The First News Channel

The Republic of Armenia holds stakes in several media companies: Armenia Public Television CJSC, Armenia Public Radio CJSC, Spiritual and Cultural Public Television CJSC, and Armenpress State News Agency CJSC.

Armenia Public Radio and Television were founded during the Armenian Soviet Socialist Republic, when media was strictly controlled by the state. After Armenia's independence, the radio and television remained state-owned under different organizational structures. The main source of income for these companies is the state budget, with annual funding provided to support operations. The companies are not restricted from obtaining financial resources from other sources and generate additional funding through advertising and service provision.

The Republic of Armenia manages Public Television and Radio through the Public Broadcaster Council (PBC). The Law On Audiovisual Media defines a public broadcaster as a broadcaster owned 100% by the Republic of Armenia. The PBC serves as the authorized body for public broadcasters, approving their statutes, ensuring their management, and supervising their operations. PBC members are appointed competitively by the Prime Minister, and the chairman is elected from among the members by secret ballot.

Hovhannes Movsisyan was appointed Director of Public Television of Armenia on November 24, 2020, and continues to hold this position.

From 2018 to 2020, he served as Director of the Public Relations and Information Center (PRIC) under the Office of the Prime Minister of Armenia. During his tenure, PRIC implemented several initiatives: the Armenian Unified Information Center, which provides the public with information during emergency situations; the Orbeli Analytical and Research Center, founded in 2019, which conducts research and analysis on economic, regional, domestic and foreign political developments, security, infrastructure, and media issues; and the annual Hero of Our Times award, established in 2019, with the main prize presented by the Prime Minister of Armenia.

From 2015 to 2018, Movsisyan was the founding director of the CMTeam media company. He has also worked with Internews Armenia, Internews Europe, and Radio Liberty.

Since December 2020, Tigran Virabyan has served as Deputy Executive Director of Public Television of Armenia and the channel's chief producer.

Virabyan studied acting at the Yerevan State Institute of Theatre and Cinematography from 2000 to 2004. From 2007 to 2016, he worked at the V. Acemian State Drama Theatre as a producer, becoming its director in 2016. He served as Deputy Mayor of Yerevan from 2018 to 2020.

In August 2020, Virabyan was elected President of the Shirak Football Club public organization, holding the position until November 2022. In 2022, he was elected to the Executive Committee of the Football Federation of Armenia.

Petros Ghazaryan is the head producer of political programs at Public Television of Armenia. He hosts Interview with Petros Ghazaryan, featuring guests from political, social, and economic spheres. The program is broadcast on the First Channel and its news channel.

Opposition representatives frequently accuse Ghazaryan of bias and decline invitations to appear on his program. According to 2025 research by journalist Katya Mamyan, the majority of guests on his show have been members and allies of the ruling Civil Contract party, with more than half of the airtime occupied by Civil Contract representatives.

Ghazaryan is married to Zhanna Andreasyan, the Minister of Education, Science, Culture, and Sports of Armenia.

From 2003 to 2018, he hosted the program Outline on the television company Kentron, which is affiliated with Gagik Tsarukyan, president of the Prosperous Armenia party.

Lusine Barseghyan is the Director of News and Analytical Programs at Public Television of Armenia. She previously worked at the newspaper Haykakan Zhamanak, a media outlet linked to the family of Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan.

In 2018, after Pashinyan was elected Prime Minister, his wife Anna Hakobyan transferred the position of editor-in-chief of Haykakan Zhamanak to Barseghyan. Barseghyan later left this role to work at the National Assembly as an aide to Speaker of Parliament Ararat Mirzoyan (now Minister of Foreign Affairs). Since late 2020, she has served as Director of News and Analytical Programs at Public Television.

Barseghyan is married to Vahagn Tevosyan, a former Member of Parliament from the My Step parliamentary bloc. Tevosyan worked at Haykakan Zhamanak and other newspapers in editorial positions. In 2018, he served as Director of News and Analytical Programs at Public Television of Armenia. On December 9, 2018, he was elected to Parliament on the nationwide electoral list of the My Step Alliance. He joined the Civil Contract party in 2019 and served as a member of the Public Broadcaster's Council from 2021 to 2025. He currently serves as acting Executive Manager of the Public Benefit Media Environment Foundation.

Vasak Darbinian was elected chairman of the Public Broadcaster Council on June 2, 2025, having been appointed as a PBC member by the Prime Minister in October 2021.

Darbinian has worked in the media sector since 1982, beginning at the weekly newspaper Yerevan University. He has worked as a journalist and chief editor at periodicals including Hayk, 02, Tert, Aravot, Zhamanak, Taregir, and Ayb-Fe. He held editorial positions in television, including editor of the Public Television program Haylur (1998-1999), author and editor of Day's Press on Armenia TV (1999-2000), and author and editor of A1+ Press on A1+ TV. He worked as a press expert at the Committee for the Protection of Freedom of Speech (2014-2015).

Before his appointment to the Public Broadcaster Council, Darbinian worked as a proofreader at Armenian Time (2016-2021), a media outlet associated with Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan. Both Pashinyan and his wife Anna Hakobyan worked at this outlet, with Hakobyan serving as editor. Currently, 70% of the shares of the company managing Armenian Time belong to Anna Hakobyan's mother.