JSC "Khabar" Agency
JSC "Khabar" Agency (hereinafter referred to as the Agency) is rightfully considered the leader of Kazakhstan's media landscape. It is a "TV family" consisting of three channels: the socio-political channel "Khabar", the 24-hour news channel "24KZ", and the youth-oriented channel "El Arna".
Each year, up to 190 episodes of domestically produced TV series are commissioned by the Agency. A diverse range of genres caters to various target audiences, including melodramas, comedies, documentaries, entertainment shows, historical and biographical series. Additionally, the Agency possesses an extensive video archive dating back to the 1990s and maintains a well-developed network of correspondents across the country, as well as in Near and Far Abroad regions, with representative offices in the USA, Russia, Belgium, South Korea, China, Uzbekistan, France, Turkey, and the UAE.
Over 29 years of creative work, the Agency has been awarded numerous national, international, and professional accolades. Its journalists’ works have been nominated for prestigious television awards such as the "EMMY" and Russia's "Golden Verb" award. The Agency has also won prizes from the Eurasian Academy of Television and Radio (Russia) and received the "Peter the Great" medal for its significant contribution to the development of the Eurasian information and cultural space. Members of the sports editorial team have been recipients of the highest international professional awards. The youth programme "City of the Future" was ranked among the top ten programmes worldwide at an international festival in Japan.
The historical film "Bauyrzhan Momyshuly" became a laureate at an international festival in Sevastopol. In 2019, the TV series "The Sixth Post" received the "TEFI - Commonwealth" award. In February 2020, the documentaries "The Price of Peace. West", "The Price of Peace. North", and the film "Soaring Under the Sun" became finalists of the IX National Television Award "Strana" in the "Great Country" category. In January 2022, the special project "Polygon" won "Best Mini-Series" at the Moscow International Film Festival in Russia. In November 2024, the "24KZ" channel received a special prize at the All-Russian Television Award "TEFI-Capital".
Moreover, the Agency actively collaborates with international organisations and is a full-fledged member of the Asia-Pacific Broadcasting Union (ABU) and an associate member of the European Broadcasting Union (EBU). This membership enables the Agency to participate annually in various competitions, training sessions, and creative projects.
Through its cooperation with the EBU, since 2018 the Agency has actively participated in the Junior Eurovision Song Contest. Kazakhstan’s first representative was young singer Daneliya Tuleshova, who secured sixth place. In 2019, Yerzhan Maxim was honoured with second place following public voting. In 2020, Karakat Bashanova also claimed second place. In 2021, Kazakhstan was represented by Beknur Zhanibekuly and Alinur Khamzin, who finished eighth overall, while in 2022, David Charlin placed 15th with his song "Zher-Ana".
Meanwhile, ABU membership provides opportunities for participation in annual competitions, training sessions, and creative projects. The Agency has continued its involvement in international creative contests such as "ABU Prizes 2022" and "ABU Song Festival 2022". Madi Syzdykov participated in "ABU Song Festival 2022" in New Delhi, where he was awarded an honorary certificate, and the Agency received the Festival’s statuette.
In September 2024, the ABU Secretariat conducted an online re-election for the Administrative Council. The online voting results were verified by two designated observers: NHK (Japan) and FBC (Fiji). The final results were announced in October 2024 at the 61st ABU General Assembly in Istanbul, organised with the support of the Turkish Radio and Television Corporation (TRT). The Agency secured 75% of the votes and was re-elected for a three-year term from January 2025 to December 2027. Administrative Council meetings are held twice a year, enabling leaders of the broadcasting industry from the Asia-Pacific region and beyond to establish partnerships, exchange ideas, and discuss future projects.
Each year, Agency representatives participate in leading media markets such as World Content Market, Mipcom, and NAB Show. Continuous efforts to enhance content diversity ensure the successful licensing of serial productions, archival video materials (news reports), feature and documentary films, concerts, and music programmes across Kazakhstan and neighbouring countries. The Agency also actively collaborates with major VOD platforms, including Kinopoisk, IVI.ru, Okko, and others. Notably, 2024 concluded with significant sales performance, with revenue growth of 110.56% compared to the previous year.
The most significant event of 2024 was Kazakhstan’s participation in the XXXIII Olympic Games Paris-2024, held from 26 July to 11 August. The broadcasting rights for Paris-2024 in Kazakhstan were secured by five domestic TV channels, including "Khabar" and "El Arna". The Games featured 32 disciplines with athletes from 206 countries competing for 329 sets of medals, with Kazakhstani athletes winning seven medals.
The Agency continually works on signing memorandums of understanding, establishing contacts, and fostering dialogue with foreign broadcasting organisations, as well as leading satellite and cable operators for the retransmission of the "24KZ" channel. The channel is broadcast in countries such as Germany, Russia, Kyrgyzstan, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Mongolia, and Uzbekistan. In 2024, agreements were signed to expand broadcasting to Lithuania, Poland, Serbia, Hungary, Slovenia, Turkmenistan, and Armenia.
Currently, the Agency has 19 active memorandums with foreign companies from the following countries: South Korea, Belarus, Macau, China, Uzbekistan, Turkey, Georgia, Kyrgyzstan, Iran, India, Azerbaijan, Mongolia, Vietnam, and Turkmenistan.
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