Radio broadcasting in Egypt began in the 20th century, in 1924 as privately owned and operated community stations. Later, in 1934 private ownership and operation were abolished and radio broadcasting was nationalized ever since.[1]

By the early 1990s, Egypt had only 4 FM stations in Greater Cairo (2 in Alexandria), but the number increased to 6 in Greater Cairo (4 in Alexandria) by the end of the decade. The increase in the number was merely a rebroadcast of the already AM radio stations. In 2000, AM stations (on the medium wave band) started a phase of simulcasting to FM band, as of 2013, only one or two stations broadcast on AM without FM simulcasts.

All the local radio stations have always been publicly owned, however, state-controlled which make them in practice, stated owned, with the exception of the apolitical private radio station at El Gouna resort, named El Gouna Radio ("Lagoon Radio"). All broadcast media are somehow state controlled, even if partly or fully private.

As of 2002, there were only 8 radio stations broadcast on FM to Greater Cairo (6 in Alexandria), none of them was specialized in popular songs. On March 23, 2002, Voice of America (VOA) had changed its shortwave Arabic service to an appealing station for the youth, named Radio Sawa ("Radio Together"), started broadcasting on a more easily receivable MW signal from Cyprus.[2] For the first time, the state allowed Good News to start a joint venture with the state-controlled ERTU, which started a test broadcasting for two popular song stations to Greater Cairo, as of June 2002. The two were Nogoum FM ("Stars FM"; for popular mainly Egyptian songs) and Nile FM (for popular mainly American songs).

Local stations

All local radio stations in Egypt are also simulcast on the series of the satellites (partly private but state controlled), Nilesat at 7 degrees west, except El Gouna Radio.

Local stations are typically broadcast on FM. Very few radio stations use the Radio Data System to broadcast the station name, but receiving the RDS is very rare in FM receivers in Egypt. Very few available mobile phones in Egypt which have an FM receiver, receive the RDS information. 90.9 MHz is the only station to broadcast the current song or show title, but when the title is long, it is partly displayed. All of the radio stations are state-controlled, unless otherwise noted.

Greater Cairo

Greater Cairo region has the most number of FM stations in Egypt. Most transmissions, FM or TV, are broadcast from Mokattam hills, as they are the most elevated location within Greater Cairo, to make the transmission reache the widest area possible, however, the signals are weakly received farther than 40 kilometers, which makes transmission weak to the most eastern part of New Cairo, the eastern half of Shorouk City, two-thirds of western 6 October City, all of Madinaty, Badr and New Heliopolis.

A few of the following stations are broadcast on other frequencies in other regions in Egypt.

All stations which broadcast popular songs are mainly Egyptian songs with very few Levantine hits (mostly Lebanese) or other North African.

