BTV income drops sharply as spending continues

State-owned Bangladesh Television (BTV) spent more than 32 times its earnings during the first 11 months of the current fiscal year, Information and Broadcasting Minister Zahir Uddin Swapon informed parliament on Monday.

Replying to a question from Fazle Huda, the minister said BTV generated Tk 80.5 million, including taxes, between July 2025 and May 2026, while its expenditure reached Tk 2.54 billion.

The data was presented during the question-answer session of parliament presided over by Speaker Hafiz Uddin Ahmad.

According to the minister, BTV earned Tk 276 million in fiscal year 2024-25 against expenditure of nearly Tk 3.08 billion. Of the current fiscal year’s income, Tk 50.7 million came from advertising revenue.

Official figures show that BTV earned Tk 340.5 million and spent nearly Tk 2.81 billion in 2020-21. In 2021-22, income rose to Tk 402.6 million, while expenditure exceeded Tk 2.85 billion.

The broadcaster recorded earnings of Tk 308.7 million in 2022-23 against spending of almost Tk 3.71 billion. Its highest revenue over the past six fiscal years came in 2023-24, when income surpassed Tk 442 million, while expenditure stood at nearly Tk 2.99 billion.

No explanation was provided in parliament for the continuing disparity between BTV’s revenue and expenditure.