ATV

What is ATV?

ATV's own FAQ states: “ATV staat voor Algemene Televisie Verzorging”.^[3] Its site's footer reads “© 2025 Algemene Televisie Verzorging (ATV)” and gives an address on van 't Hogerhuysstraat in Paramaribo.^[2]

Management. Telesur's page for ATV states: “ATV wordt beheerd door het staatstelecommunicatiebedrijf Telesur.” That is, ATV is managed by the state telecommunications company Telesur.^[1] Telesur's own company page records that on 1 January 1981 the former LTT was converted into the Telecommunicatiebedrijf Suriname, Telesur; the same page does not set out Telesur's ownership.^[4] ATV's own site, as retrieved, names no owner.^[2]

What does ATV cover?

Channels. Telesur's page lists two ATV channels: 12.1 for “Nieuws en actualiteiten”, news and current affairs, and 12.2 for “Sport en entertainment”. It describes 12.2 as “Een dynamische mix van sport en entertainment, met live-evenementen, analyses en entertainmentprogramma's zoals series en muziekoptredens!”^[1]

Football. Under that description the page lists the Suriname Major League, Suriname's professional football division, and the UEFA Champions League, the Europa League and the Europa Conference League.^[1] No dated rights agreement for any of those competitions was retrieved, so the page is the only evidence of carriage and it carries no date.

The 2026 FIFA World Cup. Starnieuws reported on 27 May 2026: “Via een sublicentieovereenkomst heeft Telesur de rechten verkregen om het toernooi uit te zenden via ATV en te streamen via TelesurPlus”. It reported that STVS remained the central rights holder for Suriname.^[5] The tournament ended on 19 July 2026.

Online. ATV's FAQ states that many programmes can be watched online worldwide, but that some content may be geo-blocked because of rights issues.^[3]

How large is ATV's audience?

No television-audience currency, readership survey or audited web measurement for Suriname was retrieved, so no audience figure is given. Neither ATV's own site nor Telesur's page for ATV publishes an audience or reach figure.^[1][2]

Reporters Without Borders, in its 2026 index entry, states that “The country enjoys a pluralist media landscape.” It names no broadcaster.^[6]

Since when has ATV existed?

Neither ATV's site nor Telesur's page for ATV gives a founding year. ATV's home page describes its history only in general terms: “Onze geschiedenis is er een van kwaliteit en betrouwbaarheid, gewaardeerd door generaties kijkers.” That is the broadcaster's own description.^[2] Telesur's own history dates the telecommunications company to 1 January 1981 and gives no date for ATV.^[4]

Why does ATV matter in Suriname's sport?

ATV is the channel on which Telesur lists the domestic professional football league, the Suriname Major League, and it was one of the channels on which the 2026 FIFA World Cup was shown in Suriname under a sublicence from STVS, according to Starnieuws.^[1][5] Its management by Telesur, which Telesur's page calls the state telecommunications company, is Telesur's own statement.^[1]

Starnieuws quotes the Telesur director Doric Ramlakhan as saying that the aim was to bring the World Cup “dichter bij alle Surinamers”, closer to all Surinamese, and reports his statement that viewers should be able to follow the tournament wherever the internet is available, including at home, on the move, at work, in the districts and in the interior. Those are the director's statements as Starnieuws reports them.^[5]