FM stations[3]
CountFrequency in MHzNameFormatStereo?Notes
187.8Mix FMPopular Egyptian, regional songs, and newsyesSince 2019
288.2Radio HitsPopular songs with occasional foreign songs, mostly American popular hitsyessince mid-2010; similar to Radio Masr but with more songs
88.4Koran RadioQuran recitation and Islamic showsnoA rebroadcast for the station on 98.2 MHz to central Giza
388.7Radio MasrPopular songs and news briefsyesSince mid-2010, as a test since 2009; RDS; Arabic: راديو مصر
489.5Middle East RadioSpoken content and songsyesSimulcast on the MW band; Arabic: إذاعة الشرق الأوسط
590.9El Radio FM 90 9Popular songsyessince April 2012; RDS; Arabic: الراديو 90 9
691.5Cultural ProgramTalk radio, rarely classical music, some affiliate foreign stations programsnoArabic: البرنامج الثقافى
792.1NRJ[4]Popular Egyptian songs mainlyyesSince 2017; RDS; private
892.7Mega FMPopular songs and foreign songs, mostly American popular hitsyesSince mid-2010; RDS
993.7On SportSport-related showsnoSince early 2020s?; initially a rebroadcast for Youth and Sport on 108 MHz from 2009 to 2013
94.1Radio MasrPopular songs and news briefsyesA rebroadcast for western Greater Cairo; Arabic: راديو مصر
1095Shaabi FM[5]Working class popular Egyptian songsyesInitially a rebroadcast for Specialty Song on 105.8 MHz from 2009 to 2013; Arabic: شعبى إف إم
1195.4European ProgramEnglish, French, Greek, Italian, German – spoken content with western hitsMono and stereo interchangeablyArabic: البرنامج الأوروپى
1298.2Koran RadioQuran recitation and Islamic showsnoSimulcast on the MW band; All Arab League members have a Quran station
1398.8Musical ProgramClassical international music, folk and old Egyptian songs, soft music and foreign songs (mostly American popular hits)yesArabic: البرنامج الموسيقى
149999 FM ? ?
100.2 ?Patriotic songsyesCurrently off the air; Mid-August 2013 till September 2013
15100.6Nogoum FMPopular Egyptian and regional songs with entertainment showsyesSince 2002; RDS; joint venture with ERTU; Arabic: نجوم إف إم
16102.2Greater Cairo RadioTalk radioyesArabic: إذاعة القاهرة الكبرى
102.7European ProgramEnglish, French, Greek, Italian, German – spoken content with western hitsyesFormerly broadcast European Program on 95.4 MHz and Greater Cairo Radio on 102.2 from February 2012 till mid-March 2013, off the air in May and June 2013, and off again since mid-August till the early 2020s?; Arabic: البرنامج الأوروپى
17104.2Nile FMFull time English-speaking, occasionally syndicated American and British showsyesSince 2002; RDS; joint venture with ERTU
18105.3Nagham FMPopular Egyptian songsyesSince 2012; Arabic: نغم إف إم "Tunes FM"
19105.8Specialty SongsMainly old Egyptian songsyesPartly simulcast on the MW band; Arabic: إذاعة الأغانى
20106.3Voice of the ArabsTalk radionoA legacy propaganda station of high historical significance in the 1960s on the shortwave and mediumwave; Arabic: صوت العرب
21107.4General ProgramTalk radionoSimulcast on the MW band; Arabic: البرنامج العام
22108Youth and SportSport-related showsnoSimulcast on the MW band; Arabic: إذاعة الشباب و الرياضة

In the following table, far stations receivable at night that are broadcast on a nearby frequency to a local strong station, are omitted since it is normally impossible to receive on ordinary receivers. Likewise, very weak far stations are omitted. When daylight saving time is applicable to the local time in Egypt, an additional hour is added to the time in UTC.

MW stations[3]
CountFrequency in kHzNameTime in UTCNotes
1540Kuwait Main Arabic program24hOnly receivable at nighttime when the nearby 558 kHz goes off at 22:00 UTC
2558Educational program4:00-22:00Arabic: الإذاعة التعليمية
3567Syrian Radio 124hOnly receivable at nighttime when the nearby 558 kHz goes off at 22:00 UTC
4594[6]Riyadh Radio2:30-15:00Saudi Arabian station; an extension to the broadcast time for the station on 1521 kHz
5630TRT Radyo 1; TRT Çukurova13:30-21:02, 2:00-6:05; 6:05-9:15Only receivable at nighttime; 2 Turkish stations sharing the same frequency
6639BBC Arabic radio;[7][8] Al Arabiya FM[9]5:00–5:30, 15:00–15:30; 19:00–21:002 stations sharing the same frequency; a temporary renewed use of the pre-2019 BBC AM frequency due to the 2023 Israel–Hamas war; Arabic: بى بى سى نيوز عربى; العربية إف إم
7711Youth and Sport24hSimulcast on the FM band; Arabic: إذاعة الشباب و الرياضة
8774Middle East Radio24hSimulcast on the FM band; Arabic: إذاعة الشرق الأوسط
9819General Program24hSimulcast on the FM band; Arabic: البرنامج العام
10864Koran Radio24hSimulcast on the FM band
11936Om Kalthoum Station15:00-20:00Named after the singer Om Kalthoum
12999Koran Radio24hOnly receivable at nighttime; a Saudi Arabian station
131071Nile River; Elderly Station17:00-23:00; 3:00-15:002 Stations sharing the same frequency; Arabic: إذاعة نهر النيل; إذاعة الكبار
141161Middle Delta4:00-22:00Only receivable at nighttime; Arabic: إذاعة وسط الدلتا
151341Specialty Songs; Koran Radio5:00-17:00; 17:00-5:00Specialty Songs is simulcast in part on the FM band while Koran Radio is simulcast on both the MW and the FM bands
161521[6]Riyadh Radio15:00-22:30Saudi Arabian station; an extension to the broadcast time for the station on 594 kHz

North coast

Foreign radio stations can be received in summer, mainly: Cypriot, Greek, Italian and Israeli radio stations, but reception is unreliable and fades quickly.

Alexandria

As of 2007, there were 6 radio stations.

