Turkey shuts down opposition broadcaster Tele 1, journalists continue on YouTube as Tele 2

Turkish authorities seized the opposition television station Tele 1 on October 24, 2025, after arresting its editor-in-chief Merdan Yanardağ, and the station is set to be auctioned within two weeks. The Tele 1 team has relaunched as Tele 2 on YouTube, with anchor Murat Taylan saying, "If necessary, we will continue until Tele 99." The shutdown is the latest in a series of state actions that have brought 90 percent of nationwide media under government control, according to Reporters Without Borders.

Anchor Murat Taylan was presenting the main news on Tele 1 when he was instructed live on air to announce the takeover. "From this moment on, it seems, dear viewers, you will see a broadcast under trusteeship on the screens of Tele 1," Taylan said, visibly unsettled. He added: "Take care of yourselves, and don't believe any lies." That evening, court-appointed administrators accompanied by police seized Tele 1's headquarters in Istanbul. The station is set to be auctioned within two weeks.

The Tele 1 team has relaunched as Tele 2 on YouTube, operating with 15 full-time and 15 freelance staff. The channel has 240,000 subscribers and broadcasts live for ten hours daily. "We don't want the other side to think we are finished," Taylan said from the new temporary offices shared with an opposition radio station. "If necessary, we will continue until Tele 99."

Tele 1 was founded in 2017 by Murat Taylan and Merdan Yanardağ, after Turkey switched to a presidential system via a referendum that year. Yanardağ has been imprisoned four times. He is currently charged with espionage alongside former Istanbul mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu. The charge stems from a 2023 text message Yanardağ sent to a man alleged to have intelligence ties, and a 2019 photo of that man with İmamoğlu. The same justification was used to seize Tele 1, although the company's commercial register lists Yanardağ's son as the owner. The media company has appealed to the Constitutional Court, but the license, frequency, and technical equipment are set to be auctioned to the highest bidder in June, with the company retaining its debts.

Yanardağ was previously held in pretrial detention for criticizing the isolation of PKK founder Abdullah Öcalan; the Constitutional Court later ruled that detention unlawful and awarded him compensation.

Turkey's broadcasting regulator now requires licenses for journalists who moved to YouTube after their outlets were taken over. Tele 2 faces a demand to apply for a television license, which Taylan expects will lead to fines. "As soon as we have it, I expect fines again," he said, describing fines as a common state tool to drive critical broadcasters into financial ruin.

On Monday, Taylan visited Yanardağ in prison. Yanardağ wrote in the newspaper Birgün that the crackdown on the CHP aims to prepare the ground for a snap presidential election. "That requires a controlled opposition, controlled media, a climate of fear, and the perception that 'these people will never go away,'" Yanardağ wrote from prison.

On Tuesday, police used water cannons and tear gas against CHP supporters in Izmir during a visit by party leader Özgür Özel, who was in the CHP stronghold to celebrate the Islamic holiday of Eid al-Adha and mobilize the party base. Tele 2 broadcast images of the police action. Taylan commented: "No matter how strong the last step, the overthrow of the party leadership, may seem, in reality it shows how weak and exhausted the rulers are."