The Period of Television in Pakistan

A notable businessman, Syed Wajjid Ali, signed a mutual investment agreement with Nipon Electric Company in 1961. (NEC). He also enlisted the services of Ubaidur Rahman, a hard-charging Pakistani engineer, to oversee the television project.

The Ayub Khan dictatorship quickly seized the project in 1962 in "better public benefit" for Pakistan.

President Ayub Khan and the National Electric Company (NEC) formed PTV in 1963 as a cooperative venture.

In a shelter behind Radio Pakistan Lahore, a transmission tower and studio were built. On November 26, 1964, Lahore's first formal television station began transmitting, and Dhaka followed suit in 1965. (then capital of East Pakistan).

A third branch opened in Rawalpindi-Islamabad in 1965. In 1966, a fourth had held in Karachi. Peshawar and Quetta had commenced in 1974. PTV began as a section of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting in 1966. Pakistan Television Corporation was founded in 1967. In 1972, PTV was nationalized.

In 1976, PTV went from black and white to color. The Pakistan Television Academy had established in 1987 to encourage people to pursue careers in television acting. The government contributed most of the funds, with the remaining coming from private investors, as with the previous contract. It had created within the late 1980s.

PTN, the country's first semi-government television network, was founded in 1990 by the Shalimar Recording Company, which was then in power (Shalimar Recording and Broadcasting Company). In 1991, PTN amalgamated with Shalimar Recording Company and became Shalimar Television Network (STN). PTN/STN was first introduced in Islamabad in the mid-1990s and quickly spread to Karachi, Lahore, and Pakistan.

For the first time in Pakistan, STN broadcast CNN International on the terrestrial beam. Shortly after, BBC World broadcasts were produced. PTN teamed with a commercial company (Inter-flow) to develop Network Television Marketing, Pakistan's first private television channel, in 1990. (NTM).

It remained in use until 1999. For Pakistani audiences, NTM's one-of-a-kind programming was a breath of fresh air.

PTV Network launched a full-fledged satellite service in 1991-1992. In 1992, Pakistan's first satellite channel, PTV-2, was established. In 1994, PTV and PTV-2 were connected to the satellite beam. PTV 2 was renamed PTV World in 1998. On terrestrial rays, PTV-2/World was also visible. PTV Prime debuted in 1998, focusing on European viewers before expanding to include American consumers. Digital satellite television was established in 1999. In 2001, the satellite beam had hosted by PTV/PTV-1.

Due to financial difficulties, STN shut down CNN International, BBC World, and DW TV in 1999. PTV Network purchased STN in 1999 and renamed it Channel-3, which began programming daily in 2000. A satellite beam for STN/Channel-3 was also established.

Indus Vision (Pakistan's first private satellite channel) began broadcasting in 2000 after the Pakistani government-approved private television networks to broadcast news and current affairs programming. ARY Digital launched in 2001, with Geo TV following in 2002, Aaj TV in 2004, and Hum TV in 2005.

Shalimar Recording and Broadcasting Company renamed its television station ATV in 2005. (Shalimar Recording and Broadcasting Co. & SSI). As Pakistan's semi-private television network, ATV began airing via terrestrial and satellite beams (Now ATV is operating as a semi-government TV Channel as SRBC has not reached its agreement with SSI).

PTV World is Pakistan's only English-language satellite station as of 2012-13. PTV World has been renamed PTV News. PTV Home, PTV News, and ATV are broadcast simultaneously on terrestrial and satellite beams (all state-owned).

PTV Sports alternates with PTV Home or PTV News on terrestrial broadcasts during major national and international events. PTV Prime launched an independent Prime TV station in 2005. In 2006, PTV launched a dedicated channel for the Americas and Europe.