  1. 88 MHz Musical Program (stereo)
  2. 88.2 MHz Radio Hits (stereo) (since 2010)
  3. 88.7 FM Radio Orient (إذاعة الشرق) (A very conservative radio station and the only fully foreign broadcast on the local FM)
  4. 90.1 MHz Koran Station (mono)
  5. 92.7 MHz Mega FM (stereo; RDS) (since 2010)
  6. 94.3 MHz European Program (stereo)
  7. 95.5 MHz Shaabi FM (stereo)
  8. 97.6 MHz Specialty Songs (stereo)
  9. 101.1 MHz Radio Alexandria (mono)
  10. 104.7 MHz General Program (mono)

There used to be local radio stations which were aired in the languages, Armenian, Italian, French, Greek and English in the 1940s.

Marina area

Since 2009, the government sometimes occasionally broadcasts some radio stations which are only broadcast to Greater Cairo, on the same frequencies used in Greater Cairo. On occasions such as the official vacations in Egypt. The broadcasts can be received by nearby local touristic villages to Marina and very weakly in Alexandria, likewise the radio stations broadcast to Alexandria are received very weakly in and around Marina.

  • 88.7 MHz Radio Masr (stereo; RDS) (since 2010)
  • 90.9 MHz El Radio FM 90 9 (stereo; RDS) (since February 2012)
  • 100.6 MHz Nogoum FM (stereo; RDS)
  • 104.2 MHz Nile FM (stereo; RDS)
  • 105.3 MHz Nagham FM (stereo) (since 2012)

Red Sea

El Gouna

  • 88.6 MHz Radio Masr
  • 91.7 MHz El Quran El Karim
  • 98.2 MHz El Aghany
  • 100 MHz El Gouna Radio ("Lagoon Radio") (stereo) (Italian and English) (privately owned by Orascom)
  • 101.7 MHz Al Shabab Wel Riada
  • 105.3 MHz El Barnamag El Aam

Soma Bay

  • Robinson FM - at Robinson hotel[10]

Sharm El Sheikh

Most if not all of them are already broadcast in Greater Cairo, except South Sinai.

  1. 88 MHz ? (mono) – spoken content.
  2. 89.4 MHz General (mono)
  3. 91.1 MHz Musical (stereo)
  4. 92.5 MHz ? (mono) – spoken content.
  5. 94.3 MHz ?
  6. 95.7 MHz ? (mono) – spoken content.
  7. 97.6 MHz ?
  8. 99 MHz South Sinai (mono) – spoken content.

Dahab

  1. 92 MHz Koran (mono)
  2. 98.5 MHz ? (mono) – spoken content.
  3. 103.7 MHz ? (mono) – spoken content.
  4. 107.3 MHz European Program (stereo)

Central Egypt

  1. 89.8 MHz koran station covered Fayoum and Bani Sweif
  2. 101.4 MHz northern upper station covered Bani Sweif and Fayoum
  3. 94.2 MHz northern upper station covered Minya

Internet stations

After the slow adoption of broadband internet, in the mid-2000s, a number of internet stations streamed on the internet, and a few of them stream on a regular basis.

Examples

  • Radio Horytna ("Our Freedom Radio"; private; popular songs, talk shows; based in Cairo; evolved into a podcast)[11]
  • TIBA Radio (private; Adult Contemporary and Classic Hits; based in Hurghada)[12]
  • Tram Radio (private; underground music; based in Alexandria; now off)[13]
  • Radio Banha (public; popular Egyptian songs; based in Banha)[14]
  • Hawak Radio (راديو هواك) since 2013 on Tunein;[15] based in Cairo[16]
  • RADIO 5:14 (راديو 5:14) internet Christian podcast since 2016 on website radio514.blogspot.com based in Suez, Egypt[17]

International stations

As of the 1952 coup d'état, no foreign station is allowed to broadcast on Egyptian-controlled land with a 2018 exception in Alexandria (Radio Orient), therefore international broadcasters broadcast from lands close to Egypt, mostly close to the north of Egypt, from Cyprus. Many state controlled radio stations used to broadcast primarily on the medium wave using amplitude modulation broadcasting, but after the adoption of FM broadcasting in Egypt, most of them now are simulcasted on the medium wave and the FM band since the early 2000s. The state controlled radios aren't listed below.

AM radio broadcasting in Egypt had always been mono and other developments were never introduced. Likewise, the long wave band had never been used.

