VTV4
International television network in Vietnam
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
VTV4 is the international community television channel of Vietnam Television, targeting Vietnamese audiences living abroad and foreigners interested in Vietnam. Launched on January 7, 1998, it offers the three domestic channels to the Vietnamese diaspora worldwide. Most of VTV4's programs are produced by the station's International Television Department and include news, dramas, music, documentaries, and entertainment for the Vietnamese community overseas. In addition, the channel also re-broadcasts some programs and segments from other VTV channels.[1]
 | |
| Country | Vietnam |
|---|---|
| Broadcast area | Worldwide Online |
| Programming | |
| Language | Vietnamese |
| Picture format | 1080i HDTV |
| Ownership | |
| Owner | Vietnam Television |
| Sister channels | VTV1 VTV2 VTV3 VTV5 VTV5 Tây Nam Bộ VTV5 Tây Nguyên VTV6 VTV7 VTV8 VTV9 VTV10 |
| History | |
| Launched | January 1, 1998 |
| Links | |
| Website | https://vtv4.vtv.vn |
| Availability | |
| Terrestrial | |
| DVB-T2 | UHF 25, 26, 27 |
| Thaicom 6 | 4034 H 19200 |
VTV4 is also available over-the-air in Vientiane, capital of the ideologically-aligned state of Laos.[2]
From March 31, 2018, Vietnam Television stopped broadcasting the channel on foreign satellites.
History
VTV4 began its trial broadcast on January 1, 1995, leasing one hour from 21:45 to 22:45 on a transponder on the Russian Gorizont 25 satellite.[3][4]
On January 1, 1998, VTV4 officially began broadcasting under the name "Program for Vietnamese expatriates and friends around the world",[5] covering all of Asia and Europe with a daily broadcast time of 2 hours from 12am-2am Vietnam time, The channel also switched to broadcasting via Measat 1 satellite, with the signal relayed via Thaicom 3 satellite. On February 3, 1998, the VTV4 Program Editorial Department, under the Editorial Secretariat, was established.
From April 1, 1998, along with the separation of VTV3 into a separate satellite channel, VTV4 increased its broadcast time from 00:00 to 04:00 AM. On April 27, 2000, VTV4 officially achieved worldwide coverage by relaying the VTV4 signal via the Telstar 5 satellite, covering the North American region.[6] From 1 January 2002, the airtime doubled again to eight hours,[7][8] and at the same time, it started delivering its coverage to the Hot Bird satellite to better serve Europe.[9]
According to Decision n.º29 of Prime Minister Phan Văn Khải of February 7, 2002, VTV4's Editorial Programming Department was split from the Editorial Secretariate and became the Editorial Council for International Affairs.[10] In 2004, the Editorial Council for International Affairs was renamed Television Council for International Affairs.
On May 15, 2005, VTV4 went broadcasting 24/7, maintaining the 00:00-08:00 block as it was but adding two repeats after that, forming an eight-hour wheel, to cater to a vast array of timezones.[11] On June 20, 2009, the eight-hour wheel was discarded and a new 24/7 schedule was introduced.
From June 22, 2015, VTV4 started broadcast in high definition on VTVCab, and officially began promotional broadcasting two days later.[12]
At 00:05 Hanoi Time on March 31, 2018, VTV halted all broadcasts of the channel on foreign satellites: Thaicom 5, Eutelsat Hot Bird 13B, Hispasat 30W-5, Galaxy 19.[13]
With the launch of Vietnam Today on September 7, 2025, all foreign-language news broadcasts on VTV4 officially ceased and moved to the newly-launched channel, marking the end of many years of broadcasting foreign-language news programs on VTV4. Most foreign-language programs were transferred to Vietnam Today. Since then, VTV4 has only broadcast news in Vietnamese and dedicated more airtime to new Vietnamese-language programs, aiming to reflect and serve the Vietnamese community abroad.