities have empowered the forces working against these principles, forcing the institution into difficulty.
TBS was established to break the media approach dictated by the ruling power to the public, to help our people view issues from a different perspective, to act as a fourth estate by focusing on accountability, to serve as a faithful watchdog protecting the country’s and people’s interests, to serve as a bridge connecting the public with elites for better choices, and to protect the core national interests.
Naturally, forces benefiting from maintaining the status quo viewed TBS as an enemy.
For this reason, a massive campaign, both overt and covert, was launched against TBS, which youth and intellectuals claimed as their own, which served as a voice for those seeking peace and change, a platform for rule of law, and a battlefield for the dignity and identity of the Tigrayan people. This directly targeted its financial sources.
Ultimately, because TBS was not created to flatter or favor any single group, it found itself loved by the public seeking truth, yet suspected by all political interest groups, forcing it into a financial crisis.
For this reason, the management of TBS has concluded that while journalists will use the remaining broadcast window, under two months, to produce coverage from wherever they are, the primary focus, the News and Narrative program, will be suspended starting today, August 11, 2026.
We express our deepest gratitude to the individuals and organizations who contributed to our news programming in person, over the phone, or through other means by offering information, expert analysis, and elevating our coverage.
Following TBS’s clear, public-serving, and balanced editorial line with complete professional independence, we offer immense appreciation to all TBS staff members who fought for two and a half years to serve the public, and specifically to the members of the News and Narrative department.
TBS Management
August 11, 2026
Mekelle
Originally published on UMD Media Facebook on 2026-08-11T10:30:00-06:00. Source: https://www.facebook.com/getachew.UMDMedia