Türkiye's public broadcaster TRT launched a new Spanish-language channel on Friday, which will feature information and entertainment programmes targeting the Latin American community and Spain, adding to its current English-, French- and Arabic-language channels.
On Friday, TRT Español was launched in Istanbul with a public ceremony that was attended by executives of the channel, diplomatic representatives accredited in Türkiye, and media professionals who speak Spanish.
The launch event was chaired by Presidency's Head of Communications Fahrettin Altun, who stated that TRT Español will serve to "enhance relations" between Türkiye and communities in the Latin American region.
According to him, the new Spanish channel will be another instrument of the TRT family "in the global struggle for justice and international truth" and an alternative source of information compared to "Western modernist narratives".
Noting that TRT has "taken significant steps in international broadcasting" in recent years, Altun said, "There can be no justice in a world where only the West speaks."
"TRT's worldwide digital news channels have more than 44 million followers. Our Spanish TRT channel will garner the same interest," he said.
In his speech, TRT Director General Mehmet Zahid Sobacı supported Türkiye's determination to provide loudspeakers to "voices and peoples who do not have loudspeakers."
As an example, he referred to the situation in the Gaza Strip, where he accused Israel of committing "crimes against humanity," which, in his view, were "concealed by the leading Western media outlets."
Director of TRT Español, Kübra Solmaz, told EFE that the aim of launching this new channel would be to "connect with the vast Spanish-speaking audience, which spans 22 countries and around 560 million people."
As she puts it, TRT Español aims "to offer comprehensive coverage, from economics to arts, culture and history, and to portray the socio-political reality of the Spanish-speaking world."
The new channel, which will be headquartered in Istanbul and have a permanent office in Washington, will deploy journalists in the Latin American region and plans to cover the most important events in the region this year, such as the presidential elections in the United States and Mexico, among other countries.
The public event launching the new news channel was held in parallel to a meeting TRT itself held on radio broadcasting in Spanish-speaking countries.
TRT has entered the Spanish market to compete with established international television networks such as CNN and RTVE, as well as other audiovisual platforms, by utilising this new satellite feed.
In recent years, the Turkish television sector has succeeded in capturing the attention of audiences in many countries, especially in Latin America and Spain, where soap operas have been highly popular on TV channels.