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VTC Digital Television Network (Vietnamese: Đài Truyền hình Kỹ thuật số VTC), or Vietnam Digital Television Network (Vietnamese: Đài Truyền hình Kỹ thuật số Việt Nam) was a Vietnamese television network owned by the Voice of Vietnam. Launched on 19 August 2004, it is recognised as the second national television network in Vietnam and the first to utilise a digital terrestrial network for broadcasts.
VTC Digital Television was operated-and-owned by the Vietnam Multimedia Corporation from its founding day until January 1, 2014, when its management was shifted to the Ministry of Information and Communications. On 2 June 2015, it became part of VOV's multimedia services.[1]
VTC ran 13 channels, with most channels in 1080p HDTV.
On 14 January 2025, the Voice of Vietnam confirmed it would cease airing all VTC channels the next day,[2] following a government decision to end VTC Digital Television's operations and hand over its duties to Vietnam Television.[3]
On 1 July 2001, the Vietnam Television Technology Investment and Development Company conducted a trial broadcast of 8 domestic and international television programs on UHF channel 26, based on the DVB-T digital terrestrial television platform. This was a significant milestone for the government to use as a basis for formulating the strategy to develop Vietnam's television industry with advanced digital technology according to the "Digitalization of Terrestrial Broadcasting by 2020" project. The person who laid the foundation for VTC's digital television development was Dr. Thái Minh Tần, former Chairman of the Board of Directors and former General Director of the VTC Multimedia Corporation.
On 19 August 2004, in order to manage and control the content of international programs, the Digital Television Editorial Board was established with an editorial team of nearly 50 people.
On 4 January 2006, according to Decision No. 01/2006/QĐ-BBCVT of the Ministry of Post and Telecommunications (now the Ministry of Information and Communications), the Vietnam Television Technology Investment and Development Company was reorganized into the VTC Multimedia Corporation (still referred to as VTC), expanding its business activities. At the same time, the Digital Television Editorial Board was reorganized into VTC Digital Television based on the merger of the Digital Television Editorial Board, the Digital Terrestrial Television Center, and several other units under the company. From this point forward, the station became a member unit under VTC Corporation.[4]
On 7 July 2008, the online newspaper VTC News was officially established.
By the end of 2008, VTC Digital Television launched high-definition (HD) digital television services, including broadcasting three purely Vietnamese channels and five international channels in high-definition television format (HDTV).
From 1 January 2014, VTC officially separated from VTC Corporation and became an administrative unit under the Ministry of Information and Communications, according to Decree 132/2013/NĐ-CP dated 16 October 2013, of the Government.
At the end of 2014, in the context of being assigned by the National Assembly Office to launch a specialized television channel for the National Assembly, the Voice of Vietnam (VOV) proposed merging VTC Digital Television into VOV to mobilize resources for launching the Vietnam Parliament TV. On 2 June 2015, VTC Digital Television officially merged into VOV, becoming a part of the national media organization.
From 9 June 2017, VTC Digital Television began testing 4K ultra-high-definition television broadcasts on the DVB-T2 network in the capital city of Hanoi. From June 21 of the same year, VTC launched free broadcasts of several 4K standard programs on the DVB-T2 terrestrial digital television system in other provinces and cities.
Beginning on 1 January 2018, VTC introduced a new brand identity across all activities and broadcasting channels of the network.
On 24 April 2018, VTC officially launched the VTC Now multimedia content distribution system.[5]
On 00:00, 15 January 2025 (Indochina Time), all VTC channels, from VTC1 to VTC16, were shut down, ending its 20-year lifespan.[6] The mass shutdown was due to a cost-cutting plan without a prior roadmap that ended up retrenching hundreds of staff members. The goal is to make VTV the only national network, excluding the regional television stations.[7]
Launched on 7 July 2008, it was one of the most-viewed news sites in Vietnam. Since 2015, when its main operator - VTC TV Network - was transferred to the VOV, it became one of two main online news sites of VOV media network.[12]
Multimedia application, developed by VTC since 2018. It also operated a YouTube multi-channel network of its own.
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