Altyn Asyr (TV channel)

The Watan Habarlary newscast airs six times a day (7:00, 9:00, 12:00, 15:00, 21:00 and 23:00). The channel's TV startup is at 7:00, while the closedown is usually at 1:00, averaging 18 hours on air. Other programs include Diýar, which has separate editions covering each of the regions of Turkmenistan as well as programs on agriculture and technology. Feature films are broadcast at 23:30 on weekends, after the late edition of Watan Habarlary. The Altyn Asyr's clock ident is the same as all other news channels excluding the Türkmen Owazy and Aşgabat channels. ==History==

Work for a television studio was already underway in April 1958; the plans envisioned the creation of a two-floor television facility and a 150-meter transmitting tower. Television arrived to Ashgabat, the capital of the Turkmen SSR, in 1959, with a transmitter on VHF channel 1 in the Russian standard. Initially it was an experimental service carrying out feature films, with regular service pending the completion of its television center. Color broadcasting started in 1974. Altyn Asyr has no longer played Russia's Channel One Russia since 1998. == See also ==