Oromia Broadcasting Network

The Oromia Broadcasting Network (OBN) is an Ethiopian public service broadcaster headquartered in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. It is the leading media organization in Oromia and broadcasts on Eutelsat via the Ethiosat platform.

History
The channel is run by the Oromia Radio and Television Organization (ORTO), founded on 12 July 2006 by Proclamation number 113/2006 of the Regional Government, as the Oromia mass media organization (OMMO). The regional government renamed the organization to Oromia Radio and TV Organization by Proclamation No. 164/2011 in 2011. Oromia Broadcasting Network was established according to Oromia Mass Media Organization establishment Proclamation No. 133 of 2006 to widely disseminate the timely gathered international and local information to the public and government bodies. It broadcasts independent news, educational, and entertainment programs in 14 Ethiopian languages and three international languages on radio and TV.

Media Coverage

The Organization has been broadcasting for 119 hours per week on Radio and 24 hours a day on TV covering 100% of the region by FM and AM Radio waves and more than 70% by TV using antenna (microwave). Also, we are reaching the abroad listeners and audiences by Nile sat7, Amos Ku band 5,170 east, Galaxy 19,970 west, Optus D2, 152o east, NSS 12,570 east, Thaicom 5,78o east satellites and websites (www.orto.gov.et).

Notably, Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed was a board member of the organization that runs OBN before assuming the office of Prime Minister.

In February 2018, the president of the Oromia regional state, Lemma Megersa, pledged to defend the independence and impartiality of the state-run Oromia Broadcasting Network (OBN), among others. He stated this after a central committee meeting in Adama by the OPDO, the Oromo faction of the ruling EPRDF party that controls the Oromia.

Programming
Content is mostly focused on news from the Oromia regional state, but also covers news from the national and international levels. The majority of broadcasts are in Oromo, one of the six official languages of Ethiopia. with some programs in Amharic, Afar, Somali, Kiswahili Arabic and English.

Political significance
Many prominent Oromo leaders in the government of Ethiopia use OBN as a platform to reach the majority of the Oromo-speaking population, such as when leading OPDO figure Abadula Gemeda announced his displeasure with the government's mistreatment of internally displaced Oromo people in 2017.

In March 2018, OBN was the first to confirm a deadly incident in the border town of Moyale via an interview with the town's mayor.

Controversy
The Oromia Media Networks, along with two broadcasters, Tigray TV and Dimtse Woyane were alleged to have disseminated media propaganda by the Ethiopian government following the death of Hachalu Hundessa on 29 June 2020. These three networks are allegedly operated by two political parties, Oromo Liberation Front and Tigray People's Liberation Front. The two parties were labeled as "terrorist agents" by the government and responsible for inciting violence after Hachalu Hundessa death. The Federal Attorney-General launched an investigation on three broadcasters in connection with alleged roles in inciting ethnic violence in Ethiopia. The channels have been breaching the broadcasting laws, warned to lift off-air in Ethiopia, and ordered to shut down proclamation as of 6 July. However, the channels guarantee they will broadcast via international networks, primarily North American networks.