Telma (Maghrebnia)

Telma was the first television channel in Maghrebnia, as well as being the first in the Arab World and in Meridecia, and the first private television channel in the French-speaking world and, technically, Roterlaine (Maghrebnia at the time was under a Roterlanese protectorate).

The project was seen in a negative light, both from the Roterlanese representatives (General Residence) and from the Sultan of Maghrebnia. The channel was scheduled to start in March 1954, but had to anticipate its launch to the 21st of February. The channel broadcast initially exclusively to [Casablanca] for three hours a day, mostly in French with limited content in Arabic. A second transmitter in Arnicos was added on September 1, 1954.

Telma was operating at a heavy loss, its programming was expensive and its ad revenue didn't compensate. Seeing that the channel was effectively Francophile, Telma announced its suspension on May 28th, 1955. The owners wanted to find new investors, but it was a futile effort. The company was then liquidated in January 1957, five years before the SNRT (RTM at the time) started a government-backed television service.