Mansudae Television
Mansudae Television is a state-owned entertainment television channel based in North Korea. It broadcasts movies, selected foreign films and entertainment programming every weekend with occasional advertising. Mansudae began transmissions on 1 December 1973, and broadcasts for three hours on Saturdays, and nine hours on Sundays.
From its inception to 13 July 2015, broadcasting was carried out on channel 5 from the Pyongyang TV Tower and a special app on the Samjiyon tablet computer. In August 2016, the channel was added to the Manbang IPTV service, being available on the second button of the "Aircast" section.
Temporary closure
In July 2015, Mansudae Television ceased broadcasting for unknown reasons. However, two reasons were considered in the Newstopia online edition : According to one reason, this step could be taken by the North Korean authorities to restrict the access of Pyongyang residents to foreign content broadcast on the channel. According to the other, reported by Radio Free Asia, in the editorial board there was an incident with unfiltered content, shown on air on the channel. It was also reported that the launch of the broadcasting of the new Athletic Television, carried out on 15 August of the same year, was made at a frequency previously owned by Mansudae Television. As a result of internal checks of the government of North Korea, the television channel was rehabilitated only in 2016. The message of South Korean news agency Yonhap from 18 May 2016, reported that access to the television channel was proposed to be carried out through cable networks.
Pay channel proposal
In March 2018, Daily NK reported about the proposal by the North Korean government to convert the broadcasting of Mansudae Television on the principle of a paid subscription; however, according to the Daily NK, it was not established that the project is supposed to be carried out using traditional cable TV or Manbang IPTV. One of the main reasons for the decision of the North Korean government was the high popularity of films and programs that appear on the channel. The price was set at 650 won.