The article examines the historical and socio-cultural features of the initial stage of the formation of national television in North Ossetia. The positive influence of the factor of political and cultural liberalization of various aspects of life of the Soviet society during the “thaw” on the development of regional television broadcasting and television art is emphasized. The constructive role of representatives of the national political elite in the process of interaction between local and central authorities in creating the organizational, material, technical and personnel base of the republican television center is noted. The forms and methods of training television specialists from among the Ossetian creative and technical intelligentsia are shown. In covering the issues of the formation and activities of North Ossetian television, special attention is paid to newspaper publications of the period under review, which most clearly demonstrated the public perception of television as a new socio-cultural phenomenon. The author notes that there was great interest in television programs in society, in particular those that reflected the problems of Soviet everyday life. In conclusion, it is emphasized that, in general, television in North Ossetia developed in the general state discourse, the work of television was carried out within the framework of state information policy and the dominant ideology. At the same time, republican television is characterized as a cultural phenomenon that ensured the development of national culture at a new technical and organizational level and paved the way for the republic to a modern information society. The article is written on a wide range of sources, including archival documents, periodical press materials, as well as the memoirs of contemporaries and direct participants in the creation of regional television.