Temporary broadcast

Historical

International medium wave broadcasting was gradually replaced from 2019 by internet services, e.g online streaming or podcasts, or ceased entirely.

Medium wave

  • 639 kHz BBC Arabic and BBC World Service (British radio service)[23] – in Literary Arabic. (the broadcasting antenna is in Cape Greco, Cyprus)
  • 1233 kHz Monte Carlo International (French radio service)[24] – in Literary Arabic. (the broadcasting antenna is at Cape Greco. It's very hard to receive the signal away from northernmost Egypt)
  • 990 kHz[25] (till 2019) Radio Sawa (American radio service) – news, informational content and popular songs; most spoken content in Literary Arabic. (since March 23, 2002;[2] the broadcasting antenna is in Cape Greco. During the day, the farther from the north, the harder it is to receive the signal; at first it simulcasted on 981 and 1260 kHz, in 2005 it changed the first frequency to 990 kHz, then it abolished the second one in 2008)

Short wave

In the 1960s, at time of Nasser rule, short wave broadcasting was important for the state. It used to broadcast stations to the Middle East which were of propagandist importance to the Egyptian regime and for propagating for Arab nationalism.

See also

Notes and references

  1. ↑ ""هنا القاهرة".. تفاصيل وأسرار من حكايات الراديو في مصر في احتفالات اليوم العالمي للإذاعة | فيديو وصور". Ahram Gate (in Arabic). February 13, 2023. Retrieved October 30, 2023.
  2. 1 2 Radio Sawa: about
  3. 1 2 "Frequencies for Ramsis-station,-Cairo,-Egypt". fmscan.org. Retrieved April 16, 2023.
  4. ↑ Fischer, NRJ GmbH- (September 12, 2014). "NRJ.com - AROUND THE WORLD". www.nrj.com. Retrieved September 5, 2023.
  5. ↑ "About". 95-fm.com. Retrieved April 16, 2023.
  6. 1 2 "Most Powerful MW/AM Stations – Medium Wave Circle". Retrieved December 6, 2023.
  7. 1 2 "BBC World Service announces Emergency Radio Service for Gaza". www.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved November 21, 2023.
  8. 1 2 "حرب غزة: الخدمة العالمية في بي بي سي تعلن انطلاق بث خدمة إذاعية طارئة لتغطية الأوضاع في قطاع غزة". BBC News عربي (in Arabic). November 2, 2023. Retrieved November 21, 2023.
  9. 1 2 "Al-Arabiya FM (Cyprus)". fmscan.org. Retrieved November 21, 2023.
  10. ↑ "Standorte - Goethe-Institut".
  11. ↑ "راديو حريتنا - Radio Horytna". www.horytna.net.
  12. ↑ "TIBA Radio - The music of our lives". www.tibaradio.com.
  13. ↑ Tram Radio
  14. ↑ "راديو بنها سيتى - طرب". banhacity.com. Retrieved April 13, 2023.
  15. ↑ "راديو هواك-اجدد الاغاني والبرامج". www.hawakradio.com.
  16. ↑ "راديو هواك-Hawak Radio on Facebook". Facebook. Archived from the original on April 30, 2022.
  17. ↑ "RADIO 5:14". www.facebook.com.
  18. ↑ "Why the BBC World Service's New Ukrainian Shortwave Service Matters". The Rand Blog. March 25, 2022.
  19. ↑ "Ukraine: BBC adds two shortwave broadcasts, NEXUS adds MW service". The SW Ling Post. February 25, 2022. Retrieved December 4, 2023.
  20. ↑ "BBC World Service 15735 AM 1400 utc 25 Feb 2022 - new transmission". HF Underground. February 25, 2022. Retrieved December 4, 2023.
  21. ↑ "BBC World Service 5875 kHz Shortwave Russia Ukraine War broadcast". YouTube. March 2, 2022. Retrieved December 4, 2023.
  22. ↑ Demianyk, Graeme (March 2, 2022). "BBC Revives Old-School Radio Service To Help Ukraine As TV And Internet Attacked". HuffPost UK. Retrieved December 11, 2023.
  23. ↑ "Short and Medium Waves". BBC Arabic. January 20, 2011. Retrieved October 26, 2016. (in Arabic)
  24. ↑ "Listening Frequencies". Monte Carlo International. Retrieved October 5, 2018. (in Arabic)
  25. ↑ "Frequencies of Broadcasting". Radio Sawa. Retrieved October 26, 2016. (in Arabic)
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.