RTBF official logo

RTBF or Radio télévision belge de la communauté française is the national broadcasting organisation of the government of the French-speaking southern part of Belgium, the counterpart to the Dutch-speaking VRT in the northern part of the country. French ( français,) is a Romance language spoken around the world by 118 million people as a native language and by about 180 to 260 million people The Kingdom of Belgium is a Country in northwest Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts its headquarters as well as those Dutch ( is a West Germanic language spoken by around 24 million people 22 million of which are from the Netherlands, Belgium and Suriname The Vlaamse Radio- en Televisieomroep (Flemish Radio and Television Network or VRT, is a publicly-funded broadcaster of Radio and Television RTBF operates three television channels, La Une, La Deux and RTBF Sat (Satellite TV), along with a number of radio channels, La Première, RTBF International, VivaCité, Musiq3, Classic 21 and PureFM. Classic 21 is a Belgian Radio station based in Mons and it broadcasts across Wallonia on the FM band

The RTBF headquarters in Brussels are sometimes referred to as Reyers [1] [2] [3]. Brussels (Bruxelles pronounced; Brussel pronounced) officially the Brussels Capital-Region, is This colloquial address comes from the name of the avenue where the main building is located, the Boulevard A. Reyers (Dutch: Reyerslaan).

History

The communications tower at RTBF's headquarters in Brussels. Brussels (Bruxelles pronounced; Brussel pronounced) officially the Brussels Capital-Region, is

Originally named INR (Institut national belge de radiodiffusion), the state-controlled broadcaster was established by law on June 18, 1930. On June 14, 1940 the INR was forced to cease broadcasting as a result of the German invasion. The German occupying forces, who now oversaw its management, changed the INR's name to Radio Bruxelles. Personnel from the former INR (now called Radio Belgique/Radio Belgie) relocated to BBC studios in London. The Belgian government-in-exile established the Office de Radiodiffusion Nationale Belge (RNB) in June 1940, which was overseen by the Belgian Ministry of Information.

At the end of the War the INR and the RNB coexisted until September 14, 1945 and a Royal Decree restored the INR's original mission. INR was, together with its dutch-speaking counterpart Belgisch Nationaal Instituut voor Radio-omroep, one of 23 founding broadcasting organizations of the European Broadcasting Union in 1950. In 1953, broadcasting from the heart of Brussels, Belgian television inaugurated broadcasts for two hours a day. In 1950 INR was one of 23 founding organisations of the European Broadcasting Union. The European Broadcasting Union ( EBU; L'Union Européenne de Radio-Télévision ("UER" and unrelated to the European Union) is a confederation The INR was subsumed into RTB (Radio-Télévision Belge) in 1960 and moved to new quarters at the Reyers building in 1967. The RTB's first broadcast in colour (Le Jardin Extraordinaire), a gardening and nature programme, was broadcast in 1971. Two years later the RTB went on air with its first News programme in colour.

In 1977 the RTB was subsumed into the RTBF (Radio-Télévison Belge de la Communauté française) and a second TV channel was set up with the name RTbis. In 1979 RTbis became "Télé 2". Along with French channels TF1, Antenne 2, FR 3 and SSR, RTBF jointly established the European French-speaking channel TV5 in 1984. for the motorway in Tenerife Spain see TF1 Motorway, for the WWI aircraft Sopwith Camel#(Trench Fighter T France 2 is the largest French public Television network It is part of the France Télévisions group along with France 3, France 5 France 3 is the second largest French public Television channel and part of the France Télévisions group which also includes France 2 SRG SSR idée suisse is the Swiss Public broadcasting organisation founded in 1931. TV5MONDE (formerly known as TV5) is a global Television network broadcasting several channels of French language programming On March 21, 1988 Télé 2 became Télé 21. On September 27, 1989 a subsidiary company of RTBF was set up with the name Canal Plus TVCF, which subsequently became "Canal Plus Belgique" in May 1995. In 1993 Télé 21 was replaced by Arte/21 and Sport 21.

Controversy

Main article: Flemish Secession hoax

On 13 December 2006, at 20:21 GMT+1 (19:21 UTC), the RTBF interrupted its regular program Questions à la Une to air a fake news report in which it was claimed that Flanders had proclaimed independence, effectively dissolving the Belgian state. Tout ça (ne nous rendra pas la Belgique was a Hoax perpetrated by the French speaking Belgian public TV station RTBF on Wednesday Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. Tout ça (ne nous rendra pas la Belgique was a Hoax perpetrated by the French speaking Belgian public TV station RTBF on Wednesday Flanders (Vlaanderen Flandre Flandern is a geographical region located in parts of present day Belgium, France, and the Netherlands. The Kingdom of Belgium is a Country in northwest Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts its headquarters as well as those The news report aired on-screen text saying, "This is nothing but fiction," thirty minutes into the broadcast. By that point however, the RTBF's response line had been flooded with calls.

The video featured images of news reporters standing in front of the Flemish Parliament, while Flemish separatists waved the flag of Flanders behind them. The Flemish Parliament ( Dutch: Vlaams Parlement, and formerly called Flemish Council or Vlaamse Raad) constitutes the legislative power This is a list of flags used in Belgium. National Flag Royal Standard Government Military Off to the side, Flemish nationalists were waving Belgian flags. The report also featured footage of King Albert and Queen Paola getting on a military jet to Congo, a former Belgian colony. Titles Donna Paola Princess Ruffo di Calabria ( 1937 - 1959) Her Royal Highness The Princess of Liège ( 1959 The Democratic Republic of the Congo (République démocratique du Congo often referred to as DR Congo, DRC or RDC, and formerly known or referred to

See also

• List of television channels in Belgium

External links

• Official Site (French)