Al-Jazeera now has a new competitor with the launch of Alarab, the new Arabic satellite news channel in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA). The news station was launched last Sunday. It is owned by Prince Alwaleed bin Talal of Saudi Arabia. The billionaire prince is a nephew of the late KSA King Abdullah.
Alarab
The satellite news station, which will be broadcasting in Arabic is called Alarab and is based in Bahrain. It is expected to provide healthy competition to the other broadcast networks in the Middle East. In particular, it will be competing with Al-Jazeera, which is subsidized by Qatar and based in Doha. Al-Jazeera, which was established on November 1, 1996 was the first regional broadcaster and is now available worldwide.
It is also going to be competing with Al-Arabiya, owned by the brother-in-law of late KSA King Fahd, Sheikh Waleed al-Ibrahim, who had the station established in 2003. Al-Arabiya is based in Dubai.
First broadcast
The first broadcast of Alarab News Channel carried the story of Kenji Goto, a Japanese journalist and the tragic fate he met while attempting to rescue another Islamic State hostage.
The news channel will be operating 24 hours a day, servicing the Middle East and North African (MENA) regions, with satellite hook-ups thus the broadcast will be available around the world. It is projected to bring a new style in the programming of news in MENA and the world by filling the void in the broadcast of news in Arabic. The news channel said that world events would be reported with an unbiased, fresh, accurate and objective view.
Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board of Alarab News Channel, Mr. Fahad Sukait said that they were proud of the strong start they had and expressed his thanks to the support of the prince. He said that it is their goal to deliver accurate and impartial news all the time, news that have been deeply analyzed
The station’s general manager, Mr. Jamal Khashoggi added that they are filling the need for an impartial and independent channel that is capable of bringing a fresh look on the news stories that matter to their viewers.
Format and programming
Alarab News Channel will, according to its management, have top-of-the-hour news bulletins, provided by their news bureaus and correspondents located around the world. The business news in MENA will be delivered in cooperation with Bloomberg.
Regular programming will focus on the internal affairs within the Kingdom. The KSA Bulletin, to be presented from Sunday to Thursday by Mefreh Al Shaqiqi and Nour AlShaikh will feature news within Saudi Arabia while topics that matter to Saudis, comprising things ranging from social affairs to politics will be hosted by Ghanem Al Mareekhi. The show, which will be aired every day of the week, is called Min Al Riyadh. According to station management, the daily show will conduct an open dialogue between Saudi authorities and the public.
Laila al Skaikly will host an editorial show every Thursday, which is aims at providing new angles as well as answers to events happening daily in the Kingdom. The station also aims to tackle the Arab Parliaments’ decision-making process and how these affect the current political life in the Arab world. The one-hour long program, which will be broadcast weekly, will be hosted by Taria Alaas.
According to the station, their programming will also have culture and sports, social affairs, politics and travel, aside from the news.
Image Copyright: HRH Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal of Saudi Arabia, image property of Kingdom Holding Company
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