The Lebanese government granted businessmen Wissam Izzeddine and Alex Moufarrej the first local television license in August 1956, and private Compagnie Libanaise de Télévision (CLT) (in Arabic, شركة التلفزيون اللبنانية).

The newly elected president, Elias Sarkis wanted a unified media outlet to promote his agenda of peace and unity.

[citation needed] When the civil war ended, Télé Liban's monopoly was removed under the 1994 Audiovisual Media Law, and the station found itself for the first time facing tremendous competition.

[11] Rafic Hariri bought the private sector shares of Télé Liban months before he became prime minister in 1992 and appointed Fouad Naïm as chairman, who quickly revamped the station.

[13] The plethora of private terrestrial and satellite stations available in the Lebanese television market came at the expense of Télé Liban, which since the late 1990s been in continuous decline.