TVNP began broadcasting on 21 October 2002 as Télé-Mutin,[2] shortly after Bouaké was taken over by rebels.[3] By January 2003, the channel was known under its longtime name TV Notre Patrie.[4] The station operated out of a small concrete building and used outdated equipment, such as old camcorders, VCRs and video editing machines seized from RTI, when it had an office there.[5]
In December 2005, the station had thirty refugees, receiving US$2,72 bonuses each month. Its programming was rudimentary, consisting largely of in-house programs catering several topics (cooking, health, culture, religion, children), movies (often from bootlegged copies),[5] political speeches, and, especially, its news service. The channel was heavily criticized by locals, who thought that TVNP was biased and one-sided, as a politicized outlet. The fact that it took over RTI 1's transmitters for a few hours deprived viewers of receiving[3]
On 31 August 2010, TVNP was targeted by CNCA, the Ivorian regulator, which was responded by its manager Bamba Sinima, who said that TVNP would not shut down.[6] Two of its journalists were arrested upon arriving to Abidjan on 28 January 2011.[7] They were reportedly tortured while in prison.[8]